Easy and fast learning of English. Self-study of English: a general overview of online resources

Today, English is a universal means of communication. With its help, excellent career prospects open up. And we shouldn’t forget about access to a wealth of information material. Thanks to your knowledge of English, you can watch your favorite TV series at the moment they are shown, and not wait until they are translated and adapted to the Russian language.

There are many advantages of knowing a second language, which is usually English, and they can be listed for a very long time. It is difficult to learn Shakespeare's language even in England itself. But everyone can master the basics of simple spoken language.

This does not require teachers and stuffy classrooms. Thanks to modern methods, self-learning English is a fun and interesting activity. And it’s not as complicated as it seems at first glance.

IMPORTANT: There are no people incapable of “languages”. Yes, learning a foreign language may be easier for some, but more difficult for others. The main thing is to learn how to properly motivate yourself and find a training course that is suitable for this.

Of course, if you need English not for watching TV series and reading your favorite blog, but for more serious tasks, then self-study is unlikely to help. You will have to attend special, highly focused courses. But you can get to them, starting with self-study.

Of course, it is much easier to learn any language from scratch, including English, by attending special courses and communicating with a “live” teacher

But such communication has a number of disadvantages:

these types of activities cost money
need to adapt to schedule
If you miss one lesson you can fall far behind

Of course, many of the disadvantages of such training can be minimized by training with the help of Skype. But, if it is not possible to carve out several tens of thousands of rubles from the budget for such an activity, then the only way to learn English is to study it independently.

How to learn English from scratch?

In order to learn JK Rowling's language from scratch, it is best to use a computer program or audio course for beginners. With their help, you can understand the pronunciation of individual letters and words. By the way, an audio course has a lot of advantages in this.
With its help, training can be carried out without interrupting other activities. You can turn it on in the car while driving to work. If you prefer to travel by metro, then download this course to your smartphone and listen to it on the way
Of course, an audio course cannot replace the visual perception of the English language. But there are special online trainings for this. Choose the course you need and start studying

IMPORTANT: From the first day of learning English, you should try to speak it. If this is not done, then you will not be able to speak it even when your vocabulary and knowledge of grammar improves.

In order to learn English from scratch, first learn the alphabet, then move on to simple words - house, ball, girl, etc.

Choose a training where learning new words is presented in the form of cards. A word in English should be written on it and what it means should be drawn. Scientists have long established the power of visual memory of information.

There is no need to try to remember too many words at once. At first, new information will come easily. Then, new words will be remembered easily, but old ones may be forgotten. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to pay more attention to consolidating new material. It is better to learn one new word a day, but reinforce all the old ones, than to learn 10 new words a day, but forget what you have already learned.

Where to start learning English?

Usually people start learning English from the alphabet. There is a reason for this; you can understand how this or that letter sounds. But, it is not at all necessary to remember its correct order. You can remember the pronunciation of letters without the alphabet. Moreover, they do not always sound like in this list of letters from “Hey to Zeta”
When you begin to understand letters, try to read as many English texts as possible. There is no need to understand what is written there. Of course, interesting pictures in the text will make you want to understand what it says
Then you can use online translators. But don't put all the text in them. Translate one word at a time. This will allow you to learn the language even better and remember a few words.

Once you have mastered the English language, get a dictionary

Write down in it (write it down with a pen) all the unfamiliar words and phrases you encounter, and their translation
In parallel with maintaining your dictionary, you need to start paying attention to grammar. English has a very complex tense system. There are irregular verbs and other difficulties in learning this language. All of them require a lot of time. But it will pay off in spades
Don't forget about pronunciation. Even a person who understands well what is written in English text will not always be able to understand what native speakers of this language are talking about. As a rule, they speak faster than teachers and teachers of language schools.
To make it easier to understand English, watch films, TV series and documentaries without translation. This is a great way to learn this interesting language.

IMPORTANT: Try to devote at least 30 minutes to English every day. To do this, it is advisable to choose certain hours. So by this time our brain will be able to “tune in” and the learning process will go easier in a few days.

How to easily learn English: methods of teaching English?

There are quite a few methods for learning this foreign language. The most popular are:

Dmitry Petrov's method. A well-known polyglot in our country invented his own methodology and way of presenting information that fits into 16 lessons. Probably, many who were interested in learning English have seen a series of television programs in which Dmitry taught famous people. Thanks to this technique, you can quickly immerse yourself in the language environment and understand grammar
Method "16". Another technique that allows you to learn the basics of English in just 16 hours. It is based on educational dialogues, after mastering which you will be able to understand the English language
Schechter's method. This system of learning English was developed by the famous Soviet linguist Igor Yurievich Shekhter. Unfortunately, this technique cannot be used for independent learning of a foreign language. Moreover, a linguist teacher who will be allowed to teach using this method must himself undergo special training and pass an exam
Dragunkin method. A popular method of teaching English in our country, developed by the famous philologist Alexander Dragunkin. He built his system on the so-called Russified transcription. In addition, he derived the “51 rules” of English grammar. By learning which you can master this language

The list of methods for learning English can be continued for a long time. The above systems are well suited for independent mastery of this language.

But the best method for learning English is Frank method

Students learning English using this method are given two texts. First comes the adapted excerpt. This is usually a literal translation, often accompanied by lexical and grammatical comments. After reading such a passage, the text in English is presented.

The technique is very good, interesting, but has one significant drawback - it is more suitable for learning to read in English, rather than speaking in it.

How to quickly learn words in English?

There are many methods for memorizing words in a foreign language. The simplest of them is the traditional method. In a notebook you need to write down a few words in English (on the left side of the sheet) and their translation into Russian
It is advisable to always keep the notebook open and in a visible place. Read the words and repeat from. Try to remember and go about your business. Refer to your notebook several times a day. After some time, you can write down a few more words. It is advisable to do this on another sheet. So that you leave it in a visible place and at any moment cast your gaze on the sheet with the words
If you don't want a notebook, you can use the flashcard method. To do this, you need to cut sheets of cardboard into small cards. On the one hand, you need to write the word in English
And on the second, its translation into Russian. Turn the cards over with the English or Russian side facing you and try to translate the words written there. Unfold the card and check the correct answer

The card method is very popular

On the Internet you can find online services where such cards are presented in electronic form. Thanks to the popularity of this method, today it is not difficult to buy ready-made cards. But it’s still better to make them yourself. After all, when we write something down on paper, we write it into our subconscious.

Don't try to remember a lot of words at once. This is not very effective in the long run. Words learned quickly are usually quickly forgotten.

How to learn English verbs?

In principle, the above methods for memorizing English words are suitable for both nouns and verbs. But among this category of English words there are also so-called “irregular verbs”. Like the correct ones, they mean:

Action – to speak (speak), to come (come)
Process – to sleep (sleep)
State – to be (to be), to know (to know), etc.

At school such verbs are taught as follows. Students are given their list, and the teacher asks them to learn as much as possible from it by the next lesson. This list does not have any structure to facilitate the study of such verbs. Therefore, few of us were able to master the English language at school.

Modern methods are very different from those by which foreign languages are taught at school

How to quickly learn irregular verbs in English?

As mentioned above, to learn such verbs you can use the “card method”. But, unlike “simple” words, irregular verbs have three forms. What actually makes them wrong
To make cards with irregular verbs, you need to write down the first form on one side, and the other two on the second side. Moreover, the first form does not need to be provided with a translation. And on the reverse side you not only need to write two forms of the verb with translation, but also provide a hint. For example, “alternating irregular verbs with a vowel in the root from [e]”
The advantage of this method is that it is easy to use. You can go through the cards with your hands, first remembering the main shape, and then turn them over and do the same with other shapes. Such training can be done both at home and at work. Students can take these cards with them to college and repeat the verbs during breaks.

Example card:

To make it easier to memorize irregular verbs, they can be grouped into:

the method of formation of the second and third forms
repeatability or non-repeatability of forms
alternation of root vowels
sound similarity
spelling features

All other verbs should be structured not alphabetically, as in school, but according to the above principles:

How to learn tenses in English

Another pitfall for anyone who wants to learn English is tenses. Having understood their use, you can take a big step forward in learning this language.

In general, there are three tenses in English:

But the difficulty lies in the fact that each time has types. The first type of such tenses is called Simple. That is, there is:

Continuous (continued, long) is the second type of tense.

The third type is called Perfect. Thus there are:

There is also another type of tense that combines all the previous Perfect Continuous tenses. Accordingly, the times can be:

IMPORTANT: In specialized literature on the English language, Simple can be called Indefinite, and Continuous - Progressive. Don't be scared, it's the same thing.

In order to use English tenses in sentences, you need to understand what action is happening? It is regular, happened yesterday, is happening at the moment, etc. Simple tenses denote an action that occurs regularly, but its exact moment is not known. on Sundays – on Sundays (specific time is not known)
If the sentence specifies a specific time (at the moment, from 4 to 6 o’clock, etc.), then Continuous is used - a long time. That is, time that denotes a specific moment or a specific period of time.
If the action is completed, Perfect is used. This time is used when the result of an action is already known or you can know exactly when it will end (but may still be going on)
The Perfect Continuous construction is used least often in English. It is used to denote a process whose action is not completed, but needs to be said about it at the moment. For example, “In May it will be 6 months that I have been studying English.”
To study the tenses of the English language, you can also create tables, as for irregular verbs. Just enter linguistic formulas instead. You can use special literature. Better than several authors at once

Dmitry Petrov’s method “Polyglot 16” talks very well about tenses

How to learn text in English?

If you need to learn a text in English in a short period of time, you can use several techniques for this purpose.
Before learning a text in a foreign language, you need to prepare. Namely, translate it. On the one hand, it is impossible to learn a text in English without knowing what is written there. On the other hand, while we are translating, something will already be recorded in the “subcortex”
When translating a text, you need to re-read it several times. If you do this during the day, then repeat this procedure before going to bed. We will sleep and our brains will work
In the morning, the text needs to be printed and hung in visible places. When preparing food, the text should be in a visible place in the kitchen. We vacuum in the living room, it should also be visible

Text in English is remembered very well if recorded on a voice recorder

Let's go to the store, put headphones in your ears and listen, repeating every word to yourself. In the gym, instead of hard rock, you need to listen to this text again.

If the text is large, then it is better to break it into several small passages and memorize each of them in turn. Don't be afraid, learning text in English is not as difficult as it seems.

How to learn English in your sleep?

At the end of the Soviet era, many “unique” self-education methods poured into our country. One of them was to study foreign languages while sleeping. Before going to bed, a cassette with lessons was put into the player, headphones were put on, and the person fell asleep. They say this method has helped some.

I know everything that sleep is very useful. According to researchers involved in this problem, sleep can improve mental abilities.

And in general, a well-rested person “absorbs” information better

But for some reason he absorbs it after sleep. English words from the player can only ruin your sleep. This means worsening the perception of information the next day.
But, sleep can really help. But, only if you set aside time immediately before studying English
After such a lesson, you can get some sleep, and during this time your brain will “process” the information and put it into “shelves.” This method of learning foreign languages has proven effective and is used by many people.
This technique can be improved if, immediately after sleep, you consolidate what was learned before bedtime.

Learning English: reviews

Kate. To learn a foreign language you need to devote at least 30 minutes a day to it. Every day for half an hour. Even one missed day will have a very negative impact. I definitely devote 30 minutes to English a day. Plus, if you still have time, be sure to take it as a bonus.

Kirill. Now there are a lot of sites on the Internet where material is presented in a playful form. I'm learning English through TV series. I watch TV series in this language with Russian subtitles. I used to read subtitles all the time. And now I’m trying to understand myself.

Video: Polyglot in 16 hours. Lesson 1 from scratch with Petrov for beginners

Self-studying English is a rather labor-intensive but inexpensive way to master the language, which has its pros and cons. In this case, you choose the main source of information - it can be the Internet, educational games, an English language tutorial, a phrasebook, books (adapted or in the original), songs. There are many online services for beginners and intermediates.

Perhaps, but this type of training has its own characteristics that must be taken into account. Language acquisition includes 4 components: reading, writing, speaking (speaking) and listening (listening).

Reading

Reading- one of the types of speech activity, a complex process of decoding symbols aimed at understanding the text. One of the forms of linguistic communication between people using printed and handwritten texts. Reading can also be considered as a wonderful tool for mastering a language, because in texts there are many unfamiliar words and words already familiar to us. Some words are ambiguous and their meaning is easier to remember in context. All this allows you not only to increase your vocabulary, but also to repeat previously learned grammatical structures. In order to ensure that working on the text does not turn into an impossible task, it is very important to select the text in accordance with your language level.

Letter

Letter- this is one of the types of speech activity, symbolic fixation of speech using special symbols (letters, hieroglyphs, drawings). Mastery of written language occurs gradually. To practice writing, you can use the following: forms of work:

Rewriting text;
Training dictations;
Writing letters, essays.

Reading and writing are interconnected types of speech activity. Writing is a kind of encoding of information using symbols, and reading is the decoding of these symbols.

Oral speech

To master oral speech, you must have skills in voicing expressions, skills in using lexical units, and grammatical skills to correctly formulate sentences. In other words, in order to say something, you need to know the words required by a given situation, be able to pronounce them correctly and construct a sentence in accordance with the rules of the language. In addition to words, there are speech patterns, stable expressions that are often used in oral speech. Therefore, to master oral speech, you need not only to remember a certain number of individual words and expressions, but also to bring their use to automatism.

Listening to speech (listening)

Listening is the process of listening and understanding spoken expressions. The mechanism of this process includes:

Perception of streams of sounds and recognition of words, sentences, paragraphs, etc. in them.
Understanding the meaning of words, sentences, paragraphs. If you already have some speech experience, then this process is enhanced by predicting the content of what was said.

To understand English by ear, you need to listen as often as possible! You can communicate with other people in English (preferably with foreigners), talk on the phone, listen to music, watch videos, TV series.

Learning a foreign language not only develops memory and thinking, but also increases IQ level.

Where to start learning a language on your own?

When learning a foreign language on your own, your success will directly depend on the correctness of the chosen approach to learning.
It is necessary to adhere to the correct sequence of studying the material - from simple to complex. It is recommended to study topics in the following order:

English alphabet (sounds and letters of the alphabet).
Transcription.
Reading rules.
Vocabulary by topic (accumulation of vocabulary).
Grammar.

Each of these components is important, so you cannot miss anything, because all these points are closely interrelated. Remember that without correct pronunciation it will be difficult to understand you. Even after learning the entire dictionary, you will not speak, because sentences are built according to certain rules, and to construct them correctly you need at least basic knowledge of grammar, because speech is not just a set of words.

When studying on your own, it is very important to check the correctness of your pronunciation. This can be done using online dictionaries. Click on the "horn" to hear how the word is pronounced. For example, you can use the sites Lingvo.ru or Howjsay.com. If you are working on a text, use Google Translator to listen to the entire text.

In learning vocabulary (replenishing your vocabulary), you should also adhere to a certain order. Start learning vocabulary with simple and more commonly used words and expressions on a specific topic. To do this, you can use the Englishspeak.com service (100 lessons with vocabulary by topic and the opportunity to listen to it), the Studyfun.ru service (vocabulary by topic and the opportunity to listen to it), a phrasebook (be careful - transliteration (English words in Russian letters) does not reveal the features English pronunciation!), self-teachers (their advantage is that in one lesson there are exercises on pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary for the lesson, texts for reading, colloquial phrases on topics). News lovers can use the news portal Newsinlevels.com, where the presentation of information depends on your level of English. It is important that each news is accompanied by an audio recording.

Knowledge of grammar is no less important than vocabulary. If you really want to, you can learn any rule, but in order for working on the rule not to seem overwhelmingly difficult, your task is not to learn (memorize) the rule, but to understand it. If this rule involves the use of tenses, passive voice, conditional sentences, etc., understand the rule in your “native” language. For example, change the same sentence so that it corresponds to the tense forms of the English language, but compose the sentence in Russian (you can make changes). Then in English:

In the summer we love to sunbathe on the beach (in general we love it - the present simple tense).
Now we are sunbathing on the beach - (present continuous tense).
- You look like boiled crayfish! - Of course, I was on the beach all day! (looks like a crayfish now because I was on the beach – simple perfect tense).
We have been sunbathing on the beach since three o'clock (we have been sunbathing for 3 hours and are still going on - present perfect continuous tense).
When we were little, we loved sunbathing on the beach (past simple tense).
Yesterday we sunbathed all day (past continuous tense).
When he came to us, we were already on the beach (two actions in the past, one of which happened earlier - past perfect tense).
We sunbathed on the beach all day until he came! (the action lasted until a certain point in the past).
Tomorrow we'll go to the beach! (future simple tense).
And tomorrow at the same time we will already be sunbathing! (action in the future that will take some time - future continuous tense).
In a week I will definitely finish writing my essay about summer! (the essay will be written at a certain moment in the future - future perfect tense).
I will play volleyball on the beach until my parents follow me! (an action that will last in the future until a certain moment - future perfect continuous tense).

A good start does not always guarantee a good ending, so you need to approach the organization of independent studies responsibly. Remember that you need this first of all, and all control over the progress of the enterprise and its results rests with you!

Exercise regularly.
Depending on the results you want to achieve and the time frame for achieving them, set for yourself a mandatory duration of classes (for example, at least an hour and at least 3 times a week).
Everyone’s work speed is different, so you set the ideal learning rhythm for yourself (for example, 30 minutes a day).
Choose tasks of your level to avoid disappointment in yourself and your abilities. If you already have some knowledge, you can rewrite short texts, translate texts or articles, find yourself an interlocutor (on the Internet or in real life) to practice your speaking skills (or written, for example, a pen pal).
All acquired knowledge should be immediately applied in practice, while trying to use all words and grammatical structures in oral and written speech.
Learning a foreign language is mostly cramming, which is hated by many, but you can’t do without it (for example, learning vocabulary)! But even in cramming you can find logic - for example, some words are international, so memorizing them based on the similarity of their sounds in your native language will facilitate the process of memorizing them.
Repetitio est mater studiorum (Repetition is the mother of learning). Be sure to take the time to review the material you’ve covered until it’s stuck in your head... forever. You will not be able to achieve the desired result by saving time on repetition. After all, repetition is one of the main conditions for memorizing and mastering material. Repetition specifically affects long-term memory, helping to retain information for a long time. Correct repetition of learned material improves its retention and facilitates its subsequent reproduction.

What can interfere with independent language learning?

« False" motivation, or lack of proper motivation. Ask yourself the question “Why am I learning a language?” If the answer is for yourself, it’s fashionable, to get a job, then you are unlikely to achieve significant results. Why? Because you may (and most likely) won’t need it for yourself, and learning a language is a labor-intensive process; it’s fashionable – fashion changes, and so do languages. To get a job, the employer needs a qualified worker now, and not necessarily in you, when you learn the language.

Formulate a specific goal, preferably of a practical nature, even if a trip abroad is not in the cards in the near future. For example: learning a language develops my intellectual abilities, by learning a language I develop my personal and communication skills, I can expand access to the information I need, because there is more of it in English; I want to watch movies and TV series in English, I want to communicate with foreigners, etc.

Typical beginner mistakes are:

Kato Lomb (8 February 1909 – 9 June 2003)- a famous Hungarian translator and writer who has worked as a simultaneous interpreter since the 1950s.

She spoke, read and wrote fluently in Hungarian, Russian, English, French, and German. She could express herself and understand Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, and Polish. With a dictionary I read in Bulgarian, Danish, Romanian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Latin, Polish. She is a physicist and chemist by education, but already in her youth she was interested in languages, which she studied on her own.

Kato Lomb outlined her method of learning foreign languages in the book "How I learn languages".

Kato Lomb summarized her approach to learning languages in the 10 Commandments:

1. Practice your language daily. At least 10 minutes, even if there is no time at all. It is especially good to exercise in the morning.
2. If the desire to study weakens too quickly, do not “force” it, but do not give up studying either. Come up with some other form: put down the book and listen to the radio, leave the textbook exercises and look through the dictionary, etc.
3. Never cram, never memorize anything in isolation from context.
4. Write out of turn and memorize all the “ready-made phrases” that can be used in the maximum number of cases.
5. Try to mentally translate everything that is possible: a flashing advertising sign, an inscription on a poster, snatches of accidentally overheard conversations. This is a good exercise to keep your linguistic thinking in constant tone.
6. It is worth learning firmly only what is absolutely correct. Do not re-read your own uncorrected exercises: when reading repeatedly, the text is involuntarily memorized with all possible errors. If you study alone, then learn only the ones you know are correct.
7. Write down and remember ready-made phrases and idiomatic expressions in the first person, singular. For example: “I am only pulling your leg” (I’m just teasing you).
8. A foreign language is a fortress that needs to be stormed from all sides at the same time: by reading newspapers, listening to the radio, watching undubbed films, attending lectures in a foreign language, working through a textbook, correspondence, meetings and conversations with friends who are native speakers.
9. Don’t be afraid to speak, don’t be afraid of possible mistakes, but ask them to be corrected. And most importantly, don’t be upset or offended if they really start correcting you.
10. Be firmly confident that you will achieve your goal no matter what, that you have an unbending will and extraordinary ability for languages. And if you have already lost faith in the existence of such things - (and rightly so!) - then think that you are simply a smart enough person to master such a small thing as a foreign language. And if the material still resists and your mood drops, then scold the textbooks - and rightly so, because there are no perfect textbooks! - dictionaries - and this is true, because comprehensive dictionaries do not exist - at worst, the language itself, because all languages are difficult, and the most difficult of all is your native one. And things will work out.

– Where to start learning English on your own?

This question can be asked by two categories of people: very, very newbies and those who have some kind of weathered base from their school days. So let's immediately separate: newcomers - to the left (more precisely, read on in this article), and those who have studied - to the right and . Because the recipe will be different for you.

Now I’m addressing only you, beginners: this article is dedicated to your route from beginner to elementary level. Together with Olga Sinitsyna, head of the methodology department, we described each step in detail and collected all the necessary links. This is the most complete article on the topic. Precisely for those who want to do everything themselves.

Contents of the article: teaching English independently from scratch

1. Alphabet: learn English from scratch on your own and for free

Pay attention to the patterns and differences of the sound system as a whole: in English there are almost no soft consonants, there are long/short and wide/narrow vowels, etc. To understand all this, .

3. First words: learn English on your own from scratch for free online

Since sounds need to be learned as part of a word, at the very first stage you will learn your first English words. You need to start with simple words that are used in everyday life.

6. Learn English grammar for beginners

In parallel with reading and studying entire phrases, you need to understand grammar. But not in theory, don’t delve into it by itself - learn useful English phrases and, using their own example, delve into the essence of grammatical rules. How it works, .

Also watch the video on how to properly teach grammar to a beginner

Let's look at what exactly needs to be understood and remembered at the initial level:

Articles. They are not in the Russian language at all. An article is a function word that is used together with a noun:

an apple (apple)

Here we have used the indefinite article an, because the word begins with a vowel. If a word begins with a consonant, then the article will be - a.

a dog (dog)

But in addition to the indefinite article, there is also a definite article - the. This video will help you understand articles:

Plural. Learn the rules for forming the plural of nouns. This is usually done by adding the suffix -s:

a cat – cats (cat – cats)

Order of words in a sentence. In English it is strict: the subject comes first, then the predicate, then the other parts of the sentence:

I love my job. (I love my job)

In an interrogative sentence, the word order is different and an auxiliary verb is added:

Do I love my job? (I love my job?)

It will help you deal with these subtleties.

There must be a verb. Without a verb, an English sentence simply cannot exist. And where there is no verb in Russian, .

I am a doctor. (I am a doctor or I There is doctor, literally)

Features of the time system. The English language has three tenses, just like ours: present, past and future. But each time has four forms, and those who study them are constantly confused. You don't need to immediately plunge into this chaos.

Imperative mood– when you tell another person what to do. In English it is formed simply:

Love me! (Love me!) Do it! (Make it this one)

And other topics: degrees of comparison of adjectives, regular and irregular verbs, phrase there is – there are. Full list of topics. And so you and I will gradually get to elementary.

7. Comprehensively, from all sides: how to learn English on your own from scratch

All this - words, phrases, grammar - needs to be improved from 4 sides: listening, writing, speaking and reading. We have collected and described for you independent exercises and materials for working on each skill:

– Your level now is zero or beginner. On average, it takes 90-100 hours of study to reach the next level. Decide right away how many hours a day you are willing to study? If it’s an hour, then in 3 – 3.5 months you should reach the elementary level. If it’s half an hour, then multiply the time by two. So set this period as a deadline for yourself.

– Now break down this huge goal of “reaching the elementary level” into specific and very clear tasks like “learn to express thoughts in the present tense”, “learn the 100 most common words”, “read a book in English”. Also plan these tasks according to specific deadlines.

Be sure to read it! Or watch the video:

9. What then? How to learn English on your own at home from scratch quickly

Learn English on your own online from scratch

Now you have a clear action plan. All in your hands. If you need simulators to practice English, then. When registering, we will determine your English level and choose a goal together. And after that, the service will provide daily activities for practice: vocabulary and grammar training, short stories to read, videos and audio for beginners. Let's break through together. 🙂

Time to learn about the pitfalls of English grammar. Based on our experience, we have compiled a list of sites where it is great to practice it.

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For newbies

EnglishDom.Grammar
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Pros: detailed and accessible grammar rules, several types of tasks for consolidation, interesting and popular videos with exercises. A convenient dictionary with ready-made sets and the ability to create your own collections. Absolutely all exercises are supported by English voice acting, and the selection of material is based on the student’s interests. The site is also suitable for more advanced users, because it is possible to choose the difficulty level, and the list of grammatical topics is quite large.
Minuses: Not all grammar topics have video explanations.
Pros: Russian-language site that presents more than 75 grammar lessons with examples, explanations and tests. The site has excellent videos created by native speakers.
Minuses: not the most convenient and outdated interface.
Pros: This site is perfect for beginners. The theoretical part is written in clear and simple language; you won’t have to rack your brains trying to figure out complex structures. All topics are perfectly structured - from easy to more complex.
Minuses: Students at higher levels may find it simple and boring.

For those in the know

BritishCouncil
learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar
Pros: the same site from the British Council where you can read the rules in English and practice your grammar by selecting the desired category. The site has a lot of other useful information, as well as games in English and preparation for exams.
Minuses: the site is positioned as intended for all levels, but is entirely in English.
Pros: An interesting and detailed blog on the topic of grammar from the popular service Grammarly. You can find a lot of useful information on grammar, writing and modern slang.
Minuses: There are no tasks to reinforce the rules.
Pros: a cool site from a whole team of teachers with video explanations and a fun way of presenting grammar rules. There are exercises for consolidation and breakdown by topic.
Minuses: The site is entirely in English, so some details will have to be clarified using dictionaries.
Pros: the site is conveniently divided into categories: tenses, nouns, verbs, prepositions and other grammar topics. You can also find video lessons on the site and, if you do not have constant access to the Internet, tasks and rules can be downloaded to your computer or phone.
Minuses: The site may seem difficult for beginners learning English.
Pros: here are rules, examples and exercises, as well as a division into difficulty levels. A distinctive feature of this resource is that after each topic there is an example of using a rule not just in a sentence, but in a literary text.
Minuses: quite complex even for users with a high level of language knowledge.

For experts

reddit
www.reddit.com/r/grammar
Pros: a very famous site with a separate section dedicated to grammar. It will be useful to everyone who already speaks English well and wants to understand its individual aspects and nuances, because on the site you can get answers from the most qualified specialists.
Minuses: there are no tasks to reinforce the rules, the site is entirely in English.
Pros: The site also needs no introduction. Here you can learn about English grammar and individual cases of using certain vocabulary.
Minuses: The site provides reference information only, without consolidation exercises.
Pros: a site that is often used by many teachers. The nuances of grammar, the frequency of use of certain words, modern slang or the history of origin and pronunciation - this and even more can be found out here.
Minuses: There are also no tasks to reinforce the rules, and it is worth looking through all the comments to make sure the answer is correct.

We hope the resources above will help you master tricky English grammar.

Continue to study English comprehensively: words, grammar, written and speaking practice, live communication. It is this approach that will help you master the language much faster than studying its individual aspects.

We wish you good luck in your studies and look forward to your comments!

Bonuses for Habr readers

Online courses

We are giving you access for a year to the English course for self-study “Online Course”.
To gain access, simply go to before September 1, 2017.

Individually via Skype

Friends, many of you probably had a desire to start learn English for free without outside help or any paid educational courses.

And that's great! After all, learning a foreign language expands human consciousness, opens up opportunities for travel and communication with people from other parts of the world. Believe me Having mastered another language, you will begin to think and perceive the world around you differently!

However, judging by the experience of most students, some people give up trying to learn English due to a lack of self-discipline and simple laziness! Indeed, the abundance of all kinds of rules and bad memories from the school curriculum discourage all desire to learn!

We decided to help everyone learn English on your own and prepared the 7 best ways to master it. These methods significantly save time and simplify understanding of grammar, and most importantly, they are free!

Using these methods and devoting at least 1 hour a day to studying, in a few months you will master the basic principles, expand your vocabulary and be able to speak freely on general/simple topics with native speakers.

1. Dmitry Petrov's method

Dmitry Petrov is a famous linguist, translator and public figure who speaks more than 15 languages. He developed a course of 16 video lessons that can be found on the Internet in the public domain (episodes of the “Polyglot” program on the Russia TV channel). You can watch video tutorials.

In addition to the course of video lessons, there is a free mobile application for learning English using the method of Dmitry Petrov.

The effectiveness of Dmitry Petrov's method: the material is presented in a very simple and understandable form, thanks to which the fear of tenses, verb forms, etc. is quickly dispelled. In a short time you will gain communication skills, plus you will practice basic language algorithms until they become automatic.

2. Duolingo.com platform

A free international language learning platform without premium packages, advertising or webinars, which was launched in 2011. The training system is built in the form of interesting lessons based on gamification, during which students help translate websites, articles, etc.

The basis of training is Dualingo skill tree, through which users advance by completing tasks and earning experience points. The platform has many functions, such as completing tasks against time, etc. In addition to the web project, Duolingo has a mobile application. On Dualingo you can learn not only English, but also German and French, and soon Spanish and Swedish will also be available.

Duolingo efficiency: According to research, 34 hours of Duolingo training provides the same amount of reading and writing skills as a semester of study (130 hours) in higher education. Currently, many teachers in schools use the Dualingo program. The project provides excellent skills for speech recognition and translations.

3. Movie mania with subtitles

The method is based on watching your favorite films and TV series with double subtitles, but in English dubbing. It turns out that you simultaneously hear English speech and see the writing and translation.

The main nuance is the right choice of TV series and films. Beginners need to watch films that have simple dialogues and do not use specific words. Many people call the famous series “Friends” ideal for watching with double subtitles.

Efficiency of the method: quickly remember new words and phrases, master pronunciation. However, to feel the effect, you need to watch quite a lot of episodes or films.

4. Ilya Frank method

This method involves learning a language by reading books in English without a dictionary. You read and remember due to the repetition of words in the text of books.

In addition, for interesting reading, it offers explanations with translations of each sentence. Just download Ilya Frank’s books and read them at any time convenient for you. You can see what the text in the book looks like in the picture below.

The effectiveness of Ilya Frank's method: Frank's learning is ideal for memorizing words. You read a book and as you learn, you begin to skip the explanatory inserts. According to reviews it is said that if you read 1-2 hours a day, then in a year you will be able to read English books in the original without any problems.

5. Alexander Dragunkin method

Alexander Dragunkin developed his own method of teaching English, in which he abandoned the traditional classical study of the rules of reading words, replacing it with Russified transcription.

In his method he also developed 53 “golden” grammar formulas, which differ from the classic ones. Dragunkin offers his vision of language learning and an understanding of grammar that will be simple and understandable for beginners.

To get started, we recommend watching the 3-hour video tutorial, under which you will find a link to many teaching materials and Dragunkin tables that help with learning.

The effectiveness of the Dragunkin Method: the main advantage of Dragunkin’s method is that the material is presented in a very accessible form for “dummies.” All the material (tables, rules) by Dragunkin is systematized, making it easy to remember.

6. Dr. Pimsleur Method

Dr. Pimsleur's method is based on listening, when the student listens to dialogues, constructs phrases and reproduces them from memory. Course of Study consists of 3 parts, each of which contains 30 lessons(audio material + text).

The important point is that learning using the Pimsleur method requires great concentration. In particular, it is impossible, for example, to combine training with being in public places, because Often, as part of training, it is necessary to repeat after the speaker.

The effectiveness of Dr. Pimsleur's method: training using this method is perfect for those who have poor pronunciation. The course using Dr. Pimsleur's method perfectly develops memory and promotes good recognition of English speech (especially dialects).

7. YouTube training

In addition to the above methods, we will leave for you several excellent YouTube channels for learning English. Each of them has its own training program that will help you master English.

Puzzle English- an excellent channel with a wide variety of grammar lessons, language learning tips, lessons on correct pronunciation, etc.

English like clockwork is an entertaining channel where language learning is carried out through jokes, games, music, films, etc.

OXANA DOLINKA— a channel of the user of the same name, on which a girl teaches English and emphasizes the living modern language, as well as the nuances of spoken English when traveling.

English at Steve Jobs School- a channel where short lessons touch on certain topics of the English language, as well as dialogues in films, talk about metaphors in English, etc.

Albert Kakhnovskiy- a channel where English is taught by the famous Raymond Murphy.

Efficiency of the method: Learning English on YouTube channels is easy and fun. Studying does not oblige you to anything and you can devote as much time to studying as you wish.

Learn English on your own not easy! Most people note that it is often difficult to overcome their laziness, remember this! Do not succumb to the provocations of your consciousness to abandon your studies!