“…and so this is Christmas, and what have you done? Another year over, a new one just begun!”
from Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon and Yoko Ono
2023 is nearly over and it’s been a big year for Thinking in English. Hopefully, listening to the podcast has helped you gain confidence with your English this year! But now, with 2024 just around the corner, we are starting to think about New Year’s resolutions. For many of our listeners and Patreon subscribers, one of the most important goals to achieve next year is to improve your English.
My name is Peter, I’m an English teacher and I’m covering for Tom today, and in this bonus episode I will suggest 5 ways to improve your English in 2024.
Interactive Transcript
Listen Here
2024 is the year to take your English to the next level. But how can you be sure that you will achieve this goal and make quick progress this year? Well, we all know that successful New Year’s Resolutions must involve specific plans. It’s no secret that the best thing you can do to ensure improvement is to have an effective study plan! We want to help by giving you 5 tips that we believe should be included in any successful English study plan!
Before we begin with the tips we’d like to let you know about new courses that Nathan and I Thinking in English Classes are running from January. While some of you might prefer to design and manage your own study plan next year, we know that many of you are busy people and it would be helpful to follow a study plan designed by experienced English teachers.
That’s why we’ve made our Level Boost 6 week courses starting in January! These are highly-effective study plans including one 60 minute lesson per week. We designed them to optimise your progress and make sure you remember what you learn. These new courses incorporate all 5 of the tips that are about to follow. And that’s why we believe that our new Level Boost courses are the best way to improve your English in 2024.
You can book your place now at thinkinginenglish.link. There’s a 10% discount for anyone that signs up before the 1st January and an extra 10% off for all Thinking in English patreon subscribers.
Go to thinkinginenglish.link to find out more and book with a 10% discount before 1st January!
Enter coupon code at checkout:
CHRISTMAS-10
Now back to the tips, here are 5 ways to improve your English in 2024…
1. Find the right materials for you!
As a listener to Thinking In English, you know that interesting English content makes learning easier and more engaging. It’s better to listen to something that we would find interesting, even in our own language! And that’s why Tom’s podcast is such a great tool.
But you’re going to need a variety of good learning materials if you want to improve faster in 2024. You need to find materials that are the right level for you. What you’re reading, or listening to, or even practice activities you do, mustn’t be not too hard. If you’re struggling to understand too much, you’ll actually learn slower. And what’s more you probably won’t enjoy it so much so you might lose motivation.
However it’s also very important that the materials are not too easy for you. In fact they should always be slightly challenging, so you discover a bit of new language every time.
2. Be thorough!
Do you ever feel like there are gaps in your knowledge when using English? Can you communicate very well on certain topics but struggle to say anything on others? Perhaps there are some grammatical tenses that you‘ve been avoiding that you should know how use?
Mastering a language means being able to use it flexibly and creatively in a range of different situations. It’s very easy to focus your learning on only one aspect of language learning and leave gaps in your knowledge.
I know I’ve been guilty of this in the language I’m currently studying, Italian. When I discover a gap in my knowledge while speaking Italian, I often freeze up and then struggle to remember even the most basic things to say. I often feel a bit embarrassed and I lose confidence.
Of course these moments are a normal and important part of a language learning journey. But as much as we can, we should avoid leaving big gaps in our knowledge by working on all of our language skills together. That means that a good study program is going to dedicate time to Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing. We must also have a considered approach to learning a range of grammar and vocab that is appropriate to our level.
And finally don’t forget about pronunciation! As you know, you can’t learn how to pronounce a new word in English simply by looking at the spelling. However, with the right method, unlocking clear English pronunciation is not as difficult as many people think.
3. Use it or lose it!
Most of the time, when you hear something new, you will have forgotten it by the next day! We all notice this when learning languages. For example, we often see a word five or even ten times before we finally remember it!
What’s more, even when we finally remember a new word or grammatical structure, we often forget it again when we’re having a real conversation. Our minds go blank in the heat of the moment! The best way to remember new language is by using it!
So when we learn something new we should make an effort to practise it soon afterwards in speech and in writing. And yes, it’s important to do both! We have more time to think about the language we will use in writing, meaning we can experiment more freely with new language. We will often find that we only start using certain new phrases in our speech after we have used them a few times in writing!
4. Keep a good learning routine!
When trying to master any new skill, consistency is key! The most successful English learners find time to practise as part of their normal weekly routine and study at more-or-less the same times each week. The best method is to study little and often. That might mean just 15 minutes every day and a longer session once or twice a week. If you spend 6 hours studying once a week you probably won’t remember so much. Also you’re much more likely to miss a session when you’re feeling less motivated!
Sticking to your plan throughout 2024 is the most important thing. So don’t make it too difficult, remember to give yourself plenty of time to rest, and enjoy it!
5. Find study partners!
Studying with other people has real benefits. Even if you like studying quietly on your own, there are times when others will help you! Firstly, if you are part of a small community of learners that attend classes together, you will help to motivate each other. People skip study sessions far less often when they know there are other learners doing the same thing.
Secondly, our classmates or study partners will ask questions that we hadn’t thought of which help us a lot. Other times you will learn a new phrase from another learner. And sometimes you will understand more than your study partner. Explaining something to others is a really powerful way to improve your own understanding.
And finally, language is not something you can do on your own! It’s crucial to find people to practice the language with. Sometimes this is difficult, and expensive. Other learners are extremely valuable (and free!) potential speaking partners.
If you can remember all 5 of these tips when making your study plan for next year, you might just have your best year of English progress yet! And don’t forget that you don’t have to make your study plan alone. We are more than happy to do that for you…
We have prepared our Level Boost 6 week courses especially to be the most effective study plan to improve your English in the new year. The courses will continue throughout the year so after 6 weeks you’ll be able to continue your progress and, if you stick to the plan, level up your English in 2024.
Go to thinkinginenglish.link to find out more and book with a 10% discount before 1st January!
Enter coupon code at checkout:
CHRISTMAS-10
Extended Vocabulary List
Vocabulary Games and Activities!
Learn and practice vocabulary from this Thinking in English episode. Practice using 5 different study games and activities – including writing, listening, and memorisation techniques!
Flashcards
Matching Game
Learning Game
Test Yourself
Listening and Spelling
