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How to learn English

This section is dedicated to answer every question you have about how to learn
English. Our goal is to take advantage of the knowledge weve gained during
our many years of experience in the language learning sector in order to give
you information that can be both helpful and useful for you.
We will deal with many relevant topics and English web pages which will help
you
improve
and
determine
your
English
level.
Among these topics you may find:

For students and parents


Skills
How can I improve my oral communication?
How can reading in English be useful for me?
How can I improve my writing in English?

Levels and Accreditations


Which are the English levels?
Is it necessary to take an official exam?
How can I pass the KET?
How can I pass the PET?
How can I pass the FCE?
How can I pass the CAE?
How can I pass the CPE?

Theory and methodology


Are there different learning styles?
How to learn English efficiently?
Which methods are there to learn English?
What do linguists think?
What is the TPR?
What is blended learning?
How does multimedia work and why is it useful?
Which is the best way to learn English from scratch?

Other questions
Which elements should I consider when choosing an academy?
What is the best age to begin?
I want to study in the UK, should I prepare myself?

For teachers
How can I improve my teaching skills in England?

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Acquiring a second language


I would like to congratulate all the readers of this article. I find very admiring
your fluency in Spanish (or your first language) as you might find mine in
English. How did we get such fluency?
When we learn to speak our own language we first focus in what were told. We
start to understand loose words and easy sentences that we listen from adults
or older brothers.
Later on, when were ready, we begin to speak by ourselves, thats why by the
time we go to school we already communicate very fluently and control many
grammatical rules.
Then we start to read, which, in one hand, strengthens what weve acquired
verbally and, on the other hand, introduces us to an enriched vocabulary and
maybe to more complex grammatical structures.
Writing is the skill we last develop and it usually contributes to a deeper
learning of the grammatical rules. I dare to say that in good schools this deeper
learning about the grammatical rules is not achieved by grammar exercises, but
in a more creative way; the teacher and the classmates must help the student
to improve and perfect himself.
Every child, except those who have hearing or diction difficulties, reaches the
ability to communicate verbally in his own language. This is achieved by anyone
who tries to learn that language as a second language.
So, the natural order is:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Understand what you hear


Understand and speak
Understand, speak and read
Understand, speak, read and write

To understand what is communicated to us is obviously of great importance,


and even more so when most of that communication is spoken.
When we learn a second language the order is somewhat different. Normally,
the first day we are introduced to reading. This usually gets us confused,
because even if the letters are the same, the sounds that those letters produce
are generally quite different in the second language. This can be even more
confusing when we learn English, because a letter or combination of letters
might have two, three, four or even more sounds.

This difficulty increases if we write in the second language before we completely


acquire every sound that all the different combinations of letters make. We read
what we write with the wrong pronunciation.
We often completely forget about the spoken word. Many times it is just about
opening a book and doing the exercises. Thats why its very likely that a
student from Spain, for example, finishes Primary or Secondary School, even
University, and has barely heard spoken English.
Of course, this student wont be able to understand spoken English and
therefore will find it impossible to speak it, in spite of having a high reading
level and being quite an expert when it comes to solving grammar exercises.
Consequently, a second language student usually, after many years of study, is
not able to understand when somebody speaks that language, he cant speak it,
and he is not able to write fluently in that language, even though he might be
an expert in doing exercises. From all this we can deduce that theres still much
more work to do.
If our purpose is to help our students to communicate in a second language,
then the first task in that second language class is, undoubtedly, to provide
comprehensible input at an adequate level to help the student understand the
language.
From the first day, we should focus on helping the student understand the
spoken word by hearing spoken English either from a native or a non-native
with a high English level, and also by listening to cassettes, podcasts, videos, or
DVDs at the appropriate level.
In the case of smaller children, the listening should be done in a special way by
games, dramatizing and singing songs. Students should be encouraged to
listen, listen and listen to an enriched selection of materials from the second
language which offer variety and interest, so that they can develop a noticeable
comprehension level of the spoken language. They shouldnt be pressured to
speak in the second language until they feel ready to do it.
I would suggest encouraging the students to read only after a few months, and
when they do, they should read stories or materials at the appropriate level,
and always accompanied by the corresponding audio. Thats why in a language
class it is very important to have a good library full of interesting books with
audios, and also a video library with videos which ca be used by students for
free as long as the Copyright allows it.
I insist, conversing with someone who is interested in an exchange with you,
and who is trying to help you understand what hes saying, is excellent for
acquiring the second language.
Writing should be encouraged when the student has a wide range of vocabulary.
The motivation is stronger when the writing has full meaning.
Stories, letters to friends, student-made magazines and, when schools or
academies have the means, desktop publishing, text treatment and video
setups or cassettes/podcasts with sounds, allow, in my opinion, to acquire
grammatical rules much more easily. If a student can publish his assignments,
in any way, then he will feel very motivated to write it correctly.

In conclusion, and perhaps most importantly, although acquiring a second


language wont ever be easy, I hope it can become a fun and an anxiety-free
experience, having communication as the main goal.
I leave my last words to Stephen Krashen, an American authority, who in his
book Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, says: The
solution to the problems in language teaching doesnt reside in expensive
materials, exotic methods, sophisticated linguistic analysis or new laboratories,
but on the complete use of what we already have, to be speakers of the
languages and use them for a real communication. I will also conclude that the
best method should be the most enjoyable, and that, even though it may sound
weird, the language acquisition happens when the language is used for what it
was thought, communication.

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