Resources and Tips for English Language Learners

Practice your reading, listening, speaking and writing (receptive & productive skills).

As an English teacher at an international language academy in Toronto, Canada, I am always asked by my students for ways to improve their English language skills.

I have gathered some resources to help you with your studies.

(For reference, the students I have in mind are at a high-intermediate level and are currently using Oxford University Press’ American English File 4 as their textbook.)

Good luck! I believe in you.

Before we begin (mindset)

Why are you learning English?

Are you learning English so that you can find better work opportunities? To immigrate to a new country? To fall in love? To travel the world and meet people from different cultures? Why?

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Your reason(s) for learning English is the most important question. Like a compass, the answer to this question will help you decide what skills to focus on as well as how much energy and effort to use during your studies.

For example, if you want to learn English so that you can have better work opportunities, the next question will be, “what kind of work? How much English proficiency do I need for the work opportunities that I want? What is my time-line? etc.”

If you work in a technical role (such as an engineer or programmer), it may be more useful to focus on written English (reading and writing). On the other hand, a salesperson may find it more useful to focus on spoken English (listening and speaking) first.

By knowing your “why” for learning English, it will be easier to learn in an efficient and engaging way. If you want to talk with people in English, start talking now! You do not need to be perfect.

Who cares if people think you are crazy? You are living your own life, not theirs.

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Remember, babies do not use dictionaries or Google Translate.

How did you learn to speak your native language? You listened a lot and you talked a lot. You probably made a lot of mistakes. You kept trying.

Do not give up. You can do it.

Please do not translate in your mind. It will confuse your grammar and make things harder in the future. Be a child again. Allow yourself to make mistakes and be silly. I still think you are awesome.

The quickest way to get good at English? Love yourself when you make mistakes, and then make more mistakes.

There is no point comparing with other people.

“Oh no, my friend learned English for one year and now she is an English PhD student at Harvard. Wow, I am so stupid.”

Who cares? Comparing will not change anything, it will only slow you down.

Be kind to yourself.

Remember when you were a child and you said the wrong word at home? Maybe you said “table” instead of “chair”. Did your mom kick you in the face and punch you?

No. Your mom probably laughed, gave you a kiss and told you the correct word. She loved you even when you made a mistake.

Years later, you now speak that language fluently, even though you made so many mistakes when you were young.

Look at yourself now. Why are you angry with yourself when you say the wrong thing or write the wrong answer in English? It is okay to make mistakes. I am a teacher and I make mistakes every day!

“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”

— Stephen McCraine

We are all human. Please love yourself. This will make learning English a lot easier.

I promise.

Reading (Receptive Skill / Input)

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”

— George R.R. Martin

Here are some of my book recommendations for practicing your reading skills. Reading is the fastest way to improve your written grammar, vocabulary and spelling. Once you fall in love with reading, you will be able to explore many amazing worlds and learn so many incredible things. I am so excited for you!

If you are in Toronto, you can buy books at Indigo or BMV. Indigo is my favourite store on Earth and BMV has great books that you can buy for cheaper prices. Please also check out the Toronto Public Library, one of the best library systems in the world.

“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis

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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis is part of the Narnia series and it is one of my favourite books of all time. It is the first book I read that made me fall in love with the English language. I recommend this book because it is easy to read yet rich and full of magic.

“The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” by Mark Manson

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The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson is a non-fiction book about how to live a good life. Yes, it has “bad” words. I recommend this book because the writing is crisp and clear, and a lot of the lessons you learn from the book can be used to become a better student of life. It is really a philosophy book disguised as a fun self-help book.

More reading tips and resources

Online resources

• BlogTO — Read by locals to find out what is happening in Toronto. Great resource to practice your reading skills and find new places to visit in the city!
• Quartz — Global news resource that will be especially useful for people who are interested in business, economics, science and culture. I get the free Quartz Daily Brief in my email every morning and that is how I check the news.

More reading tips

• Read what is interesting to you. Everybody likes different things. If you do not like the book you are reading, throw it away and read something else! Life is too short to read a bad book.
• Do not try and understand every single word in a book. If you have to check the dictionary every 5 seconds, you will become crazy and you will hate reading. Try to understand the main ideas and start from there.
• Build a reading habit. Read a little bit every day. Try to read maybe one page every day. Maybe just read for five minutes, or when you go to the bathroom. Do not try and “read one book a week” because you will become crazy and you will hate reading.
• The best way to learn from reading is to do something with what you read. Maybe you can tell a summary of what you read to a friend. Maybe you can write in a journal or write about your thoughts and feelings. This way, your brain will build neural connections and you will connect your reading to your real life. As a result, you will remember more and experience how the English language comes alive.
• You will improve one step at a time. Baby-steps are the secret to success.

Listening (Receptive Skill / Input)

If you want to get good at speaking English, you have to listen a lot. Pay attention to how words are pronounced. Pay attention to the sound, structure, and rhythm of sentences. You will start to discover patterns in spoken English that you will not learn from a textbook.

Try your best to listen to things with either English subtitles or no subtitles. Do not use subtitles in your native language! It will confuse your brain.

Here are some resources I recommend for improving your listening:

TED Talks and TEDx Talks

TED Talks are an amazing way to improve your English. They have videos about any topic you can possibly imagine. Different speakers will have different accents, and that is okay!

There are probably different accents in your native language as well. Accents are not a problem, as long as other people can understand your pronunciation and what you are trying to say.

TED Talks are a great resource because many of their videos have transcripts and amazing English subtitles so that you can easily follow along. Happy exploring!

Vox

Vox is a Youtube channel with amazing, insightful content. The videos are all well-made and they are full of fresh new ideas and perspectives. In particular, I recommend the Vox Borders series where you can learn more about various parts of the world such as the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Hong Kong, Colombia, Japan, China, Nepal…etc.

Great Big Story

Great Big Story is another YouTube channel with short videos that are jam-packed with interesting things. The short length is perfect for those days when you want to practice just a little bit of English listening comprehension.

More listening resources

• Libby (eBooks & Audiobooks) — First, you will need to get a Toronto Public Library Card. Once you have that, you can get the Libby app and borrow eBooks and audiobooks for free on your phone! EBooks are a great way
• Podcasts — I personally do not listen to many podcasts anymore, but they are a great way to practice listening. I enjoy listening to The Tim Ferris Show and here are some more English podcasts to improve your language skills.

Speaking (Productive Skill / Output)

To speak English well, you have to train your face-muscles to be comfortable pronouncing English words, and you also need to be able to recognize the “correct” sounds of English (through listening).

The best way to feel good about your learning is to practice speaking English as often as possible. For most of us, we learn languages to communicate with others, whether it is for work, social or personal interests. Language is about communication.

Remember that it is always okay to make mistakes, and be kind to yourself when you say something “wrong”. We all make mistakes.

Speaking resources

Meetup.com

One of the best things you can do is find hobbies you like and use your English skills to meet new people. Meetup.com is a great place to find new friends wherever you are in the world and meet up to practice a skill, learn something new or have fun.

Try looking for a “language exchange” on Meetup. They are often full of people who want to learn your native language. You can practice speaking English while helping someone else learn your native language!

Make friends at school and explore Toronto together!

It is too easy to go to class, go home, “study” a textbook, and spend the rest of your time on the phone with your friends and loved ones in your native language.

Instead, talk to new people at school and go explore Toronto! You can use blogTO to find cool things to do. Make friends with people who do not speak your native language so that you are forced to communicate in English.

Remember, your English does not have to be perfect. As long as you can communicate with people and understand what they are saying, you are already halfway there!

italki

If you want to practice speaking in English but you have already returned back to your home country or are currently not living in an English-speaking country, then italki might be the solution for you. italki is a great way to practice speaking with a native speaker. It is not free, but it could be a good option if you want to continue practicing your English even after you return home.

Writing (Productive Skill / Output)

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”

— Stephen King

Read a lot, write a lot.

There is no magic. Just a lot of hard work.

Journaling (in English!)

Journaling is an amazing way to improve your writing. You can write about your day, you can write about what you learn…You can write about anything you want.

The point of journaling is to let your mind free and to keep writing. It is a form of meditation through writing. Do not worry about grammar, do not worry about writing something “right” or “wrong”. Just keep writing.

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I try and journal as much as I can. It has made me a happier, positive and more grateful person. I overthink a lot and writing down my thoughts really helps me become less stressful. I highly recommend it!

Grammarly

Unless you write for a living, you do not have many chances to write every day. Texting friends on your phone or writing messages on WhatsApp and Instagram are all great places to practice writing. However, you will probably spend most of your time writing emails for work.

Grammarly is a free tool you can use on your computer to help you write better. It is not perfect, but I use it all the time and I love that it works even when you write emails. This small tool really helps!

Thank you

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue.

Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything.

Live the questions now.

Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”

― Rainer Maria Rilke

I hope these resources help you with your learning adventures!

Keep trying your best, always.

I know you can do it.

PS Bonus Tip: I heard from another teacher that EngVid is a great place for free English Video Lessons. Grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation… It has everything!