How can I improve my English for ESL learners?

By Dr Jeff Hawkins, [email protected]

This is a question I get alot from my adult ESL students from around the world - how can I improve my academic writing and English language ability?

In order to improve English language skills requires a great deal of attention, hard work and dedication from the student as well as expertise and guidance from the ESL teacher.  Having said that, let me share 3 tips that can accelerate language learning and help you progress quickly in ESL: 

1)  Reading, writing, listening and speaking and critical thinking must become integrated skills.  In other words, ESL students need to be able to think and act autonomously and directly in English (Language 2) without translating too much into Language 1 (mother tongue).  ESL students can benefit tremendously from immersion in the English language to build fluency in listening, reading, speaking and academic writing.   

2)  Writing in English (initially) is about Structure and Vocabulary:  When you write an essay or IELTS writing;  the structure (paragraphs, thesis, supporting points) and correct vocabulary usage is what will help you score well on descriptive writing sections.  Pay close attention to the format because easy reading leads to better evaluations. 

3)  Pronunciation -  ESL students should endeavor to master the "Schwa" (UH) sound, digraphs, trigraphs and quadragraph phonemes of English.  ESL adults already know the I.P.A. as a sound system of English. ESL students must also know that we have 20 vowel sounds and 24 consonant sounds in English.   Once the phonemes & phonology are mastered, adults can make quick progress in ESL.

These a few brief tips to help ESL learners, please feel free to ask questions, comment or share personal thoughts on how to improve English language learning on this blog :).