READING:
Most would argue that reading is the most important language skill to learn. By improving your reading skill, we also develop our vocabulary when in conversation on the phone or using social media. You also learn correct grammar, understand different writing styles, and improve our ability to think. It is the one skill that all learners, whether you are a child at school or an adult developing your career, can easily do that feeds into improvements in the four other skills. You simply need text to read. A routine really helps. By including a short reading session into your daily life will see your reading progress quickly.
LISTENING:
Like reading, listening requires you to consume information instead of create it. This is one of the primary skills that English learners want to improve the most. Why? In order to understand people who speak to them. There are many ways to improve your listening. Try watching a football game with English commentary or tune in to a radio station or podcast. Word of advice though – watching the TV allows you to connect images and language unlike radio.
SPEAKING:
Speaking is the skill that can be quite stressful. Remember, when we talk, we are having to make fast decisions around vocabulary choice, sentence structure and delivery. Add in how we pronounce our words and you have a rather tricky skill to develop. Unlike the previous skills, speaking calls on us to produce language ourselves. The only way to practice speaking is to speak – crazy right! This can be hard when learning English in another part of the world. So it is crucial that you continue to use spoken English outside of your lessons with your teacher. Ask your teacher to help you with speaking tasks at home and maybe set tasks for yourself during the week so that you are talking English each day. Arrange video calls with English speakers or join football groups where English is the common language and ask to speak to fans. The football community is a special place – fans love sharing stories with fans from other countries and cultures.
WRITING:
Writing is arguably the skill that requires the most effort in terms of thinking time. In the modern world, we communicate in so many ways – most of which require us to write. For example, writing text messages, emails, posts, and invitations. You might a reporter who is looking to work in the UK for a news outlet, or a football coach wanting to seek new challenges abroad and work in an English-speaking country. Whatever your context, like the skills covered above, writing is English as much as you can will only benefit you on your language journey. Shopping lists, notes, recipes etc. get it down in English. You will see the progress!
GRAMMAR:
Grammar is the language skill that requires patience and…patience. But we all know how important it is. Grammar gives us the meaning and structure behind the use of a language. When learning English, it is inevitable that lessons will focus largely on grammatical awareness. But grammar can be fun – believe or not! By relating the grammar to your own life and interests is a simple way of turning the skill from being tedious and boring, to meaningful and exciting!