Learn English from scratch on your own. Free English lessons online

There is no secret method to learn a language in a month. If someone promises you a miracle, don't believe it. But the process can be accelerated in order to overcome the barrier in six months and finally speak English. Life hacker and experts from the online English school Skyeng share simple tips.

1. Study online

Online classes help you learn quickly. You can be too lazy to drive to the other end of the city in bad weather, but the Internet is always at hand. Adapting your schedule to the course schedule, making agreements with teachers, wasting time on the road - all this gets boring and slows down the process. Choose online courses. What makes life easier increases motivation.

Many, choosing between a cozy evening at home and a long trip to courses, decide that they can live without English.

Rid yourself of reasons to miss classes - create a convenient personal schedule. At Skyeng, teachers work in all time zones, so you can study whenever you want, even in the middle of the night.

Online classes are also good because all materials, texts, videos, dictionaries are collected in one place: in the application or on the website. And homework is checked automatically as you complete it.

2. Study at your leisure

Don't be limited by lesson time. Learning a language is not just about doing exercises. You can improve your skill by listening to songs and podcasts or reading English-speaking bloggers.

Everyone knows how important it is to watch movies and TV series with English subtitles, but not everyone is aware that there are special educational applications for this. Skyeng online translators are linked to the app of the same name on your phone, so you can repeat new words at any time.

For example, if you install in the browser Google Chrome special extension, you can read any texts in English, and when you hover over a word or phrase, you can immediately see their translation. The same goes for subtitles for online cinemas. Each word individually can be translated directly as you watch. These words are added to your personal dictionary and sent to mobile app, where in free time they can be repeated and memorized.

Just imagine - approximately one in five inhabitants of planet Earth speaks English! At the moment, this is no longer a trend, not fashion or a feature. This international language communication, which can sometimes be called not only desirable, but simply a necessary skill even in everyday situations.

That is why it is not at all surprising that people continue to search for the most effective methods learn English on your own: study with tutors or choose to learn English via Skype. In addition, the choice often falls on an interesting, but far from the easiest path - independent study in English from scratch. Let's figure out what it is and what it is eaten with. Mkay?

First of all, you should understand that learning English on your own is not just a matter of desert island with a bunch of palm trees, on which, instead of coconuts, hang new words and grammar rules, and learning that requires you to independently plan, choose and control your activities. We hope that some of the following tips will help you find your fighting spirit and embark on a journey of new knowledge.

Motivation to learn English on your own

Is it possible to learn English on your own? The first step to success is clear goals. Do you want to feel like a fish out of water during your next vacation abroad? Is promotion impossible without good English? Parents will buy new iPhone for an A in half a year? Then get to work immediately! Don’t forget to include your goals and define the time frame for achieving them.

Summing up after 3 months of regular classes, and realizing how much new you have learned, you will have interest and a desire to move on.

Learning English from scratch?

So, you have come to the decision to learn English on your own. It's time to face the truth or, as they say in English, “face the truth” and determine your level of language proficiency. We usually distinguish the following categories:

• Beginner (basic);
• Elementary (initial);
• Pre-Intermediate (below average);
• Intermediate;
• Upper-Intermediate (above average);
• Advanced (free).

You can determine your level of English with us. This will allow you to analyze your strengths and weaknesses, and will also help you create the right training program in the future.

Self-paced language learning blocks

Now let's talk about the most interesting and difficult moment - organizing the work process and choosing materials that will become your indispensable assistants during training.

It is important to remember here that the tongue is like your favorite chair on which you drink coffee in the morning. It, like your seat, has its own “support points”, only these are not wooden legs, but the main sections of language learning:

• Reading (reading);
• Listening (listening);
• Grammar (grammar);
• Speaking (speaking).

You need to understand that only by successfully combining all these sections, your language proficiency will improve, and your English will reach a decent level. If you miss something or don’t pay enough attention to one section, the tongue (or, remembering the comparison, the chair) will wobble, or even fall apart. At the same time, remember that all your studying should be focused on improving your speaking skills, so don't try to devote all your study time to grammar exercises or writing articles.

A, B, C, D... We will learn to read in English!

Reading, perhaps, occupies one of the first steps on the pedestal of necessary language skills. If you start learning English from scratch, then the first thing you need to learn, in addition to the English alphabet, is reading.

Moreover, this is a great way to learn new information on your own, study words that interest you, and, of course, improve your pronunciation. A few tips for beginning readers:

• Read texts that you understand;
• Carefully practice the pronunciation of all words in the text (try reading aloud);
• Pay attention to the most Difficult words, write them down, repeat them several times;
• Try to tell yourself what the text is about, even if it’s just a few basic words and sentences at first;
• Practice difficult words and sounds. They can be found in online dictionaries by selecting the desired audio.

Listen and understand

One of the most difficult tasks is understanding speech by ear. And the point is not even that you may not understand some words or the peculiar accent of the interlocutor - it’s a matter of habit. In such cases, the brain is like a person who decides to go to the gym. Of course, it is more comfortable for such a person to continue to lie on the couch at home, just as you are more accustomed to listening to speech only in your native language. But you need to work! Therefore, we accustom ourselves to listen and hear English speech. For this we can use:

• Online radio;
• News and online speeches of famous people;
• Listening to podcasts (educational videos on topics that interest you), for example a topic about idioms ;
• Watching movies (possibly with subtitles - it all depends on your level).

Learning and understanding grammar

Grammar is the basis, the foundation of any language, so speaking without it will not be possible. Actually, grammar is like a new wardrobe from IKEA - once you assemble a strong case, your brain will begin to fill with new words, just as shelves are filled with your favorite books or flowers. Here it would be correct to adhere to the following tips:

You need to start with the basic rules - then take something new. Don't try to learn everything at once.

Do “drilling” - repeat the structure until it starts to bounce off the teeth. As they say, “Practice makes perfect” or “Repetition is the mother of learning!”
Immediately use grammar in speaking. Having learned a new structure, try to use it as often as possible in conversation - then it will not remain just lines in a notebook with your homework.

Speaking is not just one of the language skills, it is also one of our main goals.

The main rule is not to be afraid! Don't be afraid to forget a word or make a grammatical mistake - this will not lead to death penalty. In fact, this is exactly the case when silence is not golden. The following principles may be helpful to you:

• What I see is what I sing! (describe and think about everything you see around you in English);
• Repeat what you remember - even if it’s a couple of words from the song that’s playing on the radio in the car.
• Don't translate. Your thoughts from Russian to English. This not only takes a lot of time, but also does not encourage you to feel freer speaking a foreign language.
• Look for friends. This is where an interlocutor is worth his weight in gold! Try to practice your speaking wherever possible: in a hotel, in a cafe, in a store or with a neighbor on an airplane.

With the advent of the opportunity to learn English via Skype, there is also the opportunity to communicate with people from all over the world one-on-one or, for example, in language clubs.

Another interesting and useful resource may become interesting applications for gadgets with which modern man practically never comes apart. A “Polyglot” course has been developed for smartphones and tablets with the Android operating system, which includes videos and grammar lessons, as well as a program for learning English on your own from Lingualeo.

Finally, I would like to say that every person can achieve success in learning a language with the right and competent approach to their learning. And don’t forget that, in addition to the importance of language, it can also be very exciting.

Our team is always ready to help you achieve high results and make your language learning effective, fun and comfortable.

Big and friendly EnglishDom family

Knowledge of foreign languages ​​is considered by many to be an incredible talent and almost a gift from the gods. But every polyglot knows that it’s more about hard work and personal interest than about natural abilities, much less a miracle. Anyone can do this if they choose the right training method. We will share tips on how to learn English for beginners today.

In the material we will consider all the nuances of the educational process: from the motivational part to lesson plans and transition to the next level. With us you will be 100% able to learn English from scratch on your own!

In any business, the main thing is to take the first step. That is, it is not easy, for example, to spontaneously take 10 minutes and play learning English words on a smartphone or practice grammar for half an hour. It's about about purposefully starting to study English, that is, conducting regular classes, doing exercises, repeating the material covered, and so on. And here the problem arises: how to force yourself to do it?

The solution is simple - become sincerely interested in the English language. Setting goals will help develop interest in activities. Think about why you want to learn English. A variety of things can act as motivation, for example:

• Go on a trip;
• Make acquaintances with foreigners;
• Move to another country;
• Read books in the original;
• Watch movies without translation.

And even the most banal thing is a burning shame that everyone around you understands English at least a little, but you don’t yet. This state of affairs needs to be corrected, right? So let this be your goal!

The main point when defining a goal is to understand that it is 100% important and necessary for you.

And as an additional motivator, before taking English lessons for beginners, set yourself the desired reward for achieving a successful result. For example, every 5 lessons completed give you the right to an extraordinary trip to your favorite restaurant or the purchase of some nice little thing.

The main thing is that the reward should not be missing the next lesson, because... Under no circumstances should the regularity of the process be disrupted. As a last resort, it is possible to reschedule a lesson on a free day, but not completely cancel it.

Goal and rewards are effective mental tricks that are very important to use specifically for initial stage studying of English language. Thanks to them, after just a few lessons, a program will be formed in your subconscious that learning English is very useful and profitable. Well, in the future, when you begin to understand the linguistic culture and features of the language, on the basis of these partly selfish motives, a natural interest in further study will develop.

At what level should I start learning English?

Before you start learning English, you need to determine your level of knowledge.

It’s one thing if you have never encountered this language and have only now decided to choose a course to independently study the basics at home English speech. In this case, you completely learn English from scratch: starting with pronunciation of sounds, memorizing the alphabet, learning numbers, and so on. To master these skills, the Beginner level training program is used.

The situation is completely different if you have already covered some material in school lessons, university classes, or studied spoken English on your own. Then you are probably familiar with such basics of speech as:

• Sounds, letters and numbers;
• Personal pronouns;
• Uses of the verb tobe;
• Constructions This is/There are.

If this is indeed the case, then you have already moved from the beginner class to the second level of knowledge - Elementary (basic). With this level, you can learn English for beginners not from the very beginning, but from more complex topics, for example. Present Simple, degrees of comparison of adjectives, practice exercises on verb tenses, etc. But, if you are not confident in the quality of your knowledge, then it would be a good idea to repeat English from scratch.

How long does it take to master a basic English course?

We all learn English or another language in different ways. Some memorize vocabulary in 5 minutes, others quickly grasp the basics of grammar, and others have perfect pronunciation. Accordingly, for each student, some lessons are easy, while others are difficult and require more time.

The duration of the training course is also influenced by the chosen methodology. Classes with a teacher in a group usually last 3 months. Individual lessons can reduce this figure to two or even one month: this result is achieved through daily and long lessons. For self-learning, the time frame is completely blurred.

Thus, the time spent on learning English varies from person to person. On average, this period ranges from 3 to 6 months. You can speak specifically only if you know the curriculum and the student’s abilities. Our method, for example, offers beginners to master English from 0 on their own in about 4 months. Let's talk in more detail about this tutorial.

English for beginners - lesson plan for the entire course

This section presents the curriculum for the English language course for beginners. This is a step-by-step schedule with lesson topics in English for students Beginner levels and Elementary. The course lasts 4 months and ends with a transition to the next level of knowledge. If you plan to study the language on your own, then the material provided will be an excellent help in organizing classes.

General rules

Before we begin to study the plan, I would like to dwell on important points educational process. To obtain a positive result, you must follow the following rules.

1. Always speak English out loud . This moment is important not only as a study correct pronunciation, but also how psychological factor. Be sure to pronounce all letters, words and sentences out loud, and then you will “get used” to speaking English. Otherwise, there is a risk of never speaking English at all. But why teach him then?
2. Don’t skip “uncomfortable” topics. Yes, it happens that the material does not “go” at all, but this does not mean that you should abandon it. Nor does it mean that you need to understand it for 3 years until you become a “pro.” If you feel that the topic is difficult, then try to grasp at least its essence. The use of “inconvenient” construction in speech can be minimized, but you must know what it is about and why.
3. Be sure to repeat what you have learned. Repetition is included in the plan and is just as important as learning new material. Only through timely repetition is information retained in memory for a long time.
4. Keep your own grammar notebook. In the age of the Internet, many people prefer to learn the rules directly from the screen. But writing it out in your own hand is necessary, because this way the information passes through you and is better absorbed and remembered.
5. Do exercises in writing. Again, the more you write, the more familiar you become with a “foreign” language: you remember the spelling of words, the order in a sentence, and the construction of grammatical structures. In addition, writing helps you focus more on completing the task and avoid making unnecessary mistakes.

This is a kind of code for a beginner “Englishman” who learns the language on his own from scratch. In fact, there is nothing complicated about these points, and after a few lessons, doing them will already become a habit. At the same time, we note that neglecting at least one point has a negative impact on the effectiveness of training, and can reduce all efforts to nothing.

First month

The first English lessons for beginners are lessons of a more educational and playful nature. The emphasis is not on the amount of material, but on getting used to the new language, creating a positive atmosphere, and developing interest in classes. Therefore, this stage can be called an introductory course in learning English.

The following table contains the work plan for the first month of study. Classes must be conducted three times a week, and the duration of the lesson depends on the degree of perception of the material. Simply put, you analyze the topic until you can navigate it freely.

Let's sum up the intermediate results. In just a month of not the most intense work, you will learn to read, perceive English speech by ear, understand the meaning of popular phrases, and also compose your own sentences and questions. In addition, you will be familiar with numbers up to 100, articles, basic grammar English nouns and adjectives. Not enough anymore, right?

Second month

Now it's time to start the main work. In the second month of school, we actively learn grammar and try to speak English as much as possible.

Third month

We continue to master grammar and add more variety to our speech.

Fourth month

The final stage of the course “English for Beginners”. Here we tighten up all the shortcomings and finish mastering the grammatical minimum level.

Self-studying English is a rather labor-intensive but inexpensive way to master the language, which has its pros and cons. The main source of information in in this case you choose - it can be the Internet, educational games, an English language tutorial, a phrasebook, books (adapted or in the original), songs. There are many online services for beginners and intermediates.

Perhaps, but this type of training has its own characteristics that must be taken into account. Language acquisition includes 4 components: reading, writing, speaking (speaking) and listening (listening).

Reading

Reading- one of the types speech activity, a complex process of symbol decoding aimed at understanding text. One of the forms of linguistic communication between people using printed and handwritten texts. Reading can also be considered as a wonderful tool for mastering a language, because in texts there are many unfamiliar words and words already familiar to us. Some words are ambiguous and their meaning is easier to remember in context. All this allows you not only to increase your vocabulary, but also to repeat previously learned grammatical structures. In order to ensure that working on the text does not turn into an impossible task, it is very important to select the text in accordance with your language level.

Letter

Letter- this is one of the types of speech activity, symbolic fixation of speech using special symbols (letters, hieroglyphs, drawings). Mastery of written language occurs gradually. For practice in writing you can use the following forms of work:

• Rewriting text;
• Training dictations;
• Writing letters, essays.

Reading and writing are interconnected types of speech activity. Writing is a kind of encoding of information using symbols, and reading is the decoding of these symbols.

Oral speech

To master orally It is necessary to have skills in voicing expressions, skills in using lexical units and grammatical skills to correctly formulate sentences. In other words, in order to say something, you need to know the words required by a given situation, be able to pronounce them correctly and construct a sentence in accordance with the rules of the language. In addition to words, there are speech patterns, stable expressions that are often used in oral speech. Therefore, to master oral speech, you need not only to remember a certain number of individual words and expressions, but also to bring their use to automatism.

Listening to speech (listening)

Listening is the process of listening and understanding spoken expressions. The mechanism of this process includes:

• Perception of streams of sounds and recognition of words, sentences, paragraphs, etc. in them.
• Understanding the meaning of words, sentences, paragraphs. If you already have a certain speech experience, then this process is enhanced by predicting the content of what was said.

To understand English by ear, you need to listen as often as possible! You can communicate with other people in English (preferably with foreigners), talk on the phone, listen to music, watch videos, TV series.

Learning a foreign language not only develops memory and thinking, but also increases IQ level.

Where to start learning a language on your own?

When learning a foreign language on your own, your success will directly depend on the correctness of the chosen approach to learning.
It is necessary to adhere to the correct sequence of studying the material - from simple to complex. It is recommended to study topics in the following order:

• English alphabet (sounds and letters of the alphabet).
• Transcription.
• Reading rules.
• Vocabulary by topic (accumulation of vocabulary).
• Grammar.

Each of these components is important, so you cannot miss anything, because all these points are closely interrelated. Remember that without correct pronunciation it will be difficult to understand you. Even after learning the entire dictionary, you will not speak, because sentences are built according to certain rules, and to construct them correctly, you need at least basic knowledge of grammar, because speech is not just a set of words.

When studying on your own, it is very important to check the correctness of your pronunciation. This can be done using online dictionaries. Click on the "horn" to hear how the word is pronounced. For example, you can use the sites Lingvo.ru or Howjsay.com. If you are working on a text, then use Google translator to listen to the entire text.

In learning vocabulary (replenishing your vocabulary), you should also adhere to a certain order. Start learning vocabulary with simple and more commonly used words and expressions on a specific topic. To do this, you can use the Englishspeak.com service (100 lessons with vocabulary by topic and the opportunity to listen to it), the Studyfun.ru service (vocabulary by topic and the ability to listen to it), a phrasebook (be careful - transliteration ( English words in Russian letters) does not reveal the features English pronunciation!), self-teachers (their advantage is that in one lesson there are exercises on pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary for the lesson, texts for reading, conversational phrases by topic). News lovers can use the news portal Newsinlevels.com, where the presentation of information depends on your level of English. It is important that each news is accompanied by an audio recording.

Knowledge of grammar is no less important than vocabulary. If you really want to, you can learn any rule, but in order for working on the rule not to seem overwhelmingly difficult, your task is not to learn (memorize) the rule, but to understand it. If this rule is related to the use of tenses, passive voice, conditional sentences etc., understand the rule in your “native” language. For example, change the same sentence so that it corresponds to the tense forms of the English language, but compose the sentence in Russian (you can make changes). Then in English:

• In the summer we love to sunbathe on the beach (in general we love it - the present simple tense).
• Now we are sunbathing on the beach - (present continuous tense).
• - You look like boiled crayfish! - Of course, I was on the beach all day! (looks like a crayfish now because I was on the beach – simple perfect tense).
• We have been sunbathing on the beach since three o'clock (we have been sunbathing for 3 hours and are still going on - present perfect continuous tense).
• When we were little, we loved sunbathing on the beach (past simple tense).
• Yesterday we sunbathed all day (past continuous tense).
• When he came to us, we were already on the beach (two actions in the past, one of which happened earlier - past perfect tense).
• We sunbathed on the beach all day until he came! (the action lasted until a certain point in the past).
• Tomorrow we'll go to the beach! (future simple tense).
• And tomorrow at the same time we will already be sunbathing! (action in the future that will take some time - future continuous tense).
• In a week I will definitely finish writing my essay about summer! (the essay will be written at a certain moment in the future - future perfect tense).
• I will play volleyball on the beach until my parents follow me! (an action that will last in the future until a certain moment - future perfect continuous tense).

A good start doesn't always guarantee happy end, therefore, you need to approach the organization of independent classes responsibly. Remember that you need this first of all, and all control over the progress of the enterprise and its results rests with you!

1. Exercise regularly.
2. Depending on the results you want to achieve and the time frame for achieving them, set for yourself a mandatory duration of classes (for example, at least an hour and at least 3 times a week).
3. Everyone’s work speed is different, so you set the ideal learning rhythm for yourself (for example, 30 minutes a day).
4. Choose tasks of your level to avoid disappointment in yourself and your abilities. If you already have some knowledge, you can rewrite short texts, translate texts or articles, find someone to talk to (on the Internet or real life) to practice skills colloquial speech(or written, for example pen pal).
5. All acquired knowledge should be immediately applied in practice, while trying to use all words and grammatical structures in oral and written speech.
6. Learning a foreign language is mostly cramming, which is hated by many, but you can’t do without it (for example, learning vocabulary)! But even in cramming you can find logic - for example, some words are international, so memorizing them based on the similarity of their sounds in your native language will facilitate the process of memorizing them.
7. Repetitio est mater studiorum (Repetition is the mother of learning). Be sure to take the time to review the material you’ve covered until it’s stuck in your head... forever. You will not be able to achieve the desired result by saving time on repetition. After all, repetition is one of the main conditions for memorizing and mastering material. Repetition specifically affects long-term memory, helping to retain information for a long time. Correct repetition of learned material improves its retention and facilitates its subsequent reproduction.

What can interfere with independent language learning?

« False" motivation, or lack of proper motivation. Ask yourself the question “Why am I learning a language?” If the answer is for yourself, it’s fashionable, to get a job, then you are unlikely to achieve significant results. Why? Because you may (and most likely) won’t need it for yourself, and learning a language is a labor-intensive process; it’s fashionable – fashion changes, and so do languages. To get a job, the employer needs a qualified worker now, and not necessarily in you, when you learn the language.

Formulate a specific goal, preferably of a practical nature, even if a trip abroad is not in the cards in the near future. For example: learning a language develops my intellectual abilities, by learning a language I develop my personal and communication skills, I can expand access to the information I need, because there is more of it in English; I want to watch movies and TV series in English, I want to communicate with foreigners, etc.

Typical beginner mistakes are:

Kato Lomb (8 February 1909 – 9 June 2003)- a famous Hungarian translator and writer who has worked as a simultaneous interpreter since the 1950s.

She spoke, read and wrote fluently in Hungarian, Russian, English, French, and German. She could express herself and understand Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, and Polish. With a dictionary I read in Bulgarian, Danish, Romanian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Latin, Polish languages. She is a physicist and chemist by education, but already in her youth she was interested in languages, which she studied on her own.

Kato Lomb outlined her method of learning foreign languages ​​in the book "How I learn languages".

Kato Lomb summarized her approach to learning languages ​​in the 10 Commandments:

1. 1. Practice your language daily. At least 10 minutes, even if there is no time at all. It is especially good to exercise in the morning.
   2. If the desire to study weakens too quickly, do not “force” it, but do not give up studying either. Come up with some other form: put down the book and listen to the radio, leave the textbook exercises and look through the dictionary, etc.
   3. Never cram, never memorize anything in isolation from context.
   4. Write out of turn and memorize all the “ready-made phrases” that can be used in maximum quantity cases.
   5. Try to mentally translate everything you can: a flashing advertising sign, an inscription on a poster, snatches of conversations you accidentally overheard. This is a good exercise to keep your linguistic thinking in constant tone.
   6. It is worth learning firmly only what is absolutely correct. Do not re-read your own uncorrected exercises: when reading repeatedly, the text is involuntarily remembered with all possible errors. If you study alone, then learn only the ones you know are correct.
   7. Write down and remember ready-made phrases and idiomatic expressions in the first person, singular. For example: “I am only pulling your leg” (I’m just teasing you).
   8. A foreign language is a fortress that needs to be stormed from all sides at the same time: by reading newspapers, listening to the radio, watching undubbed films, attending lectures in a foreign language, working through a textbook, correspondence, meetings and conversations with friends who are native speakers.
   9. Don’t be afraid to speak, don’t be afraid of possible mistakes, but ask them to be corrected. And most importantly, don’t be upset or offended if they really start correcting you.
   10. Be firmly confident that you will achieve your goal no matter what, that you have an unbending will and extraordinary abilities to languages. And if you have already lost faith in the existence of such things - (and rightly so!) - then think that you are simply enough clever man to master such little things as foreign language. And if the material still resists and your mood drops, then scold the textbooks - and rightly so, because there are no perfect textbooks! - dictionaries - and this is true, because comprehensive dictionaries do not exist - at worst, the language itself, because all languages ​​are difficult, and the most difficult of all is your native one. And things will work out.