Learning English from scratch! English from scratch: how to start a successful study.

Despite the fact that at school a foreign language is included in the group of compulsory disciplines, few manage to master it within the framework of the school course. Therefore, the question of how to learn English on your own from scratch at home is acute.

You can learn a language at home without outside help. You just need to have a clear motivation and choose the right course of study. This will get you results. I have a collection of tips that I will present to your judgment.

  • First of all, determine the goals for which you are learning the language: passing an international exam, finding a job in a foreign company, communicating with residents of other countries, or confidence in foreign travel. The methodology is determined by intentions.
  • I recommend starting with learning the basics. Without this, it is impossible to learn the language. Pay attention to the alphabet, reading rules and grammar. The tutorial will help you to cope with the task. Buy it at the bookstore.
  • As soon as the initial knowledge becomes stable, choose the contact study option. It's about about remote courses, school distance learning or Skype lessons. If you are highly motivated and your language learning is progressing well, having an interlocutor will not hurt, since external control is the key to successful learning.
  • Mastering the chosen course, pay attention to reading fiction. At first, I recommend using adapted books. In the future, switch to full-fledged texts. As a result, master the technique of speed reading.
  • Novels and detective stories are suitable for learning. Even if the chosen book is not a literary masterpiece, it will help to expand the vocabulary with new words and expressions. If unfamiliar vocabulary is encountered while reading, I recommend writing it out, translating and memorizing it. Over time, you will see that an extensive vocabulary array is often repeated in works.
  • Watch movies, series and shows in English. At first, even with effective and intensive training, it is problematic to understand something. Over time, get used to foreign speech and be able to understand. Spend half an hour daily watching.

Even if you have recently started learning a language, try to talk more often and do not be afraid of mistakes. Learn to express thoughts, and master the technique of constructing phrases with practice.

Ways to Learn English in the Shortest Time

Continuing the topic of the article, I will share the technique of high-speed learning in English. I don’t know for what purpose you are learning the language, but if you ended up on the pages of the site, then you need it.

As practice shows, people get into awkward situations due to poor knowledge of the English language. We have to learn the language as part of the school course, but the knowledge gained at school is not enough for work and communication. Many strive to become better in this matter.

Any foreign language is easier to master in a country whose inhabitants are native speakers. But not everyone can leave the Motherland for such a big goal. How to be?

  1. If you can't afford a short trip to the States or England, recreate an English-speaking environment at home.
  2. Study phrases in the target language daily. Give preference to complex phrases containing phraseological turns. A proverb or speech of a creative person will do.
  3. Lay out each phrase, rewrite it several times, print it out on paper and hang it on the refrigerator door or in another conspicuous place. The studied material is constantly pronounce aloud, making the correct intonation.
  4. Surround yourself with English. He must accompany you everywhere. The player will help with this. Listening to music or statements in a foreign language, you will initially understand poorly. Later, learn to catch words that will eventually develop into understandable phrases.
  5. Download the English-language series to your computer in the original, but with subtitles. Watch episode by episode before going to bed and discuss with your spouse or child the next day.
  6. An electronic book will become an assistant in the rapid development of English speech. Download from the Internet and read English-language works. The e-book provides a dictionary that will help you master complex literature, and the voice function will voice the correct pronunciation.
  7. Don't forget about learning English via Skype. Find a teacher on the Internet, agree with him the time of classes and communicate within the lessons. This technique has many advantages. You can independently choose a teacher and agree on cooperation on favorable terms. He will offer a lot interactive lessons based on an individual approach.

Videos training

The speed of achieving the goal and getting the result depends on perseverance, the level of motivation and the course of study chosen in accordance with the possibilities. Work hard and everything will work out. As a result, you will become smarter and feel free anywhere in the world.

Benefits of learning English

Compatriots are of the opinion that a thorough study of foreign languages ​​is inappropriate. Popular Movies, literary works and scientific works have long been translated into Russian. For the sake of other spheres, areas and segments, it makes no sense to master a second language.

If you doubt the need to learn foreign languages, read the material and learn about the benefits of learning English. I have been teaching it for three years and I find this skill useful. I read, communicate and perceive live speech. A lot of experience has accumulated over the years.

Having mastered English, you will be able to perceive the world in a different way. This will not happen immediately, but by improving your knowledge and skills, you will gain a generally accepted perception of the world.

Let's take a look at the main benefits.

  • Expanding horizons . The English-speaking audience of the World Wide Web is larger than the Russian-speaking part. Outside the information age, where it is considered the key to success not only in business, but also in life, owning a foreign language expands opportunities in terms of development.
  • Watching movies in the original . As a result, it will be possible to enjoy the sound of the voice of your favorite actor, and not the translator who voices the roles. The play on English words and original humor will never escape.
  • Understanding Music . Popular charts are full of foreign musical compositions. Knowing the language, you can understand the meaning of the song, feel the composition and get to know the personality of the performer.
  • Communication with foreigners . Fluency in the language contributes to the unification of cultures. People travel and communicate with residents of other countries. Much nicer and more convenient when you can talk to foreigners. This makes the trip more enjoyable.
  • Opening the way to success and wealth . After reading a few books about success, it turns out that not everything comes down to money. At the heart of the success of Western people lies the perception of the world and inner philosophy. You can read the translation of such books, but then you can only understand the essence of the teaching. Only the original helps to absorb knowledge.

Studying a foreign language, you find around you a huge number of foreigners. I like to talk with people who came to Russia from afar. It helps to make friends and makes the world "home". If you don't already know the language, it's never too late to start learning.

Why is English an international language?

I will devote the final part of the article to the factors due to which English has gained the status of an international language. English is the fourth most spoken language in the world. But this does not prevent him from remaining international. What contributed to this, history will tell.

From 1066 until the 14th century, England was ruled by French kings. As a result, the structure of Old English changed. It's about simplifying grammar and adding new words.

Two centuries later, writing rules appeared that have survived to this day. At that time, 6 million people spoke English. Thanks to the English colonies, the number of native speakers increased and the formation of international language.

Britain was a maritime nation. After the discovery of America by Columbus, expeditions set off to the South American shores. Researchers were interested in values ​​and treasures, and so that each voyage ended in success, colonies were formed on new lands. The first such settlement was organized in 1607 in Virginia.

After some time, residents of many countries began to migrate to America in search of a better life. Since they were talking mother tongue, it was impossible to do without an international language, and its role went to English speech.

The English, living in the new settlements, brought traditions along with the language. Local residents were forced to speak it. The British colonial policy contributed to the formation of English as an international language.

Learning English on your own from scratch is not easy. However, in the case of the online service, the student himself chooses the levels and time for classes that are suitable for him.

Before choosing a course, be sure to take an English proficiency test and a vocabulary test - they will help you decide where to start and what skills you need to pump.

If you already have basic knowledge - the alphabet and a small set of simple words and phrases - we recommend starting from the second course. The program is designed for 131 hours and is suitable for those who want to better understand the grammar of the English language, learn to distinguish tenses, maintain a simple conversation and write letters.

Third course suitable for those who have basic knowledge and do not want to stop there. The purpose of the program: to expand the student's horizons, to introduce complex words and expressions. The course also provides training in the preparation of business and personal letters. Upon successful completion of the program, the student will be able to telephone conversation retell simple texts.

AT fourth year great attention is given to the tenses of the English language. There is a careful analysis of the past tense. The student is invited to master several difficult topics for conversation.

Having successfully completed the fourth year of study, the student:

  • understand passive structures;
  • replenish vocabulary for about 3 thousand new words;
  • able to communicate and maintain a conversation on complex topics.

English for Beginners is a study guide for those who want to learn how to speak, listen, read and write English, but have never studied English and do not know how to start learning it. However, it can also be useful for those who once learned English and would like to quickly restore their knowledge. The manual offers a short phonetic course for teaching pronunciation and reading, an elementary grammar course, basic vocabulary on basic topics, communication models used in communication, texts for reading, exercises for training and systematizing the material. The accompanying CD helps develop listening skills.

This course was written at the numerous requests of teachers and students as the first and necessary part in mastering the English language, preceding the work on the textbooks “English for Russians. English speaking course + CD 1 and “English for everyone. Universal guide for learners of English + CD 2. For many years, the author has received requests and wishes to write a textbook based on the methodology he developed for those who want to start learning English, but do not have elementary information about it, i.e. present an elementary English course, after which you can proceed to work on other author's manuals. English for Beginners is for everyone who wants to learn how to speak, read and write English, but who have no idea about this language and do not know how to start learning it. Based on the needs of those who want to learn English from scratch, we offer a textbook consisting of two parts. The first part includes the "Introductory Phonetic Course", "Reading and Writing Rules", as well as the "Thematic Dictionary".

Free download e-book in a convenient format, watch and read:
Download the book English from scratch, an elementary practical course in English, Karavanova N.B., 2012 - fileskachat.com, fast and free download.

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"Everyone new language expands the consciousness of man and his world. It's like one more eye and one more ear," says Daniel Stein, the hero of Ludmila Ulitskaya's book. Would you like to expand your picture of the world and find mutual language with over a billion people? For those who answered yes, we will tell you how to start learning English. We hope that our guide will help beginners take their first steps and show the right path for those who continue to learn the language.

To get started, we invite you to watch a recording of a two-hour webinar with Victoria Kodak(a teacher and methodologist of our online school), in which she answers the question of how to start learning English in the most detailed way:

1. Introduction: When and how best to start learning English

Some adults believe that only children can start learning English from scratch. Someone thinks that an adult is ashamed to start from the basics and teach elementary rules and words, someone believes that only children can successfully learn foreign languages because they have excellent memory and learning abilities. Both the first and second opinions are wrong. There is nothing shameful in the fact that you start learning a language as an adult, on the contrary: the desire for knowledge always commands respect. According to the statistics of our school, people begin to learn the language from the first stage and at 20, and at 50 and even at 80 (!) years old. Moreover, they do not just start, but successfully study and reach high levels of English proficiency. So no matter how old you are, what matters is your desire to learn and your willingness to improve your knowledge.

Many people ask themselves: “What is the best way to start learning English?”. First you need to choose the way of learning that suits you: in a group, individually with a teacher or on one's own. You can read about the pros and cons of each of them in the article "".

The best option for those who are going to learn the language "from scratch" is classes with a teacher. You need a mentor to explain how the language "works" and help you build a solid foundation for your knowledge. The teacher is your interlocutor who:

  • help you start speaking English;
  • explain grammar in simple terms;
  • teach to read texts in English;
  • It will also help you develop your English listening comprehension skills.

For some reason, you do not have the desire or opportunity to study with a teacher? Then check out our step by step guide about self-study of English for beginners.

To begin with, we want to give you some tips on how to better organize your classes so that your efforts are not in vain. We recommend:

  • Exercise at least 2-3 times a week for 1 hour. Ideally, you need to practice English every day for at least 20-30 minutes. However, if you want to arrange a weekend for yourself, do it every other day, but in double volume - 40-60 minutes.
  • Work on speaking skills. Write short texts, read simple articles and news, listen to podcasts for beginners, and try to find someone to talk to to train your speaking skills.
  • Immediately put into practice what you have learned. Use the studied words and grammatical constructions in oral and written speech. Simple cramming will not give the desired effect: knowledge will fly out of your head if you do not use it. Learned a dozen words - make up short story using all these words, say it out loud. Studied past time Simple - write a short text in which all sentences will be in this tense.
  • Don't "Spray". The main mistake of beginners is an attempt to take as much as possible more materials and work with them all at the same time. As a result, the study turns out to be unsystematic, you get confused in the abundance of information and do not see progress.
  • repeat the past. Don't forget to review what you've learned. Even if it seems to you that you know the words on the topic “Weather” by heart, return to them in a month and check yourself: do you remember everything, if there were any difficulties. Repetition of the past is never superfluous. In our blog, we already wrote about. Familiarize yourself with the techniques and try to put them into practice.

3. Guide: How to start learning English from scratch on your own

Since English is still terra incognita for you, we tried to choose for you only the most the right materials. It turned out to be a rather voluminous list, from which you will learn where to start learning English and how to do it correctly. Let's just say that the work ahead is not easy, but interesting. Let's get started.

1. Learn the rules of reading English

Theater begins with a hanger, and English begins with reading rules. This is a basic piece of knowledge, thanks to which you can learn to read English and pronounce sounds and words correctly. We recommend that you use a simple table from the Internet and learn the rules by heart, as well as get acquainted with the transcription of the English language. This can be done, for example, on the Translate.ru website.

2. Check how words are pronounced

Even if you know the rules of reading by heart, when learning new words, check how they are pronounced correctly. cunning English words do not want to read the way they are written. And some of them even refuse to obey any rules of reading. Therefore, we advise you to check the pronunciation of each new word in an online dictionary, for example, Lingvo.ru or on a special site Howjsay.com. Listen to the word a few times and try to pronounce it exactly the same way. At the same time, practice the correct pronunciation.

3. Start building vocabulary

Take visual dictionaries into service, for example, use the Studyfun.ru website. Bright pictures voiced by native speakers and translation into Russian will make it easier for you to learn and memorize new vocabulary.

What words to start learning English? We recommend beginners to focus on the list of words on the site Englishspeak.com. Start with simple words of a general theme, remember which words you use most often in your speech in Russian. In addition, we advise you to devote more time to studying English verbs. It is the verb that makes speech dynamic and natural.

4. Learn grammar

If you imagine speech as a beautiful necklace, then grammar is a thread on which you place word beads in order to end up with a beautiful decoration. Violation of the "rules of the game" English grammar punished by misunderstanding of the interlocutor. And learning these rules is not so difficult, it is enough to study with a good textbook. We recommend that you take the first book in the Grammarway series of manuals translated into Russian. We wrote about this book in detail in our review. In addition, we recommend that you read our article "", from it you will find out what books you will need for initial stage learning English.

Do you find textbooks boring? It doesn't matter, pay attention to our series of articles "". In it, we state the rules in simple words, give many examples and tests to test knowledge. In addition, our teachers have compiled a simple and high-quality online English grammar tutorial for you. We also recommend reading the article "", in it you will find 8 good reasons to take up manuals, and also find out when you can do without textbooks in learning a language.

5. Listen to podcasts at your level

As soon as you started taking the first steps, you immediately need to accustom yourself to the sound of a foreign speech. Start with simple podcasts ranging from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. You can find simple audio recordings with translation into Russian on the Teachpro.ru website. And to get the most out of listening, check out our article "".

Once you've built your basic English vocabulary, it's time to start watching the news. We recommend the Newsinlevels.com resource. News texts for the first level are simple. There is an audio recording for each news, so be sure to listen to how new words sound for you, try to repeat them after the announcer.

7. Read simple texts

While reading, you activate visual memory: New words and phrases will be easy to remember. And if you want to not only read, but also learn new words, improve pronunciation, listen to texts voiced by native speakers, and then read them. You can find simple short texts in textbooks at your level, such as New English File Elementary, or on the Internet at this site.

8. Install helpful apps

How to start learning English from scratch on your own if you have a smartphone or tablet at hand? English learning apps are mini tutorials that you will always have in your pocket. The well-known Lingualeo app is ideal for learning new words: thanks to the spaced repetition technique, new vocabulary will not disappear from your memory after a month. And to study the structure, the principle of the “work” of the language, we recommend installing Duolingo. In addition to learning new words, this application will allow you to practice grammar and learn how to build sentences in English, as well as help you develop good pronunciation. Also, check out ours and choose from there the programs that interest you the most.

9. Study online

If you ask Google how to start learning English on your own, a caring search engine will immediately throw you a couple of hundred sites with various lessons, online exercises, articles about learning the language. An inexperienced student is immediately tempted to bookmark 83 “well, very necessary sites on which I will study every day.” We want to warn you against this: in the abundance of bookmarks, you will quickly get confused, and you need to study systematically, without jumping from one topic to another. Bookmark 2-3 really good resources that you will study on. This is more than enough. We recommend performing online exercises on the Correctenglish.ru website. Also check out our article "", in it you will find even more useful resources. And after you master the basics of English, check out the article "", where you can download a file with a list useful materials and sites for language learning.

4. Summing up

The list turned out to be rather big, and we tried to collect for you only the most necessary components of a successful study of the English language. However, we were unable to use the most important skill - speaking. It is almost impossible to train him alone with himself. The most you can do is try to find a friend who is learning English. However, a friend with more high level knowledge is unlikely to want to deal with a beginner, and a beginner like you cannot be an assistant. Moreover, when you work with a non-professional, there is a risk of "catching" his mistakes.

At self-study language has another fat minus - lack of control: you will not notice your mistakes and correct them. Therefore, we recommend that you think about classes with a teacher at least at the beginning of your journey. The teacher will give you the necessary push, help you choose right direction movements - exactly what a beginner needs.

Now you know how to learn English on your own from scratch. We admit that the path ahead is not easy, but if you have already set yourself a goal and are ready to work, positive results will not keep you waiting. We wish you patience and perseverance on the way to the intended goal!

And for those who want to achieve their goal faster, we offer with a teacher at our school.

Anyone who believes in himself and is distinguished by enviable perseverance may well learn English on his own. Today, both real and virtual textbooks are enough for this. How is learning a language with a teacher different from independent learning?

With a teacher, it may be easier to control the degree of understanding for beginners new topic and easier to put into practice. At the same time, passing English on the tutorial, you can sort out difficult places for as long and scrupulously as you like.

The teacher disciplines and obliges, but the prospect of learning English at a convenient time for you at home and with music is always pleasing.

Conclusion: Each method has its pros and cons, but one thing is indisputable:

Learning English by yourself is quite within the power of a beginner

All that is needed is inner responsibility, patience and self-discipline. How to learn English on your own?

Learning English by self-study

No less, and maybe more popular today are Internet online English tutorials for beginners.

What is an online tutorial

online English self-instruction manual Here, the training scheme may be somewhat different.

  1. There are no long tedious lessons in it (but there are more of them), one lesson can be completed in a day, so everything is to learn “a little bit”
  2. Teaching English is based on the method of parallel texts, which look like dialogues: we read and immediately translate.
  3. Reading is accompanied by sound accompaniment, which avoids phonetics lessons
  4. Then there are very accessible explanations, in the lessons - a minimum of grammar
  5. The following exercises are also simple and mostly on the topic of dialogues.
  6. Every 7 lessons there is a systematization with a repetition of the past

Thus, 145, for example, small lessons can be learned without straining in 5-6 months

Sample English lesson from an online tutorial

Here is what one English lesson looks like:


Thus, in this lesson, several new words and one phrase have been studied, and the final exercise, in addition to consolidating the material, prepares the way for a new lesson, the topic of which, obviously, will be related to indefinite pronouns and numerals.

Are you now convinced that learning English from a self-instruction manual is not difficult at all?