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More pleasure, more English

06.24.2010

Benjamin Franklin said it first when he wrote There is no gain without pain. Jane Fonda made it popular in her exercise videos when she said No pain, no gain. And the amazing thing is that almost everyone believes them all the time. Interestingly, this idea may be totally wrong when we think about acquiring, or improving, language. Keep reading!

Spotlight: DISCOVER the power of reading and listening

06.20.2010

Curators are people who select, organize, and look after collections. Museums have curators, and so does Successful English! My main job here is to create and curate Successful English’s two collections. LEARN is a collection of articles based on the work of the best researchers and language specialists I know. DISCOVER is a collection of the best intermediate and advanced reading and listening resources I can find. And this week there have been some important changes in the DISCOVER collection.

Expert answers – to questions about reading

06.17.2010

Reading FAQ (frequently asked questions) is a fascinating little book by Frank Smith. In it he answers questions that people have asked him about reading. Many of his answers are helpful for people acquiring a new language. Today’s question: so how do we learn to read?

My English Journey

06.14.2010

In Is my English getting better? I described several things that English students can do informally to get an idea of how much their English has improved. Today I’d like to describe My English Journey, a more formal way to do the same thing.

A feast of academic English

06.11.2010

The word feast can be used several ways. Today I’m using it to describe a book – Writing to Learn – by William Zinsser. Writing to Learn is a feast because it contains a generous supply of enjoyable academic English. If you want to improve your academic English, it’s a good place to start.

An English lesson from a tennis coach

06.10.2010

Gabriel wrote: “I have a problem: I’m not sure of myself, I have afraid to talk to someone because I think I don’t have good pronunciation, or afraid to make mistakes about grammar rules… What can I do?” This is my answer.

Is my English getting better?

06.07.2010

Is my English getting better? This is a common, and important, question asked by many English students. They certainly hope so! And if it is getting better, they feel good about themselves and they’re motivated to keep working at it. But how can they know?

Let’s talk! questions and answers about acquiring English

05.27.2010

I started Successful English to help English learners – people like you – improve their English by themselves. To become autonomous, or independent. When I write, I try to answer three questions: what should they do? why is that important? how should they do it? Today, I’d like to hear your questions! What would you like to know? What would help you become a better English learner?

Are you grokking English yet?

05.20.2010

Grok.

I’ve always been amused by this odd-looking, odd-sounding little verb.

When I saw it again a few days ago, I thought, “This is something every English learner should be doing!” Are you grokking English? If not, you should be!

No, I won’t correct your mistakes

05.13.2010

From time to time, students ask me to correct their mistakes. And they’re usually surprised when I politely say “no.” Why would I do that? The reason is quite simple: I want to help them improve, and there is no evidence that correcting mistakes will do that.

Rethinking the TOEFL

04.29.2010

Every year I speak to dozens of students who need to take the TOEFL. And when I do, I always come to the conclusion that fresh thinking is needed about the TOEFL and how to prepare for it.

Frustration to success: how he did it

04.25.2010

Frustration to success told Adrian’s story as an English learner. This article adds important details: What did Adrian do to achieve success? What is he doing today? And what can we learn from his experience?

How to learn something (including academic English) for nothing

04.19.2010

The most important thing TOEFL test-takers can do to prepare for the test is to build their academic English by reading and listening; it will affect all aspects of their English – reading, writing, listening, and speaking. This article describes new sources of good academic English for reading and listening.

Better English at Sweet Valley High

04.07.2010

Kyung-Sook Cho’s adult ESL students had made little progress until she introduced them to Sweet Valley High. That’s where they found success.

English language coaching: path to fluency and success

03.25.2010

Most English learners dream of the day they’ll be able to use English effortlessly and fluently. But they’re not sure how to get there. English language coaching shows them how.

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Welcome to Successful English

If English is your second language, Successful English is a good place to find clear explanations and practical suggestions for improving it.

Warren Ediger, an adult ESL specialist and former college and university instructor, created Successful English in 2006. He and his family live in southern California, about 15 minutes north of Disneyland.

Dr. Jeff McQuillan, from the ESL Podcast, calls Warren "one of the best ESL classroom teachers and online tutors I know."
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