It is often said that English is a beautiful language and it is quite true. Since the 16th century, English has been the language of diplomacy and business. Today, it is spoken by people around the world – even those who don’t speak English as a first language – and it continues to grow in popularity every year.
Despite its widespread use and admiration, English isn’t easy to learn. If you’re looking for an international language to replace Spanish or French in your travel bag, but you don’t know where to start, this guide will tell you all about English writing and how to learn it. You’ll find out what kind of English you need to know, which English blogs and articles you should read, and much more.
Step 1: Learn The Essentials
As with any other language, learning the basics is the key to learning English writing. Knowing how to write a simple sentence will help you build your English vocabulary, and phrasing, capitalization, and other fundamentals will help you form proper sentences and write cohesive paragraphs. You should learn how to write a letter, how to write an email, how to write a simple report, and so on.
To get started, look for a simple beginner’s English textbook. Avoid anything too difficult; you’ll just frustrate yourself. Besides, nothing is more discouraging than trying to learn a language you haven’t even begun yet.
Step 2: Read The Right Textbooks
When learning a new language, it’s important to seek out the right sources. With English, this mainly means textbooks. Like any other language, English has its roots in common speech, and thus it doesn’t always fit neatly into a textbook. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of handy analogies, examples, and drills that will make learning English much easier. The best English textbooks will combine these linguistic features with a basic structure that you can follow.
In addition to proper textbooks, you’ll also need to read the right blogs and articles. Just like with any other language, there are plenty of people who will claim to know English and who will gladly share their knowledge. But, just like with any other language, it’s important to know when these people are speaking from experience and when they’re just pulling things out of their heads. Do a little research and make sure you’re learning from a reliable source.
Step 3: Start A Learning Journal
If you’re a student, the best way to learn is by doing. Similar to how you would do in any other subject, the best way to learn English is by putting into practice what you’ve learned. This means that, just like with any other subject, your best bet for learning English is through the medium of writing. Even if English isn’t your native tongue, you can still benefit from writing about your experiences in order to improve your vocabulary and increase your fluency. If you want to learn how to write, there are plenty of free online writing courses available to help you get started. But, if you prefer to learn by doing, there are plenty of writing journals you can buy. Just make sure that the journal you buy is big enough to facilitate effective writing and has an enough writing surface so that you can get the job done. And don’t worry – no one will ever know that you’re not writing in English. You can always write in English and then simply type your notes into your laptop or desktop computer for future reference.
Step 4: Practice In A Setting That Is Meaningful To You
If possible, it’s best to learn a language while making use of the language you’ve learned. This is called “in context”. When you’re reading a textbook about English, it’s easy to forget what you’ve learned because there’s no practical application. But, if you’re reading an article about English while cooking dinner, you’ll find that you remember the vocabulary words a lot more easily because there’s a ‘meaningful application’ connected to what you’re reading.
To this end, the best thing you can do for yourself is to find a job that encourages you to learn English. If you’re a business person, you’ll be using English daily – it’s the language of commerce. Just think of the words and phrases you’ll need in your daily routine and you’ll find that learning English will make you that much more efficient. In this case, efficiency means being able to get your job done more quickly and accurately. This will give you a practical reason to learn English – in the meantime, you’ll be able to put what you’ve learned to use.
Step 5: Keep Your Language Learning In Context
Since English was first spoken in England over 500 years ago, the language has always been closely associated with its native country. But, in modern times, this association has taken on a new meaning. Rather than being an indicator of your nationality, learning English can now be considered a path to success globally.
Just like any other language, English exhibits dialectal differences across countries. For example, there is no equivalent to the verb “to be” in English. Rather than using “to be” in place of the verb “to have”, as in “I have a house,” an English speaker in Canada would say, “My house is beautiful.” This is called the ‘absence of the auxiliary verb’.
As you would in any other subject, practice making these differences and noticing when you use them throughout your day-to-day life. This will help you identify when you are using correct English and when you need to rephrase something. It is also a good idea to learn how to spell and pronounce words correctly. In particular, if you’re not familiar with the phonetics of a language, it can be difficult to know how a word is supposed to be spelled. Spelling is case sensitive, so if you aren’t sure how to spell a word, look it up!
Step 6: Stay Learning
Now that you have a good foundation of English, it’s time to build on this knowledge. Just as there are plenty of easy ways for you to start learning English, there are also plenty of ways for you to continue your education. Many universities now offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in English. Just remember to continue educating yourself about English and stay engaged!