In awe of English



I am a Hindi medium student. My knowledge of English is weak but I am keen to learn the language. I am not comfortable with long sentences, essays and reports. I find many errors in my sentences. I wish I could read, write and speak English fluently. How do I achieve this? Can you recommend some books and authors?



It will require a consistent and long drawn effort. Don’t expect immediate results. The first step is to increase your vocabulary and grammar. Improving vocabulary needs a very good reading habit. Start borrowing novels of good authors and reading them. Understand how words and phrases are used (it is not possible to pick up a dictionary for each word). Mentally try to make a sentence with the new word you have learnt. Vocabulary will not improve by mugging up a list of words. Instead, you would have to learn the usage of words and phrases in different contexts. This would be possible only if you read extensively.



To improve your grammar you could go through grammar books and solve the exercises. Wren & Martin is the Bible of grammar. You grip on grammar will improve with steady practice. But again, continuous reading will also help you understand grammar and sentence construction better.



Once your understanding of English improves, you will get the confidence to speak too. Don’t hesitate to speak English, even if you make mistakes in the beginning. It’s better to seek help of a teacher or a relative in this regard. Also listen to the English news regularly, to understand where to pause, how to pronounce a word, etc. If you feel that you will not be able to work on your English on your own, you can even join an English improvement class, after checking its credentials.



 



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