An Idea for Intermediate ESOL Students

In this post, I would like to address my ESOL students. This is an idea that I hope becomes useful to you.

When you first started to learn English, you would have made rapid progress. It is exciting learning because you can see your own progress from week-to-week and month-to-month. The rate of learning seems to slow down when you get to the Intermediate level. Many of my past students have asked me the question, “How can I improve my English quickly?” I will try to answer this question with an idea that I have found works well.

There is a long learning period where you would have relied very heavily on your first language dictionary. A good start is to use only the English-English dictionary. Then, when you are able to start thinking in the second language, you will have found the key to improvement. So how do you do this?

Every day, set yourself a problem and think it through from start to finish in English. The problem can be:
• How to find something, eg. How to get to the top of One Tree Hill.
• How to make or build something, eg. How to make a paper crane using origami.
• How to find a solution, eg. Work out who committed a crime in a story.
• Express a point of view, eg. Express how you feel about euthanasia.

Think about each step of the problem in English, and work through to the final solution in English. If you do not have all the words you need, either “circumlocute”, (ie. use the words you do have to express the idea) or perhaps just look up one or two words. Try to avoid the first language dictionary as much as possible.

If you try this for 10 minutes a day, without fail, you will see a faster improvement in your English ability! Don’t forget to also take the time to read “FOR FUN” in English – take an easy book and read through it for entertainment. This is how children learn in their first language!