Right Ways to Learn English

I'm sure there are endless of posts on the internet about how to improve your English (just Google it, I did) but I'd like to summarise the most effective ways on how to speak and write in English fluently. 

But wait, I hear some future responses to this post (not everything receives 100% positive feedback you know),

"Buat pe kami perlu belajar Inggeris? Kami patut martabatkan Bahasa Malaysia, mansuhkan Inggeris dalam sekolah! Pakai balik Bahasa Malaysia dalam Matematik & Sains, biar anak2 orang kampung tuh ha boleh skor jugak dalam peperiksaan" - says the ignorant Malay society of Malaysia.

Well my fellow friends who refuse to learn English for the sole reason that we Malays should be using our mother tongue instead of English, I have only 1 thing to say: What would you do about your children when everyone else is moving forward and using English as a secondary (some use it as a primary) language and your child can't understand? Would you let him be ridiculed and commented upon in a language he doesn't know because his parents are too proud to let him learn it?

We should be grateful that Malaysia has put an emphasis on English language but our English speaking citizens are still nowhere as good as our neighbour, the Singaporeans (damn it, Singapore you're good in everything) English language nowadays has become a sort of a reflection of the rich and high status of the society. Where people living in villages or outskirts can't speak proper English and only the middle and upper class families can. 

Well, let's change that. Everyone deserves a fighting chance to learn English. Doesn't matter what class of families you come from. All it takes is passion for the language and a lifetime dedication to learning a beautiful language.

Think about it, once you've mastered basic grammar, you can move on to literature or fictional books which will take you on a whole new level of enjoying language :) 

And if it makes you feel better, I've met a lot of 'rich or posh' people who don't even speak proper English. They just use broken English (a mixture of English & BM) and add in a fancy British/American/European accent and voila! Everybody thinks they speak perfect English. 

Don't be fooled my friends. 

So. 3 Simple steps to improving your English:

1. Read, read, read! But there's a right way to reading. Kind of like the school education system where you enter kindergarten, then primary and secondary school, then onwards to college, it's the same with books. If you're not ready to read those adult fictions yet, read kids stuff like Enid Blyton, Mary & Jane or those Famous Five mystery books. Their English is simple and they're perfect for a beginner like you! Once you get bored of those amateur books, move on to teenage books and then adult reading etc. If you hate reading novels, go right ahead and read magazines, newspapers, online articles etc. It doesn't matter so long as you read. You'll become smarter in the process too!

2. Write lots! Keep a journal, or write your thoughts on scraps of paper. Or if you have thoughts in other languages, convert it into proper English (don't use Google Translate I beg of you) If you don't like writing no worries, think in English! It's a sure-fire way to get you more confident in conversing in English in the future :) 

3. Practise, practise, practise! Converse everyday in English even just a little bit. But make sure you have a few friends around you who are willing to correct your grammar should you are wrong. And don't be egoistical when it comes to people correcting your grammar. They're not being cocky, they're helping you to avoid further humiliation in the future! 

So those are pretty much what I did to improve my English and I'm still working on it now. There are so many English words that you discover everyday that slowly you will fall in love with them. :)

I hope one day you love the language as much as I do and realise there are a lot of hidden excitements behind the English language. Good luck!