【For Beginners】Effective English Learning Methods for Each English Level!

Hi! This is Ryo from the WILL POWER blog.
Welcome to the very first post of my blog! In this article, I’ll be sharing valuable insights on effective English learning strategies tailored to different proficiency levels.
*This post will concentrate on effective English learning methods for beginners.

Introduction

Hello, everyone! If you’re reading this article, I believe you aspire to improve your English skills! However, do you find yourselves facing the following concerns?

I’ve also encountered similar questions and challenges during my English learning journey, especially when I was at the beginner level. It was often overwhelming not knowing where to start.

This article aims to address these questions by sharing effective English learning methods based on my experience.

While establishing your goals for learning English is not the main focus of this article, it’s crucial as an initial premise. The goals or purposes of English learning vary for each individual: whether you aim to improve your TOEIC score, achieve high marks on an English examination at school, or simply wish to read books in English. Just as the objectives vary, so do the effective and efficient English learning methods.

Ensuring clarity about your goals in English learning is crucial for identifying the most suitable methods. However, attempting to address effective English learning methods for every individual’s purposes would make this post overly specific and, more importantly, impossible to encompass. Therefore, this article will focus on introducing effective English learning methods for each English level in a general manner.

It would be my pleasure if you could identify the best way of learning English by reading this post!

Input and Output

To begin, I will explain the definitions of ‘input’ and ‘output’ in this article:

I provide these definitions because understanding how to engage in ‘input’ and ‘output’ activities, as well as determining the appropriate ratio of time to spend on each, is crucial for effective English learning.

Your English proficiency will undoubtedly improve by adopting suitable methods of English learning tailored to your level. Never give up on learning!

Effective Learning Methods for Beginners (For Those with TOEIC Scores Below 450)

For beginner-level learners, the key to successful English learning lies in increasing input study, which encompasses vocabulary, grammar, listening, and reading. As a guideline, I advocate for a ratio of approximately 8:2 for input to output study.

The rationale behind this guideline is straightforward, albeit perhaps a bit harsh: at the beginner level, there is typically an insufficient amount of input, leading to minimal learning effects from output study alone.

The primary benefit of output study lies in its ability to reinforce and apply acquired knowledge. However, without an adequate input foundation, one’s ability to produce meaningful output is limited. Therefore, prioritizing input study over output study is essential for effective English learning at the beginner level.

The importance of learning vocabulary

Personally, I believe that understanding and improving English is impossible without a solid foundation in vocabulary. In my English learning journey, I witnessed significant progress when I focused on mastering vocabulary, which led to a remarkable improvement in my TOEIC score from 220 to 970. While there are various methods to enhance TOEIC scores, I will delve into them in a separate article.

During my undergraduate studies, spending four months studying abroad in the US provided a pivotal experience. Despite my beginner-level English proficiency (TOEIC score 450) and imperfect grammar, I effectively communicated with others by diligently memorizing English vocabulary.

Unlike my experience in the United States, I also spent a year in South Korea to earn a master’s degree at a Korean graduate school. All the classes were conducted in English, and I communicated solely in English. Due to my busy research schedule, I didn’t study any Korean vocabulary at all. Despite hearing Korean in various daily situations, I couldn’t understand the language after a year of living there. Communicating in Korean remained a distant dream, and after one year, I returned home without making any progress.

For example, without knowing that ‘apple’ is ‘Ringo’ in Japanese, one cannot understand that ‘Ringo’ refers to an apple, even after encountering the word ‘apple’ numerous times.

While textbooks claiming ‘mastering English by just listening’ may sound appealing, my experience disproves this notion. If it were true, I would have spoken Korean fluently after a year of listening to the language. Language mastery requires dedicated effort and hard work, especially in vocabulary acquisition.

As you expand your vocabulary, your understanding of English naturally improves, leading to overall enhancement in speaking, writing, reading, and listening. Thus, prioritizing vocabulary memorization as an input study method proves most effective for beginners.

Regarding textbook selection for vocabulary study, choose one aligned with your learning goals. Whether it’s improving TOEIC scores or general English proficiency, the key is to focus on vocabulary acquisition from the outset.

While vocabulary holds paramount importance, don’t overlook other input methods such as reading, listening, and grammar. When encountering unfamiliar words in these activities, take the opportunity to expand your vocabulary. Balancing vocabulary learning with other input methods ensures holistic English language development.

The time you should spend on learning English

When discussing English learning, I often receive the question, “How much time do I need to study?”

Since the amount of time people can dedicate to studying varies in terms of both schedule and concentration, it’s honestly challenging to provide the best answer to this question.

However, one thing is certain: in language acquisition, it’s necessary to set long-term goals and cover a certain amount of material. For example, it’s said that Japanese adults need around 1,000 to 3,000 hours to acquire English proficiency. So, while advice like “you just have to persistently work hard” might seem cliché, what’s important here is to consistently study every day with a well-planned schedule!

For those busy with work on a daily basis, setting achievable goals like learning 10 words for 15 minutes a day is perfectly fine! The key is to have something you do every single day—this is the most important aspect.

Another crucial aspect is to allocate time for reviewing what you’ve learned. Particularly for beginners, the level of output tends to be naturally low, making it easy to forget memorized information without reinforcement. Therefore, establishing a consistent schedule for reviewing memorized words is essential for maximizing learning effectiveness!

▼Please refer to the following article for tips and benefits of habit formation!

The Ryo Method: Highly Recommended Study Techniques

One of the methods I recommend is prioritizing vocabulary study! Even if you listen to or read a language you don’t understand, the learning effect is low, and comprehension may be difficult. Therefore, starting with vocabulary is essential!

Conversely, listening to or reading a language you already understand has a higher learning effect.

That’s why I suggest watching movies, dramas, or anime in your native language but with English audio! This approach is most effective when applied to content you’ve already watched or read multiple times and enjoy.

For example, imagine you’re a huge ONE PIECE fan.
→ By the way, I’m a big fan too lol
Picture watching the ONE PIECE anime with English audio, and in the first episode, when the protagonist, Luffy, raises both hands and declares as he sets sail,

“I’m going to become the ‘King of the Pirates’!!”

Even if there are multiple words in this line that you don’t know, and even if you don’t understand the grammar, the moment you see that scene, you can grasp that he’s shouting, “I’m going to become the ‘King of the Pirates’!!” without needing to look up English, and even without subtitles, right?
→ Sorry for the confusing example if you’re not familiar with ONE PIECE…

In other words, you can understand the situation and content in English as if you were a native speaker! I believe this method is highly effective for learning, and since you’re watching something you enjoy, studying becomes enjoyable without any pain!

When I was practicing English listening, I listened to English textbook materials, but I found them boring because they weren’t about topics that interested me. As a result, I couldn’t continue studying. Also, when I tried watching a Western movie, I couldn’t understand what was being said, and when I added subtitles to understand the content, I ended up focusing on reading Japanese and couldn’t concentrate on listening.

So, I concluded that it would be better to watch content I already know in my native language but with English audio! Looking back, I believe that watching anime in English for hours every day was one of the major factors that significantly improved my listening skills.

With Netflix, you can watch Japanese anime and dramas in English, so it’s highly recommended! If you’re interested, be sure to check it out below!

For music enthusiasts, exploring Japanese songs translated into English is a great idea! You can search for “the name of a Japanese song English cover” on YouTube to find a variety of videos. As a suggestion, here’s a popular English cover video of YOASOBI’s songs for you to enjoy!

The summary of this article

I’ve written about recommended English study methods for beginners up to this point, but let me summarize the key points here for clarity.

Message

Thank you for reading this far, even though this is my first post and the writing may not be perfect.

Learning a language can be challenging and time-consuming, but the effort put into it will undoubtedly broaden your horizons! For those who have just started learning English, the journey to reach your ultimate goal may seem long, but let’s never give up and strive together!

If you have any further questions or find the content difficult to understand, please don’t hesitate to contact me through the contact page!

I hope I can support you in making your study time more fulfilling.