Tips on improving English

My friend works as a soldier in Korea

. He is one of the smartest person I know. He usually has to wake up at 7 am because of his job, but he wakes up at 5 am instead to study English.

When I speak and write to my friend in English, I notice that he makes some grammatical errors but you know what? That’s absolutely fine. Don’t feel down just because you aren’t 100 percent correct. I actually think my friend is the best English learner I know. He can talk about any subject and I think this is one of the most important part of learning a language: the ability to freely express yourself. My friend taught me about Korea’s economy, history, politics, and social issues. These are all difficult subjects but even if he got stuck, he was able to express what he wanted to say. That’s why I really envy him. So how did he do this?

First of all, I think my friend loves to read. He reads a lot of philosophical books. I think reading is the best way to expand vocabulary and grammar.

I also suggest reading news articles, economic journals, and short fiction stories. Look up the words that you don’t know. When memorizing a word, try to use that word in sentences more often. It’s much more helpful than just memorizing it repeatedly.

I suggest speaking in English for at least 30 minutes a day. But if you don’t have enough time, I’d say try to speak with a native speaker at least 10 minutes a day. What you learn in textbooks might be totally different than what you can learn by speaking with a native speaker. You don’t need to learn complex vocabulary. Nobody uses words like aberration in conversational English. Simple words are fine!

And of course I’m always here for you guys! I’m not an English teacher and I don’t know everything. Explaining grammar is really difficult for me. But if needed, I’ll do research on the questions and concepts I’m not sure how to explain.