English with pronunciation for beginners on their own. Conversational English for Beginners from Scratch Free – How to Learn

Isn't it true that sometimes you feel envious of people who can communicate in English? These lucky ones can easily establish contact with people in any country, be the first to watch new movies that have not yet been translated, understand the meaning of popular songs, and much, much more. What prevents you personally from joining their ranks? After all, today start studying on the Internet in English making your own from scratch couldn't be easier! Don't believe me? This article will dispel all your doubts that it is quite possible to learn English at home yourself.

Yes, everyone can master English. And the various myths about genius, gifts of the gods and innate abilities for languages ​​have nothing to do with it. It's all about setting the end goal. It is necessary to clearly understand why you are starting and carrying out this educational process. The first question you should have is not how to learn English on your own at home, but why do I need to learn English?

Reply to this main question everyone has their own. We can only give a little guidance and guide you to find your own goal. So, you need to learn English in order to:

  1. Feel like you belong anywhere in the world .

No matter what country you visit, there will definitely be people there who speak English. This way, you will ensure confidence in your position when staying abroad.

  1. Study at prestigious colleges and universities .

High-quality training in the profession is the key to a successful career. If you want to lay a solid foundation for your adult life, then an international diploma is exactly what you need.

  1. Build a career in large international corporations .

A prestigious job requires many skills, including knowledge of foreign languages. With English, you will not be afraid of a business trip even to the most remote branch of the company.

  1. Expand your business opportunities .

The international market is incomparably wider than the domestic one, even if you live in the most large country peace. In turn, communication with foreign partners and clients is unthinkable without knowledge of business English.

  1. Get to know the way of life in other countries .

Interest in the traditions and customs of other peoples is inherent in many of us. With the help of English you can not only learn interesting information from foreign sources, but also to communicate directly with local residents.

  1. Make foreign acquaintances .

There are never too many friends, but having reliable connections in different points peace is not only pleasant, but also useful. Communication with interesting interlocutors helps to practice spoken English and get to know the mentality of the country.

  1. Join international experience and an unlimited amount of information.

The most valuable thing in the world is information. And the English language opens the door to one of the world's most numerous repositories of historical and modern materials. With English you can keep your finger on the pulse of the whole world!

Here are just a few obvious facts that prove that learning English is necessary. Try to deduce your practical goal from these rather streamlined formulations. The simpler it is, the better, because initially unattainable peaks kill faith in the success of the entire event.

Let the goal at first be minimal - to watch and understand the episode of your favorite film in the original. This is not difficult to achieve, but the achieved result will give you confidence in your abilities and awaken passion for further study. And it’s never too late to set a new serious goal, isn’t it?

How to start learning English on your own from scratch?

And only after your goal is defined, clear and understandable, is it time to ask the question: how to start learning English from scratch on your own? Here we will not stand aside either and will tell you the main starting points for beginners.

Getting ready to study

Where to begin training sessions? First of all, you need to create an atmosphere conducive to studying and plan your study schedule.

Select the necessary study guides, stock up on office supplies and allocate free time in your routine. The issue of time must be taken very seriously. It is clear that we are not studying at school, and cannot study English at home at exactly the same time. What is important to us is not the accuracy of the beginning of the lesson, but the regularity of classes.

The lesson schedule is selected individually. If it is convenient for you to spend 2 hours studying, then studying 3 times a week is enough. If you can’t devote so much time to self-study, then you will have to study for at least 30 minutes, but every day. This time is enough to learn a few new words or remember a couple of grammar rules.

During classes, you should not allow yourself to be distracted. Limit your use of the Internet and telephone unless required by the educational process. Also, do not listen to music and entertainment programs while writing down theoretical lesson material. Otherwise, your attention will be scattered and such activities will hardly be of any use. Don't forget about your goal and try not to waste the time allocated for studying.

Learning the basics

So, the goal has been set, the atmosphere has been created, and the mood for studying is combative. What's next?

If we learn English from scratch, i.e. Since we have never encountered it before, we will turn to the very basics: the alphabet, sounds, transcription, counting and reading rules. Typically these simple themes do not create difficulties for students. But here lies the catch, because... You always want to skim through easy lessons or skip them altogether.

Don't be led by laziness and momentary desires. Later it turns out that you missed it, didn’t understand it, didn’t remember it, and as a result, every lesson will turn into an endless jumping from old theories to new material. It is better to honestly and responsibly go through the initial stages of English lessons from scratch, laying a solid foundation for subsequent knowledge.

Gaining an active vocabulary

When we have already learned the first basics of a foreign language, many people inevitably have a question: how to quickly learn English? If there are no obvious prerequisites for this (for example, an urgent trip), then such a statement of the problem is nothing more than a manifestation of laziness.

Think about how many years it takes a child to master his or her native speech tolerably? Practically, more than a decade! And we want to learn a foreign language in our country in a couple of months. It just doesn't happen that way. Therefore, be patient and get used to gradually improving your English skills.

So, the next stage is active vocabulary acquisition. We recommend working either with thematic selections of words, or trying to remember small phrases and set phrases. Firstly, this way you will master a larger volume of vocabulary, and secondly, your speaking and grammar skills will simultaneously improve.

By the way, developing the skill of speaking a foreign language is most important factor successful study. And the more a person remembers accompanying words, connectives, phrases and phrases, the easier it is for him to start constructing entire sentences. Without the ability to speak, knowledge of a language will become a meaningless achievement, and soon the memorized words and rules will simply be erased from memory.

As an additional point, we emphasize that additional, various Internet platforms and mobile applications. Their advantage is that they allow you to quickly become familiar with the spelling and pronunciation of new words, and also ensure that the material is repeated on time and is not forgotten.

But as self-help interactive applications have too many disadvantages:

  • small number of words;
  • learning without context;
  • too frequent repetitions;
  • paid features;
  • the ability to answer at random.

And if you can somehow put up with the first points, then the last line on the list causes irreparable damage to the educational process. Following the lead of laziness, we begin to mechanically poke at the button we remember, without even comparing the correct answer with the question. As a result, our learning English on your own Houses from scratch turns into an ordinary guessing game, and classes end before they even begin.

Getting to know grammar

In parallel with learning new words, it is necessary to become familiar with the grammatical component of the language. And here a new question arises: how to learn to work with grammar correctly?

1) It is necessary to choose an explanation of the theoretical material that will become easily understandable and accessible to you. It’s a good option to combine material from several manuals or articles on the topic - this way you will get the most complete picture of a given grammatical point.

2) Keep a folder with tabular material to help you learn English. At first, these tables will be a good cheat sheet, but with frequent practice, you won’t even notice how you remember most of the information presented in them.

3) Practice is the only way to learn English from scratch. It doesn’t matter whether you study at home or sign up for group courses. Each learned rule must be reinforced with practical exercises. Well-mastered material can be consolidated with online tests, and it is better to work through complex theory thoroughly by solving several exercises of various types.

The combination of all these stages is a complete answer to the question of how to learn English at home. Yes, this matter is not so simple, but this is how everyone who speaks English fluently today learned. In addition, if you choose the right teaching method, classes can easily be turned from a boring chore into a pleasant pleasure.

We try different methods and add variety to the educational process

Beginning In our search for an effective method of learning English from scratch, we come across many options. Let's list some of them.

Method Level of training Efficiency
Listening to audio recordings Beginner, intermediate Helps to learn vocabulary, practice correct pronunciation, perceive English speech aurally.

To make the task more challenging, listen to stories and audio books.

Reading English texts Beginner, intermediate Practicing reading skills, learning new vocabulary.

For beginners, it is better to use adapted literature with parallel Russian translation.
For intermediate-level students, reading texts in the original is useful for deepening their understanding of the language environment.

Working with cards Elementary Working on new vocabulary, learning irregular verbs in English.

It is better to compose cards yourself, because... When writing words by hand, the effect of “mechanical” memory is triggered.

Watching films Medium, high Getting to know spoken language, developing new vocabulary, improving listening comprehension, correcting pronunciation.

For a successful result, before turning to this method, you should lay a solid lexical and grammatical foundation. Therefore, it is recommended only for intermediate and advanced students.

Spoken communication All levels Communication with a native speaker – The best way learn quickly colloquial speech. It is recommended to start from the very first lessons: increase the level of knowledge and at the same time improve your speaking skills.
Artificial recreation of the language environment All levels Ability to use a foreign language as if it were your own.

Try to express your thoughts in English more often. Keeping daily records of your impressions of the past day helps with this.

We hope that the above arguments have dispelled skepticism about whether it is possible to pick up and learn English on your own. Everything is achievable - the main thing is to get together and start. And we have already told you how to set yourself in the right mood. Good luck in learning and improving English!

IN modern world the importance of knowing English is undeniable, so everyone strives to master this language larger number of people. At the same time, many beginners who have never studied English before are confused by the variety of methods and textbooks. In this article we will tell you which English textbook to choose, how to maintain motivation and organize the learning process, what to pay special attention to so that your knowledge is confident and your skills are brought to automaticity.

There is no such thing as zero!

It is not entirely legitimate to talk about zero knowledge of English, because the Russian language has countless borrowings and related words, understandable to everyone. For example, the words “information”, “radio”, “music”, “sister”, “bank” and others will be intuitively familiar to you. This means that a certain amount of foreign vocabulary will be given to you without the slightest effort. Not so scary anymore, right?

How to stay motivated?

Mastering a foreign language from scratch is not an easy task. After a couple of lessons, you may feel like this iceberg of rules and exceptions will never give in to you. Think about those who started out just like you and have reached an advanced level. You can do this too, believe in yourself! Passion for the subject is your key to success. Some people need English for work, others for travel, and others for self-improvement. Everyone has their own incentives, but it’s best if there are several of them at once.

Who to study with?

Nowadays, learning English from scratch is possible in many options:

  • individual lessons with a teacher;
  • group classes;
  • training via Skype;
  • independent study.

Lessons with a teacher will be the most effective. Individually or with a group (5-7 people) you will go through required material at the optimal pace. It is important to find a qualified teacher with whom you can enjoy learning. Believe me, the teacher’s enthusiasm and love for English will certainly inspire you to conquer the peak called “English”.

If you choose group training, make sure the group is not too large. Otherwise, the teacher simply will not be able to pay sufficient attention to each “student”. English classes in groups have one important advantage - a person is, as they say, among his own people, the same beginners as himself. Making progress in a friendly atmosphere is much easier, especially since an experienced teacher will support the slightly playful direction of the lessons.

Self-learning English from scratch

Those who, for one reason or another, have chosen the path of self-education will have a more difficult time. You constantly need to stimulate interest, not give up and not be lazy. And the hardest thing is to start...

Where to start preparing?

1. Selection of methodology:

Nowadays, there are many methods for learning English from scratch. Choose the one that suits you and with which you will be pleased to work.

2. Selection teaching aids:

Level zero will not allow you to immediately take up foreign textbooks, so acquire publications by proven domestic authors. For example, Golitsinsky or Bonk will do. Later, it is worth turning to well-known British publications: Headway, Hotline, True to Life, Language in Use, Blueprint.

A good manual boasts a sufficient amount of theory and practical exercises, equally developing reading, writing and speaking skills. When buying a textbook, make sure that its structure meets your requirements: vocabulary, grammar, topics. The rules should be presented clearly and informatively, with colorful illustrations, additional tables, etc. give important advantage in front of boring black and white publications.

3. Choosing the time for classes and their duration:

It is best to study English at the same time: if you are a morning person, devote morning hours to studying; Owls learn better in the evening.

To effectively learn a foreign language, you must study every day - you can afford no more than one day off per week! The optimal duration of one “lesson” is 60-90 minutes, and you can rest for 5-10 minutes in the middle of the lesson.

4. Comfortable conditions for classes:

Provide yourself with maximum comfort during classes: a cozy environment, a pleasant background, and the absence of external irritants. All this will help you abstract from reality and completely immerse yourself in the world of language.

5. Don't overdo it!

Once you have found the optimal pace for mastering new topics, stick to it and do not try to cover several complex sections at once. Over time you will achieve more intensive study, but at initial stage It is not advisable to rush.

6. Constantly review the material covered:

Regular repetition is the key to consolidating knowledge and improving skills. Even if you have studied very little so far, practice your knowledge every free minute - in transport, during morning exercises, at lunch break, before bed, etc. Try to talk to yourself, pronouncing words, constructions, sentences out loud or silently. If possible, do not hesitate to talk with someone who speaks English. Once you have mastered the basics, find a pen pal who is a native speaker.

How to learn English on your own?

The English language has a clearly consistent structure, and you should start learning this system from the basics. The first thing you need to learn is the alphabet and pronunciation. Without knowing the alphabet, you won’t be able to write or read, and distorted pronunciation can completely change the meaning of a statement. Don’t neglect your oral speech training, because to become fluent in spoken English you need to practice as often as possible.

Reading

Undoubtedly, first you will have to read a lot: rules, examples and simple texts. Reading grammatically correct sentences gives excellent results - vocabulary and grammatical structures are memorized. Visual perception- the main source of new information, and regular reading of English texts is necessary at any stage of language learning.

Listening

When learning English from scratch, understanding text through listening may seem impossible. It's actually a great reading aid. Sound accompaniment to tasks will help you find out how to pronounce a particular sound or word. By following the text with your eyes and at the same time perceiving it by ear, you can kill two birds with one stone. Gradually expanding the boundaries of your knowledge, try closing the textbook and listening to the text again. At first you will understand only some words, and then sentences. This is the only way to learn listening, which will still play a significant role in learning.

Listening to English-language songs and watching films, including those with subtitles, keep a beginner in good shape and increase motivation, unobtrusively immersing a person in an authentic atmosphere. It will be very useful to watch your favorite film in the original, which you know almost by heart in Russian. A familiar plot will make it easier for you to understand the characters’ lines in English, and you will also be able to see a lively and modern, rather than purely bookish language.

Letter

Any new material must be worked out in writing! With all the convenience of modern computer programs that offer to insert a suitable word instead of a blank, they are not suitable for those who have just started learning English from scratch. The method of writing in a regular notebook is more effective: performing written exercises allows you to hone your knowledge, bringing it to automatism. First, you will learn to correctly express thoughts on paper and only after that you will be able to confidently use them in speech.

Speaking

Oral practice is an integral part of learning a foreign language. The ability to read and translate does not mean being able to speak English fluently. Beautiful and fluent speech is the dream of any beginner, but in order to fulfill it, you need to practice constantly. If you don’t have an “experimental” interlocutor, train on yourself! For example, talk to yourself in front of the mirror, try to tell in as much detail as possible how your day went. When going through a new topic, invent a new name, profession and past for yourself - create a fictional character. This kind of gameplay will provide you with the variety you need for oral topics.

You can achieve even greater success by combining reading or listening with speaking. After you read the text or listen to the audio recording, try to retell the content out loud (or, alternatively, in writing). Such a presentation will help train memory and thinking, teach you to retell in your own words, and therefore speak English fluently.

Vocabulary

Learning foreign vocabulary begins with the simplest and most frequently used words:

  • nouns (e.g. a house, a man, an apple);
  • adjectives (eg big, great, good);
  • verbs (e.g. to do, to be, to get);
  • pronouns (eg, I, he, her);
  • numerals (e.g. one, ten, the fifth).

Mindless cramming is not suitable for those who really want to know English. Undoubtedly, international words are remembered the fastest, and the rest are best combined with already familiar lexical units. For example, "a big dog", "an interesting film". It is better to remember stable expressions in their entirety, for example, “to make a mistake”, “to do one’s best”.

When memorizing lexical units, you need to pay special attention not only to their meaning, but also to their pronunciation. That is why, at the initial stage of learning English, it is important to learn how to correctly interpret the transcription of a word and firmly grasp the rules of pronunciation of certain letter combinations, for example, “th”, “ng”. Also, set aside a separate lesson to study the features of open and closed syllable, and you will save a lot of time constantly looking at dictionary transcriptions.

Grammar

Knowledge of the set of grammatical rules of the English language is perhaps even a little more essential than a wealth of vocabulary. If you can easily get away with not knowing a certain word, then the inability to use tenses and constructions will instantly make you look like a layman.

You need to start studying English grammar with the order of words in a sentence, because the correctness and meaning of the statement depends on it. Then you can move on to mastering the tenses of the Simple/Indefinite group (Present, Past, Future). The next sections will be Continuous/Progressive and Perfect tenses. Important elements your knowledge will become the constructions “to be going to” and numerous modal verbs(for example, "must", "have to", "can").

English from scratch For some it comes faster and easier, for others a little slower and with more effort. However, with motivation and quality teaching aids, anyone can master English. At the initial stage, it is especially important to pay attention to all aspects of the language as a whole. An integrated approach is the key to successful study and acquisition of solid knowledge and skills.

Nowadays, ignorance of the English language is turning into a disadvantage that can poison life. Fortunately, fixing it is not that difficult.

Why is it necessary to know English?

Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky wrote that until 1917, bilingualism was the norm for an educated Russian person. Alas, the social cataclysms of the twentieth century led to the fact that by the beginning of the third millennium only a few could boast of knowing foreign languages. Fortunately, awareness of the deep depravity of this practice has nevertheless come, and at the moment the percentage of people who speak at least English is steadily growing. This is largely due to positive changes in the education system - if previously English was ranked at the level of labor and physical education, now it is one of the main subjects in the school curriculum.

All this means that in the near future a huge number of specialists will enter the market who will not only be young and ambitious, but will also have an excellent command of the language of Shakespeare. Naturally, this will make their resume especially attractive to employers. Experts say that in the near future it will be impossible in principle to get an adequate place without knowing English. This is probably why the sacramental questions “How to learn English in a month?” are increasingly being typed into Internet search engines. And

If you are still not comfortable with “English”, it’s time to close this gap. Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities these days.

How to do it?

If you are a schoolboy or student, then everything is simple - you just need to gather your willpower and prepare harder for classes. If you have missed too much and cannot understand what the teacher is talking about with such interest, contact him for
individual consultation. Schools and universities are still full of enthusiasts who will happily answer your questions at odd hours, and for free.

If the days of your youth have already passed, it is worth considering the option of courses. There are a huge number of options - for every pocket and any level of training. Somewhere they teach English from scratch, somewhere they purposefully prepare for exams to obtain
certificate or work visa, somewhere they pay primary attention to specialized vocabulary - for example, English courses for IT specialists are now gaining popularity.

How to combine this with work?

As a rule, companies offer a variety of training formats - you can work individually (this will cost more), or in large groups. The second option will be cheaper, and in addition, it will be easier to practice speaking skills in a group. On the other hand, if there are more than 5-6 people in the group, you will rarely speak, and there is also a high probability that there will be an obvious outsider in the group, because of which the teacher will have to spend more time explaining trivial things.

Most companies are ready to adapt to your schedule - there are weekend groups, there are "early" groups, there are "evening" groups.

Is it possible to learn English at home?

Despite a large number of offers, not everyone goes to the courses. Some people lack the motivation to do this, others are put off by the price, and others are too embarrassed to expose their lack of knowledge of English to the public.

If you fall into any of these categories, don't despair. Of course, you can learn English on your own. Of course, this option has disadvantages, but there are also many advantages. Firstly, you will solve the problem with "English" completely
free of charge, secondly, you will be able to study according to the most flexible schedule.

There are many examples of how people went from zero to B1 in just a few months - the only question is perseverance, desire and willingness to regularly devote the necessary time to learning the language.

Where to start learning English on your own?

The first important step is to understand that “on your own” does not mean “alone.” The main thing in learning a new language is systematicity. There is always a risk of spending
time for unnecessary things, so at least at the very beginning it is advisable to get advice from a person you trust - professional teacher or just a friend who knows the language very well. It’s even better if there are several such people. They will suggest literature, websites and what words to learn in English.

Once you've collected your recommendations, you can begin to develop a clear plan. There is nothing more useless in the world than taking on a global project without a clear idea of ​​​​how to implement it. Learning English is just such a global project. Practice shows that people who set such vague goals as “Learn English in a month... or more” rarely achieve success. Much more often, goals are achieved by those who initially divide a large task into several smaller tasks and methodically solve them, smoothly moving from easy to more complex ones.

For example, for the first month you can set yourself the task “Learn 800 words and understand the structure of the verb.”

It is very important to immediately choose for yourself some basic way of learning the language. The options here are, by and large, limited to a textbook or the Internet.

In both cases, it is critical to find the source of information that best suits your needs. There are hundreds of textbooks in bookstores, millions of websites on the Internet, but for some reason not everyone still speaks English. This means that not all of these textbooks and sites are suitable for solving such a complex problem. Meanwhile, there are really high-quality manuals, but finding them is not always easy - that’s why we recommended starting language learning with a consultation. There are many ways to learn English, and a person who teaches the language professionally will probably be able to tell you exactly which one will be most suitable for you.

Having decided on the leading method and drawn up a schedule, start working. At the same time, always remember that a foreign language is akin to a beloved girl who does not forgive betrayal. If you relax and give up working on the language for one or two days, your chances of overall success will drop. The work must be systematic and targeted. You can achieve your goal only if you regularly devote 1-2 hours to the language.

Where can I find time?

Let us immediately anticipate the traditional cry “Where can we get the time?!” Believe me, you have it - just think about how much you spend every day aimlessly surfing the Internet, browsing social networks or talking with colleagues. All this can be replaced with additional English exercises.

On the way to work and back, it’s also not necessarily sad to look out the window - after all, you can have fun looking at your textbook! Or on your phone screen - if this option is closer to you, then it’s worth taking a closer look at the impressive market of applications for language learners. There are many options there - from simple programs in the spirit of “We give you the word, you translate for us,” to full-fledged educational platforms “How to learn English in a month.”

By the way, most of these programs are absolutely free.

Once again about the benefits of reading

Few people can boast of loving monotonous work. As a rule, we are all much more productive by regularly changing our activities. This fully applies to learning a foreign language. Yes, you should have some basic way of working in your stash, but it just needs to be combined with others - perhaps more pleasant ones. “Constantly changing activities” is the best answer to the question “How to easily learn English on your own and for free.”

An excellent way to test your achievements in practice and at the same time seriously replenish lexicon is reading on foreign language. This is where the bookstore and the Internet can come to the rescue again. At a bookstore you can buy books in English, and very often you can find specially adapted books for people who are just starting to learn the language, or who speak it at an intermediate level.

Many stores also sell English-language newspapers and magazines. Of course, when choosing publications, you need to start from your own interests - for example, a football fan will be truly interested in trying to read an English-language article on his favorite topic, and the likelihood that he will get bored and put the newspaper down will noticeably decrease.

The Internet is an even more bottomless well of materials. There are a large number of sites offering you adapted texts for reading - of various sizes and based on the most different levels preparation. In addition, there are billions of English-language portals on the Internet, including about your favorite music group, favorite actor and favorite sports team. We believe the hint is clear!

It is important that such reading will enrich you not only lexically, but also intellectually.

You can become an expert English grammar, but what will it do if not a single native speaker understands you? The English language has quite complex phonetics, for working with which there are its own methods and techniques.

Firstly, you should love foreign music. Listening to songs in English is a great way to master pronunciation. Many people who are fluent in English admit that they learned it from the songs of their favorite bands, and not from school classes.

A more difficult, but at the same time more reliable way is to watch films in English. At the same time, forget about Russian subtitles - our brain is tuned to search for the simplest paths, so at some point you will simply start reading subtitles, not paying attention to what the actors say there. And here English subtitles can be used, especially at first - not all actors have Moscow Art Theater articulation, and it will be difficult to understand the intricacies of pronunciation. Text insurance won't hurt. In addition, do not forget that many films are shot in the USA, and American English is a topic for another discussion.

How to learn English in a month? This is impossible. In order to proudly call yourself an English-speaking person, you need to spend years, and then do not forget about practice - without training, language skills disappear very quickly.

Successfully working on a new language starts with motivation.

U self-study There are many advantages to learning English from scratch. Firstly, it is convenient from the point of view of time planning, and secondly, it is cheap or even completely free - most educational materials for beginners can be found in the public domain. And thirdly, it's fun - you can easily skip boring topics and focus only on what you like. In this article we will give several useful tips, where to start learning English for beginners and, in fact, how to learn English from scratch to an acceptable level.

How to learn English from scratch on your own

Reading rules

When you decide to learn English on your own, first of all figure out how to read in this language. The first stage includes:

  1. learning the alphabet;

  2. learning the basics of pronunciation - pay attention to sounds that are missing in the Russian language: [ŋ], [r], [ʤ], [ɜ:], [θ], [ð], [ʊ].

Also check out the cases where several letters in the transcription make one sound. For example:

enough [ɪˈnʌf]- enough
although [ɔlˈðoʊ]- Although

Work on your pronunciation

Even when you just start learning English, gradually get rid of your accent. Some online dictionaries have a voice-over feature. Use it when you are unsure about your pronunciation.

Continue to practice correct pronunciation of sounds [ŋ], [r], [ʤ], [ɜ:], [θ], [ð], [ʊ], since they are difficult for beginners. Special tongue twisters for each sound of the English language will help you with this.

Increase your vocabulary

When, while studying English on your own at home, you understand the basics of reading and pronunciation, start replenishing your vocabulary. Beginners should start with simple vocabulary on topics.

Standard topics for those who want to learn English from scratch:

  • family;
  • sport;
  • rest;
  • animals.

These topics are standard, but if they make you sad, replace them with something that interests you. For example, field hockey, medieval literature, mid-twentieth century music, electric cars, etc.

Free lesson on the topic:

Irregular English verbs: table, rules and examples

Discuss this topic with a personal tutor for free online lesson at Skyeng school

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In addition to nouns, learn and simple verbs: take, give, walk, eat, talk, speak, ask, thank, play, run, sleep ) etc. Don’t forget the basic adjectives: big-small, fast-slow, pleasant-unpleasant, good-bad, etc.

Try to speak already at this stage, making simple sentences from the learned words.


Learn grammar

When, through self-study of English, you have become familiar with reading and writing words and have learned basic vocabulary, it is time for grammar. But you shouldn’t plunge headlong into this topic right away. All we need now is to learn how to correctly construct simple sentences.

For beginners in English at home, it is enough to master:

As you study tenses, you will find that some verbs form the past tense differently than others. These verbs are called irregular verbs, and each form of them must be learned by heart.

Listen to the speech

Finally, we have come to the most interesting stage of self-learning English. When the foundation is laid, feel free to start practicing, and already in the process, brick by brick, add new knowledge to it.

Practice is speaking and listening, inextricably linked. For beginners at this stage, it is important to remember the following tips:

  • To speed up the process of learning English, you can watch video lectures, video blogs, TV shows, news broadcasts, listen to radio and podcasts.
  • Language learning will go faster if you decide to meet in in social networks with a foreigner and start communicating in writing and/or via Skype.
  • Your best help in learning English is to try to speak it. Pester your family and friends with the question How are you? (How are you?), or better yet, tell them everything yourself: what you are doing, what you are thinking about, what you want, etc. If shyness gets in the way, talk to yourself, the main thing is to practice speaking.

By this time, with independent learning, the beginner’s English vocabulary will no longer be enough to understand spoken language. Therefore, learn to memorize not individual words, but phrases and set phrases at once.

Read more

Learning to read English well is not easy, especially for a beginner who has chosen the path of self-study. If during a conversation the context and facial expressions of the speaker tell you the meaning of the phrases, then when reading in English you see only dispassionate letters on a white background.

Helpful advice:

For beginners, Ilya Frank’s method, designed for those who decide to learn a language from scratch, will be useful: read special books in which sentences in English are alternated with translations into Russian. This allows you not to be distracted every time searching for the right word in the dictionary, but to remember it immediately in context.

With this method, after 2-3 months, even with self-study, you will pay less and less attention to the translation, and eventually you will stop noticing it completely.


Use apps and websites

Bab.la

A useful dictionary, both for beginners learning English and for advanced students, in which words and phrases are presented immediately in the context of their use, thanks to which you can trace the variations in their meaning in different situations.

Multitran

The Multitran dictionary is useful both for beginners and for translators. There are dozens of meanings for each word. Multitran also boasts phraseological units and set phrases in English.

Duolingo

Duolingo is a platform for comprehensive language learning. An excellent option for beginners to learn English on their own. On the website or through the application, students sequentially go through lessons consisting of theory, tests, practical exercises and game tasks. As you progress, the complexity of the topics and tasks increases.

Busuu

Another site that uses an integrated approach to teaching English from scratch: Busuu has materials for learning vocabulary, grammar, and speaking, listening and writing.

Learn English by British Council

Learn English by British Council is an educational resource focused on British English. In addition to standard theoretical rules, hundreds of exercises and tests are collected here. Learn English also has videos, podcasts, songs and games that will be understandable for beginners.

Disadvantages of learning English on your own

With all its obvious advantages, the self-learning method also has one significant drawback is that it requires strict discipline from beginners. To achieve noticeable results, you need to exercise regularly and systematically, but not everyone can achieve effective program and force yourself to follow it. Another difficulty for beginners in learning English may arise with error checking. English lessons for beginners are generally clear, but they do not provide feedback, and this is very important. If vocabulary and grammar can be checked in online exercises, then listening and speaking are difficult for beginners to train without a teacher.

Useful video on the topic:

If you have never learned English or you once studied at school, but completely forgot everything, even the alphabet, and now you have decided to start learning English from scratch, then our advice on where to start and how to move may be useful to you. The first and most important thing is to understand how much you need the language, why you need it, and whether you have enough resources to learn the language.

Motivation

Motivation should be your driving force, without it you will not be able to do enough. for a long time practice the language every day. Without daily practice it is impossible to master this huge layer of knowledge. If there is no obvious motivation, but there is a burning desire to learn the language, then you should think about what knowledge of the language will give you - maybe it’s a new prestigious job or the opportunity to read specialized literature on topics that interest you, or maybe you travel a lot and want to fully communicate with people around the world or correspond with foreign friends.
Your motivation may still be in the subconscious. Try to get her out of there, she will play decisive role in your successful progress in mastering the English language.

Choosing a teaching method

Your next step should be to choose teaching methods or teachers. Now students have access to very good language materials and a large number of teachers who are ready to study via Skype with students from all over the world. Ideal, of course, is to find a good teacher who is a native speaker. But not everyone can afford such opportunities, and some simply want to study independently and for free, at a convenient time, without any stress, according to their own schedule. Then you need to choose a system that you will follow.

Learning English from scratch takes time

Plan time for studying, you need to study every day, at least 15 - 20 minutes, but it’s better to set aside an hour for studying. In our selection of articles “English from scratch” you will find materials for beginners, audio recordings and videos, exercises, a large number of examples, explanations, as well as links to resources that will help you progress faster.

When choosing your study resources, make sure you like the materials. This is important, all polyglots talk about it. Interest plays a major role in language acquisition. It allows you to achieve more with less effort. Just imagine that you need to learn or translate a text on some boring topic for you, but you will fall asleep after the first phrase! On the contrary, if you come across an interesting book, you will definitely find time to read it. Go ahead, friends, devote your time and attention to the language, and you will raise your English from scratch to freehold. Good luck to all!

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