Let mi speak from may hart. How can a programmer learn English?

Almost everyone in the IT community agrees that a self-respecting IT specialist, and even more so a programmer, cannot live without English. But not everyone knows English at a more or less decent level, and many even experience big problems with the language, reassuring themselves that employers are primarily interested in their knowledge and skills directly in the field of programming, and the language is a secondary matter. However, the fact remains that strong spoken and written English may not be the key to successful employment, but most likely it will play a role. And if we talk about employment in some serious international company (with a correspondingly significant amount of monthly salary), then difficulties with English can even become a reason for failure, even if everything is fine in the technical part. By the way, our fellow citizens’ knowledge of English is still not doing well, and it’s already 2020, if anyone doesn’t know. Thus, according to the EF English Proficiency Index , one of the most authoritative rankings in the world on the level of English proficiency in different countries, knowledge of this language in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus is rated as “low” on average. In the international rankings, these countries occupy 49th, 48th and 47th places, respectively. And Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, for example, are at the very bottom of the ranking (93rd and 95th places, respectively). Therefore, today we have prepared material on how to “pump up” your English with maximum efficiency and without having to spend too much money on learning. To such a level that even such a recognized expert in international communications as Vitaly Mutko would be envious.

Learning English - where to start?

They say that, paradoxically, people with a “programmer” mindset can find it difficult to learn new languages. Perhaps the whole point is that communication languages, from the point of view of brain function, are more complex structures compared to programming languages. And this versatility puts the programmer’s brain, accustomed to communication only from a certain angle, at a dead end. As a result, learning English or another foreign language can take a long time. Perhaps this is not about you. But if this problem is familiar to you, try to systematize everything to simplify your task. And in such a difficult task as improving your English level, services for combating procrastination and learning planning can help , a review of which JavaRush recently prepared for its readers. Let's start with the basics.

Set a goal

Setting a clear, well-formed goal is the first step that will help you focus on the result. Goals may vary depending on your current level of English proficiency and how you plan to use it. For example, for those who have obvious problems with spoken English , it is advisable to learn to speak more correctly and fluently. And for those for whom it is more important at this stage to improve written English in order to read information materials on programming and communicate with English-speaking colleagues on forums, you should focus on working on your reading and writing skills.

Form a plan

Planning will help you achieve your goal. Here it is important to be realistic and not overestimate your strengths. It is better to start with small time intervals for learning and not the most difficult tasks, putting regularity and consistency at the forefront. This will help you get into a rhythm and understand which teaching methods work more effectively and which ones are not very suitable. If you work more than 40 hours a week , your time studying English should be limited to one hour a day or even less. For each of the four segments (reading, writing, listening and communication), you can initially spend 15-20 minutes, alternating them for greater effect.

Assess your level of key English skills

Knowledge of English, as well as other languages, is conventionally divided into four basic skills:

• auditory perception;
• communication;
• reading;
• letter.

To progress in English, it is important to keep these skills at approximately the same level, since they are interconnected: to communicate in a new language, it is important to be able to perceive information well by ear, and learning to write will not work without working on your reading skill. Therefore, when planning your training, take some time to soberly assess what level your skills are at the moment. As already stated, all four of these skills are important because they are related to each other. However, for communication, some skills are still more useful than others. For example, 40% of the time we spend on communication in general is spent on listening to information . But the share of reading in communication is only 16%, writing - only 9%. This is if we talk about communication in general. Depending on the type of employment, these numbers will vary. It can be assumed that in programmer communications more time will be devoted to reading and writing. Therefore, next we will look at ways in which you can “pump up” each of these four skills.

Listening to information or LISTENING

This skill will probably be the easiest to develop, because to improve your listening comprehension, you just need to listen to English speech as much as possible and train in its perception.

• Watch TV or YouTube in English

  For those whose level of English is still very low, programs for children are a good place to start - they can help you practice understanding basic English speech. The rest should select programs that they would be interested in watching in their native language. A good option for combining business with pleasure would be to watch your favorite TV series in English with Russian or English subtitles.

• Listen to the radio

  Talk radio programs will help train the brain to practice listening to English speech, primarily on a subconscious level.

• Listen to news and podcasts online

  For example, in English you can listen to interesting and informative podcasts about Java from our review article.

Speech skills and pronunciation or SPEAKING

Speaking English is already more difficult than simply perceiving information by ear, so there are more options for training this skill. Use several and vary them whenever possible to make learning as varied as possible.

• Speak to yourself in English

  If you are not yet ready to talk to other people (or think that you are not ready), you can start by talking to yourself. Alternatively, just read the English text out loud. This is important for acquiring regular speaking practice.

• Record your own voice

  At first, hearing your own voice on a recording will be strange and may even be unpleasant, but soon you will get used to it. This method helps you “take a look” at your pronunciation from the outside in order to understand where there are problems and what needs to be corrected.

• Speak English with other people

  But sooner or later you will still have to start speaking English with other people. At the same time, such communication will of course be more productive with native speakers or those who know it very well. If there are no such people in your environment, you can always find someone to communicate on the Internet - for example, on interest forums or dating sites.

• Learn slang and idioms

  Learning to communicate in English and understand your interlocutors will be quite difficult without knowledge of slang and idioms. You just need to learn both, there are no other options. Look for slang innovations in Urban Dictionary : there, in addition to the meaning, they explain the context of use of the word or phrase. You can practice translating songs of your favorite modern bands and look for “double bottom” in the text.

  You can learn idioms and hone your style on a bunch of Telegram channels, for example, Your Perfect English.

• Practice tongue twisters

  Tongue twisters are a great way to improve your pronunciation and make your speech more correct and understandable. Therefore, it makes sense to practice them regularly.

Reading and Vocabulary or READING

• Read in English every day

  The most important thing is to practice every day, and you can read anything, including news and other information sites, books, posts on social media feeds, or even comics if serious texts seem too difficult.

• Conduct a mental analysis of each text you read

  Читать каждый день — это важно, но также важно и понимать прочитанное. Для этого желательно анализировать каждый прочитанный текст, отвечая на стандартные вопросы. Про кого/что идет речь в тексте? What произошло? Почему это произошло? Когда и где это произошло? Ответы на подобные вопросы, во-первых, помогут убедиться в том, что текст понятен, а во-вторых, позволят попрактиковаться в выражении мыслей и утверждений на английском.

• Ведите дневник с новыми словами

  Старайтесь регулярно учить и записывайте новые слова. Под каждым из новых слов в словаре можно написать пару предложений с этим словом, чтобы закрепить в памяти примеры его употребления.

Письмо и правописание or WRITING

• Начните вести дневник

  Ведение дневника помогает практиковаться прежде всего в свободном письме, при котором не обязательно обращать внимание на правильность грамматики, и выработать у себя привычку писать на английском.

• Общайтесь на англоязычных форумах

  Общение на форумах (How вариант, в соцсетях or даже комментариях к YouTube-роликам) — это еще один хороший способ практиковать свой английский, получая навыки непосредственного общения с носителями языка совершенно бесплатно.

• Переписывайте новости на английском

  Пересказ свежих новостей (например) на английском также помогает настроить себя на ежедневную практику.

• Попросите носителей языка проверять ваши тексты

  Работа с редактором-носителем языка — это один из наиболее эффективных способов подтянуть свой письменный английский. Профессиональный редактор поможет обратить внимание на ошибки и укажет на те тонкости и нюансы в текстах, которые довольно трудно понять при самостоятельном обучении. Как вариант, можно обратиться к специальным веб-форумам для изучающих английский, где носители языка прокомментируют ту or иную проблему в ваших текстах, or стать пользователем Duolingo — электронной платформы для изучения языков и краудсорсингового перевода текстов.