The best way to understand the structure of a language is through grammar drills. However, to fully appreciate a language and become fluent in it, you need exposure. You need to hear it, speak it, and be able to process the information at real-time speed.

There are plenty of opportunities to do that in the real world. The more times you venture out to practice your growing English skills, the faster you will learn. You will also find the process more enjoyable and rewarding.

Watch children’s shows

Understandably, the first two to six weeks of learning a language are very difficult. You do not have the vocabulary or a strong enough understanding of the grammar structures to fully comprehend what is going on. One way of practicing your skills without feeling completely overwhelmed is to watch children’s shows.
These programs are designed for young learners, so the pace of the language is slow and the pictures provide valuable context clues. Also, watch these programs again and again. This will help you catch the cadence of the language or see how certain words are pronounced.

Watch movies…with subtitles

Many language learners will learn how to read another language before mastering how to listen or speak it. That’s because written text is easier to understand, since you have time to translate the words to your own tongue and think of a proper response.

One way of building your comprehension while preparing yourself for speaking or hearing the language is to watch movies with subtitles. This lets you listen to a language while reading it, so you can see how words are pronounced, the proper tones and which syllables are stressed, or even correct accents.

There are a number of skills here that you can’t get from just reading a language. Knowing which words in a sentence are stressed can really help in making yourself understood.

Read, read, read

One of the most important aspects of learning a language is to build your vocabulary. Reading a dictionary doesn’t help. It’s more effective to learn useful phrases, which is a more practical and is easier to remember. You can do this by reading books so you can see the language at work, and then be able to refer to a dictionary if you encounter an unfamiliar word.