Article: Five Tips for Improving Your English

Five Tips for Improving Your English

By Kim Pong-su



As Korean students have either already begun or are gearing up for their summer vacations, this long break is a good chance for them to practice their English skills. I have been teaching English to local university students for the past 20 years and I'm often asked to give tips for studying English in a more efficient way.



As usual, this year is no exception to the trend of waves of students leaving Korea to study in English speaking countries. However, this option is not within everyone's financial reach, nor is it as effective as we may have heard in the past. Since there is no ``magic bullet'' for gaining English fluency, I have put together some of what I believe are the most effective and least costly methods of studying English.

These methods will work for any one who is willing to take the time to actually use them on a daily basis. Before going into these, however, it should be noted that Korean students have to make up for years of being taught with inappropriate methods of instruction. Although it may seem like common sense, it's important to mention that no aspect of language learning should be emphasized too much. It's a holistic process.



In the past, local junior and senior high schools were infamous for their over emphasis of grammar, but now they have reached the opposite extreme _ no grammar instruction. Neither extreme gets results when it comes to learning English. Another obstacle students face is a lack of opportunity for practical conversation, as well as instructional techniques that are strictly examination-oriented, so it comes as no surprise that they are unable to handle even the most basic speaking and listening situations with native speakers.



Given these circumstances, what is the best way to study English? The following five tips have been culled from my personal experiences of teaching English to Korean college students.



1. Read English language books, magazines and newspapers. Just as athletes need a nutritious regimen for hard training, so too English students need to read English publications for sustenance _ namely vocabulary and expressions they need to know for communication.



2. Listen to English language radio and television programs as often as possible. This is an almost cost-free practice method that can be done just about anywhere _ in the car, on the beach, at home and even while you are walking. Listening to real broadcasts will expose you to a wide range of accents and dialects and will help hone your overall listening skills. As you have to first understand what the other person is saying, you should never neglect listening practice.



3. Practice speaking English daily and try to memorize as many simple, useful expressions as you can. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, since this is actually a very important means of making progress. Without a degree of memorization it's impossible to learn a foreign language, so you should try to collect a lot of short useful expressions related to your field and practice them until you can produce them automatically.



4. Try to write some simple ideas in English every day. For example, keeping an English diary or sending English e-mails to friends are two easy ways of writing daily. In addition, writing down your thoughts creates a bank of information that you can refer to at any time while you are studying English. As a matter of fact, this is the weakest area for Korean students.



5. Set up long-range language-learning goals for yourself. I have a saying about English study _ ``4/40.'' If a student makes English study a four-year plan while they are in college, that student will likely continue to study English for the next forty years.

We all, students and teachers alike, have to be aware that learning English is not an overnight process, but it may take a lifetime _ as it has been in my case.

If these suggestions are carefully observed, and you are willing to work hard and to be patient, you should soon notice a progressive improvement in your practical English language skills.



** Kim Pong-su is a professor at University of Maryland University College.

matur suwun mas kandar

keep practice and practice

kandar wrote:

Five Tips for Improving Your English

By Kim Pong-su



As Korean students have either already begun or are gearing up for their summer vacations, this long break is a good chance for them to practice their English skills. I have been teaching English to local university students for the past 20 years and I'm often asked to give tips for studying English in a more efficient way.



As usual, this year is no exception to the trend of waves of students leaving Korea to study in English speaking countries. However, this option is not within everyone's financial reach, nor is it as effective as we may have heard in the past. Since there is no ``magic bullet'' for gaining English fluency, I have put together some of what I believe are the most effective and least costly methods of studying English.

These methods will work for any one who is willing to take the time to actually use them on a daily basis. Before going into these, however, it should be noted that Korean students have to make up for years of being taught with inappropriate methods of instruction. Although it may seem like common sense, it's important to mention that no aspect of language learning should be emphasized too much. It's a holistic process.



In the past, local junior and senior high schools were infamous for their over emphasis of grammar, but now they have reached the opposite extreme _ no grammar instruction. Neither extreme gets results when it comes to learning English. Another obstacle students face is a lack of opportunity for practical conversation, as well as instructional techniques that are strictly examination-oriented, so it comes as no surprise that they are unable to handle even the most basic speaking and listening situations with native speakers.



Given these circumstances, what is the best way to study English? The following five tips have been culled from my personal experiences of teaching English to Korean college students.



1. Read English language books, magazines and newspapers. Just as athletes need a nutritious regimen for hard training, so too English students need to read English publications for sustenance _ namely vocabulary and expressions they need to know for communication.



2. Listen to English language radio and television programs as often as possible. This is an almost cost-free practice method that can be done just about anywhere _ in the car, on the beach, at home and even while you are walking. Listening to real broadcasts will expose you to a wide range of accents and dialects and will help hone your overall listening skills. As you have to first understand what the other person is saying, you should never neglect listening practice.



3. Practice speaking English daily and try to memorize as many simple, useful expressions as you can. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, since this is actually a very important means of making progress. Without a degree of memorization it's impossible to learn a foreign language, so you should try to collect a lot of short useful expressions related to your field and practice them until you can produce them automatically.



4. Try to write some simple ideas in English every day. For example, keeping an English diary or sending English e-mails to friends are two easy ways of writing daily. In addition, writing down your thoughts creates a bank of information that you can refer to at any time while you are studying English. As a matter of fact, this is the weakest area for Korean students.



5. Set up long-range language-learning goals for yourself. I have a saying about English study _ ``4/40.'' If a student makes English study a four-year plan while they are in college, that student will likely continue to study English for the next forty years.

We all, students and teachers alike, have to be aware that learning English is not an overnight process, but it may take a lifetime _ as it has been in my case.

If these suggestions are carefully observed, and you are willing to work hard and to be patient, you should soon notice a progressive improvement in your practical English language skills.



** Kim Pong-su is a professor at University of Maryland University College.

Iki nek dibhasakke jowo pye...aq ra donk pak...

Yeah, let's practice this tips...

Study...study...study...

Believe we can do it...

practice aja tiap hari
pertama lucu, tapi jadi seru..
saya dah praktekan di kantor, tapi belom lancar2 nich

bener kang...


PD aja kalee...

Kl kita sering ngelihat banyak orang yg bhs inggrisnya pas2an tapi bisa sukses, karena PD utk mempraktekkan..

Intinya : yg peting kita tahu maksud lawan bicara, dan lawan bicara ngerti maksud kita, enggak usah pake EYD-EYD-an..

Eamang mo ujian...

Selamat mencoba..

sip...
setuju kang..