Let's dust off English learning

An overview of easy ways to learn English

Learning English

I've written this article with my daughter in mind, who wants to pack her bags and leave for 6 months to immerse herself in English-speaking lands, and also with a friend's daughter, who needs to prepare for the TOIC exam for her studies. To travel, to do business, to surf the Internet or to read certain technical instructions, mastery of English has become essential.

English is the world's most widely used utility language (1.5 billion speakers, including 372 million native speakers). Why deprive ourselves of learning it when the digital environment provides us with so many resources to do so. Traditionally, you were either in the "native" category, or in the category that sought to borrow the British or American accent and lexical formulas, depending on the objective. You could become an au pair, experience a linguistic bath while traveling, watch films or series in VO, read a newspaper in English, take courses at school and even spend your breaks in the language lab (when there was one) to make progress. But methods are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and this diversification is making learning another language more attractive.

Some winning methods to enrich traditional approaches

MOOC on the rock

Taking a MOOC in English is doubly beneficial. Not only will you learn content of your choice, but you'll also benefit from learning English. The British Council has a number of initiatives to help you get to grips with the language and its culture, not least its MOOC. But it doesn't have the monopoly, and there are other equally tempting proposals, such as Alison.

Online or telephone courses

Immersion in a country is ideal, but can be costly. In contrast, telephone exchanges can be used. The Télélangue offer, for example, is ideal unless you prefer to play the social card and learn English by keeping company with American retirees. It's a win-win exchange, with each person getting a little of what the other needs - a little attention in exchange for language practice time. And, as in the good old days of language correspondents, you can also meet new people.

Chat in virtual reality with an avatar

And why not enhance your language immersion in virtual reality? Multiplayer online games had already shown the way. You could coordinate your game strategy by communicating with players from all over the world. Virtual reality adds an extra dimension of fun. Putting on a headset and communicating with real, interacting characters will be a stimulating experience. For an escape game, a virtual tour of a city or a museum, you can also take advantage of practice time.

Apps and smartphones

Having a smartphone is already an asset when it comes to instantly consulting a lexicon or benefiting from a translation. You can even get the pronunciation of a word or an entire sentence and listen to the sound, then repeat it. Imagine being equipped with Google glass and connected earpieces, and you're a polyglot. The sheer number of apps available on our phones is prodigious. Hit parades are even published on a regular basis. Busuu, for example, promises to teach you English at a rate of 10 minutes a day. Babbel competes with this application. Comparators even exist to help you choose.

Adaptive learning

The principle of adaptive learning is to adjust difficulties as you progress. Gymglish is an example of this type of learning. The further you progress, the more the difficulty and questioning adapt to your needs, keeping you on your toes and helping you to remember difficulties you've already grasped.

Participate in an online community

Italki is an application that lets you choose a learning partner in a community eager to share its language practices. Register, choose your partner(s) and let yourself be carried away by the conversation with the teacher you've chosen, based on a short video. You're sure to find what you're looking for among the 10,000 registered teachers.

Learning through play

Games are an exceptional resource for stimulating learning. Success secretes the pleasure circuit in the brain - dopamine reinforces a positive loop that makes you want to play even more. Speaky planet and Snappy Words offer a wide range of playful approaches. More addictive than sugar, the game will make you learn Shakespeare's language without even realizing it.

Using software based on methodologies

In Rosetta stone, the entire software environment is in English, so you'll have to learn your way around, but Assimil and ABA English are still the benchmarks for progressive learning.

A little effort

While there are many methods to choose from, you still have to answer the question of motivation: why do I want to learn English? Because, unless we have to do it every day to get around, eat, etc., our brains will have to make an effort. So it's important to get to know yourself and choose the method best suited to your learning style, lifestyle and activities, otherwise the cassettes, films, dictionaries and manuals will pile up ineffectively and gather dust, or software dust. One of the incredible possibilities of the Internet is that it makes online learning materials available to everyone, free of charge. But fortunately, the network isn't everything. It's up to each and every one of us to find all the great things we can do if we master the language.