G'day mate. How have you been? It's been a while since I posted my previous blog. Today, what I am going to talk about is "Only 5 study items to establish your basic English skills". In fact, it won't cost a lot, rather it's cheap, which is good news for us. But of course it depends upon how much time and effort you could put in. Without further ado, let's find out.

First up, you just google on the internet to find a "phonemic chart" and download it accordingly. Mastering IPA (International Phonemic Alphabet) is your starting point before learning other things. As long as you pronounce each vowel and consonant pretty accurately, there won't be any issue at all when it comes to learning grammar and vocabulary. So, make sure you stick to it until you confidently pronounce them whereby you read aloud each phonemic symbol. If you are in need of an expert's assistance, then please let me know, so that I can customise the best tutoring program available online via ZOOM. I'm not a native speaker, but I've pretty much known typical mistakes English learners tend to make. So, I can pinpoint them and give you a piece of feedback and advice in a timely manner, or immediately.

Next up, you also google on the internet to find a "word roots chart" and download it accordingly. Although it depends on which word roots chart you are looking at, the contents themselves are going to be pretty much the same. They are all fundamentals for guessing the meaning of words. You'll learn some prefixes and suffixes as well as word roots. To put together, we call them "Etymology". You don't need to memorise this technical term, but please keep in mind the fact that etymology consists of these three elements. How do we study? Well, you know how they should be pronounced, so you just try to read them aloud and think about another word in relation to each prefix, suffix or word root. This is going to be an excellent and effective practice for getting used to each of them.

Next up, please get one of the most prominent English grammar texts, called "English Grammar in Use". Both apps and old school versions are readily available on the internet. As the name of this text book tells you, this is purely the one for learning English grammar. Simply, you just read some basic information pertaining to each grammar rule, and then you start looking at some example sentences and analyse them critically. And if you can, it's better to explain what each grammar rule is and talk about your own definition whereby you do internal monologues. Does it sound hard? Hell not. I'm assuming that you've already at least quasi-mastered English pronunciation and some basic word roots, and so I do believe you should be able to speak with confidence at this stage. Even though you may not have enough vocabulary to read books easily, it's possible to read aloud from cover to cover, to the best of your abilities.

Last up, you should get an "The Oxford 5000 by CEFR Level". You could probably download this on the internet, I suppose. If not, please let me know so that I can give it to you, then. Feel free to contact me. This item will presumably be the final stage prior to embarking upon a free conversation with native speakers or online Eikaiwa lesson, etc. Why is this important for us? Well, this 5000 words entry is critical not merely for wrestling with some English proficiency tests like Eiken, TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, Cambridge Eiken, etc. but for dealing with daily conversations with local people. So, when it comes to the frequency of being used on a daily basis, this Oxford 5000 remains the cornerstone of the most frequently used English words in English speaking countries across the globe. How could we remember all of them, then? Well, you don't have to remember them, but instead, you should use them by talking to yourself. Here, there are no IPA symbols, no example sentences, either. But you know how to pronounce them, etymology and basic grammar rules. So, you could at least use them.

By the way, I'm teaching English using these items. If you are interested in knowing how to use and improving English skills, then why don't you join one of my tailored English programs. Thanks for reading my blog.