It's important to take the initiative to learn English. In the school or in an academy, they can teach you so many things, but not all. There will be always things that you have to learn by yourself. As I told you in an older post, you must read books or news in English, watch series and films in VSO,... But you can also practise grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, listenings and readings in webpages. There's one webpage very useful that prepares you for the First Certificated in English (FCE). Click here and you'll be directed to this webpage!
If I think about the past, a lot of images come into my head. These images are undefined memories from my childhood. It’s strange because there are some that I can remember well and others that I can only project the image.
I’ve been thinking a lot of about it and I have decided which is probably my earliest memory. It isn't about a particulary day, it's a repeated action in the past. I was between one and two years old. We had just moved from the flat to the house. At that time, my father had two works: in the morning he worked as a teacher and in the afternoon as a pattern. He used to wake up very early and arrive home very late. For that reason, I couldn't see him as frequents as I would have liked. So I can remember what it sounded like when my dad got home at 8 pm. At first, I would hear the sound of the car and then I could hear how my father would open the door of the parking (it’s a sound very characteristic). Then, he would go upstairs. I remember go running from anywhere I was just to say hello to him. I was little, so I’d hug his legs. Then, he’d lift me from the floor and he’d kiss me. After that, my mum would come with my brother (he was a baby) and we'd stay together for a while.
It’s a nice memory I still have. I hope not to lose it because it's so sweet. It's strange how our brain can record some clear images, but not voices. I am better at remembering old experiences than faces and names from the people I know now. Our brain and memory will always be an enigma for us. Maybe, in a few years, scientists will be able to understand it at all. But, nowadays, it's not possible.
Related to this topic, I have thought in a music video. In that video, Taylor Swift tells about her earliest memories and thanks her parents. The lyrics are cute and very emotional. The video is made with real photos of her life, so I think it’s interesting to watch it. And if anyone want to check the lyrics, here’s a webpage.
Nowadays it's very important to learn a lot of languages. You should know more than your mother tongue. English is studied in the school as a obligatory subject because it's spoken all around the world. You can go to China and you'll be able to communicate with people because of English. For that reason, you should learn English.
There isn't only one way to learn English. There are many ways, so each person can choose a different way. The best known, probably are these:
Dedicate time and study it at the school or in an academy. Going to an academy of English is probably one of the best ways because you do more obligatory hours at the week. You can also look for webpages to practise your skills (View older post).
Listen the language as frequent as you can to become familiar to it.
Watch films in VSO. In the TDT, you have the option of watching films in VSO with subtitles in Spanish. You can also, in TV3, watch it with subtitles in English, which is really useful. I really recommend watching your favourite TV serie in English because you can listen to the real voices of the actors. It's really interesting.
Try to understand the lyrics of the songs that you listen to. When you listen to a song, you must undertand what the singer wants to say. First, try to read (or sing) them in English. There will probably be words that you won't know, but you can understand them by context. If it's very difficult, look for the lyrics in Spanish. Then you can check if you understood the original idea of the song.
Do listenings in different pages of Internet. I recommend doing listenings in real English (English that's spoken in English countries). With that, I mean that you can watch news, documentaries or whatever you want.
Try to speak it a lot, if it's possible, with a English speaker. If not, with a partner or a family member.You can also have a penpal (a friend made and kept through correspondences). It's easy to have one. You can find one in this webpage. Having a penpal it's interesting and funny. You can learn how people live in other countries. If you have the chance to travel to an English country, try to speak it as much as possible. First it will be hard, but when you get used to, it becomes easier.
Reading texts in English, so you can improve your vocabulary. Try to read articles that interest you. A lot of information is written in English, so you should be able to understand it. The only way to improve this is practise, practise and practise.
In the following video, you can listen to three men that discuss about this, so you can start by improving your listening!
What's certain is that English is around us (computer games, ads, instructions, music, Internet, jobs...). In your life, you will surely have to use it. Just be prepared. Don't worry if you don't understand a word, a tense or you can't remember the prepositions. Studying a language means dedicate it a lot of time. Just keep trying and working on it!
