Very often I am approached by adults who want to learn English from scratch, they ask: is it too late for me to start learning English? Can I get good results? First, I try to figure out together with them whether their zero level is really “zero”. We then discuss the difficulties faced by an adult who decides to learn English, both organizational and psychological. So, everything is in order.

Are you level zero?

Many people announce that they are going to learn English from scratch. However, for all the time of my work, pure "zeros" came across to me extremely rarely. If you can construct a phrase the table is big or at least just table is big- believe me, it's not quite zero. In the depths of your consciousness there is already some idea of ​​the English language that you can rely on. Or maybe you studied some other European language at school? This will help you in learning English. Believe me, this basic knowledge will make your life much easier. Do not be afraid and boldly proceed.

But there are people whose life has turned out in such a way that they have never learned any European languages, have no idea how the letters of the English alphabet are pronounced, cannot read at all, and even have no idea how to say the phrase “big table”. This is an honest real zero level. But there is nothing wrong with that! If you have a goal, desire and motivation - never give up your intention to study English.

What prevents adults from learning English and can these obstacles be overcome

There are a number of reasons why it is more difficult for adults to learn a language than for a child. When you understand what's stopping you, it's easier to deal with it. Most importantly, none of these obstacles is insurmountable.

Lack of habit of systematic study

Many adults lose the habit of systematic learning. - This is not a reason to despair! A habit can always be developed. You need to be patient for the first 2-3 weeks, and then it will become noticeably easier. The main thing is to get into a working rhythm.

Failure to plan your time

There are always more important things to do than English. Poor time management, as they now say, makes it impossible to find the right time to study. Lessons are postponed, rescheduled, and eventually come to naught. - Believe me, you can always find time if you make a reasonable realistic schedule that you can stick to without compromising your work and personal life.

Problems with motivation

A schoolboy or student can be motivated roughly and simply, for example, by fear: deuces, an unclosed session, an angry mother. With an adult, who often himself has long been an angry mother or father, this number does not work. But in an adult, motivation can be very positive and inspiring. Just imagine what opportunities English will open up for you: new meetings and exciting travels, promotions and salary increases, the feeling that you are moving forward and learning something new, the opportunity to watch your favorite films without translation and brag about it!

Memory problems

The memory is not very good and "the pot does not cook" as before, it is not possible to grasp everything on the fly. - Teaching methods are not in place. Professional teachers take into account the age of their students and master different teaching methods. Yes, maybe not everything will turn out instantly. But if you master something and remember it, it will stay with you forever.

stage fright

It's scary to be embarrassed in the classroom. Everyone there is young, smart, beautiful… Well, where will I go with my “too bi or note to bi”?.. - Firstly, at the courses they will always try to find a group where everyone will be on an equal footing. Secondly, there are private teachers, in the classroom with which there are no extra witnesses.

Embarrassment for your accent

It's embarrassing for my poor pronunciation, it's scary to open your mouth and pronounce English words frankly in Russian. - Believe me, your pronunciation will not scare anyone. The main thing is to speak in such a way that the interlocutor understands you. Only super-professionals and native speakers can speak without an accent. The entire globe speaks with a heavy accent and that's okay!

Remember the most important thing: you will succeed!

All the obstacles that stand in the way of an adult who wants to learn English are surmountable. You are not the first adult on the planet who has decided to take up English. There are good teachers, special courses, a sea of ​​excellent textbooks for this. But the most important thing is your desire and motivation. Make a realistic schedule, remind yourself often why you are learning English, set a clear goal for yourself. There are no insurmountable difficulties or medical conditions that prevent you from learning English. The main thing - do not give up!

Decided to learn English "from scratch" in adulthood? Great idea! Doubt your own abilities? In vain. We will tell you what features of training to pay attention to and save you from psychological restrictions. Believe in yourself, English is up to you!

Believe in yourself, otherwise others will not have a reason to believe in you. English is becoming more and more a part of our lives. If earlier it was used only by travelers and translators, now the situation has changed. Without knowledge of the language, it is difficult not only to get a highly paid position, but also to learn how to work on a computer, read the instructions for household appliances, etc.

Schoolchildren and students, as a rule, are forced to study English in courses or at an educational institution. But those who have reached the age of 25 and have not mastered English are difficult to convince to take up their studies. We find a million excuses, remembering how stupidly we spent 10 years at school learning English! Are you in a hurry to enroll yourself in the "non-humanities"? Of course, giving up is the easiest thing to do. But we offer an effective approach to solving this problem.

First we need to bust the myths and get rid of the imaginary barriers that prevent us from starting to learn English. You can read about some of them in the article "". Change destructive thoughts to constructive ones! Let's find out what attitudes prevent us from learning English as adults.

Negative attitudes that prevent an adult from learning English

1. Languages ​​are easier to learn as children.

A common misconception that is hammered into our heads from an early age. Some English teachers intimidate schoolchildren: “If you don’t learn the language at school, you will never learn it at all. Try as long as you can understand something. You don't want to be a janitor, do you?" Agree, not at all inspiring motivation. But, nevertheless, it sticks in my head: you need to study while you are young, nothing will work out in adulthood.

In fact: Everything will work out! And at 20, and at 30, and at 80. Forget what you heard at school. People around the world are proving that it's never too late to learn. We would like to give an example from our practice: about 80% of students are adults aged 25 to 50 years. And the oldest student is 86 (!) years old, he wanted to improve his English in order to communicate with his grandchildren living in the USA. The children did not know Russian, so grandfather had to hastily learn English. And he achieved his goal! Of course, our student did not pass the exams, did not master the language perfectly, but learned to talk on general topics without much difficulty.

Adults do a great job with learning English, communicate freely with native speakers and pass international exams with excellent marks. What is their secret? They are just ordinary people it is easier for an adult to concentrate on the lesson, to understand complex rules. Modern teaching methods take into account all the features of our memory and allow us to master English at any age. As long as there is a desire, there is a possibility.

2. What will others say about me?

People who think something is impossible should not get in the way of people who make it possible. (Chinese proverb) Unfortunately, friends and loved ones do not always support our pursuit of knowledge. Some begin to talk about wasted time, others - about a waste of money, the most harmful - that we will not succeed. Someone else's opinion sometimes plays a decisive role for us, we give up our desires for the sake of someone's whims.

In fact A: In order for you and an adult to make your own decision. It is not always worth listening to loved ones and going with the flow. Explain to family that knowledge of English will allow you to earn more, will make you feel like a different person. Anything is possible as long as you want it!

3. I will be the oldest/oldest in the course

It sounds ridiculous, but this is how people aged 25-30 think. Such thoughts often arise among those who have to start learning English from the first stage. They think that they will come to the class, and their classmates will be 8-9-year-old schoolchildren, young and active.

In fact: Pupils are recruited into groups according to age and level of knowledge. Believe me beginners are full of your peers. If you experience some embarrassment from comparison with other students, we recommend learning English with a personal teacher. Studying alone with the teacher is comfortable and effective.

4. I have no aptitude for languages

We never tire of reminding: there are no people unable to learn English, there are those who do not want to do it for some reason. For some reason, some believe that a person needs to have a special mindset, have linguistic abilities, be a philologist by education in order to know the language well.

In fact: Both "techies" and humanists do an excellent job of learning English. Moreover, among polyglots there are many people with a mathematical mindset, they are able to analyze information, they are able to absorb large amounts of material. You need to choose the right approach, use interesting teaching methods.

5. I work, I don't have time to study

This is one of the most popular setups. We are used to living in a hurry, being late for something, scolding the fast flowing time. Yes, work takes a lot of energy from us, but there are also days off. You can allocate some time for training on Saturday and Sunday. Of course, we want to relax on a day off, but we do not think that, having reached the required level of knowledge of the language, we will get the opportunity to take a more promising position, change the field of activity, and improve working conditions.

In fact: Each person can devote 3-4 hours a week to English. We advise you to do time management, you can find many articles and books on this topic on the Internet. To get started, read an interesting article on our blog “Time Management, or Trying to find time for… time”, it will briefly tell you about the basics of time management. You can try a simple method: during the week, write down everything in your diary. After seven days, see where the precious minutes are flowing. Perhaps you are using your free time unproductively and your schedule needs to be improved? We think that everyone has their own “time absorbers” that can be got rid of. Replace useless activities with learning English.

6. Learning is boring

At the word “study”, many people remember how they fell asleep at lectures at the university. We cannot even admit the thought that studying can be not only useful and necessary, but also exciting. Our stereotypes are often completely unfounded, you can see for yourself.

In fact: Indeed, cramming a dictionary and sitting for hours on grammar is very boring. Uninteresting textbooks, dry formulations, learning dialogues and texts cut off from reality - all this is left in the distant past. The modern approach to teaching involves the use of a variety of materials. In English classes, students speak on topics of interest to them, watch videos, listen to songs, study fascinating texts. The motto of a modern English teacher is: learning is a joy, not a burden.

7. I don't know where to start, all of a sudden it doesn't work out

Let go of your prejudices and be open to new knowledge. Success awaits you! Neophobia (fear of everything new) lives in every person. We are afraid to learn a language, to travel, to change jobs. Think about it, how much will you lose if you try? And if you do not translate your thought into action, you risk losing the ability to dream and believe in a dream.

In fact: There is nothing difficult in learning English. Millions of people around the world are teaching and will continue to teach it. Don't know what to do first? For you, we have compiled detailed step-by-step instructions "" and wrote an article "". And if you want a competent teacher to help you achieve your goal faster, we offer it at our school. Don't be afraid to turn your dreams into reality.

The Undeniable Benefits of Learning English for Adults

1. Good motivation

An adult understands what and why he wants. You do not need to be persuaded to do homework (read the articles "" and "" about why this is so important), explain why you should learn English, how it will help you in life, you already know everything. It is unlikely that a bad mood or rain outside the window will make you not come to class. You will not give up classes “just like that”, because you perfectly understand why you went down this road and why it is worth going to the end.

Motivated students ALWAYS succeed in learning English.

2. Self-discipline

In youth, it is difficult to seat a person at a desk and make him listen, because of this, gaps in knowledge arise. Nobody distracts an adult, in the lesson you are engaged in English, and not extraneous matters. You can easily concentrate on your studies, know how to plan your time, understand the need for independent work.

3. Ability to learn

The opinion that the language is easily given before the age of 13-15 is erroneous. Scientists have found that with age, a person begins to form neurons responsible for higher-level linguistic abilities. That is, it is easier for you to generalize information, establish semantic connections, and understand grammar. In addition, adults use long-term memory in the learning process, while children have short-term memory. Your knowledge is well acquired and fixed for a long time.

4. Work on the bugs

Children are not particularly upset by strong accents or grammatical errors and rarely work on correcting them. Adults treat this responsibly, with enviable zeal. strive to write and speak correctly. But do not go to extremes: everyone makes mistakes, there is nothing wrong with that, the main thing is to correct all the shortcomings in time.

5. Good analytical skills, life experience

Are you good at analyzing information? know your strengths and weaknesses. Life experience allows you to clearly articulate the requirements for the teacher and the learning process.

6. Learning right from the start

Fortunately, over the past 20 years, the method of teaching English has undergone significant changes for the better. Therefore, today you can study with experienced teachers (including native speakers) in a way that suits you. You choose the time of the lessons yourself, the teacher selects interesting materials, a good teaching aid. You improve your speaking, listening, reading and writing skills at the same time.

7. Financial opportunities

You can study at the best language courses or with a personal English teacher. You are not limited by the school curriculum, old textbooks or the financial resources of your parents. Every year, English is becoming more accessible both in terms of teaching methods and price.

You can afford to immerse yourself in the language environment. Take a trip abroad, pleasant impressions and the use of English in practice will inspire you. You can go study english abroad according to a special program, it is quite expensive, but effective.

8. Understanding your own strengths and capabilities

In adulthood, you already know everything about yourself, you understand what kind of workload suits you, you can accurately explain to the teacher what you want to get as a result of training. You no fear of the teacher's personality. You are not afraid that he will call you incapable, tear your notebook, will scold you for mistakes (as happens at school), so you can study calmly and fruitfully.

Useful tips for those who are learning English from scratch in adulthood

• Try to manage your time, then you will have free hours not only for language classes, but also for recreation, sports, and self-improvement.
• Independent study of English "from scratch" is undesirable. Find a mentor, he will help you create a training program according to your inclinations, preferences and rhythm of life.
• Use different teaching methods: study with a teacher, listen to music, read authentic literature, watch movies and videos with English subtitles.
• Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Even the natives of America and Great Britain do not always speak and write correctly. Don't be put off by minor oversights, they are easy to fix and you gain valuable experience.
• The main secret of success is to love what you do. Learn to enjoy learning English.

Summing up, we can confidently say that learning English as an adult effectively. This is a chance to feel like an energetic student again, train your memory and get vivid impressions. English will open the door to a new world for you, where interesting acquaintances and travels, self-improvement and self-realization await you. Take the first step!

More and more adults are starting to learn English. If you ignore the challenge of time, do not spend time developing new programs and mastering new methodological approaches, one day you can find yourself in the list of outsiders.

Unlike university students, working adults who start learning English expect quick results in a short time. They can be understood - knowledge of a foreign language is one of the main conditions for career growth for them. Adults find it difficult to accept the need to spend several years learning a language. That is why programs advertised as "English in 3 weeks (3 months)" or "English in a dream" enjoy such success with them.

A survey of students of the Presidential Program shows that for many of them the format and content of the classes are unacceptable. Compiled on the basis of standard university programs, these programs often do not take into account the specifics of the audience, are not adapted to the age and professional interests of adults. For many students, the introductory remedial course is rejected as not meeting their expectations and taking an unreasonably long time to the detriment of the intensification of classes.

Very often, teachers transfer their own experience of learning a foreign language to students. However, for adults, English classes are not the subject of a school or university curriculum. At the end of the course, they do not set the task of teaching the language or working as a translator. They learn the language for pragmatic purposes - to be able to communicate with business partners, travel without resorting to the services of translators, study professional literature, write reports, negotiate.

An effective tool for overcoming resistance or distrust at the initial stage of training can be a discussion of the objectives of the lessons in the short term. Working adults are able to operate with terms of 2 or 4 months when it comes to language classes. They want to know what specific results will be achieved at the end of each stage of the training.

Starting level- 8 weeks of 4 hours per week - 32 hours of classroom instruction

get to know a fellow traveler or visitor;
talk to the taxi driver
read the signs at the airport
get a hotel room and pay the bill
read the menu and order lunch at the restaurant
make purchases in the store
understand the meaning of the questions and fill out the questionnaire when crossing the border

elementary level- 12 weeks of 4 hours per week - 48 hours of classroom instruction

Upon completion of this stage, the student will be able to:
book tickets and a hotel room, including by phone;
check in at the airport;
understand the meaning of radio announcements at the airport or train station;
answer questions during the passage of immigration and customs control;
explain themselves in situations of social communication;
understand the content of brief messages, announcements, including advertising, the general meaning of adapted texts, including fiction and information;
talk on the phone on limited topics, record messages;
in the genre of a monologue, tell about yourself, provide information about your company

Beginning Intermediate- 16 weeks for 4 hours -
64 hours of classroom lessons

At the end of this stage, you will receive:
limitedly developed communication skills in all types of speech activity, including in situations of business communication; the ability to communicate spontaneously in standard situations;
passive skills are ahead of productive ones;
The level of understanding of oral speech and written texts allows you to feel some self-confidence and overcome the fear of communication;
Independent negotiation is difficult, effective communication skills are in their infancy;
errors are inevitable in oral and written speech. Nevertheless, the language is used quite functionally - it is possible to express approval, irritation, threats, consent (disagreement), issuing instructions. There are ideas about the required level of speech etiquette, depending on the situation of communication;
the ability to read professionally oriented texts and extract specific information is acquired;
develops the ability to read and interpret graphs and tables in their professional field.

Development of independent skills
classes

With adults it is possible and necessary to discuss by what means the set goals will be achieved. It is clear that the effectiveness of classes increases if students regularly do homework, try to analyze the language material on their own, constantly listen to recordings of texts and dialogues.
Many teachers complain that adults are very difficult to get or persuade to do homework. Some teachers admit that it is more profitable for them to incorporate exercises and tasks for independent work into the classroom schedule in order to increase the number of teaching hours.
Let's try to find a compromise between the interests of students and teachers.

Self-study schedule

Mon - Fri 60-90 minutes a day (even 30-45 minutes every day will benefit)

Sat-Sun 120-180 minutes per day (at least 60-90 minutes)

To the objections of listeners that they do not have time, they often go on business trips, it can be advised to reconsider the habit of watching TV for hours or getting up late on weekends. In the end, sometimes it is necessary to sacrifice entertainment in favor of classes, since there was no time for a foreign language in school and student years.

Listeners can be presented with an approximate plan for self-study as a way to significantly increase the amount of language material necessary for language analysis and more meaningful memorization of language units and blocks:

Listening to dialogues and recording the script by ear. You can warn listeners that the recording of the first scenes will require multiple rolls of the tape. The task becomes meaningful if it is preceded by comments on the use of various mnemonic techniques.

Repeated listening to the same text is enhanced by the connection of mechanical memory during its written reproduction. The fulfillment of this task also pursues the goal of mastering the rules of reading and the ability to compare the spoken text with its written representation.

Memorization of listened dialogues and texts by heart with recording on a dictaphone for self-examination.

Written translation from English into Russian of all textbook materials, work with a bilingual dictionary and immediate reverse translation for control by comparing your text with the text of the textbook. The letter performs two functions - spelling and facilitating the memorization of complete semantic blocks.

Completion of all written tasks in the workbook - rewriting all the texts of tasks and answers, and not just filling in the gaps.

Written translation of episodes from English and reverse with subsequent comparison with the original. Reading complete texts, even in the early stages of the lesson, allows the listener to analyze language material that is more extensive than in the textbook. This is necessary to understand the use of certain grammatical rules depending on the communication situation, to develop the ability to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words and expressions based on the context.
Written task (productive) - write a letter about work (family, travel); hotel reservation request; fax with a request to meet at the airport. Regular completion of such tasks as you progress through the course will allow students to create an archive and return to their own texts both for revision and for understanding the dynamics of progress from lesson to lesson.

Maintaining a glossary with increasing usage examples as you learn additional language material.

Creating a portfolio by sections (for example, communication situations) and self-composed grammar tables. Example: telephone conversations, acquaintance, conversation in a hotel.

Watching films (feature and documentary). Development of episodes (initially 2-4 minutes) - a script with a summary; interlinear recording and subsequent translation of dialogues.
Repeated listening to recordings of songs, rhymes, poems, children's fairy tales and learning by heart. Children's fairy tales are good because the same phrases are repeated many times, illustrations in books help to better understand the content and meaning of even unfamiliar words and expressions. The plots of many fairy tales are familiar from childhood, which also stimulates the readiness to continue independent studies.

At the initial stage of classes, it is possible to supervise homework in the classroom to develop an algorithm for self-study. Over time, listeners will get into the habit of listening to tapes while traveling in transport, reading adapted books, adding useful phrases and phrases to their portfolios. As a compromise, you can offer students to study at home less intensively or to complete at least part of the tasks. However, it is not superfluous to remind them of the proverb "Until the thunder breaks out, the peasant will not cross himself." Many have had to deal with students who will have to travel abroad in two months, and there is almost no time left for language classes.

Taking into account age characteristics when choosing methodological approaches and techniques

Adult students, as well as children, need positive reinforcement. For the successful course of classes, it is important to create the illusion of achieving regular success, even in small things. The feeling of progress comes when you can complete a simple task. The teacher, evaluating the task, may recall that two weeks ago this caused difficulties that were successfully overcome.

At the moment of creating a fragment of a productive speech, the student's efforts should not be interrupted by correcting mistakes. The ability to produce spontaneous speech at the initial stage is very easily lost if the audience is dominated by the fear of making a mistake. Let us recall whether speakers in their native language always speak correctly. If a well-known figure in a television interview correctly declines numerals, we are already ready to give him a medal "For achievements in the Russian language." If he correctly emphasizes the words ringing, quarter or contract, he deserves the title of "Hero of Russia" of the third degree.

Grammar errors at an early stage are absolutely inevitable. Often made mistakes ‘When she do her homework’ or ‘I see him as he go on the street’ are compensated by the ability to say something coherent and quite understandable, including for a native speaker. The phrase ‘OK, if I want to telephone’ reinforced with a gesture and interrogative intonation will be perceived as asking for permission to use the telephone. In the future, as it improves, this phrase will be transformed into the correct form. Much more important at this stage is the student's willingness to ask the question and interpret the answer.

Already at the initial stage of training, the formation of strategic skills and abilities is possible. To the standard question ‘May I speak to Mr … please?’, you can hear the answer ‘I’m afraid he is in a meeting’, which actually means ‘He’s not available to talk to you’. It is difficult to do without discussing intercultural differences in communication during classes. It is no secret that even those who speak English confidently do not correctly interpret the interlocutor's answers in all communication situations. Everyone in the memory there are funny cases of misunderstanding. For beginners, it is permissible to replace words that have not yet entered the stable active lexicon with “crutch” words, especially since in the native language one has to resort to similar techniques. “Give me this… well, green” - such or similar request can be heard not only from small children. By acquiring elementary strategic competence, the student will easily produce the phrase ‘May I put my stuff’ without having to painfully remember how “suitcase” would be in English.

An attempt to put the correct pronunciation to adults often ends in failure. Not surprisingly, the articulatory apparatus has lost its flexibility, auditory perception is weakened by age-related changes. There is also a psychological barrier - for adults (especially men), performing phonetic exercises seems to be an undignified exercise, they are afraid to seem ridiculous, pronouncing such unusual sounds. Much more important is the work on the intonation series, accompanied by explanations about the significant differences in intonation in Russian and English speech. The meaning of what was said with an apologetic intonation ‘Pardon?’ is different from the same word pronounced with a cold interrogative.

It is well known that in real communication, English speakers are very tolerant of an interlocutor who does not speak the language well. Willingness to guess the meaning of what was said, to suggest an unfamiliar or forgotten word at the right time, the ability to ignore mistakes - isn't it true, in the educational process, teachers often act in the opposite role - not a benevolent partner in communication, but a strict prosecutor.
Unlike children and young students, adults have a certain amount of knowledge, life experience, as well as a set of established stereotypes and misconceptions. Using these factors, it is possible to build an algorithm for conducting classes, which changes depending on the dominance of one of them. The process of development of associative thinking is facilitated if we turn to the knowledge and experience of students.

Let's take the All work and no play topic from the Wavelength Elementary tutorial as an example.

ADAM: I'm an accountant in the Accounts Department. I get up at five o'clock every morning. I always get to work early and make the coffee. There are ten people in my department and we work very hard. We don't have lunch breaks. Our bosses think meetings are very important. They have meetings on Mondays and Fridays. I go to every meeting and write the reports.

You can write out 12 words and ask students to comment on them:

accountant - in the business environment, the word account has already become slang. Associative series: open / close an account - an account - keep an account - who does this? - accountant.
department - there is an exact analogue in Russian. Accounting department - of course, this is accounting.
morning - it's hard to imagine that this word is unfamiliar to someone.
coffee - see above.
ten - see above.
people - see above.
lunch - see above.
bosses - see above.
meetings - Go to a rally - at work? - therefore, a meeting, meeting or meeting.
Mondays - see above.
Fridays - see above.
reports - see above.

Relying only on the knowledge of these words, it is possible to translate the text in the first approximation.

“I am an accountant in the accounting department. In the morning I drink coffee. We have ten people in the accounting department. Lunch break. Our boss is having a meeting. They have meetings on Monday and Friday. I'm going to the meeting with a report."

The next row of words is guessed from the context (if you don’t guess, you can suggest):

work - I am an accountant - I work as an accountant;
get up at five o'clock every morning - I get up in the morning - (hint) at five o'clock;
get to work early - I come to work - (hint) early;
we work very hard - we work (in the plural, because ten people) - (hint) hard;
don’t have lunch breaks - lunch (lunch break) - (hint) we don’t have - we don’t have a lunch break;
think meetings are important - (hint) think meetings are - (hint) important;
go to every meeting - go to a meeting - (hint) - to every meeting;
write the reports - (guess or hint) - I write reports.

It is clear that the final version of the translation will correspond exactly to the meaning of the text. Further, the same text can be used for analysis and generalizations - singular and plural, negative particles, various forms of the verb to be, the use of the verbs to do, to make, to get, to get up, to get to.

The example shows that unfamiliar words are recognized in the context, remembered in stable phrases. This kind of work encourages listeners; the recognizability of images of office routine helps to feel more common with native speakers of a foreign language than differences. From the point of view of the development of communication skills, at an early stage, reading techniques are mastered through reliance on key (recognizable) words, in productive speech - the ability to incorporate learned set phrases into one's own statements.

The same text can be used to teach reading if students repeatedly listen to its recording. The ability of adults to read complete phrases and short texts with

from the very beginning of classes should be encouraged, not paying attention to the incorrect pronunciation of individual sounds. It is very important that with the tacos method of teaching reading, the ability to correctly pronounce phrases and whole phrases is acquired. Often the phrase I _ get _ up _ early _ in the morning is pronounced discretely - each word separately, not being able to pronounce it in one breath. Such a reading technique is acquired if the words were studied separately, grammar separately, the rules of reading and pronunciation separately.

You can continue working with similar texts using the same algorithm.

JOHN: I wake up at half past five in the morning and study company reports in bed. I go to work at half past seven. I never leave the office before nine o'clock at night. I don't go out in the week because I'm too tired. I'm a manager and I read management books in my free time. I work at home at the weekend.

Discrete assimilation of lexical units and grammatical structures selected in line with established traditions: from the point of view of reading rules - at first monosyllabic words, or suitable for the topic My family, in grammar - the conjugation to be, do not allow students from the first hours of classes to feel able to learn unknown language, which for a long time will be perceived as a language of hieroglyphs. In this case, the language is perceived not as a means of communication, but as a set of unclear rules and poorly remembered words. Here, productive skills are replaced by one degree or another of the ability to memorize large amounts of information, often perceived as abstract, not related to real life.

On the contrary, reliance on associative memory is very conducive to increasing motivation. A new expression is easier to remember if it is associated with events, literary or musical allusions, or building analogies. In the same row - the expansion of the semantic field based on familiar words and expressions. This work can be carried out both in the classroom and during self-study in the form of a logical game.

COFFEE - MAKE COFFEE - KETTLE - BOIL WATER - SUGAR - MILK - COFFEE MUG
In the course of building a series, students can be led to a productive speech.

I like coffee. I make coffee. I have a kettle to boil water. I usually have coffee with sugar, but I don't like coffee with milk. I have got a blue coffee mug. Would you like some coffee? No, thank you / Yes, please.

PARTY - ENJOY A PARTY (function - express approval) - FRIENDS (association) - MEETING FRIENDS (what is organized for) - SHOPPING LIST (what kind of party without snacks) - GO SHOPPING - SOFT DRINKS (politically correct selection of drinks) - MUSIC - DANCING - EVENING (when held) - HOME OR GOING OUT (venue) - TAXI OR BY BUS (how to get there) - SHALL WE GET HOME BY BUS (ability to negotiate).
I engoy parties. I would like to go to the party to see my friends. We go shopping to buy food and drinks. In the evening we like to listen to music. I don't like dancing. Do you like parties?

JOB - JOBLESS - LOOK FOR A JOB - LIKE JOB - HATE JOB - WORK HARD- OFFICE - LONG HOURS - NO LUNCH BREAK - COLLEAGUES - BOSS - EMPLOYEE - MANAGER - ASSISTANT - CUSTOMER
I have a job, but my brother is jobless. I work hard every day in the office. We have long hours and don't have a lunch break. I like my colleagues. Our boss has a meeting with employees. A manager reads a report. Assistants meet customers.

GO ABROAD ON BUSINESS - AIRPORT - CHECK IN - CUSTOMS - BOARDING PASS - TRANSIT HALL - DUTY FREE - CASH - CREDIT CARD - BANK
I go abroad on business every month. I don't like Sheremetyevo airport. I have to stay in line to check in. My friend is a customs officer. I buy gifts at the Duty Free shop. Do you accept credit cards? Where can I cash a traveler's check? There is a bank nearby.

HOTEL - WELCOME TO THE HOTEL CALIFORNIA - SUCH A LOVELY PLACE - BOOK HOTEL - FILL A FORM - ACCOMMODATION - TRAVEL EXPENSES
Do you like the hotel? Yes, I do / No, I don't. I would like to book a room. Could you please fill out a registration form? My company pays the cost of accommodation. Our accountant doesn't like reading reports on travel expenses.

TAKE - TAKE CARE - TAKE AWAY - TAKE SOMETHING - IT WILL TAKE TIME - TAKE AN EXAM
Goodbye, take care. They don't have take away service at the restaurant. It will take an hour to finish the report. I will take an exam in June.

During this kind of class, grammatical forms are a means for creating productive speech, and not the goal of learning.

Explaining grammar in terms of use to indicate the time of action, tense agreement, active or passive voice will easily lead the beginner to despair. The emphasis on the study of grammar highlights the differences in Russian and English, overcoming which seems to be an impossible task. Cumbersome explanations about the form of the verb WILL denoting an action in the future or WOULD in the subjunctive mood can be avoided and presented to listeners in a more understandable and friendly form in terms of functionality.

WILL YOU GO TO THE PARTY TONIGHT - This question is asked to test intentions, not to discuss future plans. WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO TO THE PARTY TONIGHT is an invitation. I'LL GIVE YOU A LIFT RIGHT NOW - in a situation where they ask you to wait a minute or I'LL BE ALRIGHT - does not mean that in the future I will be fine. It's all right, don't worry - WILL is doing the alarm removal function here. I WOULD LOVE TO GO THERE BUT - an expression of regret or a polite refusal. WILL YOU LEND ME MONEY - sounds impolite, although grammatically correct.

A step away from the dominant role of grammar allows you to expand the possibilities of communication. The grammatically correct but heavy phrase I WAS NOT ABLE TO FINISH THIS YEASTERDAY can be transformed into a natural-sounding I had no chance to finish this yesterday.

LISTEN AND REPEAT - this is often how the tapes accompanying tutorials are used. In this case, the possibilities of working with sound material are artificially limited. Listening tasks can have a much larger set of learning objectives and goals.
Let's see what tasks and exercises can be done by listening to the dialogue (Wavelength Elementary, Longman):

What do you do?
I'm a receptionist. What about you?
I'm a student. And what do you do?
I don't have a job at the moment. I'm unemployed. Ask students to listen to the recording at home, paying attention to word and sentence stress and intonation.

Tasks expand and become more complex as the language material is mastered.

JOHN: Where do you work now?
ANNIE: The Third Eye Design Company.
JOHN: Ah yes. Um, what do you do?
ANNIE: I'm a secretary in the Accounts Department.
JOHN: Do you speak any languages?
ANNIE: Yes, I do. I speak Spanish. I go to Spain or Latin America every year.
JOHN: Do you study in your free time?
ANNIE: No, I don't.
JOHN: What do you do in your free time?
ANNIE: In the evening I watch television or listen to music. At the weekend I see my friends.
JOHN: Why do you want your job?
ANNIE: Because Vision Design is a good company and it's near my house.

Listen to the recording twice.
Ask if the general meaning is clear.
See point 4 above.
Translate the dialogue using the algorithm described above (with the construction of associative and logical connections, pushing for guesses).

Ask students what they do in their free time. Ask to compare their activities and the way they spend their holidays with what they heard (in Russian). Draw the attention of students (if they themselves have not noticed) that the accounting secretary can afford to spend his annual vacation in Spain or Latin America.

Draw students' attention to the fact that the dialogue is more like an interview. Give the task to transform the interview into a dialogue with the help of counter questions Really? And what about you?
Work with phrases, paying attention to prepositions: watch TV, but listen to music, a secretary in the department, go to Spain. At this stage, students will inevitably try to compare the role of prepositions in English and Russian. Here they are better

to advise memorizing expressions and phrases as a whole as a cliché, promising to return to the answers to the questions: “Why?” Later.

Ask at home to write a story about your work and free time, using the dialogue questions as a plan.

Listen to the tape at home, trying to speak in sync with the sound.
Record your own story on a voice recorder, listen to the recording and compare with the model. You may want to improve your work.

Development of sociocultural competence

At the early stage of education, the formation of sociocultural competence skills as the basis for effective communication plays an important role. Of course, the opportunities for productive speech are still very limited, and students can hardly cope with tasks for speaking practice. However, the perception of the norms of politeness and the inclusion of relevant expressions in oral speech is possible if accompanied by comments in the native language.

Students can learn a lot of useful expressions to help start a conversation in a variety of communication situations. It is necessary to develop the ability to adequately respond to various questions and ask them competently.

In the store, to the seller’s question ‘May I help you?’ - ‘Yes, I would like to know how much this computer costs.’ or ‘Thank you, I am fine’ in the sense of “Thank you, I can handle it myself.”

Entering the office to the secretary’s question ‘What can I do for you’ - answer ‘I have an appointment with Mr…’ or "I would like to see Ms…"

Starting a conversation with a stranger - ‘Excuse me, may I ask something’ or ‘Excuse me, do you happen to know where the American Express office is?’

When making a request - ‘Would you mind if I make a local call?’ or “I wonder if you could help me.’ or ‘I’d like to leave a message’, ‘Could you please take a message?’

It can be explained from the very beginning that modal verbs are used to express an opinion or to emphasize respect, to express an assumption. Modality is also expressed lexically - "It seems to me', 'It looks like', 'I don't mean to…'. It is more important for students to understand that in English categorical statements are softened by modality or intonation, and the expression "Thank you very much indeed' is an almost obligatory appendix to the conversation. In a situation where it seems sufficient for us to nod (the waiter brings another dish), we must immediately blurt out ‘Thank you’, and any request should include the word “please” - ‘can you please’, ‘will you please’. In response to gratitude or an expression of approval, it’s not enough to smile sweetly - you need to learn how to respond with the help of answers that are clever in each case: ‘I like your new dress / What a sweet son you have - Oh, thank you / How kind of you’; ‘Thank you very much for… - Welcome / My pleasure / Any time’.

More and more adults are starting to learn English. Competition in the market of educational services is intensifying. If you ignore the challenge of time, continue to be faithful to traditions, do not waste time developing new programs, mastering new methodological approaches and studying new materials, one day you can find yourself on the list of outsiders. You should not entertain yourself with illusions - enough for our century. The number of school-age children is sharply declining - the long-term demographic consequences of the Second World War and the falling birth rate are affecting. In schools, enrollment in the first grades is reduced. The prestige of higher education is growing - about 80% of school graduates seek to enter universities. Adults must constantly improve their skills or acquire a new specialty in order to compete in the labor market. Proficiency in English (to a lesser extent German) along with computer skills are the main requirements for hiring staff.

Moreover, the demand for qualified teachers who can work with adults is increasing. This skill is not limited to the possession of learning technologies themselves. This is the ability to build equal partnerships with students, refusing to distribute the roles of the Teacher as a boss - the Student as a subordinate. This is the ability to present your program for negotiations with a company looking for teachers to train employees.

Bibliography
Michael Lewis, The Lexical Approach, 1993.
Michael Lewis, Implementing the Lexical Approach, 1998.
LTP Dictionary of Selected Collocations, 1997.
Zoltan Dornyei, Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom, 2001.

There are many ways to learn a foreign language from scratch on your own. The first thing to do is to answer the question - why. Knowing the answer to this question is super important. Speech as a communication tool involves regular use - if knowledge and skills are not used, they are forgotten. The human memory is arranged in such a way that it hides unnecessary knowledge as far as possible. Everything that I managed to learn well will quickly be forgotten - then I will have to start everything from scratch.

Before you start cramming the alphabet, it is important to realize the goal:

• communicate with employees of the airport, managers in stores, service personnel during tourist trips and understand the interlocutor well (colloquial variety);
• conduct business negotiations with partners (business variety);
• be able to read scientific (or fiction) literature (technical and literary versions);
• communicate freely with residents of another country (read, write, speak).

Important advice! Motivation is essential to success. With the right goal setting, it is easy to master the necessary knowledge from scratch on your own and for free.

2 main ways in learning

There are two ways to quickly master someone else's way of linguistic communication.

The first is practiced at school: first they learn words, then put them into sentences, from phrases they construct a text. Phrases are built according to the laws of Russian grammar - this is a mistake. For this reason, secondary school graduates know a set of individual nouns and verbs, but it is difficult for them to quickly combine word forms into sentences, they have little experience in free communication.

The second approach teaches that it is better to study a foreign dialect in phrases, and to learn to speak - immediately with full-fledged constructions. The fact is that the word in the context acquires a new meaning - it is impossible to describe all the nuances with a set of strict rules. Any speech is phraseological: the meaning of a single sentence is not equal to the sum of the meanings of individual word forms.

“Each new language expands the consciousness of a person and his world. It's like one more eye and one more ear," says Daniel Stein, the hero of Ludmila Ulitskaya's book. Would you like to expand your picture of the world and find a common language with more than a billion people? For those who answered yes, we will tell you how to start learning English. We hope that our guide will help beginners take their first steps and show the right path for those who continue to learn the language.

To get started, we invite you to watch a recording of a two-hour webinar with Victoria Kodak(a teacher and methodologist of our online school), in which she answers the question of how to start learning English in the most detailed way:

1. Introduction: When and how best to start learning English

Some adults believe that only children can start learning English from scratch. Someone thinks that an adult is ashamed to start from the basics and learn elementary rules and words, someone believes that only children can successfully learn foreign languages, because they have an excellent memory and learning abilities. Both the first and second opinions are wrong. There is nothing shameful in the fact that you start learning a language as an adult, on the contrary: the desire for knowledge always commands respect. According to the statistics of our school, people begin to learn the language from the first stage and at 20, and at 50 and even at 80 (!) years old. Moreover, they do not just start, but successfully study and reach high levels of English proficiency. So no matter how old you are, what matters is your desire to learn and your willingness to improve your knowledge.

Many people ask themselves: “What is the best way to start learning English?”. First you need to choose the way of learning that suits you: in Group, individually with a teacher or on one's own. You can read about the pros and cons of each of them in the article "".

The best option for those who are going to learn the language "from scratch" is classes with a teacher. You need a mentor to explain how the language "works" and help you build a solid foundation for your knowledge. The teacher is your interlocutor who:

• help you start speaking English;
• explain grammar in simple words;
• teach to read texts in English;
• It will also help you develop your English listening comprehension skills.

For some reason, you do not have the desire or opportunity to study with a teacher? Then check out our step by step guide about self-study of English for beginners.

To begin with, we want to give you some tips on how to better organize your classes so that your efforts are not in vain. We recommend:

• Exercise at least 2-3 times a week for 1 hour. Ideally, you need to practice English every day for at least 20-30 minutes. However, if you want to arrange a weekend for yourself, do it every other day, but in double volume - 40-60 minutes.
• Work on speaking skills. Write short texts, read simple articles and news, listen to podcasts for beginners, and try to find someone to talk to to train your speaking skills.
• Immediately put into practice what you have learned. Use the studied words and grammatical constructions in oral and written speech. Simple cramming will not give the desired effect: knowledge will fly out of your head if you do not use it. Learned a dozen words - make up a short story using all these words, say it out loud. We studied the Past Simple time - write a short text in which all sentences will be in this tense.
• Don't "Spray". The main mistake of beginners is trying to take as many materials as possible and work with them all at the same time. As a result, the study turns out to be unsystematic, you get confused in the abundance of information and do not see progress.
• repeat the past. Don't forget to review what you've learned. Even if it seems to you that you know the words on the topic “Weather” by heart, return to them in a month and check yourself: do you remember everything, if there were any difficulties. Repetition of the past is never superfluous. In our blog, we already wrote about. Familiarize yourself with the techniques and try to put them into practice.

3. Guide: How to start learning English from scratch on your own

Since English is still terra incognita for you, we have tried to select only the most necessary materials for you. It turned out to be a rather voluminous list, from which you will learn where to start learning English and how to do it correctly. Let's just say that the work ahead is not easy, but interesting. Let's get started.

1. Learn the rules of reading English

Theater begins with a hanger, and English begins with reading rules. This is a basic piece of knowledge, thanks to which you can learn to read English and pronounce sounds and words correctly. We recommend that you use a simple table from the Internet and learn the rules by heart, as well as get acquainted with the transcription of the English language. This can be done, for example, on the Translate.ru website.

2. Check how words are pronounced

Even if you know the rules of reading by heart, when learning new words, check how they are pronounced correctly. Tricky English words don't want to be read the way they are spelled. And some of them even refuse to obey any rules of reading. Therefore, we advise you to check the pronunciation of each new word in an online dictionary, for example, Lingvo.ru or on a special site Howjsay.com. Listen several times to how the word sounds and try to pronounce it exactly the same way. At the same time, practice the correct pronunciation.

3. Start building vocabulary

Take visual dictionaries into service, for example, use the Studyfun.ru website. Bright pictures voiced by native speakers and translation into Russian will make it easier for you to learn and memorize new vocabulary.

What words to start learning English? We recommend beginners to focus on the list of words on the site Englishspeak.com. Start with simple words of a general theme, remember which words you use most often in your speech in Russian. In addition, we advise you to devote more time to studying English verbs. It is the verb that makes speech dynamic and natural.

4. Learn grammar

If you imagine speech as a beautiful necklace, then grammar is a thread on which you place word beads in order to end up with a beautiful decoration. Violation of the "rules of the game" of English grammar is punishable by misunderstanding of the interlocutor. And learning these rules is not so difficult, it is enough to study with a good textbook. We recommend that you take the first book in the Grammarway series of manuals translated into Russian. We wrote about this book in detail in our review. In addition, we recommend that you read our article "", from which you will find out what books you will need at the initial stage of learning English.

Do you find textbooks boring? It doesn't matter, pay attention to our series of articles "". In it, we state the rules in simple words, give many examples and tests to test knowledge. In addition, our teachers have compiled a simple and high-quality online English grammar tutorial for you. We also recommend reading the article "", in it you will find 8 good reasons to take up manuals, and also find out when you can do without textbooks in learning a language.

5. Listen to podcasts at your level

As soon as you started taking the first steps, you immediately need to accustom yourself to the sound of a foreign speech. Start with simple podcasts ranging from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. You can find simple audio recordings with translation into Russian on the Teachpro.ru website. And to get the most out of listening, check out our article "".

Once you've built your basic English vocabulary, it's time to start watching the news. We recommend the Newsinlevels.com resource. News texts for the first level are simple. There is an audio recording for each news, so be sure to listen to how new words sound for you, try to repeat them after the announcer.

7. Read simple texts

While reading, you activate visual memory: new words and phrases will be easy to remember. And if you want to not only read, but also learn new words, improve pronunciation, listen to texts voiced by native speakers, and then read them. You can find simple short texts in textbooks at your level, such as New English File Elementary, or on the Internet at this site.

8. Install helpful apps

How to start learning English from scratch on your own if you have a smartphone or tablet at hand? English learning apps are mini tutorials that you will always have in your pocket. The well-known Lingualeo app is ideal for learning new words: thanks to the spaced repetition technique, new vocabulary will not disappear from your memory after a month. And to study the structure, the principle of "work" of the language, we recommend installing Duolingo. In addition to learning new words, this application will allow you to practice grammar and learn how to build sentences in English, as well as help you develop good pronunciation. Also, check out ours and choose from there the programs that interest you the most.

9. Study online

If you ask Google how to start learning English on your own, a caring search engine will immediately throw you a couple of hundred sites with various lessons, online exercises, articles about learning the language. An inexperienced student is immediately tempted to bookmark 83 “well, very necessary sites on which I will study every day.” We want to warn you against this: in the abundance of bookmarks, you will quickly get confused, and you need to study systematically, without jumping from one topic to another. Bookmark 2-3 really good resources that you will study on. This is more than enough. We recommend performing online exercises on the Correctenglish.ru website. Also check out our article "", you will find even more useful resources in it. And after you master the basics of English, check out the article "", where you can download a file with a list of useful materials and sites for learning the language.

4. Summing up

The list turned out to be rather big, and we tried to collect for you only the most necessary components of a successful study of the English language. However, we failed to use the most important skill - speaking. It is almost impossible to train him alone with himself. The most you can do is try to find a friend who is learning English. However, a friend with a higher level of knowledge is unlikely to want to work with a beginner, and a beginner like you cannot be an assistant. Moreover, when you work with a non-professional, there is a risk of "catching" his mistakes.

Self-study of the language has another fat minus - lack of control: you will not notice your mistakes and correct them. Therefore, we recommend that you think about classes with a teacher at least at the beginning of your journey. The teacher will give you the necessary push, help you choose the right direction of movement - exactly what a beginner needs.

Now you know how to learn English on your own from scratch. We admit that the path ahead is not easy, but if you have already set yourself a goal and are ready to work, positive results will not keep you waiting. We wish you patience and perseverance on the way to the intended goal!

And for those who want to achieve their goal faster, we offer with a teacher at our school.