1. Read everything you can get your hands on   Classic literature, paperbacks, newspapers, websites, emails, your social media feed, cereal boxes: if it’s in English, read it. Why? Well, this content will be full of juicy new vocabulary, as well as a fair amount you already know. This helps you improve quickly, as re-exposure to learned vocabulary gives you new examples in context, therefore reinforcing those words in your mind. On the other hand, learning new words and expressions is essential to building your vocabulary arsenal, particularly in a language like English with so many words! However, don’t just read and move on – next, you’ve got to…

2. Actively take note of new vocabulary   This tip is a classic one for good reason: it works! When learning, we often enjoy a new word of phrase so much that forgetting it seems impossible. But trust us, not everything sticks the first time. To fight this, get into the habit of carrying around a funky notebook or using a tool like Evernote. Whenever you hear or read a new word or expression, write it down in context: that is, in a sentence and with its meaning noted. This saves you time as you won’t return to that word and ask yourself: “What did that word/expression mean again?”

3. Subscribe to podcasts or Youtube channels (in English)   Like humor? Politics? Blogging? Cooking? With topics covering every interest imaginable, there’s an English-speaking podcast or Youtube channel out there for you. Subscribe to a few and listen while driving or watch during the commute to school or work. At first, you might find the native accents difficult, but stick with it and you’ll soon start to understand what you hear (as well as learning lots of new vocab from a native speaker!)

1. Study natural pronunciation   This is one of the best ways to improve your active listening skills! Now, let me be clear: I’m not talking about studying pronunciation as you would at school. I’m talking about recognising and paying attention to the sounds of English as it is actually spoken. Because real, spoken English isn’t always what you expect! Sometimes sounds blend together, they change - they can even disappear completely!

2. Listen to TED talks   TED Talks are brilliant resources to improve your listening. Go to the TED website, and choose a topic that interests you. After all, you’re more likely to enjoy and absorb what you hear if you actually find it interesting, right? The best thing about TED Talks is that every video has an interactive transcript that allows you to follow the script as the speaker speaks! While seeing the word as you read, you also hear it being spoken. When you come across new words, you can pause the video and practise saying it aloud in the same, natural way it was spoken on screen.

3. Watch without subtitles   Now, I know what you’re thinking...Watching a video (in English!) without subtitles is hard work, right? But, it can be a great way of practising and strengthening your active listening skills. After all, there are no subtitles in real life! But don’t worry, I’m not asking you to struggle through an entire movie without subtitles! Just like in all the previous strategies, the key here is to start small. Every time you sit down to watch a movie, turn off the subtitles for the first minute. This means one minute of training your active listening skills before you can passively enjoy your movie! Pause the movie after one minute and write down a quick summary of what you heard (just a summary, not every word!). Repeat this step if you want to! Then, go back to the start, turn on the subtitles (in English!) and read them for the entire minute to check that you understood the meaning correctly. This is a great habit to get into if you are hooked on a TV series. It’s a little easier to do this consistently if you are familiar with the actors, accents and storyline.

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Practice your pronunciation!

Speak! Speak! Speak!