Learning English as a foreign language is not a simple task. It takes many hours of study to first learn the English language grammar structure which is known as syntax and then to put it all together.

The first job is to learn the parts of speech:

• noun, pronouns, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, conjunctions

Once this is familiar the fun part of learning a new language can start. Putting all these pieces together will enable the student to speak and write fluent English. Vocabulary can be learnt over time so there is no need to try to cram as much as possible in at the start.

Learn a few new words every day and try to keep things simple until you gain confidence. You will soon be able to string together the parts of speech to make phrases and sentences.

Learning by yourself can be very hard work and sometimes gets a bit discouraging. This is where the idea of a private tutor comes in. This need not be expensive as tutors are available at very reasonable fees. Getting private tuition will avoid the very stilted, text book English that some students use.

It is a good idea to listen to spoken English and to work on correct pronunciation from the start.

A tutor can teach you things that you cannot learn from a book and a course of self study. Tutorials provide the opportunity to learn quickly and should enable you to hear pronunciation from a native English speaker. (Don’t learn your pronunciation for an English speaker with a very heavy non English accent.)

Speaking English Like A Native Speaker

It is much better to speak English little and often, rather than spending a long time cramming it all in once a week. If you can find a tutor who is willing to let you take twenty minute conversation lessons three times a week you will find it very useful and will quickly see improvement. Repetition is the best way to learn.

Where accents are concerned British English and US English used to be very different but words and phrases from both sides of the Atlantic seem to be crossing over. For example, ten years ago you would never have heard a British English speaker say ‘movie’ instead of ‘film’ but today the words are interchangeable.

So, the best way to learn English as a foreign, or a second language, is to learn a little at a time. Practise what you have learnt and then learn some more. Try to speak English everyday and you will be amazed at just how quickly you begin to understand, read, write and speak English.