If you’re a fan of online forums such as Quora or Reddit, you will have seen the same type of question from people who want to study, or are already studying, English.

Common questions include:

• How can I learn English quickly?

• How can I become C1 level in English in 6 months?

• What’s the best way to improve English?

• Can someone learn English in 1 year?

• How can I improve my English dramatically?

The problem with asking these questions

People often find ways to delay starting something. Instead, they love to ask questions. Maybe this is because if you ask questions, you don’t need to get started. 

If you don’t start, you don’t need to actually study. 

If you don’t study, you can’t fail.

You’re safe.

The purpose of this post is to offer some general advice for students who want to master the English language really, really quickly!

Let’s start by looking at those example questions, and offer some quick ‘no nonsense’ responses.

How can I learn English quickly?

If there was a genuine and proven way to learn a language quickly, we would all know about it. Unfortunately the answer is hard work and practice.

Instead of using your energy trying to work out how quickly you can learn English, why not just get started? Accept that learning a language is an ongoing process.

How can I become a C1 level in English in 6 months?

This question is more specific, but again, there is no magic formula. You will need to work at it every day (or as often as you can). 

If you are below intermediate level, it’s probably not going to happen unless you pay for a school / teacher and study every day. One problem students have, is not being able to organise their time and ensure they can study on a consistent basis.

Consistency is your best friend when it comes to learning a language.

What’s the best way to improve English?

What’s the best way to improve anything? Practice.

Asking people online how to improve your English is a ‘delay tactic.’ In the time it took to write the question and continuously refresh your internet browser waiting for answers, you could have been studying.

The best way is probably the way which you enjoy the most. At Mr Vocab, we believe in stories. It’s just one of many possible ways to study a language.

Read our idiom story, ‘The First Date.’

The brutal reality is, most people asking these questions are simply not prepared to organise their time and do the work. If they really wanted to do it, they would.

General advice

• Turn your phone off. I know, you can use your phone to learn on apps like Duolingo. But if you’re not using a learning app, then you’re lying to yourself. Your phone vibrates every few minutes with a notification, and you want to look at it. Trust me, turn your phone off, it is a distraction. Here is a phrasal verb story about a student addicted to his smartphone.

• Consistency is your best friend. 20 minutes a day is better than 3 hours on a random day, once a week.

• Keep things interesting. If you’re feeling bored staring at a book, then don’t do it. Try something else that keeps you energised and engaged.

• Understand your motivation. Why are you studying the language? Why is it important to you? Never forget what your objective is. If you don’t have any real purpose, or any curiosity or interest, then it’s going to be hard for you to keep studying over a long period of time.

• Organise your time. It’s very difficult to fail when you are organised.

• Beware of Netflix / YouTube / Instagram. That’s not to say they can’t help you, but just make sure you’re not choosing the easy option every time. It’s very, very easy to sit around and watch videos! Are you actively trying to memorise and practice the information?

• Exams can be your friend. It sounds strange, but maybe having a clear target in your diary will give you the necessary motivation you need. Once you pay for your exam, there’s no other option!

• You will have bad days, when you feel like you’re going backwards. Don’t worry, it happens to all of us. You’re not a machine.

The safe option

• Find a good teacher or a good school. What makes a good teacher? Find out here, it’s very simple.

If you’re now interested in spending all your time studying English, maybe you’ll be interested in our post, 3 Creative Ways To Practice English.