Created: Oct 10, 2024
Last Updated: Oct 10, 2024
If you've hit the language-learning plateau and you are struggling to incorporate more complex vocabulary and sentence structure into your spoken and written English, it's time to find out how to learn advanced English.
Firstly, we would like to start by comforting you. Language is tough to understand, and it can be a long journey to fluency. The key is to be patient and find a method that works for you and your learning style. From learning English through films to using language-learning apps to reading books, there’s a tried and tested method for everybody.
If you're a person who is:
If any of those situations above apply to you, we're here to help. At Flurret, we believe language learning should be interactive and engaging. We know that learning advanced English is a continuous process, and we also understand that the English language has lots of difficult rules, ambiguous meanings and unusual word orders. That's why our platform is designed for people just like you - making English fluency, fun, memorable, and a personalized experience.
To move from intermediate or basic language skills to advanced English, it’s useful to understand how your brain processes language. Receptive skills, like reading and listening, are key to the process of remembering new words. These skills help your brain take in language patterns and vocabulary and transform it into something you can recognize and confidently use.
Here’s how it works:
The more you read, watch and converse in English, the more your brain starts to create connections between different words and their meanings. So, each time you add a new word to your memory bank, it gets easier to use and clearer to recognize.
It’s important to remember that English is a complex language due to a variety of reasons:
By practicing reading and listening often, you will slowly expand your vocabulary and become more confident in using advanced words in your everyday speech or written language. Before you know it, you will be using words that used to be confusing more naturally!
Far too often movies are overlooked as a medium for language learning. To pick up new words to store in your vocabulary, watch a classic American or British movie with subtitles. You may start this journey with subtitles in your native language to translate, then move on to subtitles in English to ensure you’ve understood the vocabulary and phrasing, until eventually, you rely on subtitles less and less.
Pay close attention to how sentences are structured and the pronunciation of new words. Don't be afraid to repeat the lines you hear out loud to familiarize and begin memorizing the phrases you hear. If it helps you feel more confident, start with a famous movie with well-known quotes and catchlines such as The Godfather or Star Wars.
Top tip: Try taking a 2-minute clip that's packed with dialogue and rewatch it a couple of times. This way, you can ensure the words are soaked up in your memory until you no longer struggle to understand meanings and definitions.
With Flurret, you can learn advanced vocabulary from movies before you even watch them - no more pausing to check a dictionary!
Flurret is tailored to your skill level. Our initial fluency test assesses your current language ability, guiding your learning journey as you explore our movie hub. This gamified platform gives you access to easy-to-follow definitions for every word in each film. By the time you watch the movie, you'll be familiar with the vocabulary and able to enjoy it without feeling confused.
We get it, everybody learns best in different ways. However, simply listening to spoken English often can improve your English comprehension skills and strengthen your pronunciation. Listen to English podcasts, TED talks, or audiobooks to train your brain to memorize sentences, accents, and words. You will eventually be able to challenge yourself to more advanced materials. Having that exposure to the English language regularly will help pick up the flow of speech.
One of the more popular ways of making sense of the English language is through music. Global musical artists often use clear lyrics that explore emotions and tell stories, making it easier for learners to connect with the language in different ways.
Listening to songs allows you to hear rhythm and intonation in a fun and memorable way. You can learn advanced English words as well as begin to pick up cultural references. Plus, singing along to your favorite hits will speed up your learning!
The more you listen, the faster you develop your advanced English language skills.
Converse with native speakers: Don’t be afraid to ask questions and seek help. There’s no shame in learning and you should be commended in your desire to learn a new language. There are plenty of people looking to learn languages, so perhaps you could teach them a thing or two and learn from each other? Ongoing practice is vital to becoming fluent in any language.
Read out loud: This method is simple yet effective. Practice pronunciation by reading a line of English out loud, whether it’s from a book or a news source.
Keep a journal or write an online blog. This is a great way to practise English spelling and grammar. If you’re feeling brave, try turning off spelling and grammar checkers - if you rely on these to edit your work, you’ll never learn the reason why you’re making mistakes.
There are online communities that encourage communicating in English, so you can practise writing English with other people on the same learning journey as you. Platforms such as Reddit are great for finding new communities!
The notes application on any mobile phone is a great tool for sharing all your thoughts. They're also a great place to store unique words or idioms you've heard or read. The point of this list is to revisit it later, using Google or a dictionary to find definitions. These could be interesting words you've never seen before from a book, or terminology from a course.
This notes list then becomes a personal dictionary, so you can read over it and try to recall the meanings you've learned. However, you must try to use these words in your own writing and speech.
There are numerous websites that allow you to learn a word a day. Words are selected daily, offering a detailed definition and examples of ways to use it in a sentence or conversation. This is a great activity for children and adults alike, helping you expand your personal dictionary with interesting vocabulary you may have never seen before. Make sure you look up the definition in an English dictionary, not a translation.
All words have a root and then prefixes and suffixes are added. If you can identify the original root of a word, it will help you to identify other words with the same root.
TikTok is a social media platform where anyone and everyone can publish short videos. This is a fantastic micro-learning method, so you can use it to learn new words in short bursts.
There are plenty of English teachers and educational accounts on TikTok that teach dialect differences between British and American English, as well as how to apply English text to real life situations.
Some popular TikTok accounts include:
When it comes to advanced English, video content could be just one of the mediums that work best.
Read fiction books to improve your knowledge of creative vocabulary and style. Writing fiction is also a great way to improve your English and is also a great emotional outlet.
Start by finding your favorite books in English, that way, you will begin to recall the story to give you a basic understanding of what the text is about. We recommend avoiding older texts, as you may encounter words that are outdated and no longer used in modern English.
Reading English literature helps you gradually build up your vocabulary and understand the structure of a sentence. If you don’t mind scribbling in your books, try underlining or highlighting new words. After each chapter, grab your dictionary and find meanings.
Note: Don’t feel pressured into understanding everything in the texts you read. At beginner or intermediate level, you can only learn so much at a time. Make sure you enjoy language learning and focus on consistency, not perfection!
Before you know it, your limited vocabulary will expand until you can confidently read, write, speak, and watch television without constantly reaching for a dictionary. Don’t give up, celebrate your small wins and enjoy yourself, because that’s what it’s all about!
Hopefully, this blog has inspired you to check out multiple different methods to improve your English. We also hope you have learned a couple of new words along the way!
If the thought of immersing yourself in an English movie without disruption sounds appealing to you, you're in luck! With our helpful platform, you can learn new words before you watch. Also, you'll have the opportunity to reach new skill levels at your own pace.
Sign up to Flurret and start learning new words today - it’s free during our Beta test!
We hope you have enjoyed reading this blog, but we also understand that some of the words we have used may be new to you. Here are some words referenced in this text and their definitions:
