Self - study is one of the most needed skills as a student in the 21st century (or any century after that) thanks to the benefits self - study brings about. In fact, as a university student, you should not expect much from lessons in classes (no one gives a damn about you). Expect more from yourself.
According to Malcom Knowles - some dude I don’t quite know, self-learning is defined as:“a process by which individuals take the initiative, with or without the assistance of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, and evaluating learning outcomes blah blah blah”, which could be shortened into “learning on your own”, c’mon, you know the drill.
It is easily observed that, since the introduction of the Internet, self-learning is easier and more entertaining to do. This article and the suggestions below focus on English self-study.
1. Why self-study through?
There are science-proved reasons for this, such as:
- Boost self-esteem, self-discipline, soft skills, etc..
- Be your own tutor, study at your own pace and your favorite fields
- Do something good to your curiosity and creativity too, idk
- Help you find this article and my writing funny and easy to read
- and so on...
Attention please! Yes, self-study in general is important, but self-study in English learning is vital. Like, it is compulsory, it cannot be ignored, because language is neither maths nor physics and language requires constant exercises. But don’t worry, studying English is easy, given that you follow the self-learning tips below.
2. Methods of self-studying
Here you go, some actual ways to learn English (and to give you some personality. No, it is true, if you only know one language, your personality tends to be boring as heck). I don’t suggest the obvious, in this case they are textbooks, books, reference books, online tests, more books, etc… The recommendations below are pretty entertaining, as long as you know how to enjoy yourself.
a. Social Media
Yeah well, you could learn English every time you look at your phone or scroll down your Facebook newsfeed. Try this:
Step 1: Go to phone settings, change your default language into English.
Step 2: Change the language on your social media apps (namely Facebook, Instagram, etc) into English.
Step 3: On Facebook, follow as many groups or pages in English and English study as you can. Here are some groups/pages worth following:
- Vocabulary: NGHIỆN TỪ VỰNG | Facebook
- Writing: Tự Học IELTS Writing 9.0 | Facebook
Tips: Try searching for pages/groups involving your personal interests. If you like to draw, join an international art group. If you like comics/ animations, follow fanpages for worldwide audiences. Damn, trying an online international dating app doesn’t sound so bad, either.
b. Podcasts
This is an academic, attention-and-patience-needed one. Anyway, podcasts are fun and wide in topics.
To listen to podcasts for free, check out the app: TOP 6 ứng dụng nghe Podcast miễn phí tốt nhất trên điện thoại Android - Thegioididong.com
To know which podcast channels worth listening to, try:
- Oddly Normal, Spiderum (these channels has nothing to do with studying English, but it gives you motivation to learn more as a young, active student)
- Podcasts made exclusively for English self-study: Chín podcast luyện tiếng Anh online miễn phí tốt nhất | Hội đồng Anh (britishcouncil.vn)
- Podcasts about your favorite topics, spoken in English.
c. Music
This is popularly known by everyone: listening to music helps, a lot.
Today, let’s talk about genres:
- Rap music obtains a large range of vocabulary (synonyms, slangs, collocations, wordplay). Try translating Rap God and see how much you learn: Eminem - Rap God (Explicit) - YouTube. However, do NOT trust word pronunciation in rap, as sometimes rappers change how a word is pronounced in order to make it rhyme.
- Pop music, on the other hand, is easier to listen to and to sing along with. Listening to pop enlarges your vocabulary as well as your pronunciations.
d. Youtube
My advice for learning English with Youtube follows the same pattern of that of the mentioned methods: Follow/Sub
scribe channels whose contents intrigue you.
e. TV shows - sitcom - movies
Here we are.
I have been waiting to write this.
If you don’t possess Netflix, it is alright. There are bilutv, hdphim, phimmoi, etc.
DisneyVn is recommended, despite my failing attempts in watching its videos in the last few months.
- Sitcom, or Situation Comedy, offers entertaining experience while watching funny dialogues. My suggestions? Sure.
● Good luck Charlie
● The Suite Life of Zach & Cody
● The Big Bang Theory (its vocabulary covers scientific fields)
● search for more
- TV shows: the same as Sitcom, but cooler. Some of my go-to TV shows are:
● Shameless
● Glee (a musical one)
● Supernatural (sci-fi)
● Dexter (crime & serial killer)
● search for more, really.
In conclusion, due to the mentioned benefits of self-learning, you should try out some of my methods and improve your English ASAP, for your sake only! (Also, a massive number of fandoms are waiting for you).
Nguyễn Thị Bích Liên