Learning English

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Anyone can become fluent in English, but it requires commitment, willingness to work hard, and time.

Guidelines

Understand your motivation

• Is it necessary for you to learn English? Learners who feel a sense of necessity enjoy great success. One way to create this feeling is to put yourself in an English-only environment. Students who spend 10 months living in the US on homestay programs increase their TOEIC scores by an average of 200 points.
  
  
• Is learning English not necessary, but something you want to do? You'll have success if you keep in mind what you want to accomplish . Set appropriate goals, and make a commitment to spending the energy and time required to achieve the level of ability you desire.

Take responsibility for your learning

You are the best judge of what methods and materials are most efficient and effective for you. Don't leave those decisions up to your instructors; rather, think of your instructors and lessons as tools for you to use. Be an active learner - ask questions, seek out new opportunities to practice communicating.

Choose the methods which work best for you

Which methods do you enjoy using?

Which ones will best help you achieve your goals?

Which ones fit your budget? your time schedule?

Make English practice a daily habit. Schedule time for it every day.

Time x effort x efficiency = results

If you follow these guidelines, you will improve and eventually become fluent. How long that takes depends on how much time you have to spend on learning and practicing English, how much energy you put into your study, and the efficiency of your methods.

Some methods to consider

get instruction: attend a class, hire a private teacher

speak: find a language exchange partner, make friends at conversation lounges, international parties

read: books and magazines, internet

listen: to a radio program, to instructional/practice cassettes, to your own recorded voice

write: a journal (diary), poems; get e-mail or pen-pal friends

watch: TV and movies. DVDs with bilingual subtitles are best.

use music - listen, translate the lyrics, sing!

play: English PC and video games

Cross-sensory practice
This is the key to getting a foreign language to "sink in". When you learn a word or idea one way (through speaking, listening, reading or writing), practice it with another. Some examples:

• Keep a vocabulary notebook (of words learned from TV, music, conversation, classes) and use these new words in your diary and conversations
• Using your stereo or a tape recorder, record yourself speaking and singing. Then listen to your own English voice. After writing in your diary, make a recording of what you�fve written, and then listen to it.
• Watch a scene from a movie on DVD with the subtitles off. As you listen, write down what you hear. (Use "pause" and "rewind" as necessary) Then you can check your listening comprehension and spelling by turning the subtitles on. Practice saying the sentences yourself.
• Write about what you read. Talk to people about the books you're reading and the music you're listening to.

With cross-sensory practice, you'll begin to think in English. When you start dreaming (or talking to yourself) in English, you'll know you're making progress.

More advice

Try to balance the 4 skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening)

Whatever your weakest point is, that defines the limit of your English ability.

Don't look for shortcuts.

Forget what the schools tell you - there's no such thing as "Eikaiwa" or "Business English". You can't have a conversation or conduct a business meeting in English without sound fundamental skills in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.

Reading is fundamental, especially extensive reading.

Choose material that is not too difficult for you. If you are looking up two or three words (or more) on every page, you are decoding, not reading.

Use a good electronic dictionary, one that has example sentences.

When your enthusiasm drops, change to methods you enjoy more.

Don't spend too much time studying for tests.

It is not unusual to find people who score 600 on the TOEIC but can't hold a conversation.

Some barriers you'll need to overcome

• The Japanese educational system teaches English in Japanese. But to become fluent, you'll need to think in English. Of course at times you'll need to have something explained in Japanese, but as much as possible, learn English in English.
• Katakana pronunciation.
• Japan is full of incorrect English. It's easy to find advertisements, textbooks, and even school entrance examinations that contain many basic errors. Make sure the language-learning materials you use are reliable.
• Japanese people are often get embarrassed about making mistakes, but mistakes are a natural part of the learning process. Don't let your fear of making mistakes keep you from interacting with others and taking risks.

Final Thoughts
Whether you say "I can do it" or "I can't do it", you're right.
Well-begun is half done. (Nothing's as difficult as thinking about it.)
Success is on the far side of failure.