I am frequently asked by advanced-level students for a solve-all solution or tip for how they can improve their English quickly. These types of students are comfortable using the English language and often have used it over many years; they understand English in a wide range of contexts, including topics that are unfamiliar to them, and are able to communicate their ideas competently and without hesitation. However, they are aware that they are not writing and speaking as a native does. This post attempts to answer the question: How can I make my English perfect, like a native?
Do substantial passive reading and listening
Ensure that you choose good quality English to listen to and read. There is an abundance of poor grammar and language on the internet and used in the film industry. Read reputable academic books and books from the western literary canon. Be aware when reading older classics that English has moved on in many ways since the 1800s! Listen to politics, science, history and current affairs by leading reporters and investigators. BBC radio 4 is a reputable and long-standing broadcaster.
Listening and reading can be a form of passive learning, in which one is not producing speech or writing for oneself, but in which one learns the highest standard of the language one wishes to emulate. Much language is absorbed subconsciously through repetitive exposure, just as a child learns its first language. Increasing one’s exposure to a language and immersing oneself in that language on a daily basis accustoms a person to its nuances and character, and hugely improves one’s knowledge base, thereby impacting any subsequent speech and writing.
Passive listening can be done with audiobooks and podcasts while cooking, cleaning, driving, commuting, or even sleeping. Having a full schedule will never exclude your ability to passively absorb a language.
Order any books you need or wish to read in English. Read passively as though it were your own language and simply absorb the gist of the matter or as much as you can.
Execute active reading and listening
Set time aside to read and listen actively. As little as five or ten minutes per day massively impacts one’s progress. When you are reading and listening to English, make a point of noting any new and interesting vocabulary and then experiment with using this vocabulary immediately in your writing and speaking. There is a template for this at the end of this post. New vocabulary needs to be internalised and this is achieved by using it immediately and repeatedly, as well as by using it in its different grammatical forms. Speaking is best practised with a language tutor, but those on a limited budget can also practise spontaneous speaking for two to four minutes alone while recording their dialogue, and then play it back for self-correction.
Becoming an advanced language user
Two aspects of an advanced language user are extensive lexis (knowing lots of good words), and effective and accurate use of advanced grammar. These are not only tested for in language ability tests such as IELTS, Pearson PTE, Cambridge English, Aptis, and many more, but are the mark of an educated speaker of any language.
The greatest areas of difficulty for many English language learners are using prepositions accurately and using articles (a, an and the) appropriately. So, when you are reading and listening, pay active attention to how these are used and replicate their use in your own language production.
Furthermore, spoken English will be improved by having conversation classes with an experienced language teacher who will guide you in your pronunciation and any other areas that require attention or correction. Likewise, a teacher can examine samples of your writing and comment on areas that require improvement. But, not every student can afford a tutor, and for those that cannot, diligent attention to the forms of listening and speaking described above can obtain impressive results and enable you to raise your standard by your own efforts.
Familiarise yourself with advanced grammar
Get to grips with how to use articles
Accurately use prepositions, like a native
Many students are intimidated by what they do not know and, even when desiring improvement, persist in avoiding certain areas of grammar. However, an hour or two spent patiently familiarising oneself with a particular element of grammar is usually all that is required for understanding to ‘kick in’.
Explore what the advanced grammatical structures are in English. This link from the British Council shows the various areas of grammar that learners generally should cover, in increasing difficulty. Do not be intimidated by the lists; you will find that there are many you already use intuitively or subconsciously. Find out which ones you are uncomfortable with and learn them. Then, experiment with using your existing vocabulary, and new vocabulary, in the various grammatical forms. See the template at the end of this post.
Practical exercises
This template has been devised for you to use to improve your vocabulary and grammar, using the word ‘develop’ as an example in this instance.
Have a go at completing each of the given sentences in the template in a way that is relevant to the tense or grammatical structure used, and add any further structures of your own if you wish. Take your time over one word or phrase. Next, take a new word or phrase and repeat the process. In this way, you will deepen your understanding of the structure of advanced English and cement new vocabulary into your memory.
Scientists researching language have proved that a word needs to be encountered around 17 times before it remains in a person’s subconscious repertoire permanently. That means that if I look up a word in the dictionary today while reading a novel, I am unlikely to remember much about that word tomorrow without additional effort. The same is true of those who slavishly learn lists of vocabulary. On the other hand, language students can bypass this memory loss by using a word more than 17 times and working intensively in one sitting!
But, this exercise is not simply about increasing vocabulary, there are almost 200,000 words in the English lexicon after all, so that would be very time consuming. This exercise is as much about learning how to use the English language effectively and appropriately in all its forms, and it allows your grammar to become effortless and comfortable.
Diligent and dedicated learners never fail to succeed.
To your success!
The template
Example word: Develop
Definition: to grow or cause to grow (into a larger, stronger or more advanced form)
Synonyms: to start to exist, evolve, expand, progress
Root form: develop
Preterite: developed
Participle: developed
Continuous: developing
Gerund: I am practising developing photographs the old-fashioned way
Infinitive: I need you to develop these photographs
Noun form: There has been a development in the situation
Adjective form: This is a developing theme
Adverb form: Children with certain conditions differ developmentally
Verb forms:
Present simple: I develop my abilities
Past simple: I developed my abilities
Future simple: I will develop my abilities
Present continuous: I am developing my abilities
Past continuous: I was developing my abilities
Future continuous: I will be developing my abilities
Present perfect: I have developed my abilities
Past perfect: I had developed my abilities
Future perfect: I will have developed my abilities
Present perfect continuous: I have been developing my abilities
Past perfect continuous: I had been developing my abilities
Future perfect continuous: I will have been developing my abilities
0 conditional: If I practise my English, it improves
1st conditional: If I practise my English, it will improve
2nd conditional: If I practised my English, it would improve
3rd conditional: If I had practised my English, it would have improved
Please do add any questions or comments below!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Börjars, Kersti, and others. Introducing English Grammar, 2nd edn (Routledge, 2010)
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, 3rd edn (Cambridge University Press, 2019)
Dreyer, Benjamin. Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style (Penguin Random House, 2020)
Gwynne, N. M. Gwynne’s Grammar: The Ultimate Introduction to Grammar and the Writing of Good English (Ebury Press/Random House, 2013)
Hewings, Martin, and others. Cambridge English Grammar and Vocabulary for Advanced (Cambridge University Press, 2015)
Huddleston, Rodney, and others. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Cambridge University Press, 2002)
Lightbown, Patsy M., and others. How Languages are Learned, 4th edn (Oxford University Press, 2020)
Parrott, Martin. Grammar for English Language Teachers, 2nd edn (Cambridge University Press, 2011)
Pinker, Steven. The Language Instinct (Penguin Random House, 2015)
Plag, Ingo, and others. Introduction to English Linguistics (Mouton de Gruyter, 2007)
Quirk, Randolph, and others. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, reprint edn (Pearson, 2011)
Seely, John. Oxford A – Z of Grammar & Punctuation (Oxford University Press, 2020)
Thorne, Sarah. Advanced English Language, 2nd edn (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008)
Yule, George. The Study of Language, 4th edn (Cambridge University Press, 2010)
New Hart’s Rules: The Handbook of Style for Writers and Editors (Oxford University Press, 2005)
Hey, I think you have some great tips for improving English speaking and writing. The advice about practicing consistently and reading widely is really practical and can make a real difference in your language skills. So, I will definitely be following these tips to enhance my English.
have a good one . And thanks a lot
Hi Jake. Thanks for your comment. Glad to be of use and good luck!