How to improve my English level?

[Abdel]

Knowing that communication skills are very important, can someone please give me some tips on how to improve/master the english language?

From books to read to online exercices etc.

Thanks in advance!

 

[bigbadwolf]

Which version? American or British?

 

[Abdel]

Which version? American or British?

American

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Keep a blog. Read/write/interact with native speakers on a daily basis.

 

[Abdel]

Keep a blog. Read/write/interact with native speakers on a daily basis.

Will do! Thank you Andy

 

[bigbadwolf]

American

Read papers like the New York Times and periodicals like Atlantic Monthly and Harper's. Watch news programs like Jim Lehrer's "Newsnight." Buy yourself a decent American dictionary -- Webster's? -- and whenever you come across a new word, look it up, write it down, and make a conscientious effort to use it in context. Aim for something like five words a day -- but don't forget to revise what you learnt in the past as forgetting occurs for everyone.

 

[Abdel]

Read papers like the New York Times and periodicals like Atlantic Monthly and Harper's. Watch news programs like Jim Lehrer's "Newsnight." Buy yourself a decent American dictionary -- Webster's? -- and whenever you come across a new word, look it up, write it down, and make a conscientious effort to use it in context. Aim for something like five words a day -- but don't forget to revise what you learnt in the past as forgetting occurs for everyone.

Thank you very much mate!:D

 

[TRobinson]

Read papers like the New York Times and periodicals like Atlantic Monthly and Harper's. Watch news programs like Jim Lehrer's "Newsnight." Buy yourself a decent American dictionary -- Webster's? -- and whenever you come across a new word, look it up, write it down, and make a conscientious effort to use it in context. Aim for something like five words a day -- but don't forget to revise what you learnt in the past as forgetting occurs for everyone.

As you seem to be fairly proficient in English already, in addition to the above, I would suggest that you be diligent and avoid trying to derive any definitions of words from the context in which they occur–even if you have seen the word many times before and feel as though you have consistently interpreted its meaning. I say this because typically speakers of a new language will lack an understanding of the language's subtleties and the various connotations different words of similar meaning have. This will mean that you have to look up a lot more words; however, it will also help you to avoid any "blind spots" in your understanding of the language. It will also vastly improve your comprehension as, in more sophisticated literature, the author will use a particular word for a very specific purpose and unless you know what that particular word implies, you may miss the point.

Thank you very much mate!:D

I thought you wanted to learn American English? :D

 

[euroazn]

Yep, the only way to learn a language is to practice, so put yourself in situations in which you have to communicate. Consider maybe going to trade shows and try to network -that does two things:
1) You network... duh
2) You get to practice what seems to be fairly good English

Just my $0.02

 

[Abdel]

Thanks...Let's hope you guys see some improvement in my english level over the months. I know how harsh and unpleasant to the ear it can be to read someone who doesn't master your language, lol, so please, be patient with me! :D

 

[Eugene Krel]

watch television.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

watch television.

Improve your listening and lower your IQ vocabularies at the same time.
If you are to watch TV, History Channel would be a good one as it's often narrated by native speakers and the show is interesting/educational.

 

[euroazn]

Improve your listening and lower your IQ vocabularies at the same time.
If you are to watch TV, History Channel would be a good one as it's often narrated by native speakers and the show is interesting/educational.

History Channel doesn't have history anymore, though
If you want to hear about conspiracy theories or aliens, it's your go-to source, though.

 

[alain]

Improve your listening and lower your IQ vocabularies at the same time.
History Channel?

c'mon. Learn real American english with MTV, Bravo and any other channel that is dedicated to Reality TV shows.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I guess I don't miss much since I cancelled my cable TV 5 years ago.
I'm surprised alain has not writen his #1 suggestion "get an American GF/BF"

 

[euroazn]

I'm surprised alain has not writen his #1 suggestion "get an American GF/BF"

Hahahahaha :P

 

[alain]

I'm surprised alain has not writen his #1 suggestion "get an American GF/BF"

I have written that so many times that if somebody is asking this question and hasn't seen the answer already, he/she should be a lost case.

BTW, that advice works all the time.

 

[TRobinson]

Wouldn't it depend on the American GF or BF? What if you were dating Gomer Pyle? :D

 

[Eugene Krel]

shark week, aka 7 days of english vocabulary improvement.

 

[Abdel]

I guess I don't miss much since I cancelled my cable TV 5 years ago.
I'm surprised alain has not writen his #1 suggestion "get an American GF/BF"

Problem is, with all the anti-arab media we had for the last 2-3 decades, eventhough I don't look arab, whenever I tell a girl that I'm arab or that my name is Abdel, it's stops there lol.

I actually conducted tests;

On month #1, I was telling girls I wasn't arab and gave a 'christian' name. Result: Most of them wanted to be my GF.

On month #2, I was giving 'Abdel' as a name and Arab as my origin. Result: Most of them wanted only to be my friend (80%) and 20% never talked to me again.

So, it is not ''cool'' to be arab, let me tell you. :D

Conclusion: Alain's suggestion is not an option for me, lol