Plan for learning English. How to build the process of learning English - from scratch to intermediate level

Although English is taught as a first foreign language in most schools and universities, few become fluent in it after completing their studies. And then, the number of young people who have just graduated from school and university is still less than the number of adults who attended Soviet school, studied German at school and were faced with the need to learn English only at a conscious age.

Modern technologies are trying to make the process of learning any new subject easier and more fun. But at the same time, there are so many new features, applications, videos, podcasts, online schools, learning communities on social networks and the like that it makes your eyes wide open, and the process of learning English has no structure. How to achieve tangible results and master the language at a decent level?

There are, in fact, no secrets. But there are a lot of excuses that students use to justify their reluctance to strain and study. Let's first create a list of rules that we will follow, for example, for a month. After this month, the rules can be revised and you can set yourself a longer period.

Rule 1: study systematically

If you decide to learn a language on your own, without the help of a qualified teacher or with minimal help, you will have to show independence and perseverance. Many people believe that the language will learn on its own and that no effort is needed. More precisely, at first everything is fine. You regularly learn words and watch videos every day. And then it starts: “Okay, a couple of exercises a week maximum. Errors? But why check or analyze them, we’re not on an exam. Read? No, it's too difficult. So many unfamiliar words. Listen? When I know the language normally, then I will listen.”

Have such thoughts arisen? Ask yourself again why you are learning English. Do you still need to continue? If yes, then think about Russian: you actually studied it every day for a good ten years. And they made the same mistakes, and didn’t want to read, and took forever to complete the lessons. English is no different: you need to practice every day, at least a little.

Rule 2: Make the process fun

Answer the question again: why do you need English? For work? Then, as you study grammar, you need to use professional vocabulary and listen to podcasts or programs related to your activity. For traveling? Then you need to subscribe to English-language travel blogs, read posts and watch videos, and write about your travels. What you teach should be interesting to you personally.

Rule 3: Set achievable goals

You won't find quick results. Take a look at Rule 1 one more time: yes, Russian didn’t come easily to you either. All courses that promise you to speak perfect English in three months are nothing more than a marketing ploy. If you are learning a language from scratch, then you will need at least two to three years of constant daily work to speak at an acceptable, but not the highest, level without making major mistakes. To make it easier to understand the situation: imagine that Juan from Mexico contacted you. Juan speaks only Spanish and a little English, but he needs to learn Russian for work. In three months, will Juan be able to understand the scale of the tragedy with spelling and stress, cases, three genders of nouns, alternating vowels in the root of a word, types and conjugations of verbs, participles, agreements in a sentence and other joys of the Russian language, which are sometimes difficult even for a native speaker?

However, this does not mean that you should give up. We make rules for a month, right? Set yourself realistic goals. You learn a language from scratch. What can you learn in a month? Quite a lot, if you follow the same rule 1. Here's a small list to get you started:

- alphabet;
– basic rules of pronunciation and spelling (within the framework of the topics being studied: at the beginner level you do not need to learn words like throughout And nevertheless);
- verb to be and its functions
– Present Simple tense: statements with the verb to be and with other verbs, negatives, questions.
- subject “About myself”: what is your name, where are you from, where do you study or work, what do you do in your free time.
- subject “Likes and dislikes”: the very first rule of using a verb with the particle to (infinitive) and a verb with the ending –ing (gerund) to talk about your preferences.

And if you really study often, you can cover the topic “Daily routines” and learn to talk about what you do during the day. This topic will include the first phrasal verbs ( get up, come back) and the first fixed expressions ( take a shower, go to bed). At the end of the first month, you will be able to tell us a little about yourself. And, believe me, this is already quite a lot.

That's how simple it is to begin with. You need to understand why you are learning English, study systematically and in a way that is personally interesting to you, and move forward in small steps.

Where to begin?

The question is really important. The Internet is full of materials, any textbook can be downloaded, there are so many online solutions and applications around - it’s not clear what to start with first. That’s why many people cling to old manuals: they say, classics, time-tested! But language is a living thing, it changes every day. Soviet classic textbooks won't really teach you anything. In the modern field of education, a ten-year-old textbook is already considered old and irrelevant. Moreover, you may not be able to choose the right textbook for your needs. An experienced teacher or methodologist can do this task, but you decided to study yourself.

However, if you really want to work from a book, then look for a store in your city that sells foreign textbooks. If this store represents some publishing house, even better. As a rule, in such places there are methodologists who can help you with your choice.

When learning on your own, keep in mind the four main aspects that are learned in any language. Each of them needs to be given time. Of course, some will be easier, some will be easier, but none of them can be excluded from the process. So, let's imagine that you have just started and are following the plan that we made above.

Listening

We'll also include pronunciation here. Decide which language option you need. Most often they choose between British and American. After this, devote the first lessons to working by ear. The British BBC has a British pronunciation course: listen and repeat the words. Watch how the native speech apparatus works and try to imitate. American pronunciation is good in Rachel's English course. The steps are the same: repeat, try to imitate the sound as closely as possible. Record yourself and listen. If a sound doesn't work for you, practice it more often.

Also pay attention to the minimal pairs; this exercise will also teach you to read and write without errors. A minimal pair is a pair of words that differ from each other by one sound. For example, time - time.

Move from sounds and words to sentences. Imitate intonation, repeat dialogues. Again, record yourself and listen. Make sure you pronounce your words clearly and that your sentence is intonationally similar to what a native speaker would read.

And, of course, don't forget about the songs. Translate your favorite composition and sing it along with the performer. After all, it is much more pleasant to listen and understand what they are singing about.

Letter

We'll also include grammar here. At higher levels, the writing aspect involves the ability to write coherent texts, such as letters or essays. At your level, the main task is to write words and short sentences without errors. There are tons of interactive exercises online with missing letters: fill them into a word and check your spelling. They will also help you scrambled sentences(“mixed” sentences), where you need to restore the order of words - we have them, for example, in Video Puzzles.

Grammar can and should be studied not only in writing, but also via video. Signs or reminder stickers will help you in writing. For example, at the initial stage, many students forget about the end –s for the third person singular in Present Simple tense ( he walks, she speaks, it shines). Place a large reminder with a letter in front of your eyes 'S', so that it is always before your eyes when you speak or write sentences. Video explanations will show you how the rule you are learning applies in context.

Of course, there is no escape from grammar exercises. As in Russian, in English some things are “achieved” only through automatism. To find exercises on the Internet, you need to enter a topic and a word exercises. For example, “present simple exercises”. If you want to study from a book, then the classic red textbook by Raymond Murphy is suitable, Essential Grammar in Use, which has a Russified version. You can consider textbooks from other publishers: English Grammar in Context from Macmillan, Next Generation Grammar from Pearson or Oxford Practice Grammar. The main thing is to choose the very first level – A1.

Reading

We will also include vocabulary here. Many people underestimate reading, believing that speaking is more important when learning a language. But in fact, reading not only broadens your horizons, but helps improve all your English skills. So, you can see all the grammar in context. You see phrasal verbs, interesting expressions and words. By memorizing them, you increase your vocabulary. Audiobooks read by native speakers help you learn to perceive speech by ear. And if you repeat after the recording, you can speed up your speech. In general, reading is an enjoyable experience from all sides!

Usually students think that they need to read something serious right away. But you didn't pick up Crime and Punishment when you were four, right? The ideal place to start would be a simple text written only in the present tense. And finding it is not that difficult. You need to find so-called “readers” - thin, adapted books for reading. Depending on the publisher, they are released at the Starter or Beginner level. You need level A1.1 or with a minimum number of words studied. Look at the cover: there or there will be a word Starter/Beginner, or a level will be written, or there will be a ranking by the number of words, you need the minimum. Ideally, your book should come with a disc (or an audio track if you download the book from the Internet). In addition to short and easy-to-understand texts, such books necessarily contain comprehension tasks. There may also be grammar exercises there. And since we are talking about adapted literature, you will not encounter complex sentences and cumbersome grammatical structures.

You can also learn words in apps. True, there is one drawback: learning vocabulary using the “word-translation” model is useless. You need to immediately apply the word at least in a phrase, and ideally in a sentence, otherwise you will simply know a bunch of words, but will not be able to use them in the right context. Use stickers. Stick them around the house and immediately come up with a phrase. For example, put a sticker with the word 'mirror' on the mirror and learn the phrase “big/small mirror”. Such seemingly banal things help you remember words better.

Speaking

The most difficult aspect that includes all the others. Here you need to be able to listen, and be able to use vocabulary and grammar, and react quickly. When studying on your own, this aspect suffers the most, because you have no one to talk to. There is an exit. You can find the same beginner who has just started learning the language and communicate with him. Read dialogues together, act them out, practice asking and answering questions.

To practice speaking alone, you can also read dialogues, watch educational videos where the announcer says something and you need to answer by reading the subtitle, and do exercises in which you need to choose the correct answer to some phrase or question. It is very useful to work through dialogues with substitution of words. For example, your answer says “That's good”, but you can replace the word good for other words: fantastic, amazing, awesome etc. Try to rewrite famous dialogues with new words and read them aloud.

What's next?

All the aspects described above do not go away after you go through the first stages of learning English. You will continue to work according to the same scheme, it’s just that the level will become higher and the tasks more difficult. In the next article we will look at ways to improve your English proficiency and maintain your results.

For those who want to improve their English

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As E. Reznikova said, “First – the plan, then the answer, whether it was a success or not.” A very correct aphorism. After all, timely planning eliminates many problems in any business. Therefore, everyone needs to formulate their own plan for learning English and develop some rules for effective mastery of the language.

Let us note that for those who take up learning a foreign language on their own, it is much more difficult than studying with tutors and professional teachers. You will need hard work, perseverance, willpower, and self-discipline. In specialized courses, you are simply a passive learner, but in independent study, your goal is to become an active learner.

Before we proceed directly to studying the rules and plan, we need to determine the necessary set of tools that will help any beginner learn the language:

Dictionary

Self-instruction manual

Grammar guide

Phrasebook

Mobile programs

Audio or regular book for beginners

You choose any of these tools at your discretion.

Foreign Study Plan

• Choosing a methodology. Choose the method you like. For example, the Dragunkin course, the Pimsleur method, the Polyglot system. Practice this method until you pass the first level, then evaluate the results.

• A selection of teaching aids - dictionaries, video courses, tutorials, audio books and phrase books, as well as websites. Follow the recommendations of one or two sources and follow them, evaluating their effectiveness after three to four weeks

• Choose the ideal time for you to start classes and the duration of the lesson. For example, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday from 8:30 to 9:30. Spend at least 1 hour a day studying, but no more than two

• Tutor lessons. A professional will explain to you obscure rules and other phenomena of English speech two or three times a month, and will work on your pronunciation

• Create a detailed plan. Distribute when and what you intend to master, but do not overdo it. Be adequate, don't take on too much. Choose the best rhythm and pace of learning for yourself. Don't try to master a huge section right away. It’s much better to break it up into a couple of separate lectures.

• Create comfortable conditions. Remove everything that will disturb you and distract you from your studies - turn off the radio and TV, speakers near the computer if they are not useful for studying, close unnecessary tabs and windows in the browser. Sit comfortably, have a pen and workbook ready

• Hearing. With audiobooks, TV, radio, films, cartoons, entertainment programs and a professional voice-over, learn to recognize fluent British and American speech

• Reading. Study English-language books, magazines, articles, newspapers, children's fiction, Internet posts, as often and as much as possible. Use texts of different types of complexity, based on your own level of English knowledge

• Replenishment of vocabulary. Every day increase your vocabulary by 15-20 words. To simplify the process, learn thematic vocabulary - colors, top 100 phrases, numbers, animals, furniture, situational expressions, wardrobe items, etc.

• Talk. Oral practice is the key to successful mastery of English speech, so communicate with Americans and Britons on the Internet, unite in communities of interest, and act out dialogues

• Letter. Reinforce all new material in writing, perform various practical exercises, and take notes, which helps form motor memory

• Grammar. Enrich your vocabulary through stable expressions, and the nature of their occurrence, thanks to the laws of grammar.

Follow this plan, get motivated, and you will master English in no time.

Based on materials from the site http://englishfull.ru/

To paraphrase the classic we can say:

“If you don’t develop a plan in the morning, you’ll do something stupid in the afternoon.” (Voltaire)

Quite a fair expression. Therefore, I decided to create my own English language learning plan and developed some rules for beginners. English according to plan Let me immediately note that it is much more difficult for beginners to learn a foreign language on their own. You will need maximum effort and self-discipline. Unlike specialized courses, where you are the learner. When learning independently, you must be an active learner.

Before moving directly to the plan and rules, it is necessary to determine a set of tools that will help a beginner master the language:

• Tutorial for your taste
• Website “Learn English from scratch”
• Phrasebook
• Dictionary
• Grammar reference
• Mobile applications

My English learning plan

Follow the plan strictly and you will succeed! Tested for yourself!

Rules for learning English

rules of the English language In addition to the plan, it would also be a good idea for beginners to remember the following rules for learning English:

• Motivation. Decide why you need English - work, study, self-development, travel
• Constant classes. You need to study regularly. You can’t study for two weeks and rest for two. Exercise every day
• Class time. Study time should be at least 1 hour and no more than 3 hours. “No matter how much you pour into a liter jar, you can’t fit more than a liter”
• Repetition. Regularly review the material you have covered and apply the acquired knowledge in practice, talk to yourself, repeat phrases in transport to yourself, etc.
• Word - context - life situation. A word out of context is neither interesting nor effective for memorization. Therefore, study the word in context and imagine a living situation, bring the words to life!
• Immediately apply your new acquired knowledge in practice. Feel free to speak and write in English, you will be appreciated and your shortcomings will be corrected

Well, not everything is as difficult as it seemed! Is it true?! Simple plan and simple rules!

Practice communicating as much as possible and hone your English language skills.

I wish you success!

In my last year at university, I started working part-time as an English tutor (I studied at the Dobrolyubov NSLU, majoring in theory and methods of teaching foreign languages ​​and cultures). But my lessons didn’t seem to be as successful as they could have been, and I didn’t have a clear answer as to why this was happening.

After graduating from the institute, I started working at a language school, where I began to devote much more time to methodology and for the first time thought about the importance of planning. Then I realized that by doing sosecretthe ingredient needed for a successful lesson islessonplan.

Now I can definitely answer the question why plan a lesson:

• The lesson acquires integrity. It's like a journey from point A to point B. Without a plan, you will be tossed around like you're on a ship on the high seas in a storm, and students will wonder, "What was that?"
• Control over the lesson. You know where to start, how to move from one activity to another, what possible questions students might have, what to do if you finish early, etc.

Before planning a lesson, it makes sense to develop template, a template that is visually convenient for you (I use it), which will include all the lesson elements you need.

Include the following elements in the template header:

1. date
2. Lesson duration
3. Student name/group number + level
4. Lesson topic
5. The purpose of the lesson
6. Materials to be used (textbook, additional materials, question cards, photographs, etc.)

In the main part, indicate:

• Introduction
• Main part
• Conclusion
• Homework
• Comments

This form will help you not to forget anything when planning a lesson.

Stages of working on a lesson plan

Target

The first step is to determine the purpose of the lesson. A goal is always an answer to a question “What new knowledge will my students leave the lesson with?” This way the lesson takes on meaning, and all its elements are tied to one goal.

Introductory part

Having determined the goal, you can proceed to the introductory part of the lesson - warm up. It serves to get students talking, arouse their interest, intrigue them and smoothly lead them to the topic of the lesson.

What is important to remember:

• The optimal warm-up time is 5-10 minutes
• Variety - each lesson should have a different warm-up, so try not to start all lessons the same way with the usual “How are you?”

Main part

A key component of the lesson, which is aimed at presenting and practicing new material.

The content of the main part should be directly related to the purpose of the lesson - then each task takes on meaning. Remember, the main thing here is not the quantity of tasks, but their quality. Despite the variety of materials, books, textbooks and activities, it is important to dose the assignments and get the most out of what you give to your students.

The second thing to remember is the variety of tasks. Whether you're working with children or adults, it's important to make your lesson as varied as possible to maintain student interest and engagement.

Alternate fill-in-the-blank activities with flashcards, pair activities with group activities, move students around, have them write on the board for you, and create a dynamic and stimulating learning environment.

Conclusion

Spend 5-10 minutes on the final part of the lesson. Don't plan anything new, don't introduce new grammar or vocabulary. By this point, the students (no matter how interesting the lesson was) were already tired.

This is the perfect time to play a little, summarize the lesson, give homework and answer any final questions that students have.

8 life hacks for planning your dream lesson:

# 1. Please indicate approximate amount of time, which will take to complete each task.

# 2 . Think over and write down in your plan how you will present the rules to students completing tasks. The explanation must be clear, concise and understandable.

# 3. Write down any questions/difficulties students may have. Think about how they could be solved

# 4. Think and Write down how you will move from one task to another. The transition should be smooth and logical.

# 5. Opposite each task indicate the source- page and number of the exercise in the textbook; if we are talking about additional materials, indicate the serial number of the task, for example, activity 1)

# 6. Always keep the plan handy.

# 7. Prepare an additional task in case the lesson ends early.

# 8. After class analyze your plan and note which tasks worked and which did not. Think about how you can avoid similar problems in the future.

Planning a lesson is necessary and very important! At the beginning of a teaching career, lesson planning can take a lot of time and the plans themselves can be very detailed. There is nothing wrong with this, on the contrary - if you are just starting out, write everything down! Over time, planning a lesson, as well as filling it out, will be much faster.

Hello friends! Today I decided to devote an article to a fairly comprehensive topic: how to build a language learning system and protect yourself from unnecessary mistakes on the way to your cherished goal. In fact, it won’t work out completely without errors either, but why not reduce their number?

How is it that people “learn” a language for years, but do not achieve results?

I have been working in the field of education for several years now (to be precise, 9 years!). And I have observed more than once that people, not knowing where to start learning a language, buy courses from the series “how to learn English in X hours”, instead of first thinking about why they are going to learn the language and what, based on this , will work for them! A technique or course will not suit everyone at once, unless there are thousands of program options inside.

The main mistake of beginners in terms of language promotion: no route to targets. When there is direction, then opportunities appear and the graph straightens out. An understanding comes of what to teach and what will be superfluous, whether to look for a teacher and when to start speaking practice, and so on.

Organizing the study of a foreign language does not mean carefully prescribing every step. You need a foundation and the rest will build around it.

Language learning plan

1. Understand WHY to learn a language.
   Do this even before searching for materials. I advise you to formulate a clear goal and set a deadline for achievement. In addition to the main one, write down your goals for the week, month and day (if you practice daily).
2. Find time to exercise.
   Schedule... Some people have an hour a day, others have a job from 9 to 7 and no options. And a foreign language is like a sport! You forget about him, he disappears from memory. So, analyze how much time you have and how much you are willing to allocate to study. Determine your personal regularity in accordance with the rhythm of life. An hour every other day, 20 minutes a day, 5 minutes several times a day in between.
3. Get help.
   I believe that you can master a language on your own, but the success of this activity depends on a number of factors.

If you have been studying for several months, have a good foundation, and use the language in practice quite confidently, then you are ready to train independently using Internet resources every day and find someone to practice with on Skype.

At the initial stage (especially from scratch and with your first foreign language), look for a teacher or courses. There are different options, for example, training through special platforms, . The cost is reasonable. You just need to look.

1. Remember attitude, motivation and patience.
   I’m putting them together because together they help in many ways, for example, overcoming the language barrier. You start with motivation, then use it to develop the right attitude and patience. Remember that results will appear, but not immediately!
2. Train your language skills.
   Determine your stage of learning, goals, and you will understand what exactly to study. Constant skill training is important, of course, focusing on what you need. Remember your priorities.

Beginners: your task is to master basic vocabulary (minilex - the first 500 words and miniphrases - the first 100 expressions), grammar (sentence construction, question and negation, present, past and future tense) and pronunciation (sounds, combinations, transcription). For a simple conversation, the ability to talk about yourself and your interlocutor, family, work, hobbies, weather, friends is enough.

After mastering the base move on to topics that correspond to the goal (travel, business trip, work, interview, specific vocabulary). In any case, prepare and print a list of topics in order. Then mark what you have completed and mastered.

Remember: if you learn the theory, you immediately put it into practice. Look for any opportunities to speak the language. Information alone will not take you very far.

1. Select resources.
   To select effective programs, sites, applications, it is important to know your goal, objectives and schedule. For example, in an hour of a lesson you can cover a topic on grammar or vocabulary from an online textbook, and also have time to do exercises on the topic. Short audio dialogues, radio and podcasts will help you out if you only have 5-10 free minutes. Prepare a clear list of materials and distribute them to different situations, as in the example.
2. Keep reports.
   This finishing touch will help you make sure that you are going in the right direction, that you are spending enough time on the language, that you are getting results, and that you can adjust your plan in time. Write a couple of sentences every day or once a week about the results of the day/week, or simply note the amount of time you were able to devote to classes.

How to set up a training system

When I arrived in Israel, I knew Hebrew at a basic level, then I took courses here. Then there was a period when I didn’t study at all, and my social circle was only in Russian and English. The skill began to be lost. I had to admit it. At some point I realized that if I need this language, I need to do something.

I collected information, tried a lot of teaching resources, analyzed my mistakes and over time collected the best practices, which I now use to teach in individual programs. Now you too can test different language learning methods, understand what suits you, create motivation and get into the habit of regular study.

If you put even some of the tips into practice, you will speed up your learning of a foreign language and learn to use it in life.

In an individual program, you will improve the points from the plan above, plus you won’t have to look for resources: during classes, I share a whole list and give step-by-step training schemes for each language skill.

Individual program options

1. Consultation: One professional consultation may be enough for you to clarify what you do not understand, see further direction, understand your strengths and weaknesses and how to put them into practice.
2. Individual master class: a master class allows you to carry out more comprehensive work to bring your foreign language to a new level and move on to its active use in practice. It involves creating a personal language learning route and regular Skype calls as you complete the plan.

If this is what you are looking for, join the program. Don't waste time searching for what has already been found and verified.

You will build a flexible language learning system that you can adjust depending on changes in your goals.

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