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Self-study
English Self-Study Materials
24 Sep 2019

If you are reading this text, it means that you are seeking ways to level up your English. This is really cool because nowadays knowledge of English opens up a huge number of opportunities: you can travel freely and easily communicate with people from different countries. In a conversation with a foreigner, you don’t have to burn with shame, struggling to recall something other than “London is the capital of Great Britain”. English also means a fast speed of receiving information: just try to remember how many times you were angry that a new episode of your favorite series hasn’t yet been translated into your native language, even though it was released weeks ago.

But what about your career? Today, most companies prefer having employees who speak English at a high level in their ranks. If you agree with at least one of the arguments above, then we advise you read this article to the end, because it will be an excellent assistant in improving your English.

We have collected various resources and useful materials so that you can vary your speech with grammatical constructions and replenish your vocabulary. All materials are divided by levels. If you don’t know your level, register on our portal and take the test in your profile to determine it.

A1. At this level, the speaker can understand some words, phrases and answer the simplest questions such as “What’s your name?” or “How old are you?”. If you're here, your main task for now is to learn the correct word order as well as basic words and simple tenses (present, past, and future) so that you can easily talk about your everyday life, hobbies and pastime, last year’s vacation, or plans for the future. Get ready to learn how to make an order in a cafe or register at a hotel as well.

Here are some useful links for the beginner level:

  1. Vocabulary
  2. Grammar
  3. Pronunciation
  4. Listening
  5. Video lessons 1
  6. Video lessons 2
  7. Useful expressions
  8. Writing emails


A2. At this stage, the speaker can maintain a simple conversation on basic topics such as weather, entertainment (films, music, etc.), study, sports; tell about their life experience. Our advice to you: start using more complex tenses (for example, Present Perfect and Past Continuous), and the most common phrasal verbs. Also try to replace frequently used expressions with idioms or rarely used words, for example, interesting = fascinating; I think = I suppose, I believe; I like it = I am keen on it. It will be cool if you manage to find out the information you need in the conversation (for example, how to register for English courses) or to describe an item (for example, your suitcase that was lost during a flight).

So, if you have A2, we advise you to check out these resources:


  1. Vocabulary
  2. Grammar
  3. Pronunciation
  4. Listening
  5. Video lessons
  6. Useful expressions (elementary tab)
  7. Writing emails


B1. On this grammar level you can easily set the conditions (if ..., then ...) or tell what, where and when something was / will be done. At this level, the speaker can reason about abstract things, give arguments for and against (for example, the pros and cons of being a programmer). Use popular words and phrases in new meanings. If you translate the sentence “Cô ấy điều hành một nhà hàng nhỏ trong thị trấn của chúng tôi” as “She runs a small restaurant in our town”, then you probably have B1 level. In a conversation with another person you need to be able to find a compromise (for example, negotiate a discount in a cafe).

Our recommendations for level B1 are:


  1. Vocabulary 1
  2. Vocabulary 2
  3. Grammar
  4. Grammar gameshow
  5. Pronunciation
  6. Listening
  7. Video lessons
  8. Useful expressions (intermediate tab)
  9. Writing emails


To make learning English more fun and always at hand, we suggest checking out these accounts:


 YouTube:

  • With Ted Talks you will not only boost your English but also learn a lot from the different fields of science
  • Improve American English with Rachel on her channel
  • Let’s talk is a popular channel where you can improve your language and software skills at the same time

Apps:

  • An application from BBC Learning English, which is useful to always have on hand
  • Free applications for learning English without constant annoying advertising are a rarity nowadays, but Duolingo is an exception to this rule
  • The Memrise service is based on a scientific technique that allows you to learn up to 44 words per hour. The main "weapon" of the application is memes. They allow you to memorize material much better, and various game modes that train different aspects of memory: visual study, revision and consolidation, quick recall, etc.
  • The HelloTalk service is an irreplaceable application for learning English. This is an educational platform where native speakers from all over the world act as teachers, so you can easily talk to them by exchanging text messages

Useful Tips:

  1. Prepare cards with unfamiliar words and expressions, and then come up with your own examples of sentences using the new vocabulary.
  2. When you draw up a sentence with a new English word, let this sentence be about you: firstly, you will easily remember the new word in that context, and secondly, you may still need this sentence when you tell someone about yourself
  3. Use associations during the process of learning: it’s an easier way for our brain to remember information
  4. Practice every day! No one in the world has ever started speaking a foreign language in one evening
  5. Speak, Speak and Speak! Your efforts to memorize a bunch of words, expressions and grammar rules will be in vain if you do not use them in speech. So, try to find someone with whom you can chat in English while drinking a five o’clock cup of tea

 

We do hope that all the resources mentioned above will help you to pump up your skills quickly and speaking English will become a piece of cake for you 😉