Practising English outside School

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Josef Essberger

When you are learning English, it is very important to use and practise your English as often
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as possible. If you are studying in a school, you have some good opportunities to practise.

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But what can you do after school, or if you are studying alone, to continue practising?

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In fact there are many things that you can do outside school to improve your English.

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Let us consider the 4 skills that you need to develop to use a language well:

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1. LISTENING
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3.
4. SPEAKING
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6. READING
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8. WRITING
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Here are some of the ways you can improve these skills outside school:

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LISTENING

Listening to English is one of the most important things you can do to improve your English.

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Do not try too hard to understand everything. Just listen and you will soon understand.

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You have several possibilities

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Cassettes and CDs

Listening to songs (on cassette or compact disc) can be useful in helping you to "feel" the

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language.

It does not matter if you do not understand everything.

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Television

On television, you have a big choice of programmes: films, chat shows, documentaries, news.

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In many parts of the world you can watch English-language television, for example:

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 BBC
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 CNN
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Many television stations have Internet sites which give details of frequencies.

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Radio

This is another excellent way to practise your English. Here are 2 stations that you can listen

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to world-wide:

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 BBC World Service

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 Voice of America
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Films

You can watch films in English on video at home. In some countries, you can watch films

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in English at the cinema.

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Watching with video is a very good method because you can replay parts that you do not

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understand.

If you watch a video with English sub-titles, you can cover the sub-titles with paper.

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Then, if there are some words that you really do not understand, you can remove the paper
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and look at the sub-title.

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But be careful! The sub-titles are not always an exact translation.

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SPEAKING

Speaking English is one thing that you cannot do alone!

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You can listen to English alone.

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You can read English alone.

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You can write English alone.

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But, you run a serious risk if you speak to yourself in English! That is why you should speak

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as much as possible at school where there are people to speak to.

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How can you speak English outside school?

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That depends on where you are. But you should make a big effort to find somebody for

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conversation practice.

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In a large city, it should not be difficult to find people who speak good English.
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You can put an advertisement in a local newspaper. There may even be some English or

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American pubs or clubs where people speak English.

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You may find an English person, for example, who wants to practise your language.

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Then you can do a conversation exchange. Outside the big cities, you need to be more

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imaginative.

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Perhaps you can use the telephone. Or even the Internet, if you are equipped with an Internet

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phone.

READING

Reading is an excellent way to learn new vocabulary. But you need to read the right level of

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English.

If it is too difficult, you may become discouraged. If it is too easy, you will make no
progress.

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Try to read something that is slightly above your level. Try to understand the meaning of a
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new word from the context.

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If you really cannot understand, use a dictionary and record the word.

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What can you read? Well, there is no shortage of reading material: books, poetry,
newspapers,

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magazines, Internet.

There are so many books - fact or fiction - that it should not be difficult to find something

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suitable.

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Perhaps you already have some books in English. Or take a look in a library or bookshop.

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In many cities you can use the library of the British Council.

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Some publishers produce 'simple' books for beginners. They are short, simplified stories.

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Usually they have notes and explanations.

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We also have some short stories and classic texts in English Club English Reading with notes
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to help you.

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Newspapers

You can learn a lot of new vocabulary from a newspaper. You can find British or American

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newspapers in all the big cities of the world.

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Some countries publish special English-language papers: the 'Bangkok Post' in Thailand or

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the 'Straits Times' in Singapore, for example.

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Here are some British and American newspapers. They are available at news-stands in big

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cities and at airports and main railway stations.

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British:

 The Times

 The Telegraph
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 The Financial Times (especially for business)
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  The European (weekly - especially about Europe)
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 'The Sunday Times' (weekly)
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American:

 International Herald Tribune

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 Washington Post
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Magazines

Try reading a magazine regularly. You can subscribe to a magazine and have it delivered

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anywhere in the world.

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 Time (general interest)

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 Newsweek (news)
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 The Economist (business)
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 Cosmopolitan (fashion, leisure)
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WRITING

Practise your English by writing letters to a pen friend. Today, with the Internet, this is very

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easy.

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You can exchange letters by email. To find a pen friend from anywhere in the world, check

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out English Club ESL Forums.

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https://www.englishclub.com/esl-articles/199811.htm