I am a teacher so I earn my living by having students, but … could it be that I’m shooting myself in the foot by saying that you can learn a language without a teacher?
Last week, a friend messaged me asking for tips about learning English on his own.
I said, “that’s really cool, David, and you’re being quite brave. Self-study is not for the weak of heart. But it’s possible. Something I’m always bitching about (sorry, I mean, preaching) is that any language student must listen a lot of the sounds of their target language. Tune in on an internet radio station such as the BBC or NPR and let it roll, even not understanding much. Also there are hundreds of free podcasts geared towards those learning English at different levels. A podcast I usually recommend my students is the ESL – English as a Second Language Podcast which is constantly updated and the narrator usually speaks at a slow pace https://www.eslpod.com/website/
On YouTube there are millions of videos to practice with. Of course you’ve already seen all of the ESL with Mo the Americanoid episodes, right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb2nG_2zAoc&nohtml5=False
1.1 – ESL With Mo the Americanoid Unit 1 Lesson 1
YouTube also has many free language courses. In the case of English as a Second Language, on Google you should first type ESL and then type what you’re looking for. A really good ESL series available on YouTube is Headway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAjgBLt97OQ&nohtml5=False
New Headway English learning video, beginner,elementary, and pre-intermediate
Ā There’s also this beginners series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeaadwctbD4&nohtml5=False
Beginner Levels – Lesson 1: Nice To Meet You!
English For You – Learning English is much easier now! Beginner Levels – Lesson 1: Nice To Meet You!
To sum it up –
PRACTICE YOUR LISTENING A LOT AND PRACTICE YOUR SPEAKING BY READING SHORT TEXTS OUTLOUD.
Yes, it will be hard work, but the payoff has no limits.
Is self-study for everybody? Yes. But few will be able to do it all without a teacher, since my role as a moderator and facilitator will lead them in the right path towards proficiency.
Consequently, if doing it all alone is way too heavy for you, feel free to contact me on the button below. I’ll be happy to help you out for a modest stipend (after all I’ve got my bills to pay š
Cheers and keep on studying,
Mo
The Americanoid Blog 