video portal

A video portal is a website offering user created or professionally created video content.

Online video

Online video is video content distributed by the Internet. Recently, several different studies have shown that, at least in the United States, online video reaches a majority of the population.
This is due in part to the penetration of broadband internet, and also to the emergence of highly successful video portals. These portals offer user created or professionally created content.
The majority of online videos are shorter than 5 minutes in duration, a length generally preferred by users who view such content on computers or portable equipment, like cellphones, MP3 players or video game consoles.
Some portals offer videos in the 320x240 pixel resolution, while others opt for a larger format, such as 480x360 pixels (for a typical display) and 640x360 (for a widescreen 16:9 display).
Many portals use Adobe Flash Player for their videos, the player which is becoming a de facto industry standard. Others use Windows Media Player, QuickTime, DivX Web Player or RealPlayer.
Devices like Apple TV or Netgear's Digital Entertainer, capable of transferring video files from the Internet to the television screen, will cause an increase in the length of the size of videos, both in definition and duration.
Most video portals generate their revenue through advertising. There are currently many advertising formats related to online video, such as preroll (commercials like those on television and played before the video) and branded channels.

internet forum

An internet forum is an online discussion site where people can communicate in the form of posted messages. It is a system that allows users to send, read and reply to messages on a particular subject in real time.

Social Networking

What is Social Networking?

 A social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on facilitating the building of social networks or social relations among people who, for example, share interests, activities, backgrounds, or real-life connections. A social network service consists of a representation of each user (often a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of additional services. Most social network services are web-based and provide means for users to interact over the Internet, such as e-mail and instant messaging. Online community services are sometimes considered as a social network service, though in a broader sense, social network service usually means an individual-centered service whereas online community services are group-centered. Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within their individual networks.

Social Networking Explained

Social Networking has become very popular during the past few years, but it can still be very difficult to understand for someone new to social networking. The open-ended nature of social networks add to this. Once signed onto a social network, having answered a few basic profile questions, it is easy to sit back and wonder what you are supposed to do next.
The easiest way to understand social networking is to think of it like high school. You had friends in school, and you knew quite a few people even if you weren't friends with all of them, but it's likely that you didn't know everyone.
If you ever moved to a new school -- or if you can imagine moving to a new school -- you start out with no friends. After attending classes, you start meeting people, and as you meet them, you begin associating with those that have similar interests.
Getting started with social networking is much the same as starting at a new school. At first, you don't have any friends. But as you join groups, you begin to meet people, and you build a friends list of those with similar interests.

Social Networking Architecture

Social networking is based on a certain structure that allow people to both express their individuality and meet people with similar interests. This structure includes having profiles, friends, blog posts, widgets, and usually something unique to that particular social networking website -- such as the ability to 'poke' people on Facebook or high-five someone on Hi5.
Profile. This is where you tell the world about yourself. Profiles contain basic information, like where you live and how old you are, and personality questions, like who's your favorite actor and what's your favorite book. Social networks dedicated to a special theme like music or movies might ask questions related to that theme.
Friends. Friends are trusted members of the site that are allowed to post comments on your profile or send you private messages. You can also keep tabs on how your friends are using social networking, such as when they post a new picture or update their profile. Friends are the heart and soul of social networking. It should be noted that not all social networks refer to them as 'friends' -- LinkedIn refers to them as 'connections -- but all social networks have a way to designate members as trusted.
Groups. Most social networks use groups to help you find people with similar interests or engage in discussions on certain topics. A group can be anything from "Johnson High Class of '98" to "People Who Like Books" to "Doors Fans". They are both a way to connect with like-minded people and a way to identify your interests. Sometimes, groups are called by other names, such as the 'networks' on Facebook.
Discussions. A primary focus of groups is to create interaction between users in the form of discussions. Most social networking websites support discussion boards for the groups, and many also allow members of the group to post pictures, music, video clips, and other tidbits related to the group.
Blogs. Another feature of some social networks is the ability to create your own blog entries. While not as feature-rich as blog hosts like Wordpress or Blogger, blogging through a social network is perfect for keeping people informed on what you are up to.
Widgets. A popular way of letting your personality shine through is by gracing your social networking profile with web widgets. Many social networks allow a variety of widgets, and you can usually find interesting widgets located on widget galleries.

Why Start Social Networking?

Social Networking is a nice form of entertainment, great for meeting people with similar interests, and can be a very effective business technique for entrepreneurs, writers, actors, musicians or artists.
Most of us have hobbies, or things that we are keenly interested in such as books, television, video games or movies. Social networks allow us to reach out to others that have the same interests.
For example, if you like movies, Flixster can help you decide if you might like a new movie just out at the theaters. If you like music, Last.FM can help you find new artists that are similar to your favorite bands.

Am I Too Old To Start Social Networking?

You are never too old to get involved in social networking! There are plenty of social networks to choose from including niche social networks that focus on a specific theme like TakePart, a network for social activism, and 43 Things, a social network dedicated to goal setting.

PODCAST

Definition of PODCAST

:  a program (as of music or talk) made available in digital format for automatic download over the Internet

A podcast (or netcast) is a digital medium consisting of an episodic series of audio, video, PDF, or ePub files subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or streamed online to a computer or mobile device. The word is a neologism and portmanteau derived from "broadcast" and "pod" from the success of the iPod, as audio podcasts are often listened to on portable media players.
Merriam Webster defines Podcast: a program (as of music or talk) made available in digital format for automatic download over the Internet^[1]
A list of all the audio or video files associated with a given series is maintained centrally on the distributor's server as a web feed, and the listener or viewer employs special client application software, known as a podcatcher, that can access this web feed, check it for updates, and download any new files in the series. This process can be automated so that new files are downloaded automatically, which may seem to the user as if the content is being broadcast or "pushed" to them. Files are stored locally on the user's computer or other device ready for offline use, giving simple and convenient access to the content.^[2][3] Podcasting contrasts with webcasting (Internet streaming), which generally isn't designed for offline listening to user-selected content.

Definition

user-generated content (UGC)

User-generated content (UGC) is published information that an unpaid contributor has provided to a web site.  The information might be a photo, video, blog or discussion forum post, poll response or comment made through a social media web site.
Commercial media's growing reliance on user-generated content has led to some controversy in the publishing world. Some organizations monitor user-generated content carefully for profanities, lies and attacks on other contributors. Others let users self-police their content.
Critics point out that the content quality of amateur contributors can be inconsistent, but the user-generated content movement has also been praised for allowing website visitors to lend their voices to news coverage.  In contrast to a traditional one-to-many media arrangement, some media organizations are basing their entire business models upon UGC, encouraging unpaid contributors to provide content that the media organization can republish, promote and profit from.

User generated content (UGC) is material on websites, and occasionally other media sources, that is produced by the users of the website. This is different than, for example, a website designed by a company that puts forth material produced by professionals. In UGC, it is the amateur, in most cases, who contributes the content.

Content created by users has become tremendously popular, and some of the most frequently visited sites on the Internet are primarily user generated. This is the case with sites like Wikipedia, where anyone can write an article with sufficient expertise. Other users may evaluate the content, suggest changes, or even make changes. Some material on the site carries warnings that an author is now espousing opinion, or that certain statements are not verifiable or have been called into question by other users.

No author is paid for contributions to Wikipedia, which makes this type of user generated content distinct from other types. For example, blog sites, where users can blog about any topic they want to, may carry ads, which if clicked on, mean a share of profits for the bloggers. The percentage of profits varies from site to site.

Ad

Other times, bloggers may simply be paid a percentage of the profit for having ads on their site, and are paid by the number of people visiting the site. So there is particular impetus to have blogs that will be read by others. This often translates to better blogs being read by a high number of people. Excellence in writing can have its rewards.

Similar to Wikipedia is the popular YouTube, which has thousands and thousands of examples of user generated content. It should be stated that not all content on YouTube is user generated, however, since it may infringe on copyrights by using songs or video clips that are protected by copyright laws. It may use previously recorded professional material, as with scoring, or in video remixes. Some professionally-produced content is also created and distributed through the site.

Occasionally, a company will authorize the use of its images or music for use on UGC sites, but other companies do not authorize this. When content that contains unapproved music or images is uploaded, it is usually found and removed from the site.

One of the challenges with user generated content is that it may be inaccurate or espouse opinions or beliefs that others find offensive. People who rely on UCG sites for information might get the wrong answers and not think to confirm the information since often the printed, or uploaded, word is treated as true simply because it is written. Writers can presume authority or expertise where they have none, and the reader may not always be able to discern the false from the true.

At least for the purpose of research, UGC should be double-checked against more recognized sources, such as encyclopedias or dictionaries. This can help eliminate perpetuating untrue material. Often, however, the users themselves are quick to make corrections when material is incorrect.

How can I improve my English-speaking abilities when I have no one to talk to?

How can I improve my English-speaking abilities when I have no one to talk to?

Question: I have problem: it’s my English abilities. I don’t have any relations with others who can communicate in English with me, plus, when I read an English book, I get bored quickly. How can I improve my English? Where can I go?
Answer: Don’t get discouraged! There are so many things you can do to improve your English. One of the most important things to know is that “hearing” English is just as important as speaking English (although both hearing and speaking go together ideally). Listen to Canada Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) radio programs as often as possible.
Go to the CBC’s website as well, where you can find the written version of  many of the radio broadcasts online — here you will have a chance to read them and listen to them at the same time. This will provide you with double English learning. The fact that you’ve heard the story will increase your understanding of the written version.
Now, the fact that you will be reading and hearing the news every day will benefit you in another way: it will give you interesting things to talk about when you do have the opportunity to speak in English. You can also hear English on TV. Choose programs you enjoy and listen carefully to the words and idioms used. Next, write them down, look up their meaning and keep a notebook full of these, which you can then review in your spare time.
Before you know it, you will have hundreds of words and idioms in your notebook that you can review and use when you have the chance.
Many bookstores have classic books written for English learners that include easy-to-understand vocabulary and sentence structure — without spoiling the integrity of the story. These are accompanied by an audiotape or CD of the same story — you can listen and read the story at the same time. I think this will increase your enjoyment of reading in English.
Another suggestion is to join an English conversation group at your local library or YMCA. There are usually volunteer teachers there. Plus, you’ll have regular opportunities to speak in English. Please do write me again and let me know how you are doing!
Tip: For more chances to converse with others, go to stores you like and ask questions about the merchandise, delivery policies, return policies etc. Go to restaurants and ask about the menu. Or join a book discussion group at your local library.

70 ways to improve your English

1. Start your own English language blog. Even for people who don't have to write in English, writing can be a great way of properly learning the kind of vocabulary you need to describe your own life and interests, and of thinking about how to stop making grammar mistakes. The problem most people have is that they don't know what to write about. One traditional way to make sure you write every day in English is to write an English diary (journal), and a more up to date way of doing this is to write a blog. Popular topics include your language learning experience, your experience studying abroad, your local area, your language, or translations of your local news into English.
2. Write a news diary. Another daily writing task that can work for people who would be bored by writing about their own routines in a diary is to write about the news that you read and listen to everyday. If you include your predictions for how you think the story will develop (e.g. "I think Hillary will become president"), this can give you a good reason to read old entries another time, at which time you can also correct and mistakes you have made and generally improve what you have written.
3. Sign up for a regular English tip. Some websites offer a weekly or even daily short English lesson sent to your email account. If your mobile phone has an e-mail address, it is also possible to have the tips sent to your phone to read on the way to work or school. Please note, however, that such services are not usually graded very well to the levels of different students, and they should be used as a little added extra or revision in your English studies rather than as a replacement for something you or your teacher have chosen more carefully as what you need to learn.
4. Listen to MP3s. Although buying music on the internet is becoming more popular in many countries, not so many people know that you can download speech radio such as audio books (an actor reading out a novel) and speech radio. Not only is this better practice for your English than listening to English music, from sources like Scientific American, BBC and Australia's ABC Radio it is also free.
5. Listen to English music. Even listening to music while doing something else can help a little for things like getting used to the natural rhythm and tone of English speech, although the more time and attention you give to a song the more you will learn from listening to it again in the future.
6. Read the lyrics to a song. Although just listening to a song in English can be a good way of really learning the words of the chorus in an easily memorable way, if you want to really get something out of listening to English music you will need to take some time to read the lyrics of the song with a dictionary. If the lyrics are not given in the CD booklet, you may be able to find them on the internet, but please note that some lyrics sites deliberately put a few errors into their lyrics for copyright reasons. Once you have read and understood the lyrics,  if you then listen and read at the same time, this can be a good way of understanding how sounds change in fast, natural, informal speech.
7. Sing karaoke in English. The next stage after understanding and memorising a song is obviously to sing it. Although some words have their pronunciation changed completely to fit in with a song, most of the words have the same sounds and stressed syllables as in normal speech. Remembering which words rhyme at the end of each line can also be a good way of starting to learn English pronunciation.
8. Write a film, music, hotel or book review. Another motivating and easy way to make yourself write in English is to write a review for a site such as Amazon or Internet Movie Database. Many non-native speakers write reviews on sites like this, and if you have some special understanding of the book, music or film due to your first language or knowing the artist personally, that would be very interesting for the English speakers who read and write reviews on the site.
9. Only search in English. Switching your search engine to the English language version of msn, yahoo, Google etc. can not only be a good way of practising fast reading for specific information in English, but could also give you a wider choice of sites to choose from and give you an idea of what foreigners are writing about your country and area.
10. Read a book you've already read or seen the movie of in your own language. Although most language learners under Advanced level would probably learn more from reading a graded reader or something from the internet than they would from reading an original book written for English speakers, for some people reading something like Harry Potter in the original can be a great motivator to improve their English. To make this easier for you and make sure that it motivates you rather than just making your tired, try reading a book that you already know the story of. This not only makes it easier to understand and guess vocabulary, but you are also more likely to remember the language in it. If you have not read the book before, reading a plot summary from the internet can also help in the same way.
11. Read a translation into English. Another way of making sure books are easier to understand is to choose a book that was originally translated into English, preferably from your own language. Even if you haven't read the book in your own language, you will find the English is written in a slightly simplified way that is more similar to how your own language is written than a book originally written in English would be.
12. Skip the first ten pages. If you have given up with a book in English or are reading it very slowly, try skimming through the first ten pages or skipping them completely. The start of most books tend to be mainly description and are therefore full of difficult vocabulary and don't have a clear story line yet to help you understand what is happening and to motivate you to turn the next page. If the book is still too difficult even after the introductionary part is finished, it is probably time to give that book up for now and try it again after you have read some easier things.
13. Read a book with lots of dialogue. Opening up books before you buy one and flicking through them to find one with lots of direct dialogue in it has several advantages. If there is less text on the page due to all the speech marks etc, this can make it easier to read and easier to write translations on. Dialogue is also much easier to understand than descriptive parts of a book, and is much more like the language you will want to learn in order to be able to speak English.
14. Read English language comics. Even more than books with lots of dialogue, comics can be easy to understand and full of idiomatic language as it is actually spoken. There can be difficulties with slang, difficult to understand jokes and/ or dialogue written how people speak rather than with normal spellings, so try to choose which comic carefully. Usually, serious or adventure comics are easier to understand than funny ones.
15. Read English language entertainment guides. Nowadays most big cities in the world have an English language magazine and/ or online guide to the movies, plays, exhibitions that are on in the city that week. Reading this in English is not only good value, but it could also guide you to places that English speakers are interested in and where you might hear some English spoken around you.
16. Read English language magazines. Like books, if you can read two versions of the same magazine (Newsweek in your language and in English, for example), that could make understanding it much easier.
17. Take a one week intensive course. Although you cannot expect to come out of a very short course speaking much better English than when you started it, if you continue studying a little over the following weeks and months, the knowledge you gained then will gradually come out and mean that your level of speaking, listening etc. are better than they would have been if you hadn't taken that course. This positive effect can still be true up to a year later.
18. Follow your intensive course up with an extensive course. The more time you can spend studying English the better, but studying periodic intensive courses with a few hours of study a week in between is probably better value for money than any other system as it gives your brain time to subconsciously learn and start using the new language you have learnt before you introduce the next new "chunk" of language.
19. Supplement your group class with a one to one class. Another good way to combine two different kinds of classes is to study both in a group class and one to one. Having a one to one teacher, even if just a couple of times a month, will mean that you can be taught exactly the language that you need, that you will have more time to speak, and that you can have as much error correction as you like.
20. Supplement your one to one class with a group class. The benefits of having a group class are often less clear to students, but they include the fact that you will learn to deal with several people speaking at once, have a chance to practice skills such as interrupting people, and will hear a range of different viewpoints and topics.
21. Teach your children or friends some English. Recent research has shown that elder children tend to be a couple of IQ points above their younger siblings, and the most likely reason is that explaining things to their little brothers and sisters gives them an intellectual boost. In the same way, teaching someone lower level than you the English you already know is a great way of permanently fixing that knowledge in your own brain.
22. Ask your company to start English lessons. Even if you don't need to speak English at work, English lessons can be a fun and reasonably priced way for your company to spend their training budget in a popular way.
23. Have English radio on in the background while you are doing your housework. Even if you are not listening carefully, it will help you get a feel for natural English rhythm and intonation.
24. Play English language learning games on your Nintendo DS. Although such games can have quite random language and are unlikely to improve your ability to speak English on their own, the next time you hear or read the same language elsewhere it will be really fixed in your brain by the fact you have played a game with it in already. It is also a nice way of taking a break from your other English studies while also doing some English. To make sure it really is a break and to avoid wasting time learning language from the game that is not much used in daily life, don't bother writing down any new language you see in the game, but just try to learn it from playing the game again.
25. Say or think what you are doing in English as you do your daily tasks. As you are doing your chores, try creating sentences describing what you are doing, e.g. ‘I am unscrewing the ketchup bottle cap'. This gets you used to thinking in English without translating, and can be a good way of seeing what simple vocabulary that is around you everyday you don't know. yet
26. Watch English language films with English subtitles. For people who can't understand a film without subtitles but find themselves not listening at all when reading subtitles in their own language, this should be the way of watching a film that you should aim for. If it is too difficult to watch the whole film this way, try watching the (usually important) first 10 or 15 minutes of the film with subtitles in your own language, switch to English subtitles after that, and only switch back to subtitles in your own language if you get totally lost following the story of the film.
27. Watch films in your language with English subtitles. If you are finding English films with English subtitles too difficult or you can't find English films with English subtitles in your local video shop, this is a good second best option. Looking for local films with English subtitles can also sometimes be a good sign of quality, as it means the producers of the film are expecting it to be popular internationally as well.
28. Watch English films with subtitles in your language. Again, this is not as good practice as English language films with English subtitles, but is more relaxing, can be easier to find suitable DVDs for, and is also possible with VHS.
29. Watch the same film or TV episode over and over again. This can not only save you money on DVDs, but will mean that you can really learn the language without having to study it. Some comedies can also get funnier the more you watch them, especially if you watch them with no subtitles and so understand a little more each time you watch it.
30. Be realistic about your level. One thing that holds many language learners back is actually trying too hard and tackling something that their brain is not ready for yet. Checking your level with a level check test on the internet, by taking an English language test (FCE, CAE, IELTS, TOEIC, TOEFL etc.), or by taking a free trial level check and/ or lesson in a language school will help you find out what your level is and so choose suitable self-study materials.
31. Be realistic about your reading level. Most researchers agree that people learn most when reading something they understand almost all of. If there are one or two words per page that you have never seen before, that is about the right level. If there are three or more on every page, you should switch to something easier and come back later.
32. Read graded readers (= easy readers). These are books that are especially written for language learners like you, e.g. Penguin Readers. Although it can be difficult to find something as interesting as things written in newspapers or on the internet, in terms of learning the language only people who need to read for their work or an exam usually gain more from reading things written for graded readers. Graded readers of classic books like Charles Dickens also have the benefit of giving you a lot of knowledge about the literature, and culture more generally, of English speaking countries in a short time.
33. Read the whole thing with no help. Although using a dictionary has been shown to help with both short term and long term learning of vocabulary, the fact that using it slows reading down can stop some people reading in English at all. Reading a whole book quickly through just for pleasure from time to time will help you remember how fun reading in another language can be.
34. Read and learn everything. At the opposite extreme, it can be hard work but very satisfying to get to the end of a book knowing that you have learnt every word in it. See other tips on this page to make sure it is a book that is easy enough to do this with and to ensure that the vocabulary you learn is useful.
35. Watching English children's films or TV programmes. Although some of the vocabulary you can learn from things made for children can be a bit strange (lots of animal names and maybe animal noises, including baby names for things), the fact that not only the language but the structure of the story is simplified can make it an easy and motivating thing to watch. Like good language learning materials, the same language is also often repeated to make it memorable, and the use of catchy songs etc. can increase this positive effect on your memory.  
36. Read English children's books. This is very similar to watching English children's movies, but with the added advantage of there being more illustrations than adult books, which both helps you to understand the story and makes the page brighter and more motivating to read.
37. Keep a list of language to learn, e.g. a vocab list. Even if you don't often find time to go though your vocab list and it keeps on building up, just the act of choosing which words you need to learn and writing them down on a special list can help you learn them.
38. Go through your vocab list several times every day. If ticking off words on a vocabulary list on the train to work is inconvenient or embarrassing for you, you can keep your list of words to learn as an entry in your electronic dictionary, as a mobile phone to do list or as a text file in your MP3 player (e.g. iPod). Although the time spent transferring the information between different formats like these may seem wasted, in fact any time you spend using the vocabulary like this will help you learn it.
39. Convert your vocab list to English only. One way to stop yourself translating and therefore increase your speed of comprehension and production is to learn all your vocabulary without the use of your own first language. Ways you can write a vocab list in only English include with synonyms (words with the same meaning, e.g. "tall" and "high"); with opposites ("high" and "low"); with pronunciation factors such as number of syllables (the number of beats, e.g. three for "de- ci- sion") and the word stress (the syllable that is pronounced louder and longer, e.g. the second syllable in "baNAna"); and gapped sentences (e.g. "I am not _________________ in science fiction" for the word "interested").
40. Cross out and delete. Crossing out or deleting words, sentences or whole pages that you have learnt can be a great motivator, and save your list of things to learn becoming too big to handle.
41. Throw everything away and start again. One of the things that can put most people off learning is a stack of half finished books or a huge list vocabulary waiting to be learnt. Simply getting rid of all that and starting again with something new from zero can be a great motivator and get your studies underway again.
42. Label things in your house or office with post-its. The easiest vocabulary to learn is the vocabulary of things you see and use everyday. If you can write the names of things around you on slips of paper and stick them on the real thing, this is a great way of learning useful vocabulary. If you can leave them there over the following days and weeks, this is a very easy way of revising the vocabulary until it is properly learnt.
43. Label a drawing. For people who can't put labels on real things, the next best option is to take a photo of a real place in your life like your office, print it out, and then draw lines to all of the things you can see in the picture and label them in English with the help of a dictionary. You can do the same thing with places you pass through everyday like the station. Because you will see the same thing again and again, it should be easy to really learn the words for those things.
44. Keep a diary in English. This is a popular method of making sure you use English everyday for people who don't often speak English and can't think of things to write about. The fact that you are writing about real things that have happened to you means that any words you look up in the dictionary will be vocabulary that is useful for you and easy to learn.
45. Online chat. The closest thing to speaking for people who don't have the chance to speak English is online chat, as you have to think and respond quickly, and the language is short and informal just like speech.
46. Listen to the radio news in English. You can make this easier by reading the news in English first, or even just by reading or listening to the news in your own language.
47. Read an English language newspaper. Freebie newspapers like "Metro" in London are usually the easiest to understand, followed by mid-brow titles like "The Daily Express" or "The Daily Mail" in English. Popular newspapers like "The Sun" are more difficult because of the idiomatic, slangy use of language and the number of jokes in the headlines and articles.
48. Write fiction in English, e.g. short stories. For people who find writing a diary about things that happen to them everyday boring, the best thing is to let your imagination go and write about whatever comes into your head. The advantage of this is that if you can't think of how to say something in English, you can just change the story to something that is easier to explain. Perhaps the easiest way to start writing fiction in English is with a diary, changing any details you like to make it more interesting and adding more and more fantasy as the weeks go on.
49. English language exercise videos. This is quite similar to how babies learn, by listening, watching and copying. It is also good for your health!
50. Learn a famous speech or poem in English by heart. Although you may never hear or get the chance to say exactly that line, having one memorable example of an English grammatical form in your head can make it much easier to learn other examples of the same grammar as you hear them. It is also something you can practice over and over without being as boring as grammatical drills.
51. Get tipsy (= a little drunk) before speaking English. This can not only improve your fluency while you are drinking, but can also improve your confidence in future days and weeks by showing you that you can communicate what you want to say.
52. Use a dictionary while you are watching a movie. Films often have the same words many times, so if you look up important words the first or second time you hear them, you should have learnt them by the end of the film. It is easier to use a dictionary if you watch with English subtitles.
53. Learn and use the phonemic script. Although there are many sounds in English, there are even more spellings. By learning the phonemic script and writing vocabulary down with it, you can both add another stage to your vocabulary learning that should help you learn it more thoroughly, and improve your pronunciation. It can also make things easier for you by stopping you trying to pronounce different spellings of the same pronunciation different ways.
54. Learn some spelling rules. Many people think that English spelling is random, but in fact most words follow some kind of rule, e.g. the "magic E" that changes the pronunciation of "mad" and "made".
55. Record your own voice. For people who don't have much or any correction of pronunciation from a teacher, recording yourself and listening back makes it easier to hear whether you are really making the English sounds that you are trying to or not.
56. Use computer pronunciation analysis. Although most programmes that claim to tell you when you are pronouncing correctly or not don't actually do that, listening many times and seeing how your voice changes as you try to match the sounds and waveform given by a pronunciation CD ROM can be good practice and more motivating than just recording your own voice.
57. Learn as many words as you can of one category, e.g. animal words. Learning similar words together can both expand your overall vocabulary and make them easier to learn by forming links between the words in your brain.
58. Take holidays abroad. This is not only a good opportunity to speak English in situations where you really have to make yourself understood in order to live, but it is also a good motivator to study English seriously in the weeks and months before your trip. If possible, also try to use English even when you could use your own language, e.g. when you pick a guided tour of a museum or historic place or when you book a flight on the internet, and try to avoid package tours.
59. Draw pictures of the words you want to learn. Especially if you are artistic, this can be a better way of learning vocabulary than writing translations or example sentences.
60. Find a foreign boyfriend or girlfriend. No tips on how to do this here, but everyone agrees that getting or even just looking for a date in English can be a great motivator to improve your language skills.
61. Arrange a conversation exchange. Swapping lessons and conversation with someone who wants to learn your language can be a good alternative for those who aren't looking for romance, or can sometimes lead onto dating for those who are!
62. Sign up for an English language exam. Even if you don't need to take an exam and don't want to or can't take a special course to study for it, paying to take an exam like TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS or FCE can really motivate you take your English studies seriously.
63. Model your accent on one particular actor. e.g. try to speak like Robert De Niro. Students who say they want to sound more like a native speaker have the problem that native speakers don't sound all that much like each other. Choosing one model can make the task of improving your pronunciation more clear, and is quite fun. Doing an impression of that person also makes a good party trick.
64. Use an English-English dictionary. Trying to use a bilingual dictionary less and switching to a monolingual one can help you to stop translating in you head when you are speaking or listening, and other useful English vocabulary can come up while you are using the dictionary.
65. Occasionally talk to or e-mail your friends in English. Many people find this a bit false or embarrassing, but if you think of it as a study club and set a particular time and/ or place, it is no different from studying maths together.
66. Go to an English or Irish pub. As well as having a menu in English and being a good way of finding out something about the culture of English speaking countries, you might also find there are free English language listings magazines, English language sports on the TV and/ or foreign people you can speak to.
67. Buy a speaking electronic dictionary. Although most electronic dictionaries are not as good as paper ones for the amount of information they give you about each word, some of them have the very useful function of saying the word with the correct pronunciation.
68. Learn your electronic dictionary vocabulary list. Most electronic dictionaries also have a button which you can push to see the last 30 or more words you looked up. By deleting words you decide are useless or you have already learnt from this list, you can use it as a "to do list" of words to learn that you can look at several times a day in the train etc.
69. Switch operating system to English. Changing the operating language of your mobile phone, video recorder etc. to English can be an easy way of making sure you use the language everyday.
70. Set goals. Deciding how many hours you want to study, how many words you want to learn or what score you want to get in a test are all good ways of making sure you do extra study.

How to Improve Your English

Expanding Your KnowledgeUsing TechnologyGoing the Extra Mile

Edited by Marasinhe, Josh H., Maniac, MrsB and 30 others

There are many reasons why people from all over the world might need to improve their English: for business, for pleasure or because they have gone to live in an English speaking country. It's easy to feel like your English skills are at a standstill -- and it's all easy to get around that too! With a little diligence, you can be talking like a near-native in no time.

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Part 1 of 3: Expanding Your Knowledge

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   Label things in your house. Grab that pad of Post-Its you have laying around that you rarely ever use and start labeling the things around you. Even if you already know the simple stuff, do it anyway. Just thinking of these things in English before you think of it in your native tongue will get you thinking faster and when it takes less effort, you'll feel the progress you're making.
   • Try to get to the point where you think of these things in English without hesitation. Sit down on your bed and go through all the labels in your house in your head. If there's something you can't remember, get up and go check what it is. And when you've hit this level, label other stuff! Graduate from "window" to "window pane,' from "couch" to "cushion," from "shirt" to "cotton blouse." With English, there's always another level!
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   Keep a notebook. As you go about your day, there's bound to be English words that you run into that you don't fully understand. This is when you whip out your handy dandy notebook! Scribble down the word and then when you go home, you can look it up. Instead of thinking, "Gosh, what was that word I saw on the menu at the cafe?" you'll flip right to the page and learn a new word!
   • If that's a little 2003 for you, just whip out your smartphone. Start a note (or whatever app you want to use) that's dedicated to new English words. Then every so often you can refer back to it and make sure you remember them all!
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   Surround yourself with English speakers. If you have a few friends that are great at speaking English, hang out with them! Invite them over to dinner so your home becomes an English hub. Find a tutor to do some one-on-one with. Do a language exchange, where you can teach them your language and they can teach you theirs. Immerse yourself in it as much as you can!
   • What it boils down to is that you must avoid your native language as much as possible. It's tempting to get home from work and sit down, turn on your TV, and revert back to your native tongue with those you live with. Don't do it! Set time aside to speak English every night, even if it's just for an hour. Keep the TV to English, keep the radio to English, keep everything to English as much as possible.
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   Read children's magazines and books. They are attractive, they tend to have many short articles or simple plot lines, and they come in many subjects (science, literature, self-improvement). But more importantly, they are well-illustrated. The pictures will allow you to understand many words without having to use a dictionary. You'll go faster and get more enjoyment out of it!
   • When it comes to books, after you get to know the characters and the vocabulary used in the series, your reading gets easier and you will begin to be able to read more quickly, while still picking up expressions and vocabulary from one volume to the next. Try Nancy Drew, Animorphs, Sweet Valley Twins or any of a number of other easy series books which are widely available in libraries.
     • If your level is above that, read anything. There's young adult fiction and plain ol' fiction that can up your language-learning skills and envelop you in a whole new world. It's best to choose something with a lot of dialogue -- it's more like real life!
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   Figure out how YOU learn. Everyone has their own learning style. Some people learn with their hands, some with their eyes, some with their ears, and some are a combination of the three. Your best friend may be able to recite English poetry after hearing it once when you need to see it to understand. Once you figure out how you learn, you can cater your studying habits to your abilities.
   • And what's more, you can stop wasting time on methods that don't work for you. If your teacher talks and talks and you remember nothing, you can start taking notes. If you're reading a book and can't remember a thing, you can start reading it aloud to yourself. There's ways around everything!
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   Learn root words, prefixes, and suffixes. Even English speakers could stand to learn root words! Since there are so many words in this dang language (around 750,000 in certain methods of counting^[1] -- way more than other comparable languages^[2]), learning root words can help cut you to the chase. When you see it, if you know the root word, you may not even have to look it up!
   • Let's say you run into the sentence, "It was an acephalous society." You're thinking, "Uhh...what the heck?!" But back up. Think about it for a second. You know that "a-" means without: amoral, asexual, asymmetrical. You know that "cephal" means "head": encephalitis, encephalogram. And you know that "-ous" marks an adjective: ambitious, delicious, glamorous. All of a sudden you know that that means, "It was a society without a head, without a leader." Boom! Who needs a dictionary? Not you.
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   Read English language newspapers. Some newspapers use more complex language than others, so choose the right one for you. Remember that you can start with the headlines and then progress to reading the articles as you gain confidence. You can go at your own pace and pick the articles that are interesting. At least read the comics!
   • If you have friends that are learning too, turn it into a discussion! Have everyone bring an article they found interesting and talk about it -- in English, of course. You can study and talk about the happenings of the world simultaneously!
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   Don't be afraid to make mistakes. If you haven't had half a dozen teachers that have told you this, you were probably taught by robots. Making mistakes is crucial. If you don't, you won't learn what's right and wrong, you won't take risks, and you won't truly grasp the concepts you're learning. It's sucky, it is, but it's necessary.
   • This is why most people stop learning and plateau. They're afraid to talk to native speakers, they're afraid to go outside their comfort zone, they're afraid to truly expand and grow. Can you imagine if Edison would've stopped at his first mistake?!

Part 2 of 3: Using Technology

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   Watch English language DVDs. Television and films are good too, but it's better if you have something you can watch over and over and over and over. You can really get down the content, start noticing things you never noticed before, and your brain can relax instead of flailing about, trying to keep up. Ask some friends if they have a series you can borrow!
   • Thanks to satellite TV, British, American and Australian television programmes and films are widely available all over the world. Try recording them! Watch with subtitles at first and then without them as you gain confidence. The better you get, the more you'll look forward to "studying."
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   Listen to the radio. The BBC World Service is just one excellent source of spoken English and even broadcasts programs for learners. Have it on in the background while you go about doing your household tasks. Just streaming English all the time can help you learn it passively. You don't have to sit down and stare at your radio -- just let it soak in!
   • Radio a little too old-fashioned? You've no excuse -- there's internet radio, too, you know! There are podcasts on virtually every subject and the classics like NPR and "This American Life" can all be found online.
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   Use the Internet. You can listen to the radio online, watch TV clips, read articles, and even play games to improve your English. You can even chat with people! There are also many pages on the web dedicated to teaching English as a foreign language. Real people are better, but the Internet is still a great tool.
   • Both the BBC and Wikipedia have versions of their site aimed at ESL learners. But there are also dozens of other websites that offer worksheets, articles, word problems, and stories that are at graded levels, too.
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   Use "correcting" websites. If you're not in a class or don't have a native speaker at your disposal, it may seem pretty hard to get better at writing. How do you know if you're doing it correctly? Simple! Use websites that will correct your work! Search through Google to find websites that assist in correcting your grammar - many which are free of charge. Again, no excuses!
   • It's easy to forget about the writing skill. But doing this, too, as much as you can, will make serious waves in your improvements. Write your emails in English, write yourself notes in English, write your blog in English. Even if you can't correct it, make it habit.
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   Listen to a song a day. Not only is it fun, but you will learn words and pronunciation. And new music! Pick one each day and study it until you know it by heart. Find a genre that appeals to you and choose some songs that don't go too fast -- hardcore rap is not a good place to start when it comes to learning English! Think the Beatles, Michael Buble, Elvis, or even musical theatre.
   • This can be a substitution to listening to the radio. Have the songs you've been learning playing in the background and sing along! And then, who knows, maybe you'll find yourself at karaoke next weekend!
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   Buy English language-learning CDs. Rosetta Stone can cost a pretty penny, but it's useful. Some even offer accessibility to a native speaker! But that's not the only kid on the block -- there's Pimsleur and Michel Thomas as well, just to name two more. Each advocates a different type of learning -- which one would work best for you?
   • Ask around if anyone in your circle has these CDs already. There's no point in paying for them twice! And some of the stuff can be found online, too. You just gotta get a little creative!

Part 3 of 3: Going the Extra Mile

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   Practice speaking English wherever you can. Seriously. Take every tiny opportunity. If you live in an English speaking country then this is easier, but if not then you can talk to visitors. Don't be shy, and don't worry about making mistakes - just have a go! Even saying, "A cup of coffee to go, please," will help remove your nerves for when a true debate breaks out!
   • You can create opportunities, too! If you see someone you think speaks English that's taking a photo, ask them if they'd like you to take it for them. If you go to a restaurant that has an English menu, ask for it. It's these little things that truly set mediocre English speakers apart from the more natural ones!
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   Listen to your body's clock. The same way we all have styles of learning, we all have times that are better for us, too. Your morning class may be a good class, but you can't pay attention because your brain is just getting out of bed and brushing its teeth. Notice when you're most alert -- and then take that time out of your day to study!
   • Most people will have periods of heightened alertness in the late morning and then in the evening, though this doesn't go for everyone. If you can, rework your schedule so your intake of English falls into the time when your brain can take the most advantage of it.
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   Learn the IPA. That stands for the International Phonetic Alphabet, by the way. Seriously. It may seem like a lot of work, but it'll be so useful and so handy once you know it. You can look up a word in any dictionary and know exactly how it's pronounced. You can see the differences between American, British, and Australian English. You can look at your own pronunciation and see what vowels you're actually making. And it's fascinating!
   • ɪts ˈlaɪk ə ˈsiːkrət koʊd! (It's like a secret code!) Pass notes with your friends! But remember, each accent is slightly different. If you run into a weird pronunciation, take note of whether it's general American, RP, or other.
     • ˈsɪriəsli, ˈɪts ˈɑːsəm.
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   Record yourself. You probably know how it should sound, but how does it sound when the words come out of your mouth? Probably a bit different. So record yourself! Then you can go back and notice your strengths and weaknesses. It's a little hard listening to your own voice at first (you may feel self-concious), but it does go away. And it's a surefire way to see your progress!
   • Take the time to learn pronunciation patterns. Because English is a conglomeration of a bunch of languages, there's no hard and fast rule, but there are general patterns. Two syllable verbs have a stress on the second syllable (project), whereas 2 syllable nouns (project) and adjectives (happy) stress the first. And, in general, the stress goes on the antipenultimate syllable (though this isn't always true): photographer, continuous, national, et cetera. Does your speech mirror this?
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   Take different style classes. If you're lucky enough to be in an English class, supplement your main one with another that's of a different style. In a group class? Take a one-on-one thing. In a speaking class? Take a writing. Worried about pronunciation? Take an accent-reduction class. Practicing different skills in different environments is the only (and quickest) way to get better.
   • If that's not an option, get creative. Start a study group or meet up with a friend for some one-on-one or small group conversation time. Get a penpal or use Skype. There are other ways besides classes (that often cost money) to get your English fix!
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   Think outside of the box. Sometimes opportunities have to be created. And sometimes those opportunities might seem a little contrived or make you feel silly, but they're worth it! Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
   • Call up customer service about any product -- one you have or one you don't. Ask them about their products, their services, their plans, your options if you're interested, and just make conversation. For free!
   • Host a dinner for tourists! Advertise that you'll offer an authentic meal in exchange for English conversation. Many tourists are looking for something a bit off the beaten path. That path could lead to your dinner table!
   • Start a club. You'd be surprised how many people are in your exact situation. You can avoid the costs of a class by banding together with a few people and pooling your resources. Meet at the same time at the same place every week and you may start attracting attention!
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Tips

• When you are trying to learn new phrases, try this: Look, say, cover, write, check. Look at the phrase, cover it up, say the phrase, write it down and then check it.
• Try to speak English in your mind. Don't just translate from your native language, try to make proper sentences.Learning phrases by heart will help.
• Buy a good bilingual dictionary.
• Learn English idioms. English uses a lot of these strange and puzzling phrases and most English people don't know where they come from! Just learn what they mean.
• Try watching English videos. They will improve your speaking skills and grammar.

Warnings

• English accents vary enormously within Britain and around the world. It doesn't matter what accent you use, but don't worry if you meet an accent you find hard to understand - it takes practice and most native speakers can have problems!
• There are differences between American and British English (not to mention Australian!) in both grammar spelling and vocabulary, although the speakers of these different varieties understand each other well enough! Be aware of which variety you are looking at or listening to and try to learn the standard form.