Lots of students ask me what they can do to practise English at home. My best suggestion is read and listen to English as much you can, with materials you are interested in! That could be books, articles, films, series, Youtube videos, or podcasts. The more you are exposed to English, the more you will naturally learn.
I also have some more specific recommendations to help you with different skills. Click on the links to go to the skill you are interested in practising at home:
Reading
As I mentioned, the most important thing is to read things you are interested in, so it doesn’t feel like homework but like a fun activity.
If you feel that ‘real life’ English books and news articles are a bit advanced for you at the moment, you can try some of these easier materials, made especially for English learners:
– News articles: Engoo daily news. This website publishes many news articles every day. You can choose articles by level (intermediate-advanced) and by topic, so there is something for everyone! The articles are short, but help you learn new vocabulary and pronunciation.
– Graded readers. Graded readers are classic books that have been made easier for English learners. If you want your reading process to be easy and enjoyable, select a level below your current level. For example, if you have a B2 level, try reading books at B1 level. If you want to challenge yourself to learn new vocabulary and structures whilst reading, select books at your current level.
To find physical copies of graded readers in your country, just search Google for “graded readers adults English”. You can also download free (very short) graded ebooks here.
Writing
To practice writing, there are lots of different things you could try. Have a think about which of these options you would prefer:
– Writing a diary. This could be daily or weekly, and as well as writing about what you do, you could write about more complex thoughts and feelings.
– Writing me emails. You could try to write me an email every week about what you have been doing, or about any topic at all!
– Ask me for writing prompts. I can give you prompts based on the type of writing you want to practise (e.g. essays, emails, etc.).
In all of these cases, you can correct your writing with me in class to see how to improve.
Listening
It is a great idea to look for films, series, Youtube channels, TED talks, and podcasts that are interesting for you.
But if you feel these are a bit advanced for you at the moment, you can try podcasts and resources which are especially created for English learners:
– BBC Real Easy English. (Beginner level: A). This podcast has conversations about common topics (e.g. travel, food, jobs) and teaches you related topics. All podcasts have a transcript, so you can read and listen at the same time.
– BBC 6 minute English. (Intermediate level: B+) This podcast talks about a wide range of more advanced topics and teaches you lots of useful vocabulary. All podcasts have a transcript, so you can read and listen at the same time. They have a new episode every week.
– Voice of America podcasts. These podcasts read news articles in slow English. You can read and listen at the same time.
– British Council listening classes. In these mini-classes you listen to real-life listening situations, and do practise activities afterwards to check understanding and develop skills.
General speaking
Speaking is a little harder to practise alone as homework. But there are things you can do to practise! Here are some ideas:
– Thinking and speaking out loud. Talk to yourself in your head or out loud in English. When you aren’t sure of the right word or phrase, look it up later.
– Record and analyse. Record yourself talking on your phone and listen back. Listen for grammar or pronunciation mistakes, and look up any words or phrases you aren’t sure of. You could also try these exercises for more specific practice:
1) Diary exercise (easier). Each day, record yourself speaking about what you’ve done and thought about that day for 5 minutes. The first time you record, if you don’t know a word, just say it in your native language. Then, listen to your recording and look up the words and phrases you didn’t know. Next, record yourself talking about your day again. Repeat this process several times, until you feel happy with your performance.
2) Story-telling exercise (harder). Think of a story from your life that you know very well. Then, record yourself telling the story in 5 minutes. The first time you tell it, if you don’t know the word or phrase in English, say it in your native language. Listen to your recording, and look up how to say the parts that were difficult for you. Then, record yourself telling the story again. Repeat this process until you feel more comfortable telling your story. If you’d like me to check your story, you can then tell it to me in class!
You can also watch videos online to learn what to say in different situations in conversation. Some good websites to do this are:
–The British Council. In their speaking skills section you can watch real conversations, and do exercises to practise the vocabulary.
–My Youtube channel. My playlist “conversation skills” teaches you vocabulary to use in different situations in conversation.
Pronunciation
To improve pronunciation at home, you could do the speaking exercises above and listen out for pronunciation mistakes in your recording. You can also try the following:
– Listen to correct pronunciation of words online. If you are struggling to pronounce specific words, you can look up their pronunciation in Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary. You could also search them in Youglish, to see them pronounced in whole sentences.
– Listen and repeat exercises to practise difficult sounds. If you are working on specific sounds, ask me for some listen and repeat sentences to practise and record in your own time. For example, if you are working on the /w/ sound, I might send you sentences like ‘Where was William?’ to practice.
– Shadowing for more natural speech. Shadowing is where we talk along with a video or audio, and try to copy the pronunciation of the speaker. There are some steps you can follow to try shadowing:
- Select a video/audio with a script.
- Listen to the material and become familiar with it. Look up any vocabulary you don’t know. If you are working on pronunciation with me in class, look for the features we are studying and highlight them (e.g. specific sounds, connected speech, weak forms)
- Select a short section of the audio (around 1 minute) and try to speak along as closely as you can with it, copying how the speaker sounds. You won’t be able to talk at exactly the same time, so there will be a little delay.
- Repeat with the audio around 5 times.
Grammar
You can practise grammar at home in a few different ways:
– Using grammar books for extra exercises. English Grammar in Use is one of the most famous ones.
– Using online websites for extra exercises. Test English has lots of exercises for different grammar points.
– Ask me for more exercises. I can give you controlled exercises like gap fill exercises, or more creative exercises where you have to use grammar in a particular situation or to make sentences.
– Real examples. Try to look for real examples in your life where you could use different grammar points. You can check your ideas with me in class.
Vocabulary
There are a few ways to work on vocabulary. Here are some of my favourites:
– Notice words in real contexts. One of the best ways to learn new words is seeing them in real contexts, and to do this we need to read and listen as much as possible. Look out for the words you are learning, and pay attention to how they are used in sentences.
– Flashcards with spaced repetition. Flashcards can help you learn vocabulary more efficiently. Some flashcard apps use spaced repetition, meaning the app shows you words periodically to help your long-term memory. These apps are especially helpful to learn vocabulary. One good one is Anki app. This can be a good way to practise vocabulary on your phone when you have a few minutes with nothing to do (e.g. waiting for the bus, waiting for your dinner to cook).
– Making sentences. When you are using your vocabulary lists or flashcards, try to make a sentence with each word. This helps you learn it in more realistic contexts. If you aren’t sure about your sentences, ask me to check them in class!
Summary
Doing extra work at home is key to success in language learning, so I hope that these activities and resources are helpful for you! If you have any questions about how to use them, just ask me in class. Good luck with your learning!