How to learn English on your own. How to quickly and easily learn English on your own from scratch: a daily tutorial for beginners

Some adults believe that only children can start learning English from scratch. Some people think that it is a shame for an adult to start with the basics and learn basic rules and words, others believe that only children can successfully learn foreign languages, because they have excellent memory and learning abilities. Both the first and second opinions are wrong. There is nothing shameful in the fact that you start learning a language as an adult, quite the contrary: the thirst for knowledge always inspires respect.

So it doesn’t matter how old you are, what matters is your desire to learn and your willingness to improve your knowledge. Many people ask the question: “What is the best way to start learning English?”

Below are the main 9 steps that should be followed consistently when studying.

1. Learn the rules of reading English

Theater begins with a hanger, and the English language begins with reading rules. This is a basic piece of knowledge that will help you learn to read English and pronounce sounds and words correctly.

2. Check how words are pronounced

Even if you know the rules of reading by heart, when learning new words, check how they are pronounced correctly. Tricky English words don't want to be read the way they are written. And some of them completely refuse to obey any reading rules. Therefore, we advise you to check the pronunciation of each new word in an online dictionary, for example, Lingvo.ru or on a special website Howjsay.com. Listen to how the word sounds several times and try to pronounce it exactly the same. At the same time, you will practice correct pronunciation.

3. Start building your vocabulary

Use visual dictionaries, for example, use the website Studyfun.ru. Bright pictures, voiced by native speakers and translation into Russian will make it easier for you to learn and memorize new vocabulary.

What words should you start learning English with? We recommend that beginners refer to the list of words on Englishspeak.com. Start with simple words of a general topic, remember which words you use most often in your speech in Russian. In addition, we advise you to spend more time studying English verbs. It is the verb that makes speech dynamic and natural.

4. Learn grammar

If you imagine speech as a beautiful necklace, then grammar is the thread on which you place word beads to ultimately get a beautiful decoration. Violation of the “rules of the game” of English grammar is punishable by misunderstanding of the interlocutor. But learning these rules is not so difficult; all you need to do is study using a good textbook.

We recommend taking the first book in the Grammarway series of manuals translated into Russian. Do you find textbooks boring? It doesn’t matter, fortunately, you can find everything on the Internet, including blogs from English teachers. There you can find clear explanations of grammatical nuances and get advice from experts in the field.

5. Listen to podcasts at your level

As soon as you start taking your first steps, you immediately need to accustom yourself to the sound of foreign speech. Start with simple podcasts ranging from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. You can find simple audio recordings with translation into Russian on the website Teachpro.ru.

6. Watch the news in English

After you have developed a basic vocabulary in English, it's time to start watching the news. We recommend the resource Newsinlevels.com. News texts for the first level are simple. There is an audio recording for each news, so be sure to listen to how words that are new to you sound and try to repeat them after the announcer.

7. Read simple texts

While reading, you activate your visual memory: new words and phrases will be easy to remember. And if you want not just to read, but also to learn new words, improve pronunciation, listen to texts voiced by native speakers, and then read them. You can find simple short texts in textbooks at your level, such as New English File Elementary, or on the Internet.

8. Install useful apps

How to start learning English from scratch on your own if you have a smartphone or tablet at hand? Applications for learning English are mini-tutorials that will always be in your pocket. The well-known application Lingualeo is ideal for learning new words: thanks to the spaced repetition technique, new vocabulary will not fade from your memory in a month. To study the structure and how the language “works,” we recommend installing Duolingo. This application will allow you, in addition to learning new words, to practice grammar and learn how to build sentences in English, and will also help you develop good pronunciation.

9. Study online

If you ask Google where to start learning English on your own, the caring search engine will immediately give you a couple of hundred sites with various lessons, online exercises, and articles about learning the language. An inexperienced student is immediately tempted to make 83 bookmarks of “well, very necessary sites on which I will study every day.”

We want to warn you against this: with the abundance of bookmarks, you will quickly get confused, but you need to study systematically, without jumping from one topic to another. Bookmark 2-3 really good resources that will help you study. This is more than enough. We recommend doing online exercises on the websites Correctenglish.ru or Wonderenglish.com.

Inga Mayakovskaya

Reading time: 12 minutes

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For some, the English language (and sometimes not only English) comes so easily, as if the person grew up in an English-speaking environment. But most people, unfortunately, have to work hard to master at least its basics. Is it possible to learn a language quickly and without teachers?

Can! And 50% of success is your sincere desire.

Rules for effectively learning English from scratch at home - how to master the language faster?

A new language is not only an expansion of our consciousness and horizons, it is also a huge benefit in life. Moreover, English, as you know, is considered international.

So, where to start learning, and how to master a language without outside help?

Let's decide on a goal. Why do you need a 2nd language? To pass an international exam, to communicate with residents of another state, to get a new job in another country, or just “for yourself”? Based on your intentions, it’s worth choosing a methodology.
Let's start with the basics! It is impossible to learn a language without knowing the basics. First of all, the alphabet and grammar, as well as reading rules. A regular tutorial will help you with this.
After obtaining stable initial knowledge, you can move on to choosing the option of contact learning. For example, lessons via Skype, an option for remote courses, or a school with the possibility of distance learning. Having an interlocutor is the key to success.
After choosing a course of study, be sure to pay attention to fiction. It is recommended to use adapted texts at first, and later, when you gain experience, you can switch to full-fledged books. It is important to master (qualitatively) the technique of speed reading. Read detective stories and novels. Let the books not be literary masterpieces, the main thing is that your vocabulary expands. Don’t forget to write down and be sure to memorize vocabulary you don’t know.
Access films, various programs and famous series in the language of your choice. At first it will be difficult to understand anything, but over time your hearing will get used to foreign speech, and you will even begin to understand it. You can devote 30 minutes a day to such educational viewing, or you can even watch only foreign TV programs.
Speak your chosen language constantly : at home, commenting on your actions; communicating with friends and family members, etc. Let family members support you in your endeavor - this will make the process go faster. Constant practice is extremely important.
Study the language closely at least three times a week for 1-2 hours. Or every day for 30-60 minutes. Reinforce your studies with practice - your efforts should not be in vain.
Constantly work on your speaking skills. You need to read simple articles (any), listen to news in the language, write short texts, and train your English speaking skills.

Organization of learning English at home - program

To be honest, English is the simplest language on earth that exists. Therefore, do not set yourself a “wall” in advance with the attitude “it’s difficult, I can’t handle it.”

The installation must be correct - “it’s easy, I can do it quickly.”

Where to begin?

Getting ready for the first stage of training

Let's stock up...

Books and video courses with the basics of the language.
Films in English/language without translation into Russian.
Fiction and educational magazines.

It will also not be superfluous:

Specific resources for learning language through communication. For example, foreign comrades, chats, etc.

Basics – what can’t you do without?

The first month and a half is the period during which you must master the basics of the language.

Do you think it's not enough? Nothing like this! A month and a half is even “with a reserve!”

The “basics” include...

Alphabet.
Constructing sentences of any type.
Obtaining a minimum (initial) vocabulary (from 300).
All necessary grammatical forms.
Correct reading and pronunciation.

Now you can move on to the exercises

For training, which will take about 3 months, you can use popular thematic services, ideal for expanding your vocabulary.

The plan for training on such resources is simple - every day you spend at least 1 hour on the following exercises:

Add 5 new words to your dictionary.
We take a short text on the topic of the words you have chosen and translate it. We add 5 new words from this text, again, to our dictionary.
We find a commercial or a song to suit our taste and also translate it.
We complete the entire block of exercises (in accordance with the selected service) to remember words from the dictionary.

Every week should bring you 70-100 new words. That is, after 3 months you will already be able to boast of an increase in your vocabulary by more than a thousand words, while acquiring quick translation skills almost on the go.

The natural environment is one of the main criteria for success

The more often you hear foreign speech, the easier it will be for you to learn the language.

That's why…

We communicate with native speakers.
We discuss ordinary everyday topics in English.
We read foreign press, books, leaf through magazines.
We watch films without translation.

The ideal option is to go abroad. Not for a visit, not for a month or two, but for a year or two, so that the effect of learning the language is maximum.

Without giving up reading, we take up the pen and write on our own

Describe anything - events, news, your actions.

It is ideal if you start your own business using not Russian, but exclusively English.

It is important to learn not only to write correctly, but also to express thoughts correctly.

Complex shapes are the next stage

After 8-9 months of hard training, you will read and write in English without difficulty. You can also easily translate texts.

From this point on, it makes sense to move on to more complex forms that have not previously been used. For example, “Need have” or “I wish I knew”.

Practice, practice, practice – always and everywhere

By the way, it’s not so difficult to find a foreigner to practice in our domestic social networks. Many foreigners strive to get closer to Russian speech and register on our sites: you can help each other.

After a year, your knowledge will reach a sufficient level to continue mastering the language somewhere in rainy London, completely immersing yourself in the culture of native speakers.

Learn the language in the 1st person. Memorizing phrases from phrase books automatically models specific situations in your mind: by trying each phrase on yourself, you avoid the impersonality of memorized texts, which will subsequently help you get used to the text and remember it more effectively. For each topic in the phrasebook – 2-3 days. Learn consistently, being sure to memorize all the accompanying words.
According to experts, the ideal learning formula is 30 words daily. Moreover, 5 of them must certainly be verbs. It is recommended to take words starting with a new letter of the alphabet every day. After you have "run" the entire alphabet "in a circle", you can start again with "A". The effectiveness of the method lies in the creation of a good tradition (rule), which gradually becomes a habit and is further transformed into a system. Skipping days and taking days off is prohibited.
We translate and learn songs. Another good habit you should get into. The main advantage of the method is excellent pronunciation, purity of language style, and getting used to the style of presentation. Write a list of your favorite songs and start with them.
Listen "unconsciously." There is no need to catch every sound of the speaker - catch the general tone, try to immediately grasp the immensity, do not delve into details.
Take advantage of Skype training opportunities. There are many teachers online who want to work in their field. Find the best one and agree on cooperation.

Useful sites and programs for learning English from scratch

Whoever said that “learning a language at home is impossible” is just a lazy bore.

It is possible and necessary!

And not only books, Skype, films, dictionaries can help you: in our age of the Internet, it’s simply a sin not to take the best from it. Learning English is easy if you know where to start.

Here are the best, according to Internet users, resources for learning the basics, for practice and for useful communication:

Translate.ru. We study the rules of reading. We learn to read and pronounce sounds correctly, get acquainted with transcription.
Online dictionaries Lingvo.ru or Howjsay.com. Even with excellent knowledge of reading rules, you should check the pronunciation of new words. The world's most popular language is quite a tricky one. And it contains words that do not want to obey the rules of reading at all. Therefore, it is better to listen to each word, pronounce it and remember it.
Studyfun.ru or Englishspeak.com. We form our vocabulary. It will be much easier to remember new vocabulary if you have a visual dictionary. The greatest attention is on verbs!
Teachpro.ru. Accustom yourself to the constant sound of foreign speech. The simplest audio recordings are 1-2 minutes long to begin with. Further more.
Newsinlevels.com. Don't know where to watch daily news in English? You can here. The texts are simple, there are audio recordings for all news. That is, you can listen to the sound of new words and, of course, repeat them after the speaker, and then add them to your dictionary.
Lingualeo. A very useful tutorial application that will always be at hand. Ideal for learning new words and consolidating material.
Duolingo. This application is suitable not only for learning words, but also for learning how to construct sentences. And, of course, it will help with pronunciation.
Correctenglish.ru or Wonderenglish.com. Useful exercise resources. You should not add dozens of sites to your favorites in batches - find 2-3 sites and study them daily.
Englishspeak.com. Here you will find 100 lessons, as well as collections of useful words and phrases with translation (no dictionary needed here). Among the features of the resource: the presence of regular and slow-motion audio tracks, the sound of individual words by simply hovering the cursor.
en.leengoo.com. A beginner-friendly site with word cards, exercises, a library, translation by mouse click, working with your own dictionary, etc.
Esl.fis.edu. Tasks for beginners: basic words, simple texts.
Audioenglish.org. A resource where you can listen to groups of words by topic. To get used to the sound of speech.
Agendaweb.org. Simple phrases – slowly and clearly – in educational cartoons.
Learn-english-today.com. A short and clear grammar guide. No unnecessary theory - everything is clear and accessible. Assignments can be completed on the website or printed.
english-easy-ebooks.com. A resource with free books for your level. Simple texts, adapted literature.
Rong-chang.com. Here you will find easy texts that you can listen to.
EnglishFull.ru. An extremely useful resource for adults and children, beginners and seasoned students.

And remember the main thing: you are a speaker of not only the most beautiful and rich, but also the most complex language in the world!

Imagine how English speakers suffer trying to understand our “oblique with a scythe mowed with a scythe,” for example.

Believe in yourself and don't stop! Success comes to those who work for results and do not dream about them.

How do you study English? Share your tips and experiences in the comments below!

The World Cup last summer in Russia once again proved: it’s time to learn a foreign language. How long can you communicate in sign language? But there are dozens of other small problems associated with not learning English at school. Either you have to wait for the translation of a new episode of your favorite show, or checking into a hotel abroad takes an extra half hour.

So, you have finally decided to take a couple of hours a week from your busy schedule and finally learn English. Once and for all. But from which side should we approach? Either pull an old school textbook from the balcony, or sign up for another fashionable course with a “unique” methodology.

MIR 24 decided to collect five effective (and self-tested) ways to quickly learn a language. These tips can be used both instead of studying at an expensive “English school”, and together with it, to consolidate the material.

Method number 1. Good old stickers

Polyglots of the old school learned the language from papers. This is especially true for those who, as it seems at first glance, have no time for classes. The method is simple: buy yourself adhesive stickers, write them in English words and stick them on the corresponding objects in the house.

Let's go cut ourselves a sausage sandwich before going to bed - be sure to note that the refrigerator is marked with a sticker Fridge. You will have to wield an item with a signature Knife, and you can put the finished sandwich on Plate. After a week of repetitions, you will definitely remember.

When your level rises above everyday words, write down all the English words you come across on stickers. From signs, from brand names, and, ultimately, from conversations of foreigners overheard in the subway. Stickers with words and their translations can be hung right at your workplace. So that they catch your eye more often. I got distracted for a second and caught my eye on another word. This is ideal for people with photographic memory. In this way, you can expand your passive vocabulary even at a computer in the office, or at a lathe in a factory. The main thing is that it doesn’t interfere with work.

Method number 2. Look for associations

Languages, especially European ones, can be untangled like a spider's web. Anyway, in most cases we will end up with Latin or Ancient Greek. But there are still hundreds of borrowed words. From English to Russian or along a more complex path: through French or German. It is possible to find matches even at an initial level of language knowledge.

Word Fruit differs from our “fruit” by just one letter. And is it so difficult to remember Brother with our “brother”? In fact, the deeper you dive into a foreign language, the more similar patterns you find. And now English-language texts are not so scary when in every sentence there is a word form similar to the Russian one.

Method No. 3. One on one with carriers

They will tell you about this everywhere. Well, what can you do if this is the case: the best way to learn a language is to constantly communicate with native speakers. If you are still young and not burdened with family expenses and loans, drop everything and go study abroad. Fortunately, in almost every English-speaking country there is a wide system of grants, so you don’t even have to pay.

If you put yourself in a situation where not learning a language is like dooming yourself to starvation, sooner or later the information will begin to creep into your head. And after a couple of months, they no longer babble funny in their own language, but speak the same language as you.

In our age, there is a more budget-friendly option: turn on your computer or smartphone and go to English-language thematic forums. For example, according to "Game of Thrones" or World of Warcraft. Try to spend more time there, but not only read other people’s messages, but also express your own opinion more often. Of course, in English. Believe me, in most cases they won’t say a word to you for bad grammar. And if they do give advice, all you have to do is thank them and listen.

Method number 4. For social phobes

Well, okay, it really happens that the fear of communication transforms into some kind of phobia. And you seem to know what you need to say, but abroad you can’t even squeeze the words out of yourself. I will say right away: someday this barrier will have to be overcome. But you can put this event on hold if you use the method of learning through TV series and films.

It's very simple: watch your favorite The Walking Dead or new Star Wars episodes exclusively in the original. For starters, with Russian subtitles. In large cities there are always at least a couple of cinemas that show films in English. Just search on the Internet. There you can easily find subtitles for almost all existing media content: from stand-up shows to new videos of your favorite blogger.

The next step is to watch English-language films with English subtitles. This way you can read what you couldn't hear. Text transcripts of films and TV series can be downloaded on specialized websites, and streaming platforms like Netflix provide subtitles for each video by default. By the way, popular English-speaking bloggers, in connection with the rules YouTube, are also forced to transcribe all their videos.

An alternative option is books. You can start with works with parallel translation (using the method of Ilya Frank) and simple fairy tales, then move on to translations of Russian classics into English, and finally move on to serious literature. The trick is to enjoy the book first, and secondly to perceive reading as language learning.

Method No. 5. English by songs

This is the most difficult option and must be approached with caution. But he can help someone learn English. We all listen to foreign music in one way or another. The President of Russia sings Blueberry Hill, the older generation is enjoying The Beatles And Queen, and those who are younger study complex texts Eminem.

Take your favorite songs and try, without looking at the text, to hear all the words, one after another. And then translate - and remember. Now, when the player will play for the thousandth time Shape of You Ed Sheeran, you can not only sing along, but also synchronously translate the song about love at first sight.

There are downsides. Songs usually have a lot of incorrect grammar - words are rearranged for the sake of rhyme - and the word forms themselves are sometimes too strange. Still, it is worth remembering that lyrics with their metaphors are seriously different from everyday speech.

Whatever method you choose, the main thing in learning English is constant practice. To learn a language as quickly as possible, you need to combine all these methods and use them simultaneously. Good luck on this difficult and long journey!

There are many ways to learn a foreign language from scratch on your own. The first thing you need to do is answer the question - why. Knowing the answer to this question is super important. Speech as a communication tool requires regular use - if knowledge and skills are not used, they are forgotten. Human memory is designed in such a way that it hides unnecessary knowledge as far as possible. Everything that you have learned well will quickly be forgotten - then you will have to start all over again.

Before you start cramming the alphabet, it is important to understand the goal:

communicate with airport employees, store managers, service personnel during tourist trips and understand the interlocutor well (colloquial variety);
conduct business negotiations with partners (business variety);
have the opportunity to read scientific (or fiction) literature (technical and literary versions);
communicate freely with residents of another country (read, write, speak).

Important tip! Motivation is important to achieve success. With the right goal setting, it is easy to acquire the necessary knowledge from scratch on your own and for free.

2 main ways to learn

There are two ways to quickly master someone else's method of linguistic communication.

The first is practiced at school: first they learn words, then they put them into sentences, and from phrases they construct a text. Phrases are constructed according to the laws of Russian grammar - this is a mistake. For this reason, high school graduates know a set of individual nouns and verbs, but it is difficult for them to quickly combine word forms into sentences; they have little experience in free communication.

The second approach teaches that it is better to study a foreign dialect in phrases, and to learn to speak immediately in full-fledged constructions. The fact is that the word in context takes on a new meaning - it is impossible to describe all the nuances with a set of strict rules. Any speech is phraseological: the meaning of an individual sentence is not equal to the sum of the meanings of individual word forms.

1. Learn with interest

Any teacher will confirm: abstract learning of a language is more difficult than mastering a language for a specific purpose. Therefore, at first, learn things that will be useful to you in your work. Another option is to read resources in a foreign language related to yours.

2. Remember only the words you need

There are more than a million words in the English language, but at best a few thousand are used in everyday speech. Therefore, even a modest vocabulary will be enough for you to talk with a foreigner, read online publications, watch news and TV series.

3. Post stickers at home

This is an effective way to expand your vocabulary. Look around the room and see which objects you don't know the names of. Translate the name of each subject into English, French, German - whatever language you want to learn. And put these stickers around the room. New words will gradually be stored in memory, and this will not require any additional effort.

4. Repeat

The technique of spaced repetition allows you to better remember new words and concepts. To do this, review the studied material at certain intervals: first, repeat the learned words often, then return to them after a few days, and after a month, reinforce the material again.

5. Use new technologies

6. Set realistic goals

Be careful with the load and don't overwork yourself. Especially at the beginning, so as not to lose interest. Teachers advise starting small: first learn 50 new words, try to apply them in life, and only then take on the grammar rules.