Jacob's Top Tips for Polish People Learning English

6 Ways To Make Your English Better

  1. 1

    Move to a country where the primary spoken language is English.

    This isn't possible for everyone, but if you can... just move.

    Moving to the USA, the UK, Australia, etc. is probably the single best and fastest way to learn English (this goes for any language —I learned how to speak Polish very well by living in Poland).

    If you are planning on moving to an English-speaking country and you want to improve your English beforehand... don't. Just move. You will be wasting your money on lessons. You will learn much more, much faster by just moving.

    Although this is very expensive and out of reach for most people, I can confidently tell you that forcing yourself to speak only English all day, every day is the best way to learn English.

  2. 2

    Get an English-speaking boyfriend / girlfriend / best friend.

    Just to be clear: if get into a relationship just to use the other person to improve your English, you're a jerk.

    That said, English-speaking friends and significant others that you spend a lot of time with are great for helping you improve your English.

    The more time you spend speaking English with native English speakers, the faster you will learn. If they can't speak your native language, that's even better.

  3. 3

    Pay a native speaker to talk to them.

    I'm not saying that you have to hire me. But again: speaking English is the best way to improve your English.

    There is nothing wrong with paying a native speaker to talk to them. Try to find one that can speak easily about topics that are important to you, and make sure that they make you feel comfortable with speaking and that you trust their advice.

    I recommend you find a few native speakers in your area (or a few that you like online) and try one lesson with each of them, then go to the one your gut tells you will help you improve the best.

  4. 4

    Play online games (with English speakers).

    No joke, some of the best non-native English speakers I have met in Poland were heavy gamers. If you love playing online games, then use it as an opportunity to learn English, too. Force yourself to play on servers where there are lots of English speakers and make conversation with them!

  5. 5

    Listen to English speakers.

    Most of the successful people I’ve known are the ones who do more listening than talking.
    — Bernard M. Baruch (millionaire financier, philanthropist and advisor to 2 U.S. presidents)

    Being able to speak English is important, but being able to listen is even more important.

    A great way to learn to listen... is to listen.

    When you can't talk to a live native English-speaking person... watching English TV shows on Netflix, watching English-speaking YouTubers, listening to English podcasts, and listening to English music are all great ways to listen to English.

    Watch and listen to as much as you can, replay phrases you don't quite understand, and make sure you understand everything correctly by talking about what you watched/listened to with a native English speaker later.

    Another great way to check your understanding is to watch a show/movie with subtitles in your native language (before or after watching it in English).

    Also, if you like a movie, don't just watch it once. Watch the same show/movie 100 times. Watch it until you have every line and its meaning memorized... then move on to another.

4 Pro tips for learning English

If you follow these tips, I guarantee you will learn English 10 times faster than if you didn't.

If you follow my advice from above, you should be watching, reading, and listening to lots of English content...

Now, when you hear something you like, find the definition of the word/phrase and start using it yourself!

But here's the important thing: make sure you understand the meaning and use it the same way you heard a native use it. It can sound very funny when a non-native speaker says an advanced phrase or colloquialism in the middle of a very basic sentence, even if they use it correctly. So focus on mimicking not only the words, but the tone and inflections of the words and phrases.

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