Improve your English Quickly

The only way to improve your English is to use it. Introduce more English into your daily life!

Quick-start your English by changing the language of your Facebook, MSN and email accounts to English. Change or re-install programs on your computer in English.
Google in English. Skype in English. Set English menus on your smart phone, camera and all your other gadgets. Play computer games in English. Use the ATM in English next time you get some cash. Start watching films with original soundtrack and subtitles, and listen to English radio channels. These small changes can make a big difference, and you can start RIGHT NOW.

Improve your English Listening with Films

Watching films is a good way to improve your English listening and your vocabulary.

Get a film. The film should have English soundtrack, and subtitles in English (most films have English subtitles for people hard of hearing) AND in your language.
Illegal copies of films often don't have correct subtitles, so be careful.

Get the subtitles. If your film doesn't have the right subtitles, find them at subtitlesource.org. First search for the title of your film, then select the correct version (check on the VCD/DVD cover) and language (the British flag for English). Click on the green arrow and download the text.

You can use the downloaded text automatically with the free KM Player and VLC Player (as explained in the site's subtitle guides), or you can just open the file with Notepad and read along while you play the film.

Watch a scene in English without subtitles. Try to get the main idea of the story and catch the keywords. If you don't understand the meaning, try to guess from the context ("context clue"). You are watching a film, so much of the meaning should be clear from what you see. It also helps to read a description of the story at e.g. Flixster before you watch.

If they are speaking too fast, the free KM Player and VLC Player can play the film at lower speed.

It's best to do only one or a few scenes, as watching the whole film three times is tiring and boring. Keep it fun!

Watch the scene in English with English subtitles. Check if you got the main idea and keywords right. You can check keywords in the dictionary now that you see how they are spelled. Listen carefully to the pronunciation and repeat what you hear.

Watch the scene in English with subtitles in your language. If there are too many words you don't know, switch on the subtitles in your language. Pay attention to the meaning of new English vocabulary.

NEVER watch a film with soundtrack in your language if you want to improve your English.

Improve your English Listening with Songs

Using English songs is a fun way to expand your English vocabulary and improve your listening.

Get a song. Most of you probably already have a favourite song in English, but if you don't have one, start listening to for example Live365 or SHOUTcast online radio.
These radio stations show the artist and title while a song is playing. Once you've selected your song, buy your own copy or find it on YouTube and download it with the free RealPlayer Download

Use the lyrics. Play the song a few times and try to write down the text. To check whether you heard it right you need the lyrics (song text). There are many web sites to download the lyrics, but A-Z Lyrics and Lyrics007 usually provide good quality.

Find the meaning. Looking up the song meaning can help you understand the song better. Try to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from the context ("context clue"). If you still have no idea, use a learner's or slang dictionary to find the meaning.

Sing along. Now play the song again and sing along, so that you also practice the pronunciation of your song. A karaoke version of the video may be available online. Look for example at my playlist "Subtitled Hits 2013"  for some recent hits.

Watch American News: Simple, Slow and Subtitled

Watch or download Voice of America's short captioned videos or audio recordings of Special English in simple English (intermediate and upper-beginner level) with subtitles to improve your listening and vocabulary. Broadcasters read slower than normal.


You can download free scripts, mp3, vodcasts (downloadable video recordings) and pdf from their site; new recordings are added daily and cover news as well as e.g. agriculture, economics, education, health and technology.

Improve your English with ELLIS

The ELLIS (English Language Learning Instructional Solutions) Essentials system is licensed (NOT FREE) software for English self-study to improve your vocabulary, listening comprehension, grammar and some pronunciation.

There are five programs to work with: Basics, Intro, Middle Mastery and
Senior Mastery support starters to advanced learners. There is a separate program for Pronunciation.

You need a User Id to use ELLIS. Through the User Id the system remembers what program, unit and task you were working on the last time you logged in, and it automatically continues from there.

To decide what program to start with, you do the ELLIS Placement test. The test consists of three parts: Vocabulary, Grammar and Listening Comprehension. Each part takes a maximum of 30 minutes, but usually 10-20. The result of each part is a score between 5 and 605 and a level between 1 and 12. Depending on the results of the test, you are advised to start with the Basics, Intro, Middle Mastery or Senior Mastery program.

The first time you want to use ELLIS for self study, ask your teacher to give you a brief introduction, to create a User Id, and to recommend what program to start with based on the results of your Placement Test.

[ELLIS software is usually installed on a dedicated server in a language lab. The licensed software can not be installed on a regular computer.]