Tips for Learning English

1. Practice speaking. The best way to learn a new language is to USE it. Try to speak to others in English whenever possible. Make friends with someone who doesn’t speak your first language, so you must communicate in English. Practice talking with a native speaker.

2. Watch movies and TV shows in English. Just watching a movie won’t help you learn the language. You must use what you have learned. Try these tips:

Don’t just watch the movie. Study it. Viewing a movie for entertainment means you aren’t focused on learning the language. Treat the movie like you would a textbook, and study the material. Turn on the English subtitles, if it's a DVD. Then you can read and listen to English at the same time!
Break things up into small, repeatable segments. A two hour movie is too much language to absorb at once. Break it up into segments of 10 minutes or less, and review them multiple times until you have really learned something of substance.
Engage with the material. A movie is an open book on body language, accents, inflection, pronunciation and many other areas of language learning. Don’t just sit on your hands! Get involved in the story, act out parts, repeat lines and body movements, and make the language come alive!
Try watching world and local news in English, The Simpsons, Family Guy, cartoons, even Sesame Street with your younger siblings!

3. Listen to songs in English - study the music (don’t listen passively), repeat segments (to really understand the material) and engage with the song (don’t just listen — sing!).

4. Keep a small journal of new words that you hear and see. Then ask an ESL teacher or native speaker what they mean.

5. Borrow easy children's books from the public library for free, and read to your younger sisters and brothers.

6. If your parents don't speak English, try teaching them what you learned in school that day.

7. Watch Easy English on YouTube, or visit Dave's ESL Cafe.com. You can practice English with DuoLingo on the Internet. Below are more ideas for practicing your English while school is closed.

My favorite website for practicing English is English Central.

It has activities for beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners. Here's the link: https://www.englishcentral.com/videos

https://www.crackle.com/

Free movie downloads for Apple devices

https://www.vooks.com/

Read aloud stores for your younger siblings

https://www.parents.com/syndication/museums-with-virtual-tours/?fbclid=IwAR0h886jZYlRIC9MG_TnC42qjfSaSY7c01rOvc2AFiaL2TAfaO0MeBglsl4

12 virtual museum tours

https://www.curriculumassociates.com/supporting-students-away-from-school?fbclid=IwAR3thOIFzJSmSB5B-RJLxuQ7AYyY2z5WtJVLaTru-C9F7z4YmlAry5JeYxQ

Curriculum packets to do at home (also in Spanish)

https://sites.google.com/newvisions.org/virtual2020/home?authuser=0

Phonics lessons for practice