Learn English By

Yourself
A How-To-Do-It
Presentation
by Khalid Al-Dossary

© SAP Training and Change Management

 Topics
Why
How

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 Learn English by Yourself

Why?
• Work and business (Knowledge is power.)
• Day-to-day activities
• Cross-cultural awareness and international
communication [Open a venue to the wide world
(globalization).]

• Mental growth and development (Your mind: Use it or

lose it.)

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 Why?
English helps you to…

 Have excellent communication and

better interaction
 Utilize fully your unlimited potential for
growth and development
 Function better in a changing world

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 Why?
English helps you to…
4. obtain cultural enrichment
5. become a life long learner
6. increase your overall competence and
skills

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 Learn English by Yourself
Why?
• You really have no other choice.
• People who master English as their second language
always do so by work that is beyond what they did in
the classroom.
• Conventional Ways of learning English:
Traditional ESL programs, British Council, Saudi
Aramco English, TOEFL Preparation, etc. are all
designed for a limited level of English.

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 Learn English by Yourself

HOW
• Make a plan for addressing all four language skills
 Listening
 Speaking
 Reading
 Writing
• Emphasize the skill that is most important to you but
give adequate attention to the others as well.
• Also look for activities that integrate the different
skills.

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 How To: Listening

• Conversation with native speakers

• Conversing with yourself (reading aloud)
• Selected television and radio shows
 Listen only
 Listen and repeat
• Lectures
• Language teaching cassettes

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 How To: Listening

• Conversation with native speakers

 The best way; don’t be shy.
• Selected television and radio shows
 News programs
 Talk shows
 Entertainment shows (good source of current
language usage, idioms, slang)
 Documentaries

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 How To: Listening con’t

• Lectures
 Take a recorder. (Listen & Repeat)
• Language teaching cassettes
 TOEFL Prep listening tapes
 Complete courses on CD
• Learning English by The Learning Company
(American English)
• Flying Colours by Macmillan/Heinemann
(British English)

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 How To: Listening con’t

• Listening lessons on the internet

 Eviews Listen to Interviews
http://www.eviews.net/index.shtml
 Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab
• http://www.esl-lab.com
 English Listening Lounge
• http://www.EnglishListening.com
 English Channel: ESL
• http://www.hio.ft.hanze.nl/thar/default.htm
 Search (There are many others. Let me know when you
find an excellent site.)

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 How To: Speaking

• Conversation with native speakers

(Spontaneous and planned or rehearsed)
• Conversation with other English language learners
• Pronunciation lessons in English courses

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How To: Reading

READ. Don’t study reading. Read.

 Getting started  And then
• Graded readers • Un-simplified
Novels
• Children’s books
• e.g. The Pearl
• ESL textbooks by John
Steinbeck
 Moving on
• Newspapers
• Graded readers
• Magazines
• Children’s books
• Professional
• ESL textbooks Journals

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 How To: Writing

 ESL courses and writing exercises

 Daily journal
 Study or Work-related writing
 E-mail; acceptable pen pals
 Friends, family studying abroad

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 Vocabulary Notebook Entries
A useful entry:
Oppose (verb) to
disagree with; to
work against
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A more useful entry:
Oppose (verb) to
disagree with; to work
against (definition)
The company opposes
testing products on
animals. (sentence)
Opposed to sports
Opposed to war
Opposed to marrying
someone (extension;
adjective)
 Learning English By Yourself

• Tools
 Textbooks
 A computer with Internet access
 A library
 A notebook for
• Journal entries
• Vocabulary
 A plan or schedule

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 Learning English By Yourself
Remember …
• To make a (flexible) plan.
• To work with your learning style.
• Integrate the different skills.
• that you are learning a language not a course
• that most people feel honored that you want to learn their
language and are pleased to help you.
• If you stop, start again. (But try not to stop.)
• To put yourself in situations where you have to use
English.
• To spend a little money if necessary—buy good texts, hire
a tutor.

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 Work Together
SDLT

 Form a self-study or Self-Directed Learning team.

 Set objectives
 Meet regularly
 Vary activities
 Have a recorder and a leader
 Limit number in the team

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 What it takes to
turn your plans,
including your plan
to learn English,
into reality?

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 Three P’s
Patience
Practice
Perseverance

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 Three R’s

Reading
Reciting
Repeating

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 Three C’s and
Two E’s
Confidence
Cultural tolerance
Continuity
Effort & Encouragement

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 Seek help from
experts, but be your
own teacher.

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 Improve Your English Communication
Skills Recipe
(SDL Learning- Practical Steps)

Khalid I. Al-Dossary

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 Improve Your English Communication Skills

1. Choose an article of your interest to read about leadership

skills, technical skills or life skills, time management, stress
management, success in life.
2. Read it thoroughly and silently.
3. Look up each word. Make sure you understand
each word and its pronunciation.
4. Summarize each article.

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 Improve Your English Communication Skills

5. Recite the article & record it. (Visualize audience)

6. Re-visit the summary for further revision.
7. Practice saying the summary to someone.

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 Improve Your English Communication Skills

8. Listen to the tape in your car or at home.

9. Explain or present what you have summarized to a
native speaker (Mentor) whom you feel comfortable
with.

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 Improve Your English Communication Skills

10.Document articles/readings for future reference.

(Profiling)
11.Take this language meal
at least three times a week.
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 Thank you for your
attention and my best
wishes to you.

© SAP Training and Change Management