Tet holiday is near, meaning another year is coming to an end and a new one will soon begin. Do you have any plans for your completely new year? What about learning English? What is your 2018’s goal? In this post, I’d like to share with you some language resolution ideas that will definitely make your whole year enlightening! Let’s dive right in!
Master the most common English words
As we all know, English language is rich in vocabulary, and acquiring all of them seems impossible. It’s advisable to start with HIGH FREQUENCY words (or CORE/ESSENTIAL words) first before moving to more advanced ones. For those who are beginners in English, one of the most essential things you have to achieve when it comes to learning English is to master the most common word list. The list is not too long, no worries. So why don’t you set it as a target for your new year? Here is the list of high-frequency words in English that you may find useful. By the way, do you know yet how to learn vocabulary effectively? Take a look at our post here and start your new year off right!
Read your favorite novel/ book in English
Reading books in English sounds daunting for many of us, doesn’t it? However, it’s not as much difficult as you might think. In fact, reading English books is one of the most effective ways to improve your vocabulary. Learning vocabulary in context is, needless to say, very good for language learners. If for some reason, you haven’t read any books in English yet, why don’t you read one or even some books in the upcoming year?
Write your gratitude journal in English everyday
Being grateful for what you have in life will help you focus on what really matters and get rid of what’s bad for you and your life.
Keep writing in your gratitude journal every morning or every night until it becomes a habit. I know it’s kinda hard at first because it’s another thing you have to remember to do every day, and sometimes you may feel like you can’t think of anything that makes you feel grateful for. But you know what, the things you feel grateful of are not necessarily something great, something significant. Sometimes they are just simple ones that you’re not even aware of. Therefore, the more often you spend time to reflect on what you feel grateful for in life, the more you’ll learn about your inner self.
And it’d be even more wonderful if you write in English instead of your native language. In the year of 2018, let’s make a commitment to write down 3 things we feel grateful for every morning after waking up or every night before going to bed. And remember that everything has to be in English! Or you can share with others your daily gratitude in our Gratitude Journal group on Facebook to keep yourself motivated and inspire others to do the same.
Learn 10 new words each day
Whatever words you learn, whenever or wherever you learn them, just remember to learn every new word in context. Never try to memorize a list of individual words. It’s better if you can combine learning vocabulary with watching TV series, or with reading books. Jot down new words you’ve just learned from the context, try to guess the meaning first and then make some sentences with every word you want to learn. Practice them by including some in your daily gratitude notes whenever possible. The more you practice, the larger your vocabulary size will be.
Read 1 English article every day
Unlike books, articles are way easier and faster to consume. The vocabulary used is commonly informal. Two excellent websites that I highly recommend are Quora and Medium. Quora is a place where people ask questions and contribute unique insights and quality answers about various topics. It’s my daily visited website. The main language used on the site is English, which means you can improve English effectively through reading answers from others and answering other questions. A great place to share and gain knowledge also!
Medium is a blogging platform where insightful thinkers and writers share their ideas which will definitely blow your mind away. It’s a perfect place for those who are always looking for new ideas and motivational articles. There are of course tons of other websites that provide you with excellent content. Take some time to research! Reading such incredible content will not only help you with English but also broaden your general knowledge about the world and inspire you to become a better version of yourself.
When you read English articles online, don’t forget to use our eJOY Extension to look up any new words you don’t know! Besides, with eJOY, you can easily save any words, phrases or even sentences to your wordbook for further reference!
Add eJOY to Chrome for free now!
Practice speaking English every weekend
Don’t allow yourself to lazy around in bed on a beautiful Sunday. Sunday means you have to get outside and enjoy the Sun. Search for English learning groups or clubs near your place. I’m sure there are a lot of groups in your city that hold weekly meetings to encourage their members to practice English and socialize.
In addition to improving your English speaking skills, taking part in such communities will also help to boost your confidence and develop your interpersonal skills.
Be confident
Believe that you can improve, that you can do it. Never give up on what you believe in. No matter how hard you fall, never let yourself stop. Make mistakes and learn, it’s when improvement takes place. Ask for help whenever necessary and never stop learning.
You’ve just learned some language resolution ideas for your 2018. Now it’s your turn to set specific goals for yourself and make your new year a memorable and colorful one! And, if you have any other resolution ideas, share with us in the comment section!