How to start learning English as an adult?

Question

My friend is a mature adult who is going to be 30, he went to school but very very little English was learned so you can practically assume that he knows only alphabet A to Z and some very simple words. His grammar and written sentence are just horrible. But he is active in learning new things and new language. In fact, how should he get started? Any advice? He will probably only learn by himself, and not go to any school or tutorials.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

kenny1999Any advice?

Use flashcards for vocabulary, ones with only a picture on one side and the English word on the other. Don't translate. You can find sites like that online. Memorize the verb conjugations. No, really, know them by heart. Read only edited material like newspapers and classic novels, but no older than 1930 or so.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Is your friend proficient in reading and writing in his mother tongue?

Does he have any interests such as gaming or music?

Does he have high-speed internet access (YouTube)?

What is his motivation to learn English?

CalifJim · Answer

Try to learn phrases instead of just single words. Learn the translations of phrases you commonly use in your own language and practice those. Depending on your native language, you may be able to find these translations on the Reverso website.

Eventually, you should work up to telling short stories in English about your own life. Again, use Reverso to help you. Keep working on telli

Eventually, you should work up to telling short stories in English about your own life. Again, use Reverso to help you. Keep working on telling your whole story aloud for at least a week; then, when you can tell the whole story without reading it, move on to another story, and do the same. These can be biographical stories or stories of your everyday life.

And read a lot. Start by reading simple things that you know about already. Don't try reading very complicated texts until you are really ready for them. You can find graded English texts online if you do a little research. Don't be shy about reading books for children. You can learn quite a lot from those.

If possible, listen to the news in your native language, then listen to the same news in English. That way you'll already know what they're talking about in English even if you can't catch every word.

Being 30 years old is not old at all to learn a new language.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

kenny1999My friend is a mature adult who is going to be 30, he went to school but very very little English was learned so you can practically assume that he knows only alphabet A to Z and some very simple words.

The same thing has happened in reverse to a lot of people in the UK.

kenny1999In fact, how should he get started?

Getting used to speaking and reading letters of the alphabet aloud in order to work out work out words. Doing this before any heavy and formal studying helped me start another European language.

You should help him do that as often as possible.

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