Have you heard of Twitter? I expect you have. Perhaps you and your family and friends already use Twitter to keep in touch with each other.

I use Twitter almost every day to contact and chat with friends, business contacts, other teachers, and English language learners.

I find it a quick, easy and very useful way to learn new things, ask for and give advice and support, share resources, keep up to date with the world of English language teaching and learning, and sometimes just for having a bit of fun!

Many English language learners are already using Twitter and if you have wondered how you can use it to practise and improve your English, here is a brief introduction to Twitter, followed by a few easy ways you can use Twitter to develop your English skills.

What is Twitter?

Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service. It is free to use.

After you sign up for an account, you can post short messages, called 'tweets', to your friends and family.

Messages (tweets) on Twitter can be up to 140 characters long, including letters, punctuation and spaces. They are quick to write and, usually, easy to read

Commoncraft have a short video introduction to Twitter which is available in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish.

How do I set up an account?

Go to the Twitter web site

You can choose your language from those available, or click the Sign up button and with your full name, email address and a password.

You can also choose your Twitter username. Your username can be up to 15 characters long, with no spaces. Your username will be your public profile name on Twitter so be sure to choose something you are happy with.

Click 'Create my account' – and that's it, you have a Twitter account!

How can I use Twitter to learn English?

It takes a little while to learn how to use Twitter, and when you first start it can be confusing. However, it doesn't take long to build a network of contacts on Twitter, and if you have English learners and teachers in your network you will be able to practise your English, share links to useful resources such as web sites, videos, and blogs, and ask for help with grammar points or even discuss exam revision.

1. Build your Twitter network

If you want to use Twitter to practise your English, find and follow other people who are learning and talking about English. There are a few ways you can do this, including:

• The British Council Learn English account has a list of English learners on Twitter. Join the list, and join in the conversations.
• On your Twitter home page you will find a search box. If you search for key words with a hashtag # you can find people who are talking about topics such as #english or #learnenglish. And if you add a hashtag such as #english to your tweets English learners and teachers can find you too. Other common English hashtags are #efl #esl and #esol

Find and follow English teachers from all over the world.

There are lots of excellent English teachers on Twitter. Some post short 140 character English lessons, plus links to their web sites or blog posts they think you will find useful, and many English teachers on Twitter are good sources of English resources, information, and advice.

You can also build your own lists of English students or teachers. I am building a list of the English teachers on Twitter, and a list of people who live in my area, and I find these lists very useful for keeping up to date with what people in these lists have been posting.

Find, and follow, your favourite English-speaking celebrity on Twitter and practise your English by reading their tweets.

If you're travelling to an English speaking country look for Twitter accounts that tweet about that country's culture, news and tourist information, for example:

• @ProjectBritain
  
• @VisitBritain

2. Write and read messages in English

When you write your Twitter messages in English you might have to think hard about the words you use so that you can fit what you want to say into only 140 characters.

Thinking about and using English in this way will help you practise your sentence construction and your spelling. The good thing is, you don't have to worry about your English being perfect! A lot of the English spelling and grammar you read on Twitter is informal, and is not always 'correct' because people use abbreviations etc so they can say what they want within the word limit.

Some of the abbreviations people use on Twitter will be familiar to you from text messaging, but sometimes you will have to use your imagination to try and work out what the words mean

Sending and reading tweets in English will help you practise and improve your English skills, learn new vocabulary, and aspects of English such as idioms and phrasal verbs, and build your confidence in using English in an informal, relaxed and fun way.

These are just a few suggestions for using Twitter to help you learn English, and there are many more, so how do you use Twitter? Do you have any ideas to share with us?

If you would like help with any of the suggestions above, please ask. I'm happy to help.

I'm @StudyingOnline on Twitter. See you there!

Image by webtreats

A few weeks ago I wrote about my recommended tips for learning English.

In that blog post I advised learners to listen to songs recorded in English to help develop their English listening skills. In this post I will give you more information and ideas to help you use songs for learning and practising your English.

Why is listening to songs helpful for language learning?

Most people love singing along to their favourite songs, and non-native English speakers often seem to find it easy to remember the words to songs written in English. This could be because:

• for young people especially, songs in English are popular in many countries as part of contemporary language and culture, and this can make them an engaging and motivating way to learn English;
• songs are written in short, easy to remember, sentences;
• songs engage your emotions and senses, helping to make the words easier to remember.

Listening to songs is good way to practise and improve your English listening skills, and if you listen carefully and sing along you can improve your pronunciation.

Songs are a good source of natural and creative language use, often with idiomatic expressions and slang.

What do you think? Do you find it easy to learn songs in English? Do you enjoy singing along to your favourite English language song?

How can I use songs to help me learn English?

• When you listen to a song for the first time, think about what it is about. Is it telling a story? Is it a love song? Is it about a person, an event in history, or a political opinion?
• Listen to the song and try and write some of the words you can hear, and then check your words with the actual words. LyricsMode is a good site for finding the lyrics for your favourite songs.
• For unfamiliar words, try and understand their meaning from the song, or the other words around them, then look up their meaning in your dictionary
• Listen to the song many times and listen to the way the words are pronounced.  Can you hear an accent? Can you hear any rhyming words? Practise singing the song. You could try recording your singing and then listening to your pronunciation
• Which aspects of English grammar can you identify? For example, which phrasal verbs, prepositions, adjectives, adverbs and verb tenses can you hear?

If you are able to watch YouTube videos in your country, the Lyrics Training site could be a useful and fun site for learning English with songs. Learners watch a video, listen to the song, and type the correct song words in the blank spaces on the transcript below the video. At the end of the song you are awarded points for your correct words and how quickly you completed the transcript.

You can choose the level of English you want to try, and you can search the site for your favourite artist or song.

The images in music videos can help you understand the meaning of the words in the songs, although sometimes you might it difficult to concentrate on the words of the songs when you are watching the video for the first time.

For advanced level learners, and teachers

The study into The Use of Music in Learning Languages by Jon Weatherford Stansell is very interesting:

Music codes words with heavy emotional and contextual flags, evoking a realistic, meaningful, and cogent environment, and enabling students to have positive attitudes, self-perceptions, and cultural appreciation so they can actively process new stimuli and infer the rules of language. The universal element of music can make the artificial classroom environment into a “real” experience and make new information meaningful, bringing interest and order to a classroom.

How do you use songs for learning English? Do you have any other suggestions? I'd love to hear them.

Image by :mrMark:

Are you thinking about taking a one-to-one English language course? Or wondering how to choose a suitable teacher for your one-to-one lessons?

One-to-one English language lessons and courses are a very popular way of learning for many students. Here are some tips for deciding if one-to-one is the best option for you, plus some useful advice on choosing a teacher.

Who are one-to-one English lessons and courses good for?

♦ For total beginners: for example when a student’s English is not yet good enough for them to join a class.

♦ For students needing intensive revision practice before exams.

♦ For students who want to learn English as quickly as possible. This might be for work, or as preparation for an application for a job, for application to a university; or simply because they want to learn quickly.

♦ For students whose personal preference is to learn one-to-one rather than as part of a class.

Where can I have one-to-one English language lessons?

♦ At a language school during normal working hours.

♦ At a language teacher’s home. Times will depend on individual teachers, but could include evenings and weekends.

♦ Homestay courses in a teacher’s home. These courses are usually for students who are in an English speaking country for a few weeks. The teacher might also arrange trips out and will most likely provide meals.

♦ In your own home. Your language teacher will charge extra for travelling expenses, and probably for the extra time taken to travel to your home.

♦ Online – at work or at home, or wherever is most convenient for you, and where you have reliable access to the internet. One-to-one online courses are often via Skype. Online English lessons are a financially economical and time saving way to learn because there is no travelling involved, and no travelling expenses.

The advantages of one-to-one English language lessons and courses

♦ Intensive learning: enabling you to learn quickly and effectively, and reach your goals quicker.

♦ Personalized learning: you will have lessons at your level and pace; with content and materials prepared for your learning needs and learning style.

The disadvantages of one-to-one English language lessons and courses

♦ No opportunities for group discussions or pair work: you will only have your teacher to talk to.

♦ One-to-one lessons are very intense, and can be very hard work (for both student and teacher). They require lot of concentration.

General Advice

♦ Expect to pay more per hour for one-to-one lessons than a class – your teacher has to prepare a lot of lesson material for you because the material is covered so much quicker than in a group lesson.

♦ Choose a teacher who will assess your current level of English, and ask about your previous language learning and your goals.  Discuss and agree a learning plan with your teacher.

♦ Make sure your teacher can provide the lessons you require – e.g. if you need intense revision practice for an exam date make sure they will be able to fit in all the lessons you need.

♦ Make sure your teacher has access to the curriculum materials you need, or prefer.

♦ Make sure you agree on a price for your lessons, and how you are going to pay. Your teacher might offer a discount if you pay for a course of lessons in one go. If your teacher has to travel to your work or home for your lesson they will include their travel costs in the cost of the lesson – make sure you know how much this will be.

♦ If you want to learn English quickly it’s tempting to book long lessons – two or three hours – but these are very hard work and one hour is usually enough for both teacher and student. It’s much better to book two or three separate hour-long lessons over the course of a week.

♦ Because of the intensive work involved, one-to-one lessons will be more expensive than group classes so make sure you are getting what you pay for. Your teacher should plan each lesson thoroughly, the lessons should start and end on time, and if you are working in their home your teacher should not use your lesson time to answer the telephone etc.

♦ And last, but not least, because one-to-one work is very intense, working with a teacher who you get on with is extremely important. Have an informal chat with your potential teacher before you book any lessons and this will help you decide if you are going to get on well.

Image by Mrs Logic

In order to lean English successfully, you need lots of motivation and you have to work hard. Here are a few tips to help you learn effectively

A good English teacher is vital for your success, and a good teacher will provide excellent lesson content and help you with homework, resources, and strategies for learning; however, most students can only manage one or two lessons a week and this on its own isn’t enough to enable you to make real progress over time.

If you have an hour’s lesson a week, and then don’t look at your books or your notes, or do your homework, or use the English you’ve been taught until your next lesson; you’ll make very little progress.

You have to be actively responsible for your own learning and there’s a lot you can do to help yourself learn English: here are some tips to help:

Before your English lessons:

Find a teacher you can get on with – most teachers are happy to have an informal chat about their lessons and how they can help you. Use this time to try and find out whether you and your potential teacher have a good rapport as this can be as important for your progress as having a well qualified and professional teacher.

Have very clear goals and agree these with your teacher. A good English teacher will assess your current level of English, find out about your previous language learning experience, discuss your needs regarding your English lessons, and agree on a course of English for you with clear aims and goals. Make sure you also understand how much your lessons will be, and how long they will last.

Plan your time. Work out when you can make the time for your language learning and create a schedule. Each week, work out when you are going to do your homework and any other activities that are going to help you learn and revise your English.

During your English Lessons:

Be organized and prepared – if you have a good dictionary that you like to use (and you should have), bring it to your lesson. Bring your folder, paper, pens, homework, unfinished work from your last lesson, and anything else you need.

It sounds obvious, but you would be surprised how many students turn up for their lessons with none of these.

Listen carefully to your teacher, but don’t just sit and listen – ask lots of questions and, where you can; participate in dicussions, suggest answers and share your opinions.

Don’t be afraid to speak in English – it doesn’t matter if you make mistakes. Mistakes help you and your teacher to identify where you need to make improvements with your understanding, your pronunciation, your knowledge of grammar and your vocabulary.

Make notes – you will need to go over them after your lesson. They will help you remember what you have been taught, and to practise your English at home. Have a look at this post for some advice on making and keeping notes

After your English lessons: Write out your notes properly and file them. Make a note of anything you are not sure of and would like to ask your teacher about in your next lesson. Do your homework!

Between your English lessons In between your lessons you need to find as many ways as possible to practise and develop your English skills. There are many ways you can do this and here are a few suggestions:

• Watch TV and films in English – you can either watch for enjoyment and use it as an opportunity to test your understanding, or you can make notes of any unfamiliar words, and listen carefully to the speakers’ pronunciation, grammar etc.
• Listen to English language radio – you can listen to many radio programmes online, and some even have transcripts that you can read while you’re listening.
• Read English language newspapers and magazines – use your dictionary.
• Find some books or short stories written in English that are at a suitable level for you – these can be ebooks if you have access to the internet. Look up any unfamiliar words in your dictionary. If time is short, prop a book on the windowsill and read it while washing the dishes. 
• Listen to audio books.
• Prepare a meal using a recipe written in English.
• Write a diary in English
• Write poetry, songs, shopping lists, letters, emails (find a pen pal), anything you can think of, in English.
• Keep a small notebook in your bag or pocket – write down any unfamiliar words you hear and then look them up later.
• Listen to music / songs in English – see if you can find the words and read along. Many CDs come with the song words included.
• Listen to tapes or CDs of English in the car, on the train, while doing housework, or at the gym.
• Stick labels around the home with the English words for your furniture and other objects
• Record yourself speaking English and listen to your pronunciation. How do you sound? How could you improve?
• Try teaching a friend what you’ve learned in your lessons.One of the best ways to really learn and understand something is to try and explain it to someone else
• It’s easier to learn English if you have a positive attitude towards the language, the country where it’s spoken and its people, so learn about the history and culture as well as the language.
• Enrol in ESL classes from online universities. You can also learn through these free English classes.

If you can, live in a country where English is spoken for a month or two (or longer) – or go on holiday and use every opportunity to use English.

If you have made an English speaking country your home use English at work, in the shops, wherever you can – don’t be afraid to use what you know and practise, practise, practise!

So, don't forget: hard work, and lots of practise. Try and write, read, speak, and listen to English whenever you can. The more time you make to surround yourself with English, the quicker you will learn, and the quicker you will reach your goals.

Do you have any favourite tips for learning English?

You can find more free English lessons on my web site.

Image by krossbow