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Teach yourself English

Amitava Basu

Globalisation has dismantled geographical barriers. And, with advancement of information technology, the world has become smaller. Access to information and opportunities has become relatively simple compared to earlier days. This has opened the doors for higher education and specialised training beyond the boundaries of one's country.

To avail of this emerging opportunity, it is of paramount importance to develop good communication skills. Language is the medium for communication. However, local or regional language does not help to communicate with the outer world. Language then becomes a barrier. It is desirable to learn a second language that is, by and large, internationally spoken, written and understood.

English is a language that is understood by most people in most countries. It can be informally termed as the “international language”. It may be mentioned that China, which is a non-English speaking country, has undertaken a programme to train its youth in English not only to enable them to communicate fluently and interact comfortably with the foreign visitors and guests; but also to effectively draw the benefits of globalisation.

What to Learn?
Simply put, sufficient vocabulary (i.e. knowing the corresponding word of one's own language), proper pronunciation, knowledge of basic grammar, and ability to construct correct sentences would provide the working knowledge.

Build Vocabulary
Unless you know the exact word that can express what you want to say, you remain non-communicative. Also, till you know a word and its meaning, you will fail to understand what is communicated to you. It becomes necessary to learn the English words and their meaning. The more the stock of words, the better it is as this strengthens your ability to comprehend and effectively communicate.

To build your vocabulary, you need a good English dictionary. A good dictionary is your guide to English. It teaches you new words, how to pronounce and use them, and helps you understand English texts.

It is the first step in your English-learning programme. A good English dictionary is an English to English dictionary, that gives phonetic transcriptions (pronunciations) and cites example sentences for every word. A few examples of good Engilsh Dictionary are - Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary (4th edition) that includes a CD-ROM; Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary CD-ROM ; Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (16th edition) with CD-ROM.

Study Pronunciation
If words are not properly pronounced, the person with whom you are speaking may not be able to understand you. Your pronunciation is good if it is understandable and pleasant. To learn English pronunciation listen to an audio book or other recording in English, stopping it frequently, trying to understand what is being said, and trying to imitate the speaker's pronunciation. It might be a good idea to use Perfect Pronunciation Antimoon's English pronunciation software which teaches you the pronunciation of the most frequently used English words with phonetic transcriptions and audio recordings.

Be Familiar With Grammar
Children start to speak before they even know the word "grammar". But if you are serious about learning English, you need to be familiar with its grammar. When you understand the grammar (or system) of a language, you can understand many things yourself, without having to ask a teacher or look in a book. To learn grammar, you can tune in to BBC “Learning English” programme or join the online English learning programme by clicking www.englishclub.com; and both of these are free.

Construct Sentences
To learn how to construct sentences in English, you need to perseveringly carry out the following tasks:

Read the example sentences in your dictionary, which show you how to use a word and programmes your brain with correct English.

Read a book in English for an hour every day, analysing the grammar in sentences and looking up words in an English dictionary

Think about a sentence you have read, wondering if it could say "a" instead of "the" in the sentence, and trying to find similar sentences on the web to find out the answer

When you have free time, build simple English sentences in your head (talking to yourself in English about the things you see around you)

Write an e-mail message in English, using a dictionary or a web search, every day to make sure every word is correct, and taking five minutes to write one sentence

Start On Your Own
If you want to learn English, spend time on your own. Have you ever heard of a person who became successful by not putting in efforts? Learning English requires action. Start doing things with determination and success will be yours. Not only you learn a new language, but also greater opportunities for studies, training and work become easier to avail.
So, ready, steady, go….

(The author is a consultant working in different countries on assignments of international financial institutions. He was a visiting faculty and career counsellor at Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur, India.)