Do you feel guilty for being glued to your phone and wasting your time scrolling through social media all the time and not learning something new by the end of the day? I’m not proud while I admit this but I’m guilty for using social media way too much. It’s true that social media is eating a major chunk of our time and it’s next to impossible especially for millennials to stay away from social media.
But what if I tell you that you could learn while simultaneously entertaining yourself from these platforms by just being a little bit attentive in using them. I think it would be GREAT.
I also feel that improving English has always been one of the goals which most of us strive to achieve every day. Does it sound like you? Has improving English been your goal too but the very thought of searching and adding 5-10 new words to your knowledge bank daily feels like a lot of work to you? Then this piece of writing is for you.
Keep reading because I’m aiming to reduce your social media guilt to some extent through this article. I have 5 ways to help you discover new English words and phrases while using social media without really putting in some kind of special effort. So let’s hop in.
#1. Read Captions and comments.
No, I’m not talking about your friend’s posts. I’m talking about the posts of motivational speakers, influencers, celebrities, authors and people who are native English speakers. Often their uploads are accompanied by captions full of their views on diverse topics. You’ll definitely find some new words and phrases while reading these to express different feelings which are not ordinarily used by us. For instance the other day Virat Kohli captioned his post as ‘Appalled to hear about what happened in Kerala’. Appalled means shocked or horrified. So that’s how I discovered this word. So don’t just blindly like and scroll down. Also have a look at the comments section and you’ll find some unique phrases to help you in framing sentences and express yourself. Don’t just read the post for the heck of passing time. Approach it with a hungry mind looking for new English words to feed itself.
(A few social media handles which I personally follow and which helps me in this – @jayshetty, @virat.kohli, @pickuplimes, @robinsharma)
#2. Follow accounts that aim to teach you English.
Two of my favourite handles are @arnelseverydayenglish and @english_wordstock. These accounts bring you new words, new phrases, idioms and a lot more daily. You can learn English without even allotting any specific time to it. Just stop by at their posts while scrolling and read it. That’s it. Pretty convenient right?
#3. Use voice messages to chat.
I hope it won’t feel like a load to you. More than learning English it’s important to actually speak in English. No matter how much time and effort you put in learning new words, you can’t be fluent unless you actually speak in English. So the next time you wish to chat with someone just pause for a moment, let your fingers relax and send a voice message instead (of course in English). It’s going to be so much fun. Don’t hesitate and take it as a fun game.
#4. Watch YouTube blogs and videos.
I’m sure most of you already watch a lot of videos on the tube. My tip is to not just hear but LISTEN especially vlogs. You’ll hear them using a lot of simple yet interesting phrases to talk about everyday activities. Heed the way they express different thoughts and actions besides entertaining yourself. You’ll surely find some phrase to add to your knowledge bank by the end of the video. I personally have discovered so many phrases. In fact I frequently jot them down in my notebook so that they stays longer.
#5. Read at least one article daily.
Pick the topic which interests you the most and read. You can also read on Quora or read a piece of news or blog. I’ll hardly take 3-4 minutes. It’s optional but after reading you could speak about whatever you’ve read in the article in your own words in your mind.
Trust me I have seen improvement in myself and I really hope that you’ll also notice a difference in your English very soon with these tips.
Trust me I have seen improvement in myself and I really hope that you’ll also notice a difference in your English very soon with these tips.
I also have a bonus tip if you want to put a conscious effort. If you’re not in the habit of writing a diary, you could instead just speak to yourself about your entire day, discuss your day or give yourself the low down of your day. Just have a conversation with yourself if you don’t want to speak with others. Or you could shoot a selfie video while speaking.