The Difficulties in English

Problems in Learning English and ways to Improve Them

As we grow older we are capable of learning new things. Learning to hear the first sounds, learning to take the first steps, and of course learning to speak the first words. Many of us have passed that challenging stage, and we can never do that alone. Our guardians and parents have patiently taught us no matter how hard for them to teach, and the result is very rewarding.

English is the universal language; we are able to communicate with people in other part of the earth for social, cultural or even business interactions. But, still there are problems that hinder our success to learn English. What are these? How can we improve them? These questions will be answered in this article.

The first on the list is VOCABULARY. Poor vocabulary is one of the main reasons why even the native speakers of English language make it hard to communicate with others on the same niche. This is a lot worse for those who use English as a second or third language. The Cure: One of the best ways to cover this vocabulary-fright is to make a list of words from a dictionary at least 10-20 a day. Memorizing the words and understanding its meaning will help improve your vocabulary. So Read, read, and read more.

The second on the list is PRONUNCIATION and ACCENT. Our improvement in vocabulary can be seen on how we write or speak English, but if we mispronounce it, it is still not that clear for the hearer. This is a major problem for non-native English speakers. At first the vocabulary may be rich but, there is a high tendency for English learner to copy their own accent and apply the pronunciation in their own sounds. The Cure: Try watching an English movie, tv series or listen to an English song. Little by little, by listening and imitating how they speak can help you improve your pronunciation and accent. Another great and inexpensive way to improve your English is to listen from tutorials on the internet, youtube is one of the great sources as a raw material, but there are lot's of stuff that offers to help you cope with this problem, just do some research of course.


The third one is the GRAMMAR. Well, reading, listening and observation can help you achieve the first two, but what about the grammars. We can never speak freely if we just stick to what we have seen, heard, or read. Since, vocabulary and grammar always associates each other, it is best to know the difference between the formal, informal and casual or slang. This is quite hard for non-native speakers since the thoughts and flow of sentences is different from their home country. The phrasal verbs and so many agreement in a sentence is quite complex even if we speak English in our own homes. The Cure: Practice makes perfect! This is true, but if you don't have at least a real role model to speak and practice with, it will be hard. So, if you have an English teacher, try to converse in full English and do not feel bad if you can not speak it right at first. Mistake means you still try to deal with it and practice hard will help.