When we learn our mother tongue, we first listen, then speak, then read, and finally write. Listening, speaking, reading and writing are the four language skills we need to develop for comprehensive communication.

Listening and reading are acceptable: input, the real language you must be exposed to. Speaking and writing are fruitful: output, which is the production of language as part of the second language learning process.

To achieve these four basic language skills, you need to master English: make English a part of your life at home, at work or in your spare time.


Watching English movies

Watching TV shows on Netflix may not completely improve your debate skills or formal registration qualifications, but it can help you better understand the language, get used to the spoken English, dialogue styles and implicitly feel the language. In addition, you can try to pick words that sound informal and look for words that are more academic. Of course, you can also find a large number of documentaries online (try any of David Attenborough's methods to get you started). Exposure to a certain language in a movie may help you really start thinking in English.

Practice, practice, practice         

Let’s face it, academic phrases won’t just fall from heaven and straight into your brain. Even if your English is already quite good, don’t be complacent and underestimate stressful factors such as the time pressure in an exam. You still have to practice, no matter how much time you have left before your big day. Try coming up with a word of the day, and then try to employ it as often as possible. If you do this, don’t waste time on extremely specific words you will never actually use. Instead, focus on conversational English which is likely to be relevant in the exam.      

Read aloud

Read a newspaper or magazine aloud. You can even find scripts from your favorite TV shows and execute them! This is a great way to practice pronunciation because you can focus on English pronunciation without worrying about sentence structure or grammar.

Record your practice conversation

After the dialogue is over, please take a moment to reflect: How is the progress? How much do you think you know? How do you feel about the subject? Have you encountered unknown words? The simple act of thinking in this way will increase your confidence next time you speak (and provide you with targeted work, such as vocabulary you don't understand).

Talk, talk, talk!

Be confident and talk to as many people as possible! Don't be shy, make mistakes! The more you practice, the more pronunciation and vocabulary you will have and the more confident you will be. Remember, speaking is a skill, just like learning a musical instrument or a new sport—the only way to succeed is to do it

Don't forget to have fun while studying

If learning English is just a burden, then it may seem tedious and your grades will not be very good. This is why it is important to stay motivated and enjoy the experience of learning a new language. Look for ways to increase entertainment, such as playing word games with friends to improve your critical thinking skills.