Hello dear readers!

How are you progressing in your studies? in English? What methods and systems have you tried? Have you already chosen what's right for you?

Currently, there are many different offers on the educational services market. And, of course, for beginners learning a language, it is very difficult to navigate and make the right choice so that the learning is effective and brings results.

This article provides an overview of the best tutorials and gives my recommendations for improving the learning process.

About teaching methods

It is believed that The English language self-teacher will help you master the basic course quickly and without the help of a leader or mentor.. In addition, this is a less expensive way to learn a language, which is important. Therefore, quite a lot of people choose this method. Is all of the above actually true? Let's figure it out.

All English language tutorials can be divided into several types:

1. traditional,
2. to master spoken English,
3. for an intensive course,
4. copyright,
5. art self-instruction books,
6. tutorials from native speakers,
7. online tutorials.

A good tutorial must include audio material.

Standard training

You can start learning from scratch using traditional methods, in which the presentation of material proceeds from simple to complex. Here you will receive information about the phonetic system, correct pronunciation, intonation, basic grammatical rules, and find useful tests and exercises.

One of the popular ones in this category is “The best self-teacher of the English language” by A. Petrova, I. Orlova.

Here one of the reviews on the popular website litres.ru, which reflects the entire essence and content of the textbook: “I liked this book right away... the text, simple and understandable drawings, a clear structure for presenting the material... Everything is clearly laid out on the shelves: we start with the basics and end at a significantly advanced level!”

Download the book on Litres

Download the book on Litres

Speech development

The following textbooks are suitable for mastering spoken English.

T. G. Trofimenko “Conversational English” . Without studying grammar, you can learn to construct the necessary phrases on your own. The technique presented here will help you remember the necessary words and expressions, as well as master pronunciation. This textbook is also suitable for children.

Download the book on Litres

N. Brel, N. Poslavskaya. “Course of spoken English in convenient formulas and dialogues” . This textbook is recommended for beginners and those who have difficulty speaking. It is designed to overcome the language barrier.

Download the book on Litres

M. Goldenkov. “Hot Dog Too. Spoken English” . A valuable guide from which you will learn about the features modern language and slang, common idioms, business correspondence.

Short terms

Intensive methods are mainly intended for training narrow specialists in any field. Here, acquaintance with new material goes in parallel with the consolidation of covered topics.

Book by S. Matveev “Fast English. A self-instruction manual for those who don’t know anything” interesting because the author presents the material in an extraordinary way, taking into account psychological characteristics mastering a foreign language, makes you work different kinds memory. In this book you will find great reviews. “Good book, helps you learn the language from the very basics. Complex topics are explained in a clear and accessible manner and are easily given English words " By the way, I have information about this author’s books.

Download the book on Litres

To gain knowledge about business correspondence, negotiations and telephone conversations, I advise you to use the manual S.A. Sheveleva “Business English in 20 minutes a day” .

Download the book on Litres

Author's methods

I would like to note the publication Dmitry Petrov, a famous linguist and polyglot. "English language. 16 lessons” is an initial language course that allows you to quickly start speaking English. You will learn the basic algorithms of the language, learn how to apply them in practice, and turn everything into a skill.

Download the book on Litres

Native speaker

Here you can highlight the textbook K.E. Eckersley “English Language Self-Teacher”” . It is suitable for students of universities and colleges. Wonderful presentation, a lot of regional material, a cool selection of examples and exercises will make learning easy.

Download the book on Litres

Online tutorials

Lingualeo . This service can rightfully deserve the title of a tutorial. Therefore, feel free register and use it - it's free. And besides this - interesting, easy, effective! I wrote about this service on the blog pages - for example, here.

If you want to step by step work, then feel free to purchase a paid course « English from scratch». After this, you can switch to grammar by purchasing the course « Grammar for Beginners» . Also take the course « About yourself and loved ones in English». I am writing all this for those who do not know where to start the process here. I think you will succeed!

Another interesting and increasingly popular online tutorial is Lim-English. This simulator is aimed at the simultaneous development of listening, reading, writing and speaking. Study for 30 minutes a day and your English level will improve significantly! I tried it and really liked it - now you are sure you will enjoy it and get results!

Currently, almost all books have electronic versions. Of course, they can be downloaded for free, but the world does not stand still. Everything is changing, revised and improved publishing houses are coming out. Therefore, in my opinion, it would be a better decision to buy a textbook. You will receive high-quality material for a small fee and appreciate the author’s work. If you are not a beginner, choose audiobooks, they will improve your perception of foreign speech and pronunciation.

So, to the conclusions

Yes, tutorials can be used, it’s especially worth paying attention to those that come with audio reinforcement. But be prepared for the fact that during the learning process you will have a huge number of questions. And you won’t be able to find answers to all of them on your own. And the search will take up too much of your time. Is it worth wasting such a colossal amount of time? After all, time, as you know, also costs money.

In my opinion, for a productive and effective learning, as well as to achieve results as quickly as possible, work on the tutorial should be combined. He will be able to monitor your training once every week or two and purposefully lead you to a new level.

Isn't it true that sometimes you feel envious of people who can communicate in English? These lucky ones can easily establish contact with people in any country, be the first to watch new movies that have not yet been translated, and understand the meaning of popular songs and many many others. What prevents you personally from joining their ranks? After all, today it’s easier than ever to start learning English on your own from scratch on the Internet! Don't believe me? This article will dispel all your doubts that it is quite possible to learn English at home yourself.

Yes, everyone can master English. And the various myths about genius, gifts of the gods and innate abilities for languages ​​have nothing to do with it. It's all in the installation ultimate goal. It is necessary to clearly understand why you are starting and carrying out this educational process. The first question you should have is not how to learn English on your own at home, but why do I need to learn English?

Reply to this main question everyone has their own. We can only give a little guidance and guide you to find your own goal. So, you need to learn English in order to:

1. Feel like you belong anywhere in the world .

No matter what country you visit, there will definitely be people there who speak English. This way, you will ensure confidence in your position when staying abroad.

1. Study at prestigious colleges and universities .

High-quality professional training is the key successful career. If you want to lay a solid foundation for your adult life, then an international diploma is exactly what you need.

1. Build a career in large international corporations .

A prestigious job requires many skills, including knowledge foreign languages. With English, you will not be afraid of a business trip even to the most remote branch of the company.

1. Expand your business opportunities .

The international market is incomparably wider than the domestic one, even if you live in the most large country peace. In turn, communication with foreign partners and clients is unthinkable without knowledge of business English.

1. Get to know the way of life in other countries .

Interest in the traditions and customs of other peoples is inherent in many of us. With the help of English you can not only learn interesting information from foreign sources, but also to communicate directly with local residents.

1. Make foreign acquaintances .

You can never have too many friends, and having reliable connections in different parts of the world is not only pleasant, but also useful. Communication with interesting interlocutors helps to practice spoken English and get to know the mentality of the country.

1. Join international experience and an unlimited amount of information.

The most valuable thing in the world is information. And the English language opens the door to one of the world's largest repositories of historical and modern materials. With English you can keep your finger on the pulse of the whole world!

Here are just a few obvious facts that prove that learning English is necessary. Try to deduce your practical goal from these rather streamlined formulations. The simpler it is, the better, because initially unattainable peaks kill faith in the success of the entire event.

Let the goal at first be minimal - to watch and understand the episode of your favorite film in the original. This is not difficult to achieve, but the achieved result will give you confidence in your abilities and awaken passion for further study. And it’s never too late to set a new serious goal, isn’t it?

How to start learning English on your own from scratch?

And only after your goal is defined, clear and understandable, is it time to ask the question: how to start learning English from scratch on your own? Here we will not stand aside either and will tell you the main starting points for beginners.

Getting ready to study

Where to start training sessions? First of all, you need to create an atmosphere conducive to studying and plan your study schedule.

Select the necessary teaching aids, stock up on office supplies and highlight in your routine free time. The issue of time must be taken very seriously. It is clear that we are not studying at school, and cannot study English at home at exactly the same time. What is important to us is not the accuracy of the beginning of the lesson, but the regularity of classes.

The lesson schedule is selected individually. If it is convenient for you to spend 2 hours studying, then studying 3 times a week is enough. If you can’t devote so much time to self-study, then you will have to study for at least 30 minutes, but every day. This time is enough to learn a few new words or remember a couple of grammar rules.

During classes, you should not allow yourself to be distracted. Limit your use of the Internet and telephone unless required by the educational process. Also, do not listen to music and entertainment programs while writing down theoretical lesson material. Otherwise, your attention will be scattered and such activities will hardly be of any use. Don't forget about your goal and try not to waste the time allocated for studying.

Learning the basics

So, the goal has been set, the atmosphere has been created, and the mood for studying is combative. What's next?

If we learn English from scratch, i.e. Since we have never encountered it before, we will turn to the very basics: the alphabet, sounds, transcription, counting and reading rules. Typically these simple themes do not create difficulties for students. But here lies the catch, because... You always want to skim through easy lessons or skip them altogether.

Don't be led by laziness and momentary desires. Later it turns out that you missed it, didn’t understand it, didn’t remember it, and as a result, every lesson will turn into an endless jumping from old theories to new material. It is better to honestly and responsibly go through the initial stages of English lessons from scratch, laying a solid foundation for subsequent knowledge.

Gaining an active vocabulary

When we have already learned the first basics of a foreign language, many people inevitably have a question: how to quickly learn English? If there are no obvious prerequisites for this (for example, an urgent trip), then such a statement of the problem is nothing more than a manifestation of laziness.

Think about how many years it takes a child to master his or her native speech tolerably? Practically, more than a decade! And we want to learn a foreign language in our country in a couple of months. It just doesn't happen that way. Therefore, be patient and get used to gradually improving your English skills.

So, the next stage is active vocabulary acquisition. We recommend working either with thematic selections of words, or trying to remember small phrases and set phrases. Firstly, this way you will master a larger volume of vocabulary, and secondly, your speaking and grammar skills will simultaneously improve.

By the way, developing the skill of speaking a foreign language is the most important factor in successful learning. With what more people remembers accompanying words, connectives, phrases and phrases, the easier it is for him to start constructing entire sentences. Without the ability to speak, knowledge of a language will become a meaningless achievement, and soon the memorized words and rules will simply be erased from memory.

As an additional point, we emphasize that additional, various Internet platforms and mobile applications. Their advantage is that they allow you to quickly become familiar with the spelling and pronunciation of new words, and also ensure that the material is repeated on time and is not forgotten.

But as a stand-alone tool, interactive applications have too many disadvantages:

• small number of words;
• learning without context;
• too frequent repetitions;
• paid features;
• the ability to answer at random.

And if you can somehow put up with the first points, then the last line on the list causes irreparable damage to the educational process. Following the lead of laziness, we begin to mechanically poke at the button that we remember, without even comparing the correct answer with the question. As a result, our learning English on your own Houses from scratch turns into an ordinary guessing game, and classes end before they even begin.

Getting to know grammar

In parallel with learning new words, it is necessary to become familiar with the grammatical component of the language. And here a new question arises: how to learn to work with grammar correctly?

1) It is necessary to choose an explanation of the theoretical material that will become easily understandable and accessible to you. It’s a good option to combine material from several manuals or articles on the topic - this way you will get the most complete picture of a given grammatical point.

2) Keep a folder with tabular material to help you learn English. At first, these tables will be a good cheat sheet, but with frequent practice, you won’t even notice how you remember most of the information presented in them.

3) Practice – the only way learn English from scratch. It doesn’t matter whether you study at home or sign up for group courses. Each learned rule must be reinforced practical exercises. Well-mastered material can be consolidated with online tests, and it is better to work through complex theory thoroughly by solving several exercises of various types.

The combination of all these stages is a complete answer to the question of how to learn English at home. Yes, this matter is not so simple, but this is how everyone who speaks English fluently today learned. In addition, if you choose the right teaching method, classes can easily be turned from a boring chore into a pleasant pleasure.

We try different methods and add variety to the educational process

Beginning search effective methodology How to learn English from scratch, we come across many options. Let's list some of them.

We hope that the above arguments have dispelled skepticism about whether it is possible to pick up and learn English on your own. Everything is achievable - the main thing is to get together and start. And we have already told you how to set yourself in the right mood. Good luck in learning and improving English!

For everyone who is tired of monotonous cramming and incomprehensible grammar tasks, the AIN portal has collected sites for learning English. All of them are free, targeted at different users and built in different formats. We hope you find something for yourself.

Free websites can help you learn English. Photo: Depositphotos

1. Duolingo is one of the most popular services for learning foreign languages ​​from scratch. The project is financially supported by Google Capital, Ashton Kutcher and other good investors. The program is built in the form of a “tree of achievements”: in order to move to a new level, you must first score a certain number of points, which are given for correct answers. There are applications for iOS and Android.

2. LearnEnglish - materials for learning English are collected here in different formats: lessons, games, chats, etc. The site is available in English.

3. Situational English - suggests learning English through situations. The site contains about 150 articles, which, depending on the context, offer ready-made expressions and reactions. Materials are available in Russian.

4. Real-english.com - a site with lessons, articles and videos. Also available in Russian.

5. Eslpod.com - users are encouraged to work with podcasts, all of them are available on iTunes for free. There is also the opportunity to study with printouts of podcasts and dictionaries.

6. Learn American English online - all material is divided into levels and highlighted in a certain color for convenience. And teacher Paul explains grammar in video format.

7. Learnathome is a Russian service, convenient in that a lesson plan is created for the student every day, which can be completed in 30 minutes. Before starting, the user is advised to go through quick test, which will determine the level of language proficiency. If you skip the test, the service will install the program for the elementary level.

8. Edu-station is a Russian-language site where you can not only watch video lectures, work with notes and books, but also with an interactive dictionary. There is paid content.

9. Ororo.tv - a service for learning English while watching films and popular TV series. The video player has a built-in translator in which you need to select the Russian language.

10. Film-english - a website for learning a language using short films, created by English teacher Kieran Donahue, winner of a number of prestigious educational awards in the UK.

11. TuneintoEnglish - the site offers to learn English with the help of music. Here you can record song lyrics under dictation, sing karaoke, find exercises for the lyrics and guess what song is about we're talking about, according to diagrams.

12. FreeRice - a simulator for replenishing your English vocabulary with grammar exercises and tests. The service is supported by the United Nations World Food Programme, so the classes are designed like a game - for every correct answer you get a little rice to feed the hungry.

13. Memrise - the site is available in English. During the training, the user is asked to choose a meme to better remember the word or create their own associative image. Then you need to perform exercises on choosing the correct answer and listening to the word. The service is also available for iOS and Android.

14. Myspelling - a useful site for those who want to improve their spelling in English. The user is asked to listen to the word, then write it.

15. ManyThings - the site is aimed at those who are preparing for tests or exams in English. There are sections for practicing pronunciation (American, English), idioms, slang, etc.

16. ExamEnglish is suitable for those preparing for an international English exam (IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, etc.).

17. Babeleo - here you can read books in the original with a professional translation before your eyes. Books are available for review free of charge, but to gain access to full versions, you need to subscribe.

18. Begin-English - English for beginners. Large selection very different educational materials, which were collected by students and graduate students of Moscow State University at volunteer ambushes.

19.List-English - selection and classification of materials for learning English: online dictionaries, schools, forums, translators, tutors, tests, school textbooks, video courses, games, YouTube channels, podcasts and much more. New users are encouraged to download a 10-step plan that will help them learn more easily.

20. Englishtips.org - all English textbooks are collected here and are available for downloading or reading online.

There is so much information about English that it is easy to get confused!

Dear readers! I know from my own experience how difficult English is for beginners. And the point is not a lack of textbooks or information, but rather an excess of them, information noise that is impossible to understand.

In this article, I have collected and systematized materials from the site that will be useful for beginners, those who are learning English from scratch. In these articles, I share my opinion on where to start learning a language, what online resources and books are best to use, where to find good video lessons, how to choose courses and where to find an online tutor.

Where to start learning English?

If you decide to learn English “from scratch,” then you need to go from simple to complex, from the most necessary to the rarer. First of all, try to lay the foundation for future knowledge and skills and learn the basics of the language. The most basic knowledge includes:

Having laid the foundation, you need to practice a lot and in a variety of ways in all types of speech activities: reading, listening, writing and speaking in English.

Actually, that's all. You just listened short course language learning! The rest is details and particulars.

You can find the necessary materials both on this site (links above) and in textbooks and online training courses for beginners. I recommend that at the initial stage you study using a textbook for independent study (self-instruction manual). In my opinion, the most convenient way to learn the basics of a language is from a textbook, using interactive materials, such as vocabulary cards, as auxiliary materials.

What websites are there for English language beginners?

The main advantage of the textbook is that the material is presented in a methodically correct order, in convenient portions. You don’t have the feeling that you are wandering in the dark; the textbook literally leads you by the hand, giving extremely specific instructions. But in addition to textbooks, you can also study using educational programs - they contain a lot of audiovisual materials, and the learning process is built in a game form. The following sites are suitable for beginners:

“Teacher Method” – a step-by-step course for children and adults

“Teacher Method” is an interactive course for different levels, starting from almost zero. It includes courses of three difficulty levels for adults and children, as well as a separate children's course for the little ones.

In the course for beginners, learning begins with the alphabet, all explanations are made in the form of short videos in Russian with explanations from teachers, and tasks are given in the form of interactive exercises. The material is chewed down to the smallest detail. The service is paid, but is available free of charge in a limited form.

Lingvaleo is a service for self-study English using:

The lesson plan is created automatically and looks like a list of “Today's tasks”, but it is not necessary to follow it. The site has a lot of audio, video and text materials of different levels of complexity - from simple to original materials of foreign TV, so it is suitable not only for lesson-based language learning, but also for practice in reading and listening. Most of the features are free, but for an additional fee you can purchase interactive courses (for example, grammar or English for children) and unlock some word learning modes.

Duolingo

A free interactive course, in which, like in the “Teacher Method”, you need to go from lesson to lesson. But there are almost no explanations here; training is built on a different principle. You need to complete assignments while studying practical side grammar and applying the vocabulary learned at the beginning of the lesson in practice: constructing and translating phrases. It is not advisable to take this course as a basis for learning English, but it is suitable as an auxiliary educational game.

English for beginners: free video lessons

Useful Internet resources are not limited to just educational sites. Fortunately, there are now a lot of useful, interesting and free video lessons. Lessons are available in both Russian and English.

For beginners, it is better to start with lessons in Russian. For example:

I believe that it is better for beginners to study with Russian-speaking teachers, and here’s why:

• He better understands the peculiarities of teaching Russian-speaking students.
• At the initial stage, it is better to explain tasks and rules in Russian.
• It will be too difficult for you to understand a teacher who does not speak Russian.

The principles of language learning are very simple and have been known for a long time.

1. Set specific and achievable goals

It is much more convenient to move towards a goal when it is marked than when it is an unclear fog over the horizon. Why did you decide to learn the language in the first place? To get a job as a chief engineer at New Development Engineering? To move in with your aunt in Sydney? Your goals will largely determine how you go about achieving them. For example, if you want to study at a foreign university, then you will need to be able to write correctly, which is not so important for a trip to the USA. Work program and Travel.

It is advisable to set short-term goals in addition to long-term ones. For example, complete lessons 1 – 6 in two weeks, learn 100 words in a week, read the first chapter of Harry Potter in a month, etc. No need to set unrealistic goals. It's better to take small steps, but without stopping.

2. Try to exercise regularly, preferably every day!

Ideally, you need to practice every day for 1-2 hours. In practice, this will not work for everyone, but if great desire You can set aside at least half an hour a day. The main thing is not to deceive yourself by coming up with excuses about lack of time and crazy busyness. It's okay if you watch half an hour less TV or get things done half an hour earlier.

Even if you are a businessman/supermodel/pizza delivery guy, finding at least 15 minutes a day in your crazy schedule is exactly 15 minutes better than 0 minutes. And don’t forget that you can listen to audio lessons in the player while you are dying of boredom in a traffic jam.

There is no need to organize crazy marathons once a month either. It is better to exercise for 30 minutes 7 times a week than 210 minutes once a week. What's the point of running a 3-4 hour marathon a day if everything is forgotten within a week?

3. Practice makes perfect

You don't need any great intelligence or talent to learn a language. You just need to practice regularly - that’s all. Pay attention to all aspects of the tongue: vocabulary, grammar, practice in reading, listening, speaking and writing– and everything will be ok. Don't get hung up on theory and try to practice more.

Language is a means of communication, transmission and perception of information, knowledge, and expression of emotions. They need to be used. Learning a language but not using it is like learning swimming from books without diving into the water. Read and listen more, don’t hesitate to communicate!

Time to learn about the pitfalls of English grammar. Based on our experience, we have compiled a list of sites where it is great to practice it.

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For newbies

• EnglishDom.Grammar

  +

  Pros: detailed and accessible grammar rules, several types of tasks for consolidation, interesting and popular videos with exercises. A convenient dictionary with ready-made sets and the ability to create your own collections. Absolutely all exercises are supported by English voice acting, and the selection of material is based on the student’s interests. The site is also suitable for more advanced users, because it is possible to choose the difficulty level, and the list of grammatical topics is quite large.
  Minuses: Not all grammar topics have video explanations.

  Pros: Russian-language site that presents more than 75 grammar lessons with examples, explanations and tests. The site has excellent videos created by native speakers.
  Minuses: not the most convenient and outdated interface.

  Pros: This site is perfect for beginners. The theoretical part is written in a clear and in simple language, you won’t have to rack your brains dismantling complex structures. All topics are perfectly structured - from easy to more complex.
  Minuses: Students at higher levels may find it simple and boring.

For those in the know

• BritishCouncil

  learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar

  Pros: the same site from the British Council where you can read the rules in English and practice your grammar by selecting the desired category. There is a lot more on the site useful information, as well as games in English and preparation for exams.
  Minuses: the site is positioned as intended for all levels, but is entirely in English.

  Pros: An interesting and detailed blog on the topic of grammar from the popular service Grammarly. You can find a lot of useful information on grammar, writing and modern slang.
  Minuses: There are no tasks to reinforce the rules.

  Pros: a cool site from a whole team of teachers with video explanations and a fun way of presenting grammar rules. There are exercises for consolidation and breakdown by topic.
  Minuses: The site is entirely in English, so some details will have to be clarified using dictionaries.

  Pros: the site is conveniently divided into categories: tenses, nouns, verbs, prepositions and other grammar topics. You can also find video lessons on the site and, if you do not have constant access to the Internet, tasks and rules can be downloaded to your computer or phone.
  Minuses: The site may seem difficult for beginners learning English.

  Pros: here are rules, examples and exercises, as well as a division into difficulty levels. Distinctive feature of this resource - after each topic there is an example of using a rule not just in a sentence, but in a literary text.
  Minuses: quite complicated even for users with high level knowledge of the language.

For experts

• reddit

  www.reddit.com/r/grammar

  Pros: a very famous site with a separate section dedicated to grammar. It will be useful to everyone who already speaks English well and wants to understand its individual aspects and nuances, because on the site you can get answers from the most qualified specialists.
  Minuses: there are no tasks to reinforce the rules, the site is entirely in English.

  Pros: The site also needs no introduction. Here you can learn about English grammar and individual cases of using certain vocabulary.
  Minuses: the site only provides background information, without strengthening exercises.

  Pros: a site that is often used by many teachers. The nuances of grammar, the frequency of use of certain words, modern slang or the history of origin and pronunciation - this and even more can be found out here.
  Minuses: There are also no tasks to reinforce the rules, and it is worth looking through all the comments to make sure the answer is correct.

Continue to study English comprehensively: words, grammar, written and speaking practice, live communication. It is this approach that will help you master the language much faster than studying its individual aspects.

We wish you good luck in your studies and look forward to your comments!

Bonuses for Habr readers

We are giving you access for a year to the English course for self-study “Online Course”.
To gain access, simply go to before September 1, 2017.

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