How to learn English quickly

Arjun, currently employed at a BPO, picked up the language in a matter of months, and today speaks fluently and freely. Here are a few tips to learn English quickly, in Arjun’

1. I never paid too much attention to single words; I learned them in context, i.e. I learned the phrases that the words were used in and it was these phrases that I later reviewed. I found that this helped me develop my speaking ability much faster.

2. I did not study grammar too carefully. Grammar makes you think about what you want to say, whereas to speak fluently it needs to come naturally to you. This is not to say that grammar should not be studied, but a degree of naturalness has to be present in your speech, which will be missing if you try to commit rules of grammar to memory.

3. I listened very intently, everyday. This is the best way to pick up pronunciation and the nuances of the language.

4. You must learn with long term considerations; this requires the committing of what you learn deep in your memory, by repetition. You must repeat what you have learnt, practice every day, use what you have practiced in conversations, etc. This is what I did, and it worked like a charm.

5. You must remember that the key to fluent conversation is confidence. I realised pretty early that I have to be assured of myself and of the words and phrases I had spent hours practicing, if I wanted to use them in everyday speech naturally. So, remember, be CONFIDENT.