How to improve your foreign-language skills

Investing your time into learning a language is never wasted effort. Being able to converse at business-level in a foreign language opens up a whole world of opportunities to you. Here’s how to improve your foreign-language skills:

Improve your grammar:

Read children’s books

Children’s books are designed to teach you the basics of the language, including vocabulary and grammar. They are a great way to learn how regular and irregular words function.

Expand what you read with different materials

Another way to improve your grammar skills is to pay attention to how writers use the language. Focusing on different styles of writing, such as classical, academic, biographies, storytelling, news articles and informal blogs will give you a different perspective on word order and tone of voice.

Spend time on homophones

It’s really important when you’ve mastered the basics of the language to delve deeper and learn the difference between some confusing words. In English, some of these include it’s vs its or there vs their. Swapping these words around is incorrect but the reader will still get the gist of what you’re saying, especially as many native speakers make these exact mistakes. Other confusing words hold different meanings and can change the message of your sentence.

Develop your vocabulary:

Make vocabulary part of your everyday world

Did you know that memory begins to fade after it’s formed and it could disappear completely if it isn’t part of your long-term memory? To ensure you retain all the vocabulary you’ve learnt, label things you see every day and say them out aloud. Connecting words to objects in real life will help you memorise those words.

Learn in context

The best way to improve your vocabulary is to learn individual words by putting them into sentences. Seeing words in context will give you more understanding about the word and its meaning.

Boost your reading comprehension: 

Read on the go but also set aside specific time

If you’re lucky enough to study abroad surrounded by the language, then take the opportunity to read everything from the text on bus stops to the back of cereal boxes. If you aren’t exposed to the language 24/7 it’s important to set aside time to read. Find a cosy, quite spot where you can focus and get stuck in to your reading.

Read at your own pace

Read, re-read and re-read again. Sometimes you’re so busy reading the words and trying to understand them that you forget to concentrate on the story. Don’t stress trying to understand each word but rather focus on getting the gist per sentence, and don’t be afraid to re-read sentences, paragraphs and pages. 

Improve your writing skills:

Write something every day

Take control and write your everyday tasks, reminders and shopping list in your new language. Working on it bit by bit each day means sentence structure will become second nature and help you build your confidence with writing.

Enhance your listening skills:

Watch movies in that language

Watching movies in another language is a great way to improve your listening skills. Start with subtitles in order to understand what they’re saying, and by hearing the same words over and over again you will eventually become familiar with what the different words mean.

Practise with natives and non-natives from different countries

Speaking to natives allows you to pick up nuances of the language and the correct pronunciation of words. Hearing the native accent and the speed at which they talk may prove difficult at first, but it will help your listening skills profoundly. On the other hand, talking to non-natives, preferably from a different country to you, who are learning the same language will pronounce words a bit differently, see it as an opportunity to improve your listening and speaking skills.

The importance of English is essential if you want to progress your career. Whether you are just starting out on your English language journey or wanting to go from proficient to fluent, why not invest in your future and study English. Learn with Kaplan International English and choose from over 35 English language schools across the world.