Learning English is something that anyone can do. Whether you're old or young, shy or outgoing, male or female, tall or short, fat or skinny, you CAN learn to become a proficient user of of English. All it takes is commitment and execution.
A key shift is to change your mindset from one of "studying English" to one of "practicing English" and "using English". With spoken English, for example, one of the most important concepts to grasp is that the way to improve your spoken English is through practice, and by practice I mean opening your mouth and speaking. You're not going to improve your spoken English just by memorizing vocabulary. You're not going to improve your spoken English just by listening to the radio each morning. You're not going to improve your spoken English just by reading a book about spoken English. You’re going to improve your English by opening your mouth and speaking!!
So that's what we're going to do here. Each day I will share an English passage for you to use for practice. I will chose from a variety of different sources and styles, but I will choose material that I think has value beyond just English practice. The passages may make you laugh or they may make you cry, but mostly I hope they make you think. If you find that one day's material doesn't interest you, please have patience, as the next day's passage might match up better with your interests.
When using the passages for practice, try to mix listening, reading, reading aloud and imitation. If you can do just one of these that's still a start, but if you can combine these four methods of practice you'll get much better results. Try first listening to the passage without looking at the text, then reading the text, then imitating as you listen to the recording, then reading the text out loud. Then repeat. We'll talk more about this later.
Learning English is a journey, and I know your journey started long before today, but I hope that today can be the day you begin the habit of practicing every day, and I hope that this can be a place that helps you to become as proficient in English as you want to be.
