How to improve your English?

English as a Second Language English for Beginners
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Hi sir,

Recently, i have taken TOEFL IBT test and my result is quite bad. I just score 36/120 in my TOEFL test. I’m really sad fo that. Now i’m study in college and suppose to be i can improve my english as well but not. My friend told me should read a lot of english book and watching english movie, it help a lot but have try before. It is not useful for me. My vocabulary is limited, when i test myself in Toefl vocabulary i just score 5/10 only. Please help me! What is the best way to improve my english?
Thanks for helping!

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Hello, beam-- and welcome to English.best

Improving one’s foreign language is a long, slow process, and there are no magic answers.

Improving vocabulary depends mostly on extensive reading and word study; watching movies will not help much.

If they do not have subtitles, movies can help your listening comprehension, but more helpful are sound recordings that include tasks and exercises.

If you are focusing on a good TOEFL score soon, then your best strategy is to take sample TOEFL tests-- as many as you can.

I hope this helps.
.

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Thanks for giving some advise about the way to imporve english! I will do the toefl test sample as much as I can. I know that if want to improve englsih not 1 day or 2 day, it need a long time to do it. Actually everyday i’m using english in my studies and supposed to be improve a lot…But for me is not…I’m not improve anymore and my writting is too bad and my speaking also not so good. My pronunciation very bad!
What should i do…I’m so anxious and don’t know what should i do…The another thing my vocabulary is limited and grammar is very bad! How to improve? Is it i need to read stories book or what else i can do? What is the best way can improve in a short time?

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Hi beam,

To improve your pronunciation, you should try to imitate spoken words as often as possible. Here is our audio course to help you get going!

Learning vocabulary needs time and patience. Read as much as you can and don’t get disappointed when you feel you’re not making enough progress.

It takes time! But once you’ve reached a certain level, you’ll find that learning new vocabulary will com much easier to you :slight_smile:

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If you can afford it, I suggest you buy this book:

cambridge.org/elt/elt_projec … id=2500225

Many of our students have found it quite well-organised and helpful.

For vocabulary, maybe the pre-intermediate version of this book:

cambridge.org/elt/elt_projec … id=2500218

And, a bit later, a good collocations book, such as:

cambridge.org/aus/catalogue/ … 0521603782

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Hi sir,

Maybe, you could help me to construct English sentence. I am a Marketing graduate who quit my accounting position recently. I tried to apply in a call center agent position. But, I usually failed my interviews. The interviewer always commented about me of not good in grammar. Most of the time, I usually don’t know which word I used. For example, I always say good in English communication instead of fluency in English. I hope you could advice me of what is better to do to improve my English skills. Thank you.

Best Regards,
Cathy

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Learning English (or any language for that matter) is a process. You are continually improving your English and the following “How to” describes a strategy to make sure that you continue to improve effectively.

Remember that learning a language is a gradual process - it does not happen overnight.

Define your learning objectives early: What do you want to learn and why?

Make learning a habit. Try to learn something every day. It is much better to study (or read, or listen to English news, etc.) 10 minutes each day than to study for 2 hours once a week.

Remember to make learning a habit! If you study each day for 10 minutes English will be constantly in your head. If you study once a week, English will not be as present in your mind.

Choose your materials well. You will need reading, grammar, writing, speaking and listening materials
Vary your learning routine. It is best to do different things each day to help keep the various relationships between each area active. In other words, don’t just study grammar.

Find friends to study and speak with. Learning English together can be very encouraging.

Choose listening and reading materials that relate to what you are interested in. Being interested in the subject will make learning more enjoyable - thus more effective.

Relate grammar to practical usage. Grammar by itself does not help you USE the language. You should practice what you are learning by employing it actively.

Move your mouth! Understanding something doesn’t mean the muscles of your mouth can produce the sounds. Practice speaking what you are learning aloud. It may seem strange, but it is very effective.

Be patient with yourself. Remember learning is a process - speaking a language well takes time. It is not a computer that is either on or off!

Communicate! There is nothing like communicating in English and being successful. Grammar exercises are good - having your friend on the other side of the world understand your email is fantastic!

Use the Internet. The Internet is the most exciting, unlimited English resource that anyone could imagine and it is right at your finger tips.

Pruthiraj Nayak

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Hi beam
to learn something you need something inside you, it’s a will because it is the key of evreything,and in my opinion I agree with your friend when he said u should read books and watching movies,and don’t forget to practise evreything you learn it .
try to contact with the native english or with poeple who can speak english .
good luck friend .

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Most people struggle with their English because they haven’t yet analyzed why exactly they want to improve their language skills. If your goal is to get a high score on the TOEFL or IELTS, think again, because that’s not really a goal.

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