Many people wonder how much you can learn English from scratch. It is almost impossible to give a definite answer with a specific indication of a certain period of time. After all, it depends on many factors: the level of a person’s abilities, motivation forces, the intensity of teaching methods, goals and preferences, environment and so on.
What affects the speed of learning?
There are many factors on which the speed and quality of training will depend. The following are some of them:
- Student's abilities: memory, the ability to concentrate on a specific task, creative thinking, cognitive abilities and the like.
- Knowledge of other languages. As a rule, if a person has already studied a foreign language, learning the second or third will be easier.
- Disability, as well as the intensity and regularity of classes. The more time will be devoted to a particular direction, the faster you can achieve tangible results.
- The environment is also very important, regardless of whether you have to learn English from scratch at home or is it possible to consolidate the material in practice, communicating with representatives of England, America or another country whose official language is English.
- Motivation. The stronger it is, the easier it will be to learn. Having a specific goal will help maintain interest in the learning process.
- Interest. There are people who do not ask how much you can learn English from scratch. The process of cognition is important for them.
How to increase motivation?
Motivation is one of the most important components of success. In the role of the best motivator in learning a foreign language, as a rule, one of the following acts:
- Moving to another country.
- Climbing the career ladder and bright prospects that will open thanks to the acquisition of new knowledge.
- Sincere interest in the culture of the country whose language is supposed to be studied.
However, regardless of the goals, the learning process should be interesting. The famous translator Kato Lomb, who spoke 16 languages, advised periodically changing the type of activity. For example, if you are tired of studying a grammar textbook, you can postpone it for a while and pay attention to reading fiction or watching a movie in the original language.
Achieving a specific goal
A clearly defined goal greatly increases the likelihood of achieving it. The desire to learn English can turn into an endless pursuit of unattainable perfection. If there are no definite guidelines for assessing the extent of the work done, it may seem that all efforts are in vain. The saying "I want to learn English" sounds very blurry and does not carry specifics. It will be much easier in the future to evaluate your result if you have a specific task: read the book in the original, understand most of the lyrics or speak fluently with native speakers on everyday topics, etc. Therefore, asking yourself the question of how much you can learn English from scratch, everyone must decide for himself that he puts concepts into it and for what purposes such knowledge will be needed in the future.
Regularity of classes
Regardless of teaching methods, classes should be regular. Best of all, if time is evenly distributed: 30 minutes of daily exercises in reading, listening, writing or speaking is much more effective than 3 hours once a week.
Another good way to learn is to listen to English audio books or podcasts. Podcasts are short audio issues aimed at learning the language and explaining the various cultural and everyday features of English-speaking countries. Similar entries are dedicated to different levels: from elementary to advanced.
How many words do you need to know for everyday communication?
The data from various studies are slightly different, but the average can say the following:
- The basic stage requires knowledge of at least 400-500 words.
- For communication and understanding at a simple level, you need to master about 800-1000 words.
- 1500-2000 words will help to actively communicate on everyday topics.
- About 3000-4000 words already allow reading the English press.
- 8,000 words is a good vocabulary.
- More than 10 thousand - the level of an educated resident of Europe.
For these purposes, special frequency dictionaries have been created where lexical units are located not in alphabetical order, but in frequency of use. There are also thematic dictionaries, where words are divided by subject.
How to learn words?
To learn a language means to make it yours. When starting to learn English, it is important first of all to pay attention to those words and phrases, the Russian equivalents of which are most often used in everyday speech. Many people make the mistake of memorizing lists of lexical units that they subsequently will not have to use. Words that will not be practiced will be quickly forgotten. Therefore, first of all, you need to pay attention to the lexical set that will allow a person to talk about himself and discuss the most important topics.
Another mistake due to which many people never begin to speak English is to memorize a list of words without practical application. As a result, problems can arise due to the inability to combine words and build sentences. Many polyglots suggest memorizing words in context. For each new lexical unit, you can choose several phrases in which it occurs. This will help develop fluency and significantly increase the chance to learn a foreign language.
It is also very important to create a good base so that you do not have to relearn in the future. Work on pronunciation should be carried out at the initial stage. The beginner will have to figure out how to read English letters, as well as to master reading transcription and learn how to put it into practice.
English language levels
Conventionally, any language is divided into several levels. Before answering the question of how much you can learn English from scratch, you need to understand in more detail what each stage is.
- Elementary. At this stage, a person knows a small number of simple words and phrases, and also has some idea of the grammatical structure of the language. To achieve the elementary level, an average of 100 to 200 academic hours will be required .
- Beginner. The entry-level level involves the ability to build simple sentences to maintain a conversation on simple topics. However, the number of such topics is very limited.
- Pre-Intermediate This is below average. Grammatical knowledge at this stage is not bad. Despite the small vocabulary, you can speak on familiar topics. But with the understanding of the speech of a native English speaker, difficulties will arise.
- Intermediate At the average level of English, many already communicate well on everyday topics, as well as read the press and simple fiction.
- Upper-Intermediate. A level above the average will allow you to freely communicate with foreigners, read more complex literature, and also try to enter Western educational institutions or look for work abroad.
- Advanced An advanced level will allow you to enter almost any university or find a suitable job abroad.
- Proficiency - professional. At such a level, English is known to educated residents of England or the United States. This final stage is called perfect knowledge of the language.
According to statistics, at the stage of mastering the first few stages, the transition time from the previous level to the next is from 3 to 6 months. To rise from the elementary level to the initial one, you need to work out for at least 3 months. Starting from the intermediate stage (Intermediate), the transition to each subsequent stage will already take about 6-9 months. But keep in mind that these indicators are very approximate.
How effective is independent language learning?
With a great desire and correctly selected material, it is quite possible to master the language without the help of a teacher. However, with such training, knowledge gaps may arise. Some skills can be significantly inferior to others. For example, a person studying at home from books can freely read the original literature, but will have difficulty trying to communicate with a representative of an English-speaking country. The reason is the lack of practice in spoken language. Therefore, those who choose this method should try to use all available features: reading books, studying textbooks, talking with native speakers on social networks and more.
Another drawback that conceals independent study of English from scratch is the pronunciation, with which a beginner may have difficulties. At the initial stage, it is advisable to work out with the teacher. Take at least a few lessons to learn how to read English letters and their combinations.
Immersion method
Immersion in the environment of native speakers of a foreign language is a kind of stressful situation that allows you to mobilize the hidden capabilities of the brain. This method helps to overcome the barrier of fear of failure and doubts about one's own abilities. Learning English is becoming a priority that will leave all other worries behind. However, it should be remembered that this method of training requires great efforts, repeated repetition and a careful approach to the development of a new system of thinking and information transfer. It would be a mistake to believe that language, when completely immersed in the appropriate environment, will learn itself.
What do English courses give?
Most people who want to learn a foreign language prefer group lessons in courses.
This method of training has many advantages:
- Teamwork is very motivating. It is possible to compare your own results with the achievements of other people and strive to improve your skills. This helps to cope with laziness and procrastination, which often overcome those who have difficulties in self-organization.
- In a group it is much easier to improve oral communication skills, understanding foreign language by ear and expressing your opinion in the language you are learning.
- Compared to self-study, the courses do not have to think about choosing the right educational literature and audio recordings. The teacher develops a clear class structure. For many people, learning a foreign language according to a certain system is much more effective than independent attempts to learn the material. With a teacher, the question of how to learn a language will be solved much easier. He will select the right program and help to master it.
- Another advantage that English courses give is the ability to get an objective assessment of one’s own abilities. A qualified specialist will be able to point out errors and direct the training in the right direction, suggesting what it is better to pay attention to at a certain stage of training. Understanding your strengths and weaknesses significantly speeds up the process of cognition.
It should be remembered that fast English at a high level without much effort is utopia. In order to freely speak one or another language, you need to learn to think in it. And this will require practice. However, with the right motivation and regular training, good results can be achieved.