How to boost your English efficiently in London

Well, you have tried everything to improve your English. You have bought all the Cambridge books and now you are literally broke. You have consulted your dictionary so many times that your fingers are bleeding and your English pals, no matter how friendly they may otherwise have been, just turn away from you. At this very moment, you have got two alternatives. Either to give up English and start learning a new language that you don’t really fancy or develop some personal language training through which you will only depend on yourself. Sounds pretty wacky, doesn’t it, but it is possible if you follow my instructions rigorously.

• First off, ensure you have enough money to buy an excellent, not a good, dictionary. I would advise purchasing ‘the McMillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners’ which will provide you with a large spectrum of clear definitions from the most informal slang to arcane jargon. As you might have guessed, the only thing you can do with your old tacky dictionary translated into your native language, is to throw it away period! Don’t look so sulky.

• Further, listen to the radio as much as possible. I would recommend to you BBC 4 Radio and LBC (London Biggest Conversation) to develop your listening skills. As a matter of fact, most of their programmes are based on debates, information and say of their listeners. Therefore, you will get used to understanding diverse accents from all over the UK which are often difficult for non-native speakers.

• Interestingly, keeping an up to date English note book turns out to be very handy. Indeed, like a witch who keeps all her spells as well as her magical tricks in a grimoire, make certain that you have a book which contains the words, the idioms, the verbs and the unusual phrasal verbs that you have come across, and that you want to use for different purposes. And as the old adage says ‘practice makes perfect’, so check it as much as you can.

• When living in a big city such as London, you might expect that you will easily find many English speakers up for helping you out with the difficulties you come up against. Au contraire, most of the people who live in London are very unlikely to spend time correcting you, especially if they don’t have any interest in doing so. Don’t wince like that! Instead, consider having some language swaps with somebody who cannot resist the prospect of speaking your native language. Go on Gumtree or Shared Talk websites for more information.

• Finally, attempt to socialise with as many groups as possible. In doing so, you will not only increase your network, you will also further your presentation skills and build up your confidence in English. However, if you are reluctant to mingle with new people, you can alternatively endeavour to take classes to overcome your fears. I recommend City Lit and Morley College. They both have courses based on personal development which hopefully will help you to sort out this problem.

So, let’s speak English more fluently now, shall we?

Photo from Flick by Blu Frog

Originally from Brussels Nabil Verdickt has been based in East London for more than one year and has gained expertise in various facets of London life such as the Non Profit Sector and Educational.Passionate about journalism and creative writing… Read more