5 Tips To Improve Your English Language Skills

English language has always been one of the most important languages in the world. In Malaysia, it is the official second language and is used widely. Despite the efforts to improve the English proficiency in Malaysia, statistics from the Ministry of Education Malaysia show that English has the highest failure percentage and lowest excellence percentage when compared to other core subjects (such as Science, Mathematics and Bahasa Melayu). In this article, I will share 5 tips to improve your English Language Skills.

1. Set a Motivating Goal

Now, this may seem a little cliché, but goals definitely work! Many people tend to encourage you to set SMART goals, but I prefer to encourage people to set motivating goals. In my opinion, no matter how specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, or timely your goals are, if they do not excite you or make you eager to jump straight into hitting it, then there is going to be a big chance you will procrastinate in achieving it, or burn out trying to do something you do not have the motivation for.

Many people boost their motivation extrinsically with gifts, money or a special treat; but nothing beats intrinsic motivation, motivation from within.

The next question that arises is, how do you set motivating goals? There are a few questions you can ask yourself. What do I want to achieve by reaching this goal? Where or how do I see myself having accomplished this goal? How will this goal make me happier, better or more successful? Have an image in your mind, an image of ‘a successful you’ or ‘a target you’ that you will become once achieving that goal. Hold on to that image and use it to boost your motivation whenever you are working on your goal.

2. Immerse Yourself in the Language

Unlike other skills such as Science or Mathematics, you cannot master the English language with only rote learning, memorising all the rules or taking multiple drills. You need to immerse yourself in the language and constantly use it or be exposed to it.

When you constantly immerse yourself in the language, you get a chance to see how language is used in different ways and environments and this will encourage you to try it yourself. We call this ‘contextual learning’ where instead of learning all the rules by heart and being stressed out about trying to remember them, we apply the skills in real-life contexts which will actually deepen our learning.

3. Be Brave to Make Mistakes

The thing about us humans is we are scared to make mistakes or scared that we will embarrass ourselves in public. This hinders us from going all out and challenging ourselves outside our comfort zones. Although this seems hard, I challenge you to be brave in making mistakes. So what if you fumble a word or two? That is part of the learning process!

Try speaking in English to your friends and relatives.
Write on your social media in English, comment on social media in English.
Have conversations in English and many more! Use English as much as you can and be brave about it.

Fun fact, this approach in learning English has been researched and theorised. Canadian linguist, Merrill Swain theorised the Output Hypothesis, in which we have a ‘noticing function’ where we notice gaps in our language when we use it, the ‘hypothesis-testing function’ that helps us in trial-and-error when using the language; and the ‘metalinguistic function’ that helps us reflect our learning based on the way we have used the language. According to this theory, we internalise and learn language best when we use it.

4. Have a Study Buddy

Learning something alone is never fun. Have a buddy that can accompany you and travel with you on your language learning journey. This is a great method as you have someone to monitor and give feedback, practice with you, evaluate you and keep you on track. Moreover, you can internalise your language better when it is your turn to guide or provide feedback to your buddy.

This is in line with Vygotsky’s Theory of Psychosocial Development. According to Vygotsky, for us to progress from our current level to a new level, or from us to do something we currently cannot do, we need to cross the Zone of Proximal Development. However, we cannot cross this zone alone, and we need a More Knowledgeable Other or someone else to guide us and assist us to go from our current level to the next level of abilities. Similarly, when we have a study buddy, they can help us learn and improve; and vice versa.

5. Have Fun

Founder of Toastmasters International, Dr Ralph C Smedley said ‘we learn best in moments of enjoyment’ and I totally agree. Did you know that when you do something hard, difficult or something that you are demotivated and stressed about; your brain will be triggered in the same areas that are triggered when you are physically injured.

This means that if you feel burdened to learn English, you are hurting yourself in the same way that you get hurt physically. Find ways to make your learning fun and motivating. When you have fun, happy hormones like dopamine and serotonin will be released from your brain, and these happy hormones will facilitate and make your learning deeper and more effective.

In conclusion, I hope these tips will help you in ensuring you learn English more effectively. I wish you all the best in your learning journey, and remember ‘Rome was not built in a day’. Similarly, learning English is a process and cannot be achieved immediately.

For tips on COMMUNICATION & PUBLIC SPEAKING:

1. 7 Must-Have Components Of A Speech

2. Stress Less With These 3-Easy Steps And Improve Your Critical Thinking

3. What It Takes to Have Good Communication Skills

4. Why Public Speaking Workshops Is Not A Waste Of Time

5. Eye Contact As Body Language

6. 7 Practices To Help You Master Effective Communication

7. How To Choose Public Speaking Topics

8. 14 Benefits Of Public Speaking That Will Change Your Life

9. Your 4 Goals For Public Speaking

10. 3 Useful Tips On How To Improve English Speaking Skills

11. 10 Tips On How To Improve Speaking Skills