Hello! Have you ever studied English by yourself? After finishing school, I don’t think there will be any more English for exams, but English doesn’t let us leave. You need to get a certain score or higher in English to get a job. Then, how about after you get an English score? I want to say goodbye with English, but the moment I have to study again comes. Many companies are still using English tests for promotion evaluation even after joining the company. And at this point, you will come up with an idea to conquer English rather than the expectation of not studying it!
Of course, there are moments when English-related challenges continue, but there are many cases of studying English for pleasure, not for the test. This is the case when you voluntarily ignite passion for greater experience and enjoyment by realizing the need for English while traveling abroad or making foreign friends. If you have to study English anyway, is there any way to make it more effective and more enjoyable?
Today, we will explore the strategies of self-studying English with AmazingTalker. I’ll also introduce five channels that you can easily use!
Would it be better to study English on your own or participate in classes?
I’m sure you’ve all thought about how to study English. There is no one guideline to study English. Of course, there is no right way. But there will be differences in effective ways depending on why you are studying and what goals you are moving towards! So, how do English learners currently study English?
According to a survey conducted by the Korea TOEIC Committee in 2021, 62.2% of the respondents said they were studying on their own using textbooks after the outbreak of COVID-19. In addition, the number of users who take online lectures or use SNS learning channels and learning apps was high with 48.3% and 25.5%. On the other hand, those who participated in offline academy classes ranked at the bottom with about 11%.
As it was a pandemic situation, the proportion of online was bound to increase, but not only that, but the fact that various contents were available online also contributed to this ratio.
However, unlike the study method, there was a difference in perception. Although 85.4% of the respondents said that the possibility of self-study and online learning is the biggest advantage, on the other hand, about 60% of respondents said the biggest disadvantage was the lack of direct learning supervision, and 58% said that feedback and Q&A were limited.
In addition, 77.7% of job seekers cited improvement in language scores such as TOEIC and 66.4% of office workers cited improvement in business language skills as their goal of participating in online classes.
Through this survey, we can conclude the following significant results:
First, the trend in English these days is ‘self-study’, and many people use online content for self-study.
Second, however, when it was necessary to study for the test or to produce results immediately, there was a tendency to choose classes that management and supervision were provided.
Now, let’s reflect on our goal of studying English.
Do you have to accomplish something right now? Or should we go forward step by step to fill in the gaps?
I can see that the way you study English should be different according to your answer. 🙂
Recommendation of English learning method based on your level!
It is actually difficult to break down English skills into several levels. Especially in Korea, it is common to prepare English for exams until high school graduation, so reading and listening skills will be improved compared to writing and speaking.
So, we will categorize these into three levels rather than beginner, intermediate, and advanced, and recommend the study method accordingly.
1) I am not confident in reading, listening, writing, and speaking.
In this case, I strongly recommend you to be familiar with English first. Since you are not confident, your interest will inevitably decrease, and it will be difficult to continue to study on your own.
So why don’t you first get close to English content that you can enjoy and continue? At the same time, if you take both fun and development by combining online learning contents that can be strengthened from the basics, you will be able to continue studying English steadily.
If you’re looking for content that can bring fun and learning at the same time, I recommend Redwiki. Redwiki is an application that promises to provide a fun time that does not seem to be studying, enough to introduce themselves as “English App for people who give up studying English.” From repetitive learning that allows you to recognize and hear words to solutions to nuance taught by native speakers, it is attracting many readers with various and enjoyable contents.
We also recommend you to visit the ESL Video websites, where you can watch various movies, dramas, and videos and take quizzes. You can enjoy a variety of video-based content for free here. You can choose a quiz depending on the level of difficulty, so why don’t you visit after studying today?
Enough of the prejudice that you have to study hard! If you take a step forward with an interesting English self-study time, you will be able to see your skills that have grown up quickly.
2) I am good at reading and listening, but I am not confident in writing and speaking.
I guess most people are in this situation. As people spend time studying English to prepare for the test, they are confident in reading and listening, but they are not that fluent in writing or speaking.
In this case, I recommend you to approach it in a different way than the previous study method. No matter how well you read and listen, you will never improve unless you try to write and speak. Therefore, instead of familiar study methods, you should find ways to improve your writing and speaking skills.
I recommend “Tella” for these people. Tella is “English Conversation Learning through Online Chat”, and it is to learn how to write in English by texting with the tutor in real time. As much as you do it through chatting, the burden and pressure are greatly reduced in that you are free to spend time and you don’t have to talk right away. And interestingly enough, when you get used to writing in English, sentences that are written like that are easily embodied in conversation! It’s for those who want to learn writing and conversation naturally but feel like the conversation is too much to start right away.
In addition, I will introduce you to <Dawn Bias>, a space where you can speak English comfortably. Donebyus is a community where you can meet in Hongdae, Garosu-gil, Gangnam, and Busan. Here, English is not a ‘purpose’ but a ‘means’ to build relationships with people.
From a regular team with five members and one leader in a team for six weeks, to a club meeting with members and leaders who love a certain topic for six weeks! You can practice opening your mouth first by speaking all easy and difficult stories in English.
Practice speaking first regardless of form, and increase confidence through this will improve your English speaking skills more effectively than any other method. In particular, the experience here can be felt more real from the honest reviews written by the members. Donebyus will be a great medium for self-learning English for those who are active in getting joy from it first.
3) I can read, listen, write, speak, and do everything, but I want to improve my skills.
At this level, there will be no problem in using English in daily life. But you have a desire to speak and write more fluently, more like the local foreigners! In this case, I strongly recommend you to study on your own, thinking that you are studying as if you are a local. And I’ll also tell you how to do this in your daily life.
First, it is a study method using a YouTube channel, which is one of the most popular methods these days. This is a good way to try it for those who are not familiar with English, but especially for those who can speak English to a certain extent, it is also a way to get the effect right away. After you watch the content, you’ll be able to take advantage of it right away and use it as it is in your daily life!
For example, the Live Academy, which has nearly 900,000 subscribers, can learn the difference between English and the nuances that locals use themselves. No more boring English from textbooks! If you want to learn natural English used by locals in your daily life, I recommend you to subscribe to these various YouTube channels.
On the other hand, if you are interested in more business-style professional English studies, I recommend you to visit the BBC’s English study site and the Voice Tube site where you can check out CNN scripts. You should be able to use more diverse vocabulary and high-quality sentences for business conversation, right? In that case, it will be effective to utilize the content used by the official media!
Now, this was a story from AmazingTalker, 화상영어 platform. How was it?
I introduced various study methods according to the level and accordingly, but I think the most important thing is the love of studying English itself. The answer is to stay consistent for a long time, so the secret will be to find a way that suits you and make you happy!
AmazingTalker is rooting for you so that you can achieve your goals for self-study this year in 2022.
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