Learn English Without the Boring Textbooks
(Aprende Inglés Sin Libros Aburridos)
Is this possible?
Yes.
Just before making our big move across the globe to a place located at the end of the world called New Zealand, my family and I had to prepare and learn English as quickly as possible. Well, we didn’t have any special super powers then, we were, and still are, simply ordinary people.
I remember clearly just how difficult it was for my parents to learn another language. Learning a new language when you are in your 40’s is harder than when you are in your teens (a teenager).
We had all types of books to help us, remember Google didn’t exist back then (it was the early 90’s). The kinds of books we had were, Dictionary (yupee! how exciting!), and typical books such as Learn English When Travelling, Commonly Used English Phrases and so on.
How many times would you need to use a phrase, Where is the library? (Donde esta la biblioteca??) Quite often, you would not use this phrase at all.
This was what the books taught us.
Ok. So, some of the books were pretty useful. Like, for example, the dictionary!
It’s different when you read a book, there is no one to explain English Phrases you hear in the movies, such as: I gotta leave now or What time do you usually get up?
What the hell is “gotta” when the synonym of the word “get” means “receive” – so what do I “receive up”?
Welcome to English language.
Top 3 things we did to learn English at home
- Watch movies in English and cover the subtitles. Take a piece of paper, cut it or fold it in a rectangular shape. Sellotape it to both sides of the TV and cover the subtitles. Trust me, this shit works.
- Speak English at home with your family members or friends. If you have someone else in the family who is learning English, like your brothers, sisters or cousins (los primos), for example, you can talk about trivial subjects, what happend at the school or at work. Talk and practise for about 30mins.
- Sing along to your favourite English singer. Learn the lyrics off by heart and sing! Thank goodness for the Internet, you can now easily find the lyrics online to any of your favourite songs.
Now, I would like to know, what is one thing at home you are doing to help you practise English?
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xx Besitos y un gran abrazo
M.