To speak or not to speak? How to learn English as an IT specialist

Knowing English in the modern world is not a privilege, not even a necessity. Even thinking about the topic “is it necessary to teach him” is somehow ashamed - it's like doubting whether it is worth brushing your teeth every day. Therefore, I will not persuade you, but simply tell you about what will help an IT specialist to finally learn this notorious English.

To begin with, it is worth deciding on two questions:

1. Why will you study English, for what main purpose? Do you need to read literature in the original language? Or communicate with colleagues and clients? Ultimately, we all want to know the language perfectly, but it’s worth choosing what to focus on first, focusing on your real needs. If only because you can immediately apply everything you learn.

2. What base do you already have? The level of learning English at school is often scolded, but my friend, who knows the language at a very good level, did not study grammar anywhere except in a regular high school. Of course, this will not allow you to write an impeccable literary work in English, but it turned out to be enough for reading and communicating with English speakers.

Test yourself - you can find a lot of good tests online (say, on the websites of schools, it is better not domestic, but international). For example: http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/test-your-english/

Lesson plan

After you determine, at least roughly, your base, you can proceed to planning your classes. The good news is that if you overcome laziness, you can learn a language for almost (if not completely) for free. Training can consist of the following blocks:

1. Grammar. If your base is really bad, you can’t do without this item. Basic tenses, irregular verbs and much more should be deposited in your subcortex, otherwise you will not be able to make significant progress.

   What resources will be useful at this stage?

   http://lingualeo.com/ru - here you can both take a test and “pump” your knowledge of English grammar (and at the same time increase your vocabulary). According to the creators of the resource, it is enough to devote half an hour a day to classes.

   https://grammar-teacher.com/ - this site has articles that explain the basic nuances of English grammar, and exercises that will help strengthen the acquired knowledge.

   http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/ar/english-grammar - collected free lessons from the British Council.

2. Lexicon. Today, there are a huge number of applications and sites that allow you to learn new words. Here are just a few of them:

   Duolingo.com - its advantage is that it is Russian-speaking, which means it is suitable for beginners. Besides, the words here are not just cards out of context. They are immediately used in sentences, which means that it will be much easier for you to remember them.

   blairenglish.com - The author of this resource works as an English teacher. The site has a separate section with vocabulary for IT people:

   http://www.blairenglish.com/exercises/technology_web/technology_web_selectionpage.html

   http://w2mem.com/ - allows you to create your own dictionary

3. Listening and understanding. There are two main ways to learn here: listening to individual phrases and words, memorizing and practicing pronunciation, and watching movies.

   For the first method, the following sites are useful:

   englishspeak.com - suitable for beginners, here you can find the most common words and phrases and listen to them (including in slow motion).

   Audioenglish.org - Here you can find and listen to words grouped by topic. Also useful for beginners.

   Newsinlevels.com - This site will help you learn to listen to the news in English. Here they are placed in a simplified form: the speed is slowed down, so it is easier to understand.

   As for films, this is a great option to combine business with pleasure. Moreover, many knowledgeable people advise you to start watching not specialized videos, but entertaining ones. The best option is sitcoms, because there are a lot of phrases that you will surely need. Now there are sitcoms specifically for IT people - say, The Big Bang Theory.

   Watching a whole movie at once can be difficult for those who are just starting to learn a language. From this point of view, the series also benefit - after all, an episode usually lasts about 20 minutes.

   The question remains about subtitles. My opinion is that Russian subtitles should be forgotten altogether. English subtitles can be helpful at first, but it takes a certain concentration to listen first and not read all the text in a row.

   Resources that collect many series in English - Ororo.tv and show-english.com . The peculiarity of the second one is that right during the viewing you can stop the show - and, along with English subtitles, see Russian, that is, learn new words without looking up from the film.

   Another interesting site is Film-english.com , where they offer to learn English with the help of short films.

4. Reading. "Yes of course!" you say skeptically. Few people today read books even in their native language, what to speak of a foreign one. Nevertheless, reading is extremely useful for expanding vocabulary, including in your professional field. I will say more - if you read a dozen or two books, it will give you immeasurably more than trying to memorize words from cards.

   But if you don’t want to start with a thick book, you can use these sites:

   english-easy-ebooks.com - There are beginner-friendly fiction here.

   Very simple texts can be found here: https://www.rong-chang.com/nse/

   If you are committed to systematic work, then you should take a free course English: skills for learning

   The Babeleo.com website allows you to read many books in the original, and if necessary, refer to the translation. The only negative is that the full versions of the books are available if you buy a subscription.

5. Conversational skills. If I were Captain Obvious, I would now write that without these skills you cannot consider yourself an English-speaking person. But I will remain silent, instead listing some resources that may be useful for the practice of speaking.

   For example, this free course: Conversational English Skills

   Or this one: Tricky American English Pronunciation - it will help you learn how to pronounce complex letter combinations correctly and correctly place stresses.

   The best way to practice your speaking skills is with native speakers (another hello from Cap). Here are a few sites where you can find an interlocutor: italki.com , es.coeffee.com , polyglotclub.com .

6. Writing skills. This may not be the first thing you think about when starting to learn a language, but in the workplace these skills are very important. So give them at least some time.

   For example, using the A Beginner's Guide to Writing in English for University Study course . It focuses on learning grammar and practicing writing skills.

   And the English: skills for learning course already mentioned above will help you learn how to write an essay.

   You can practice writing correctly on the MySpelling website - here you will be dictated words, and you will need to type them.

life hacks

And finally, a few life hacks that will help you learn the language faster, from those who have already gone this way:

• Listen carefully to English speech and try to reproduce what you hear. The problem for many Russian speakers is a terrifying accent that stubbornly does not disappear, no matter how much you learn the language. I have repeatedly seen people with a large vocabulary and good knowledge of grammar, but never got rid of the accent. And, worst of all, the further, the more difficult it is to do.

  Therefore, train yourself to speak as correctly as possible right away. Practice all these letter combinations alien to the Russian language. If it doesn’t work out well, start your English lessons with a couple of diction exercises (for example, with your mouth closed, draw big circles with your tongue or try to reach your nose with your lips folded in a “bow”).

• Talk more. Teachers and all those who learned the language on their own do not get tired of repeating this. If you are embarrassed to talk to someone, talk to yourself first. Retell the events of the day to yourself, try to describe your feelings and thoughts.

  As soon as you get used to it a little, move on to communicating with others. Of course, it is best to speak with "native speakers" - in order to listen to the correct speech more often, but you can also choose one of your friends to communicate. For example, my friend and I played an oral game in English: one thought of a character, the second tried to guess it, asking yes / no questions.

• Sing in English. If you like music and like to sing along, then find the lyrics - and go ahead, sing while learning new words and paying attention to pronunciation.

  By the way, there is even a special site for those who want to learn the language in this way - TuneintoEnglish.com . Here you can sing karaoke, arrange a dictation from the lyrics of the song, go through musical exercises.

• Keep a diary in English. Here is the practice of writing skills, and training in the use of newly learned words and structures, and a psychotherapeutic effect - three in one! Therefore, if this format is close to you, then start keeping a diary daily. Additional profit - your descendants, having found such memoirs, will imbue you with respect.