Dear student

Here are some ideas and basic tips

How to better your English!!!

Doing a special language course can be very effective, but spending just a day to improve your English can be a cost-free alternative.

First, you should take control of the learning process. Think of your own needs and goals. Please remember the following points:

• Try to do something every day and not only once a week. 
• What is your learning style? Do you need to see things written down or do easily remember things that you have heard.
• Try out new things like reading an English newspaper online.
• Don’t leave the ten minutes till late at night.

Now, you might ask yourself what you could do every day to improve your English? Well, here are some daily routines for you: 

• Listen to English radio broadcasts, especially the news. Try www.bbc.co.uk/radio.
• Stick vocabulary that you want to learn on your bathroom mirror, doors and walls.
• Make an effort and write all your notes to yourself or a shopping list in English.
• Try to name the things you eat or drink in English and if you don’t know the proper words look them up.
• Use English instead of German for your planning, daydreaming or making comments in your head.
•  Make up conversations in your head. What would you tell a stranger about you, your family or job, etc.?
• Talk to yourself in English when you’re alone. Nobody can hear you making mistakes or if you keep repeating yourself.
• Why not borrow an audio book from your library? Before each new chapter try to summarize the story so   far in your head. Perhaps you can predict (= vorhersagen) what will happen next.
• Download an English podcast to your MP3 player. Choose one from www.podcast.net. It is even better to listen to a short recording several times than always listening to new material.
• Try to read as much English as possible. Apart from your English text book there are newspapers and magazines, e.g. language magazines like Spotlight and there are lots of stories to choose from. Try www.short-stories.co.uk which lists short stories sorted by genre, author and number of pages or go to www.voanews.com/specialenglish/American-Stories.
• Before going to see a film you could read an English-language review (= Kritik/Besprechung) on the internet.
• You could also watch an English video or DVD.
• If you have to read a text, e.g. for school, read it aloud.
• Find the text to an English song and sing or speak the words along with it, keeping up with the rhythm and the speed.
• Draw up your own mind maps on e.g. “illness”, “holidays”, “transport” or “December”, the topic is not really important. Use your dictionary to add more words. Look at your mind map a few days later and check how many new words you already remember.
• Change your mobile phone and computer settings (internet, e-mail) to English.
• Find an English-speaking penfriend at www.letternet.de.
• ....

So, whatever you do, make it a daily routine. That is the most important point. Make English an integral part of your life. Don’t regard it as an enemy.

Perhaps you can practise with a friend or family member to motivate and learn from each other. All these little exercises will help you better your English and you will improve your memory too.

Good luck and enjoy your English!