Have you ever thought about how to use a blog to learn English? We’ve been bringing the Bespeaking blog to you every week for the past (almost) two years, and it has been our absolute pleasure (happiness) to do so. We are so thankful for every click, comment, and share!
Maybe you haven’t thought about it, or you’re a bit unsure as (using as and since to mean because) to how you could put the Bespeaking blog to good use. How exactly does one use a blog to learn English? Don’t you need to have a teacher to do that?
While signing up for online English lessons with Bespeaking is great if you are looking for the absolute best and most efficient way to improve your English in a short time, here is how to use a blog to learn English for free if you are not in a rush.
Subscribe, Subscribe, Subscribe
Did you know that we have a newsletter? Each Thursday when the blog is published (put on the website, in public), Crystal sends out a newsletter straight to your email inbox with some of her funny thoughts about the blog, new phrases (with definitions), and a few great anecdotes (strange, fun facts) to help you with the blog topic. She also provides (gives, has) a direct link to the new blog in her newsletter so that you can find the latest blog straight away.
Have you liked our Facebook page and followed us on Twitter? We post past blogs, English jokes, handy tips, and links to other English blogs we like. That way you can practice your English every day with the funniest, most clever, and witty tidbits we can find!
Don’t Hesitate, Annotate!
(That rhymes when you read it aloud!)
We may be living in the digital age, but there’s still nothing quite like (nothing compares to, there is nothing the same as) writing and reading a hard copy of something (something you have printed out on real paper)! If you’re wondering how to use a blog to learn English, this is one of the absolute best tips we have.
A few of our students print out the blog each week (amazing!) and annotate it (make notes) to help them with their learning. Whether that’s underlining new vocabulary, translating a word/phrase into their native language, or any other tricks they know will help them to learn, these students find a way to make the blog work for them (make the best use of the blog). Why not try to do this, too?
As an added bonus (something extra), studies have shown that reading physical pages and writing by hand are conducive (promote, encourage, help) to a better learning experience and better fact retention (remembering, keeping in your head)! This could seriously up your game (increase your learning) and make your study time more efficient.
Read Aloud
I found when I was learning German, and now that I’m learning other languages (Irish!) too, that reading aloud (reading the words on the page out loud with your voice so others can hear you) really helps. So why not read our blog out loud?
Reading aloud helps you get used to (make normal) hearing and making the sounds of the language, as well as getting accustomed to (getting used to) sentence structure and any new grammar or vocabulary. Hearing the prepositions, for example, right next to certain nouns also helps you to remember them better, as they start to “feel right” in your mouth after a while.
If you’re uncomfortable reading aloud around other people, just find a quiet spot on your own to practice. It really will help you improve your spoken language, including the melody and stress of the words, as well as (in addition to, and) your general fluency.
Comments, comments, and more comments
While Internet comments can sometimes get a bad rap (have a bad reputation) these days, we definitely recommend reading and submitting your own comments to English blogs as a way of helping you improve your language skills. By commenting, you are opening yourself up (exposing yourself, allowing yourself to be more public) to having a conversation about the topic with other learners or teachers, as well as practicing your writing skills at the same time.
You can leave comments on our blogs below, or on Facebook or Twitter as well! We will always respond to everyone- promise!-, and most of all, we love to see you practicing. This could be one of the best ways to use a blog to learn English, as it’s free and you get direct teacher support.
Don’t forget to use our English blog in any way you see fit in order to help you learn. That’s what we write it for- to give you our best advice on how to improve your English. If you have any other hot tips about how to use a blog to learn English, please make sure to share them with the community in a comment below. See you next week!
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Looking for more grammar? Try Tricky Adjectives and Adverbs, when to use Which and That, Order of Adjectives, Its vs It’s, and Present Continuous tense!
Erin Duffin lives in Hamburg, is an English teacher, blogger, yoga instructor, now that she is learning Irish, she is always on the hunt for cool language blogs, helpful tips, and other fancy tidbits, and is always curious as to how to use a blog to learn English. Keep your suggestions coming!
Looking for more phrases, ways to use English everyday, or get the conversation started? Sign up for our blog or check out the website!