Problems in learning English and how to solve them
When you were determined to finally work out English, you can hear “I learn, I learn, but I can’t learn at all”, “You need to work, but I hate this English”, “I speak with a dictionary, I’m ashamed of people” ...
However, the real reasons for the difficulties can be cunningly hiding and disguising. Sometimes a person says one thing, but implies something completely different, and it is precisely such cases that we will examine today and at the same time tell you how to solve these problems.
How do you understand: "In school, I was overfed with grammar."
Most likely, you managed to learn from the old Soviet textbooks. A lot of reading and translation, a bunch of grammar exercises and memorizing texts by heart - remember?
Fortunately, now the techniques have changed. The main goal of modern textbooks is to teach people to communicate.
What can be done: often remind yourself that you are absolutely not obliged to love English. And to approach its study is practical. There are many benefits designed for representatives of various professions. There is English for businessmen, for doctors, for IT-specialists, for builders, for hairdressers ... If you take English as a useful tool, you can easily master it to the extent necessary for work and pleasant vacation trips - no more and no less.
And you can also watch video tutorials on grammar (we, for example, have a large section with different teachers and on different topics), this will suit both visuals and audials, plus you can immediately listen to the pronunciation of the words being studied.
How do you understand: "I have been fed grammar for many years, but there is no progress."
Excess knowledge does not happen. Believe me, Soviet textbooks, with all their innumerable flaws, have given you some kind of base, and learning to speak English will be easier for her.
What can be done: approach the colloquial English as a physical exercise and boldly “swing muscles”. In modern textbooks at every turn there are a lot of tasks for training conversation skills: “Discuss”, “Express your opinion”, “Answer the questions”. The topics that are offered in the textbook are usually associated with new words from the section, so even if a topic seems boring to you, try to say at least something: words learned in context are remembered better.
How do you understand: "I was tortured to climb the dictionary."
The responsible student sometimes tries to read something on his own ... and throws the book on the very first pages. Too many unfamiliar words, and for each of them you have to go to the dictionary.
What can be done: start with adapted books. We recommend starting with something completely simple, for Elementary or Pre-Intermediate (British and American benefits will be labeled Level 1). Each independently read book raises self-esteem and increases motivation. Try to understand the plot and sequence of events. And most importantly: look into the dictionary as little as possible! Set yourself a limit of 5-8 words from the dictionary on the chapter and choose only those without which the story is completely incomprehensible. Translate the rest intuitively, trying to understand the meaning of words you already know.
For the most responsible: try to search for words not in the English-Russian, but in the English-English dictionary. Longman Wordwise Dictionary is written in simple language and is designed for Level 1.
How do you understand: "I feel stupid, and it is very unpleasant."
In everyday life, the English speak quickly. The words merge into one long, pre-genuine, incomprehensible word, the official words “are swallowed” ... Do not hesitate, we speak the same way, and foreigners also fall into despair while listening to Russian.
What can be done: a couple of hours a week with a tutor is not enough for you. You have to spend more time and do it yourself. But you have a legal basis to listen to songs in English and watch movies in the original! Watch better with English subtitles included. Express reading books are included with books for reading with audio recordings of chapters to listen and read at the same time.
English learners complain about this most often. There can be several reasons for the conversational barrier.
1) How do you understand: "I'm afraid to make a mistake"
Fear of making a mistake in a conversation arises when the teacher interrupts and corrects the student all the time. Alas, this is often the fault of school teachers. And if the student also has demanding parents, then even as an adult, he is afraid of getting a deuce.
What can be done: remember that mistakes are made by everyone. One student from the practice of our teacher stopped being afraid when he realized that his business partner from Germany also had far from perfect English.
There are two types of conversational tasks in textbooks - accuracy and fluency. To overcome the language barrier you need a second type.
2) How do you understand: "I have a small vocabulary, I am afraid that I will not have enough words."
You like chatting and chatting, and you want to talk rather beautifully with long sentences. You often try to literally translate some Russian phrase into English, and if you find an unfamiliar word, ask the teacher. Sometimes you have to ask all the time, the conversation is stalled, and you get upset.
What can be done: learn to think immediately in English. You still think in Russian, which makes life very difficult for you. Think about what words and grammatical structures you already know, and speak as simply as possible - no need to immediately try to speak with flowery phrases. Try to use to the maximum that arsenal of words that you already know well.
Good for overcoming the barrier is suitable method "Listen and answer . "
3) How do you understand: "I do not like to listen to others."
Our teacher somehow had a chance to teach English to one boss. He immediately stated that he had difficulty speaking. However, it turned out that he himself did not speak so badly, but the need to listen to the replicas of the interlocutor caused him deaf irritation. It is clear that communication with other people did not go well with him.
What can be done: admit to yourself that this is the problem. Alas, the main method of teaching English now is communicative. If you are determined to succeed, you will have to get used not only to speak, but also to listen to the interlocutors.
And the main advice: remember that progress comes gradually. Give yourself enough time.
Readers of the blog give a coupon for 500 rubles for the purchase of a subscription, which includes 8 types of training and weekly mailings about English grammar and vocabulary - "Vitaminki" and "Buns".
And for unlimited and perpetual access to all features of the site there is an “All Inclusive” tariff (the discount does not apply).
However, the real reasons for the difficulties can be cunningly hiding and disguising. Sometimes a person says one thing, but implies something completely different, and it is precisely such cases that we will examine today and at the same time tell you how to solve these problems.
I do not like English
How do you understand: "In school, I was overfed with grammar."
Most likely, you managed to learn from the old Soviet textbooks. A lot of reading and translation, a bunch of grammar exercises and memorizing texts by heart - remember?
Fortunately, now the techniques have changed. The main goal of modern textbooks is to teach people to communicate.
What can be done: often remind yourself that you are absolutely not obliged to love English. And to approach its study is practical. There are many benefits designed for representatives of various professions. There is English for businessmen, for doctors, for IT-specialists, for builders, for hairdressers ... If you take English as a useful tool, you can easily master it to the extent necessary for work and pleasant vacation trips - no more and no less.
And you can also watch video tutorials on grammar (we, for example, have a large section with different teachers and on different topics), this will suit both visuals and audials, plus you can immediately listen to the pronunciation of the words being studied.
I urgently need to learn how to talk
How do you understand: "I have been fed grammar for many years, but there is no progress."
Excess knowledge does not happen. Believe me, Soviet textbooks, with all their innumerable flaws, have given you some kind of base, and learning to speak English will be easier for her.
What can be done: approach the colloquial English as a physical exercise and boldly “swing muscles”. In modern textbooks at every turn there are a lot of tasks for training conversation skills: “Discuss”, “Express your opinion”, “Answer the questions”. The topics that are offered in the textbook are usually associated with new words from the section, so even if a topic seems boring to you, try to say at least something: words learned in context are remembered better.
I have trouble reading
How do you understand: "I was tortured to climb the dictionary."
The responsible student sometimes tries to read something on his own ... and throws the book on the very first pages. Too many unfamiliar words, and for each of them you have to go to the dictionary.
What can be done: start with adapted books. We recommend starting with something completely simple, for Elementary or Pre-Intermediate (British and American benefits will be labeled Level 1). Each independently read book raises self-esteem and increases motivation. Try to understand the plot and sequence of events. And most importantly: look into the dictionary as little as possible! Set yourself a limit of 5-8 words from the dictionary on the chapter and choose only those without which the story is completely incomprehensible. Translate the rest intuitively, trying to understand the meaning of words you already know.
For the most responsible: try to search for words not in the English-Russian, but in the English-English dictionary. Longman Wordwise Dictionary is written in simple language and is designed for Level 1.
I do not understand speech by ear
How do you understand: "I feel stupid, and it is very unpleasant."
In everyday life, the English speak quickly. The words merge into one long, pre-genuine, incomprehensible word, the official words “are swallowed” ... Do not hesitate, we speak the same way, and foreigners also fall into despair while listening to Russian.
What can be done: a couple of hours a week with a tutor is not enough for you. You have to spend more time and do it yourself. But you have a legal basis to listen to songs in English and watch movies in the original! Watch better with English subtitles included. Express reading books are included with books for reading with audio recordings of chapters to listen and read at the same time.
I can not speak
English learners complain about this most often. There can be several reasons for the conversational barrier.
1) How do you understand: "I'm afraid to make a mistake"
Fear of making a mistake in a conversation arises when the teacher interrupts and corrects the student all the time. Alas, this is often the fault of school teachers. And if the student also has demanding parents, then even as an adult, he is afraid of getting a deuce.
What can be done: remember that mistakes are made by everyone. One student from the practice of our teacher stopped being afraid when he realized that his business partner from Germany also had far from perfect English.
There are two types of conversational tasks in textbooks - accuracy and fluency. To overcome the language barrier you need a second type.
2) How do you understand: "I have a small vocabulary, I am afraid that I will not have enough words."
You like chatting and chatting, and you want to talk rather beautifully with long sentences. You often try to literally translate some Russian phrase into English, and if you find an unfamiliar word, ask the teacher. Sometimes you have to ask all the time, the conversation is stalled, and you get upset.
What can be done: learn to think immediately in English. You still think in Russian, which makes life very difficult for you. Think about what words and grammatical structures you already know, and speak as simply as possible - no need to immediately try to speak with flowery phrases. Try to use to the maximum that arsenal of words that you already know well.
Good for overcoming the barrier is suitable method "Listen and answer . "
3) How do you understand: "I do not like to listen to others."
Our teacher somehow had a chance to teach English to one boss. He immediately stated that he had difficulty speaking. However, it turned out that he himself did not speak so badly, but the need to listen to the replicas of the interlocutor caused him deaf irritation. It is clear that communication with other people did not go well with him.
What can be done: admit to yourself that this is the problem. Alas, the main method of teaching English now is communicative. If you are determined to succeed, you will have to get used not only to speak, but also to listen to the interlocutors.
And the main advice: remember that progress comes gradually. Give yourself enough time.
For those who want to pump English
Readers of the blog give a coupon for 500 rubles for the purchase of a subscription, which includes 8 types of training and weekly mailings about English grammar and vocabulary - "Vitaminki" and "Buns".
And for unlimited and perpetual access to all features of the site there is an “All Inclusive” tariff (the discount does not apply).
All Articles