Its often said that doing things with a friend or in pairs has better results than doing something on your own. This is never more apparent than when learning English.
Most tasks in life are more enjoyable when done with someone beside you to motivate and encourage you. Even if they are not your friend, but someone you have just met, it’s still a bonus. We have found that the people who initially learn English – either young learners or adults, learning English as a second or third language make far better progress if they are doing it with someone they know and trust.
This is because once you do something with a friend or a trusted person you feel braver to take on new roles and tasks. You feel energised and “up for the challenge “and know that if you make a mistake, the person beside you is probably not going to laugh but will encourage you to try again. It’s the same for you. If you can help and guide a friend to improve on their learning and help them over the mistakes then they will make rapid progress as well. It’s a “win-win” situation.
Why learning together is more fun
When you start out with any new task it is or can be, daunting. People are worried. They don’t know what it involves; what will happen and if they will find it difficult. The worst bit is no one wants to feel stupid. No one wants to fail and learning a language at any age can be somewhat of an uphill challenge. The best way to approach this is slowly and with confidence. Having a friend beside you helps you gain all of this.
You can practise your English on each other without feeling worried they will criticise
Trying out your knowledge of English, however limited, with a friend is very therapeutic. It means that you can try new words and sentences on someone, and they won’t laugh at you or just shrug their shoulders and say “I don’t understand!” They will listen to you and respond if they can or if they don’t understand, they will ask you to re-phrase the question. This is a great way for both of you to improve by doing it in a fun and gentle way. No one to criticise and no one to blame.
Doing your Homework or projects together
It makes sense that in your English lessons you will be given work to do after the session is over. This can take the form of reading; written homework or practising a piece of work to read out to others. Doing this on your own can be a little demoralizing and daunting but sharing this with a friend will make it more fun and the rewards will be immense. If you had a piece of English to read out in class, who else might listen to you beforehand? Of course, your family may have the time but if they don’t speak or are learning English they won’t know if it’s right or wrong. You can dictate the work and listen to it again but often when we “check ourselves” we miss things. This way sharing homework and working on projects together does allow for new ideas; honest and kind feedback and a motivation that is indeed, “priceless”
Setting tasks with your friend
Why not set a small task for you and your friend to complete? It could be something as simple as learning ten new English words each day. Learning ten simple words each day may not sound like learning a language, but you will be surprised when those words are used by you in a very relaxed way in class. Instead of repeating the same response and using the same words, you can bring forth your new vocabulary and impress the rest of your class. You may not know how many words you can remember and commit to memory but when one new word pops into your brain and is used in class – WOW what a feeling!
Talking to someone else on the same level as a fellow learner and friend
If you are learning English and want to engage with someone then it is often said that you should speak with someone who has a higher level than you. Of course, this is correct – you want to speak and spend time with someone whose English is better than yours to improve. But that person may not be available and may, its true to say, be bored speaking to someone whose English is of a lower level than theirs. That is why it’s great to have a friend to practise with. Both of you will learn to be able to communicate with each other using your limited English words and this will stretch you to learn more the following day. Think of a simple conversation you can have with someone on Monday but knowing fifty new words by the end of the week and new horizons open. Your conversation will be more interesting for both of you
Learning a song together
If you are learning English with a friend, then usually that is a good and trusted friend of yours and you will spend time together on a social level. This means that you are comfortable in each other’s company and so could both try to learn an English song together and sing it – yes be brave – sing a song in English. You won’t believe how exciting it will be to be able to get to the end of a song – one of your favourite songs – and all of it has been sung in English. Doing this with your friend means that you will gain confidence and, if it goes wrong, then you both can dissolve into fits of giggles and no one cares. It’s a great way to learn a language
Going to see an English film together
Another great way to learn English is by watching a film. We have some interesting suggestions for you. Have you noticed how many people are now speaking English with an American Accent? Why is that? Of course, it’s because so many people are subscribing to Netflix or Amazon and watching dozens of English speaking, usually American, films. You may find that initially when starting out you must listen to the film as well as have the subtitles on to understand that they are saying. As you get used to their accent (and we all have accents – some easier to follow than others) you should try to drop the subtitles and try very hard to listen to the film without any assistance at all. The best bit of all is that you can then discuss the film with your new English Learning Buddy and see who got to understand the most of it and decide then if it was a good film and if you enjoyed it or not. For your homework – you both could write a review of the film and see who understood the most. If it went well, then that is certainly the time to drop the subtitles and listen to the film spoken only!
And finally…..Taking an English holiday together
Combine learning English with a friend and take a holiday here in the UK or in one of our sister speaking countries such as New Zealand and South Africa. Wherever you choose, bringing a friend to help you learn English will be one of the best decisions you have made.
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If you are new to learning English and just want to start slowly then choose our English Immersion Plus Programme which offers you a true full immersion programme with an English family and ten hours of informal English lessons a week to go with the conversational English you will use throughout your time there.