HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH SKILLS

Most importantly it is important to keep in mind that you cannot learn a new language overnight. It takes some
time. And for some people it really takes a lot of time. It is much more efficient to work often for a short time
than to work once for a whole afternoon.

Here are some suggestions on what you can do to improve your English. Make sure you work on all your skills
(reading, speaking, listening, , vocabulary…)

READING
Improving your reading skills is quite straightforward: read a lot!

Where do you find reading material?

You can find simplified novels (i.e. books with vocabulary adapted to your level of English) in our school’s open
learning center. The internet is of course also an immense source of English texts. From now on it’s a good idea
to read the sports news or Hollywood gossip in English!

How to read these texts?

- Look up words you don’t understand.
- Repeat the text in your own words. You can write this down (this will improve your writing skills as
well!) but if you don’t want to spend too much time you can simply do it off the top of your head.

LISTENING
Improving your listening skills is similar to reading: listen to English, a lot, and try to understand it!

Where do you find listening material?

You can find some listening exercises online, for example on BBC learning or http://www.esl-lab.com/. But it’s a
lot more fun (and therefore more efficient) to watch English films or series!

How to watch?
Watch your films and series with English subtitles from now on and later, when your English has gotten better,
without subtitles altogether. Start with films and series with an easy plot and easy language, like romantic
comedies and action films. Something like ‘Friends’ is the perfect starting point. When your English is getting
better, you can slowly start watching more complicated movies. If you don’t understand anything at all, turn on
English subtitles. If almost every sentence has a word you don’t understand, it’s too complicated and you should
choose an easier film.
Learning can be fun!

SPEAKING
Speak a lot! Try to find someone to practise English with. Start speaking English with your friends instead of
Dutch. Admittedly, it’s a bit weird in the beginning, but it really is the only way to improve yourself! Look up the
pronunciation of words you don’t understand. Here is a good online dictionary:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/. Don’t forget to practise your speaking
exercises out loud!

WRITING
Write a lot! We skip a lot of writing exercises in class. Make these at home
and hand them to your teacher to correct them. Rewrite the exercises that
are corrected by your teacher and try to improve them. Likewise, if you have
to make a writing exercise, have someone who is good at English mark your
mistakes and rewrite your exercise before you hand it in. Looking at your
mistakes and correcting them is the best way to improve your writing skills!

And remember: practice makes perfect!!!