1. Only Speak English
If you’re really serious about improving your English the most important thing you can do is stop talking in your native language. Only use your native language for emergencies or with people who cannot speak English. If they can speak English but want to talk to you in your native language, ask them to only talk to you in English.

2. Socialise in English
You must actively talk with other English speakers. This means either going to pubs and clubs and talking to people or joining a sport or activity group that has lots of English speakers in it. If this is difficult, you could do some volunteer work. This will put you in a position where you need to talk in English in various different situations with a variety of different people. You can also hire private tutors to help you learn English. Find out more here: Private English Teachers

3. Listen to discussions in English
Listen to talk back radio - 2UE 954AM, 2WS 101.7FM or any other station that has a lot of discussion. Try and actively listen for at least half an hour a day. Listening to English will help you learn English faster.

4. Listen to news reports in English
Watch and listen to the news. ABC 7:00pm 7 days, 12:00pm weekdays. SBS 6.30pm 7 days, 9.30pm weekdays.

5. Learn Australian English
If you can stand it, watch Neighbours 6.30pm Ch 10 or Home and Away 7.00pm Ch 7 for Australian idioms and slang. These programs are soap operas so a lot of guys will probably say no to this suggestion! If you do watch, please make notes.

6. Read novels in English
Read some of the top ten books. People who read novels, even native speakers, have a much higher command of the English language than people who don't. The more you read, the better your English. It is best to read a few pages before going to bed and a few pages when you first wake up. The top ten list can be found in Spectrum in the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturdays, or you can ask to see the top ten list of books at any Dymocks bookshop. Angus & Robertson Bookshops sometimes have a wall showing the top 100 but these are not the top 100 recent sellers, they’re the top 100 books in the past 200 years! 

7. Write in English
Write in a journal or diary. At least 15 minutes every day. You can write about anything, as long as you do a lot of crossing out! Don't just write and leave it. Go back over your work and correct and rewrite it until you're happy with it. If you're unsure of your writing and want someone to correct it, choose the pages you don't mind someone else reading and take them to a private english tutor. Find out more about private English language tutors available in Sydney here:
Private English Teachers.

8. Read in English
Read interesting articles from Saturday's Sydney Morning Herald. I especially recommend reading Spectrum, The Good Weekend and News Review. The newspaper is huge so there are plenty of articles to choose from, and it only costs $2.20.

9. Do English crosswords!
For advanced students: Get a crossword book or magazine. Try to do them either on the train, or while you're waiting for something. This is a great way to get you thinking about particular words. Don't do the crosswords in the newspapers as they've been designed for people who have been doing crosswords for 20 years. They're very hard for native English speakers too. Just do the easier ones in the crossword magazines that you can pick up at your local newsagent.

Follow this guide in tandem with your personal energy cycle. The morning is the best time to work on creative writing, doing homework, reading newspapers and filling crosswords. Evening is the best time to be listening to the radio, watching TV or reading a book.

If you get bored or tired, stop and try something else. Have fun!     - James

P.S. If you're looking for a fast course to get you speaking English, you may be interested in our General English Conversation Course 

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