How to Improve English

Zheng+Yifei

【Abstract】 Learning English is more and more important in the present society. There are 7 methods drew from my learning experience which are raising interest of English， widening vocabulary， joining in various of activities， taking part in English competitions， practicing listening， watching English TV series and movies and doing more translations.

【Key words】English； methods； interest； vocabulary； activities； competitions； listening； TV series； movies； translations

In the present society， English has become one of the most important languages of the world. The reasons include that the development of global economy and the cultural interaction among countries， etc.. Therefore， learning English becomes more and more important for us. As a high middle school student， we have the responsibility to revitalize the nation， and English is a vital tool. Although every school makes the subject of English as a compulsory course， we still should put more time and energy into studying and practice it， not only for a higher grade， but also for being involved in the sweeping trend to make more contribution for our country.

As for my observation， many of my classmates study English every day very hard， and their English grades are also very high in the examinations. But when the teacher asks them some questions in English， they can not understand thoroughly nor answer fluently. I draw the conclusion that we should not only put emphasis on the papers， but speaking practice in our daily life. We all know that the basic function of language is communication. If our spoken English is not qualified， can we say that our English is excellent？ Thus， I practice both my spoken English and written English very hard in my free time and now， I would like to share with you some of my experience.

Firstly， raise interest of English. Its known that interest is the first step to get success and it can help a person to hold on doing something. With interest， we can do anything with relaxation and efficiency. My parents took me to an English class when I was very little. I remember that my teacher used to sing English songs to us and I became very interested in learning English. From then on I also started to learn simple English songs and watch English cartoons. English became a necessary part of my life. Without learning English， I even could feel lonely sometimes. This kind of interest was my first step on the way of learning English and in the following more than ten years， it never fell down. In the future， I will continue to hold on the interest and make more improvement in learning English.

Secondly， widen vocabulary. Words are the basic element to express the meaning of the conversation. In the very beginning， I regarded vocabulary as the foundation and remembered at least two pages of words one day. I still remember that one day， when my teacher asked me about airplane， I could not answer the question because I did not know the word ‘a(chǎn)irplane. That was an extremely embarrassing occasion and after that， I swore to myself that I would never let this matter happen again. I wanted to communicate with others without problems about vocabulary. Step by step， through my efforts， my vocabulary has been widened and I could talk with foreigners about many kinds of topics but not just simple ones. I can also express my thoughts and feelings very clearly to others because of my wide vocabulary. Even now I still continue to remember words everyday and I believe that by this single， simple but critical way， my English can be better and better.

Thirdly， join in various of activities to practice English. As for me， I like to join in many kinds of activities such as English corner， volunteering for English speakers， parties which foreigners attend and so on. When we are taking these activities， speaking English becomes a necessity for us to communicate. On these occasions， we will forget that we are in China because English is the only language we can say. When we are

‘ forced to say among so many people， of course we will say more than when we are in classrooms. Practice makes perfect. When we say English as much as Chinese， I believe that everyone can speak English as well as a native speaker. Even if these kinds of occasions are rare around us， they can be built by ourselves. We can call on our classmates to organize a small party on which nobody can say Chinese but only English.

Fourthly， take part in English competitions. We all know that competition is the most useful way to make a person become encouraged and put all of his efforts to do one thing. During the preparing process of a competition， I will try my best to show others the best edition. Even the show time is merely ten minutes， I will take more than two weeks or more to practice. After the competition， there are more things to learn. If I lose， I can know what I dont have and what I should learn from others； if I win， I can know what my advantages are and in the future I will develop them and be a more competitive competitor. So through competitions， no matter we lose or win， there are many opportunities to improve our English quickly.

Fifthly， practice listening. Some people may say that improving English is nothing about listening. Then I will strongly oppose them. Listening English is as important as speaking. If we dont listen well， how can we speak well？ In my free time， I often listen to some resources on the Internet to practice my ability of listening. I never listen to English in the study time or the time I should use to focus on one thing. I usually listen to English on the way home， during my traveling， when I am shopping and so on. At first I listened to the special English from VOA， after one month I thought my listening ability was improved and then I began to listen to the standard English. Of course listening to English songs is also a good way. Through listening， I can not only improve my listening， but also my vocabulary and grammar. Because there are numbers of words and sentences in the listening articles， I can learn them when I listen to them.

Sixhly， An English atmosphere is very important for an English learner. In English TV series and movies， most of the actors and actresses are native speakers. So we can learn their native pronunciation， the native usage of English which we can never learn from our textbooks， also we can know some of their traditions which is very useful for us to study a foreign language. Whats more， we know that TV series or movies are more interesting than study books， so in a relaxing way， the learning efficiency can be improved. Take myself as an example， I used to watch The Big Bang Theory which is a worldwide known TV series in America. I have learned a lot of native usages of English and my pronunciation became more standard.

Seventhly， do more translation. We have to say that Chinese has a large impact on the learning of English. We have to find out what the relation between the two languages is. One of the ways is translation. Through translation， I have found that there are so many different ways between the two languages to express exactly the same things. I learn these ways thoroughly and make clear of them. In this way， I not only understand more of the language English， but also know more about the two different thinking ways and cultures. It is really exciting and encouraging.

Of course there are more ways to improve English and these seven are the methods I want to share with you most. They are the methods that are concluded from my experience of learning spoken English. I hope that you can get some inspiration and benefits from them.

As the developing importance of learning English， more and more people are involved in the trend. We have to find the methods which suit us most. But methods are the outer elements， what is the most vital is our preserving to learn. Rome was built in one day. So is learning English. We should study hard everyday and never give up. Even we can not see the return at once， we can definitely get success in one day of the future. As young students， we have the energy and passion to improve our English. I believe that with the right methods and determination， we can get quick improvement in English.