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CORE VOCABULARY
When a native speaker sees a new word, hecan decide veryquickly if he needs to know
this word.
English learners, however, try to learn EVERY word they see or hear. Do you do that?
This is a waste of time!
There are more than 1 million words in the English language. You are not going to learn
all of them. I dont know all of them! Not all of these words are equal. Dont waste time
learning and memorizing words that you are never going to use.
Learn core vocabulary. Core vocabulary is the term that I use for the most important,
most common words in English.
According to the Oxford Dictionaries, native speakers use 7000 words for 90% of
everything that they say and write. Thats it!Those are the words you need to learn.
Its easier to remember common words because you read and hear them again and
again.
Build your vocabulary by learning core vocabulary. Your listeningskills will improve when
you focus on learning the right words. It will also become easier to express your thoughts
and opinions.
ACTION: Listen to the English Teacher Melanie podcast. Each story is written
using core vocabulary!
Listen to the
podcast
COLLOCATIONS
I could not understand why so many English learners from around the world kept
asking the same questions. Were they asking about prepositions of place? Prepositions
of time?
After thinking about this for a long time, I finally realized that they were asking about
word combinations. Specifically, they were asking about collocations.
Collo-what?!
A collocation is two or more words used together in a way that sounds natural and
correct to a native speaker.
A collocation can be any group of words like a waste of time, throw a party, drive a car,
go home, be responsible for, or wake up early.
Learning collocations helps you sound more natural, and it helps you understand
natural spoken English.
You cant translate directly from your language into English. A combination of words that
you sayin your language may not be correct in anotherlanguage. You need tolearn
English combinations of words.
ACTION: Stop using Google to find the definition of a word. Use a dictionary
specifically for English learners.
Merriam-Websters Learners Dictionary
These dictionaries will tell you
Macmillan Online Dictionary
what the word means, as well
Oxford Learners Dictionary
as any collocations, phases,
Cambridge Dictionaries Online
phrasal verbs or idioms with that word.
WordReference.com
2016 English Teacher Melanie
SENTENCES
SOUNDS
Spoken English is a collection of sounds that are in an order that is familiar and
understandable to a native English speaker.
English spelling and pronunciation dont always match. There are patterns that you
can memorize, but its often difficult to look at an English word and know how its
pronounced.
Food. Good. Blood. All three words have the letters oo. And theoo is pronounced
differently in all 3 words. Thats right! These three words do not sound the same. The
vowel sound is different in allthree words:
food = /fud/
(the /u/ in new)
good = /gd/ (the // in put & would)
blood = /bld/ (the // in up)
This why you need to hear an English word first to know how to pronounce it. The spelling of the word wont always tell you how it is pronounced.
Dont rely on your language to know how to pronounce an English word, especially
if your language uses the same alphabet as English. The sounds of English may be
different from the sounds of your language.
Hear the word, and then imitate the sounds that you hear.
ACTION: Use online dictionaries specifically for English learners. You can listen
to a native speaker say the word, and you can read the IPA transcription of the
word.
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
Learn the
is a collection of symbols that represent
the sounds in languages When you know
the sounds & symbols of English,you can pronounce any word.
2016 English Teacher Melanie
IPA
MEMORY
Looking at a word, phrase, or sentence for a long time wont make it easier to
memorize.You need to see or hear something many times before your brain remembers
it.
Connect the word to something.
Connectmeans to join two or more things together.Its easier to learn a word, phrase, or
sentence as part of a story. Its hard to memorize a word all by itself or a list of words. If
you listen to a story about a car, its easier to remember words like wheel or repair.
Make your brain remember the word.
Retrieve means to get or find something & bring it back.
Write down the sentence in which you saw or heard the word or phrase, or write down
an example sentence from the dictionary. (Dont try to make up your own sentence. How
will you know if your sentence is wrong?) Leave a blank space for the word or phrase
you want to remember, like this:
THOUGHTS
THINK IN ENGLISH.
ACTION: Start thinking in English. I know its easier said than done, but try. It will
make a difference.
FUN
ACTION: Look for opportunities to add English to your life and for ways to make
learning English fun!
THE RESULT
SPEAKING
When you listen and read, you learn new words, collocations, phrases, phrasal verbs,
idioms, sentences and the sounds of English.
When you know vocabulary and pronunciation, you can think in English. When you think
in English, you can speak and write in English.
Isnt that how you learned your first language, the language that you speak every day
with your family and friends?
You cant learn English by just speaking. The words dont magically come out of your
mouth in the right order just because you speak. You have to do the work.
Its great if you can find a native speaker to practice with, but remember that
practice doesnt mean correct my mistakes. In English-speaking cultures, its rude
to correct someones English. Practicing English will help you feel more confident, and
thats a good thing. If no one corrects your mistakes, however, the result is that you speak
English with a lot of mistakes confidently!
You have to correct yourself. This is why reading and listening to native speakers is so
important. This is why learning phrases and sentences is so important. This is why not
translating from your language into English is so important.
Speak, and dont worry about making mistakes, because native speakers dont care if
you make mistakes, but never stop learning. Dont assume that you are correct just because no one has corrected you.
Keep listening. Keep reading. Keep learning.
ACTION: Record yourself! When you practice speaking by yourself, record
yourself so you can hear what you sound like. How can you improve if you dont
know what you sound like?
ABOUT MELANIE
Hi, Im Melanie &Im so happy youre here! You are ready and excited and determined
to improve your English!
I created this e-book to help you become a better English speaker. I have heard from so
many English learners like you who are frustrated with their current level of English. My
7 secrets in this e-book will change the way you study & learn English.
This is what I want for you:
to be able to speak to a native speaker without panicking
to be able to understand what a native speaker says
to be the English speaker that you dream of being
Why should you listen to me?
I am a native speaker. English is the first language I learned to speak.Speaking English
is natural to me. I was born & raised in Canada, and Ive lived here all my life. I grew up
watching American TV shows & movies and listening to American music.
I am a TESL-certified English teacher, which is the certificate required to teach English
as a second language in Canada. I teach online at www.englishteachermelanie.com. I
have taught English for 8 years and I have taught English learners like you from all over
the world.
Finally, I am a language learner like you, except I studied French. In Canada, all
children have to study French in school. I have been learning French since I was 8
years old.I know what its like to spend your life studying a second language. Its fun. Its
boring. Its frustrating. It makes you happy. It makes you want to pull your hair out.
I know that for some of you, learning English is something you do for fun because
you want to watch English TV shows and movies. For others, learning English is
necessary because you work for an international company, or you are living and working
in an English-speaking country.
Whatever your purpose is, these7 thingswill help you reach your goal.
Melanie
2016 English Teacher Melanie