English has become the most widely spoken language worldwide, accounting for 1.5 billion speakers. In an increasingly globalised world where people are learning English as a second language, we have become more connected. Many people from all over the world are now using English as a primary means of communication and connection. Here are some great ways you can incorporate more activities into your daily routine as an international student and improve your English fluency.
Many universities offer you to participate in intensive English language programmes and sessions and you can learn more by asking your relevant university’s department to see if there are English classes you can take during your academic studies. Some universities also offer pre-sessional courses before the start of a course which are designed for students who do not meet English requirements or for those who want to familiarise themselves with studying at university in English before starting their course - in turn, these pre-sessional programmes can help increase all students English fluency both socially and academically.
Everyday Reading and Writing
Making efforts to read books, including past books you have read in your native language, will help increase your English and reading skills. You will also be able to enrich your vocabulary, pick up on grammar use and make sense of how sentences are structured. The British Council also offers great free online resources for all ages, more of which can be found here. Journaling is also another great way to improve your writing skills and learn how to expand your sentences. You can also use a dictionary to broaden up your word use for thoughts and ideas!
Listening to radio stations, music and podcasts support your listening skills. Joining clubs or societies also offer a great chance for you to speak and communicate with other people, socialise frequently and become acquainted with others, hence increasing your English language skills.
From documentaries to films and television shows, the same goes for watching television as a learning tool - follow a tv programme along in your own language with English subtitles, this in turn allows you to translate the script and help make sense of the language in your head. Watching television also helps you pickup common English slangs and phrases, which will increase your vocabulary.