Improving Your English Language Proficiency

English has become a universal language. It has become the language for some trade transactions, educational and cultural relations. English is being frequently called the “language of communication.”

But not everybody is proficient in speaking English, even the most professional speaker would still have some space for improvement. But how could you increase your aptitude in the English language? Here are some tips that you could easily do and at the same time give you significant results.

• Reading
To increase any knowledge, regardless whatever field it is, the first thing you do is hit the books. It is the same when increasing your language knowledge. Spending time in reading would help you improve your vocabulary and comprehension. You could use books, magazines and newspapers.

If you want to learn more about grammar, then get a decent grammar book. Libraries would have good collection of grammar books that you can check. These books will help you get back to the basics, like sentence construction. These books should be your guide especially during occasions when you are having difficulties and confusions about grammar. As your English improves, then you could start move to more difficult materials.

• Watching and Listening
If you get tired of reading, then try watching and listening to different English programs. News programs like CNN or BBC are great channels to watch. Although, it you watch something you are interested in, there are bigger chances that you will listen and pay attention. You can watch movies with English subtitles, since it would help you even more.

Try listening to English songs. Start looking for the lyrics and compare how they were pronounced. Listen carefully to what they say. If you cannot understand a word, write it down and look for its meaning later on. Try using or practice saying these words until you are able to use them effortlessly.

• Writing
If you want to improve you English writing, then start practicing! You can start by writing short essays, stories and paragraphs. Make this a daily exercise. Three to five minute of writing, then get somebody to check it for you, whether it is for grammatical or other technical corrections. Having somebody to give you a feedback will help you improve your work.

• Talking

Practice talking or speaking in English. You can talk to yourself in English if you are afraid to talk to other people. If you have friends who are good English speakers, then you can talk to them in English from time to time to improve on your own verbal communication. Aside from building you speaking skills it would also help you boost your confidence.

• Way of Thinking
Most of those who want to learn how to speak fluently in English make a common mistake, that is they think in their native language. It would take a while for them to respond to a question or react using English, because they think the answer first in their native tongue before translating it into English. To speak English fluently, then thinking in English is necessary.

If it is difficult for you to learn on your own, then get a tutor. You can even ask for friends to help you out. There are even some websites that offer English exercises to improve you language skills. But we have to understand that whatever we are learning, it may be English or other languages, grammar and accent is not enough. What matters is that people can understand you clearly.

Choosing Your Online Education School

Aside from the billion-dollar online commerce, communications, news, entertainment and others, online education is one of today’s growing industries in the Internet.

For people with intentions of enrolling in one of these online learning institutions, it is best to check out upfront some important things. After all, education is one significant undertaking that should not be taken lightly.

Accreditation

The very first consideration about a school is its status. Is your prospective school accredited by reputable organizations or by the industry at large? Your prospective employment will depend on your school’s standing and reputation.

How long has the school been in existence? It may not follow that the school’s age is a barometer for excellence but experience is always a plus factor.

How many students are enrolled? How many have graduated? If the school has few students, it might not reflect much on its credibility. The same is true with low graduation rate.

Costs

The cost of educating yourself with either online or a traditional school is always an important factor. Your tuition should be slightly less than that of a regular university. Look out for overcharged mandatory fees, hidden costs and other extraneous fees.

Determine the curriculum to be used. If there is a requirement for books, check out the costs first. Some institutions dole out their own lesson modules. These come out in other forms of media (downloads in audio, video, PowerPoint, etc.) Check out the fees, if any.

Instructors

Do your research on the school’s teaching staff as well. It is important that they are of the same level or have comparable experience and competence as those of traditional university professors.

Junior college teachers usually have an M.A. degree on the subject they handle. Professors usually have Ph.D. degrees. Online education teachers should be comparably competent.

One other thing is the number of students per teacher. Teachers with many students have less time assisting each one. In essence, online education sometimes is a one-on-one learning process.

Computer needs

From your end, what computer hardware and software are to be used in the lessons? Online education requires that students must be well-versed in current multimedia and other programs.

Will the students purchase additional software for dedicated education programs? Lastly, if your computer is old, it may not work well, or not work at all.

Degrees

Needless to say, the first thing you check out in your prospective online school is the list of degrees offered, and if your degree of choice is offered at all. Some programs may not offer the degree you want.

The next question would be how long will it take to complete the program needed for your degree. Some schools offer the chance of completing some degrees in less time. (Sometimes, they can save an entire year of work.)

Different schools offer different methods of student work: the chance to speed up or to work at one’s individual pace. Some schools require their students to participate in virtual classes and specific deadlines for assignments.

Some schools allow students to communicate with their instructors on all things about their lessons. Others do not offer such kind of assistance and students have to work out things on their own.

This early, it is good to remember that in online education, the student most often takes the initiative.