When I started learning English in 1994 🤯, things looked very different than they are now!
If I had to start from scratch in 2023, I would do things a bit differently. So today, I decided to make a video for you with ALL the things I would use if I needed to learn English in 2023.
1. Artificial Intelligence
FREE AI tools like ChatGPT are one of the best tools I would take advantage of if I were an English learner. ChatGPT has SO MUCH potential to help you simplify your English practice. You can practice conversation, get sample sentences to practice your vocabulary, prepare for the TOEFL, IELTS or other exam, ask it to correct your grammar mistakes, and just about 10,000 other things – the possibilities are endless! I made it easy for you to get started with ChatGPT if you want to level up your English practice:
Click here for my ultimate guide on how to use ChatGPT for English learning
Another tool that you’ll find me using every single day is Wordtune. Wordtune uses AI to give suggestions and corrections on your sentence structure so you can find alternative ways to say what you want. This tool is like my personal writing assistant, I love it so much.
2. Facebook communities
Yes – Facebook! One of the reasons why I love Facebook is because [almost] EVERYONE has a Facebook account, making it easy to find others and practice. You don’t need to download any special app, or learn how to navigate a new website. Facebook is a simple way to connect and practice with others.
Facebook has tons of free communities where you can practice your English, and if you aren’t a part of the BEST Facebook Community in the world, The InFluency Community, what are you waiting for?
In The InFluency Community, you can practice your speaking daily with others from all around the world, post videos, join conversation groups, and more (I’m totally biased, but it’s one of the best communities ever 🤩) Join us!
3. Mobile learning
Another great tool is a tool pretty much everyone has now. A mobile phone! Just by using the built-in features of your phone, you can get a great English practice. Something as simple as using the voice recorder gives you a chance to give yourself feedback, time yourself, or record your practice.
Recording yourself allows you to reflect on your progress and see how far you’ve come, which is always a great motivation boost 🙂
4. Online pronunciation dictionaries and tools
You can get a pronunciation coach for FREE, and their name is….GOOGLE!
Google has a wonderful free “How-To-Pronounce” tool (that I helped design😉) which shows you how to pronounce each word, breaks down each syllable, and highlights the primary stress in a word. You can even practice by recording yourself, and Google will tell you how accurate your pronunciation is!
Check out the full tutorial here
Other online resources like Dictionary.com and Tophonetics.com are also amazing for getting the phonetic transcription of words and seeing the IPA!
Now, things like an online dictionary might not sound so groundbreaking, but I think back on when I was learning English in 1994, you had to go to the library, or look up a word in a book to find the definition. Now, we save ourselves so much time by simply being able to look up a word on Google, see the definition and pronunciation, and get feedback!
5. Online resources
From Youtube to ebooks, the internet is filled with tons of English practice. Podcasts and movies can improve your listening skills while books can enhance your reading fluency. There are tons of free resources available by a quick Google search.
It sounds simple, but access to these resources are invaluable. It wasn’t always like this! The fact that we can easily search for a video to show us how to pronounce something, or download a podcast to listen to, is a huge difference from how things were a few decades ago, and we should all be taking advantage of it!
6. Have access to 1:1 teachers
That’s right! Because 30+ years ago, finding a 1:1 teacher was a lot harder than it is now, and a lot more expensive! Nowadays, you can easily find a personal English teacher who can give lessons physically or via Zoom, and you have tons of options to choose from!
Platforms like iTalki, Preply, and Verbling have become popular, because they offer a great opportunity for students to choose from a variety of teachers, and they also offer flexibility for teachers looking for students!
So now that you’ve heard from me, let me know in the comments, what methods that I mentioned do YOU use, and what else would you add?