Boost your

English

25 Easy things you can
do TODAY!

A My English Team publication.

Introduction
It is dicult to know what to do to help yourself
improve your English. If you are studying alone
you can easily get bored doing the same kind of
exercises every day.
You need to keep up your mo#va#on by trying
new things new ways of learning. And the
more variety you have, the more interesAng it
will be for you.
This ebook contains 25 ideas to try which are
easy. You dont need to buy anything or pay for
expensive apps. You just need half an hour,
paper, a pen and access to the internet.
You could do one a day for a month and see
how much you improve. Or you might want to
try a few out together. Its up to you. Just have
fun while you do it!

1

Listening
Find the lyrics to a song
you like in English. Look
up all the words you
dont know in a
dicAonary. Listen to the
song and read the
lyrics. Sing the song!
Loudly!

Go to TED.com. Find a short talk

(6-10 mins) on a topic that interests
you. Listen without the script and
then with the script. Check words
you dont know. Listen to the parts
that you couldnt understand again.
Why are they dicult? Does the
speaker speak too quickly? Are
some of the words joined together
when she speaks? When does she
pause? How are the sentences
broken up into chunks of language.
Which words are stressed? PracAse
saying these dicult parts. Finally,
listen again without the script.
2

Find a short radio broadcast e.g. 6-

minute English on the BBC Learning
English site. Listen without the
audio script. Listen to dicult parts
again. Then listen with the script
and check those dicult parts.
PracAse saying sentences exactly as
the presenters say them. Listen
again without the script.

Watch English language TV

series with the sub8tles on. Go
back to parts that you didnt
understand and listen closely
while reading again. Try to say
what the actors said exactly
using the same intona8on,
word stress etc.

Preparing for IELTS? Dont

just do one pracAce test
a\er another. Use the
listening tests to learn. Use
the audio scripts to learn
new words. Focus on all the
verbs what tense are
they? Why? Which
quesAons did you get
wrong? Why? Try the other
ideas out on this page.

Reading
Read graded readers.
Oxford University Press
and Macmillan have a
huge range of books
graded from
elementary to
advanced level.

When you read

something, dont just
read it; learn from it.
Find all the topic
vocabulary (words about
that topic/subject).
Make a mind map with
them. Look for all the
collocaAons or idioms.
Find all the noun phrases
and noAce how they are
used. Write down the
ones you like and use
them in your next essay.


3

Read websites that

interest you. Not just
news sites but
anything. Do you like
cars? Find a car
enthusiast site. Are you
a good cook? Look up
recipe sites and try out
some new ones.

Summarise a text in
50/100/150 words. Try
to use the topic
vocabulary or new
words and phrases that
you found.
Read a variety of text types:
arAcles, recipes, blog posts,
short stories, instrucAons,
etc

Speaking
A\er you have listened to a
text, focus on short phrases
that you found hard to
understand. Use the script to
help. Copy the way the
speakers says the phrase.
Listen to how the words are
joined together. Which words
are stressed? Which words are
not? Copy it.

Preparing for IELTS? Watch band 8

level or naAve speaker interviews
of the speaking part of the test.
How do they answer the quesAons?
What phrases did they use to start
their answers in parts 1 and 3?
Listen to their intonaAon and copy
them. Pause the video and copy
what they said exactly same
words, pauses, intonaAon. How did
they organise the ideas for part 2?
What linking words and phrases did
they use? Make notes of good topic
vocabulary and use them to answer
the quesAons yourself. Record
yourself and listen. How can you
improve it?

Record yourself
speaking. A\er you
listening to something,
record yourself saying
the same thing. Are you
stressing the same
words? Do you pause in
the same places? Is your
pronunciaAon correct?
Use the Movenote app to
record ligle presentaAons.
Watch them and think how
you could make them beger

Find a speaking partner

online to pracAse
conversaAon. Skype is a
great way to chat face-to-
face. Find a partner on
speaking24.com or
ConversaAonExchange.co
m. There are many other
sites just google for
them.

Writing
Write dierent kinds
of texts, not just
essays. Make notes
and shopping lists in
English. Write an
email or a text.
Translate your
favourite recipe.
Write a summary of a
text that you have been
working on. Limit
yourself to a certain
number of words, e.g.
100. Make sure you
include the key words.

Use your mind maps that you
made of topic vocabulary to
write something. Write a leHer
to a friend on that topic; write
a poem; write an IELTS essay.

5

Use good examples of the

kind of text you want to
write as a model. Study the
organisaAon and layout.
Find all the ways that the
text shows cohesion (linking
words and phrases;
referencing words) and copy
them. Look at how the
writer develops the main
idea in the topic sentence
(usually the rst sentence)
does he give examples to
help explain? Does he give
reasons for his ideas?

Find a model text of the

kind that you would like
to write. Highlight
language that you want
to improve verb
tenses; noun phrases;
model verbs; complex
sentences (i.e.
subordinate clauses). Try
to use them in your
wriAng.

Vocabulary
Dont make lists of new
words with a
translaAon. You will
never learn them like
that. Write in topics
e.g. snow sports.
Write explanaAons of
the words in English
with an example
sentence.

Make mind maps of new

topic related words. Group
the words into verbs, nouns,
collocaAons, adjecAves etc.
Use bright colours to make
the maps visually agracAve.
Use the maps to make
presentaAons on those
topics or to write an essay.

Highlight all the colloca8ons
(words which need to go
together) in a text. Make a
short presenta8on on that
topic and use as many of the
colloca8ons as you can.

Use small pieces of paper or

card to make vocabulary
cards. On one side write the
new word or phrase, and on
the other a deniAon in
English. Now lay some of
them in front of you and try to
remember what is on the
other side of the paper. If you
get it right, turn it over and do
the next one. Then start again
but this Ame you are looking
at the other side. Can you
remember the original word/
phrase? Keep making these
and reviewing them regularly.

Words need other words

around them. Think
about a party; the
words that go with party
could be: have a party,
go to a party, a party
dress, a party pooper...
Use a good dicAonary to
nd out what other
words go with your new
word and learn them
together.

6





Have fun with these ideas and check out the website
www.myenglishteam.com

Emma Valahu 2016