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Letter from a website visitor

Good morning, Alejandro,

I’m Pablo, a final-year mechanical engineering student, and I’d like to learn English.

This year I’m going to England on Erasmus, and my level is B1 (before the First).

I think that’s a very poor level for taking classes in English, and my technical engineering vocabulary is even poorer because the language schools haven’t taught me any.

As a translator and engineer, what advice would you give me so that things go as well as possible in Bradford? I’ll be in Barcelona from today until 14 September, when I’ll go to Bradford for six months.

My plan is to watch lots of films and series in English with subtitles, so at least I can understand what people say, and then I think my speaking will improve over time. What do you think?

Many thanks, Alejandro.

Kind regards,

Pablo 

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Hello, Pablo,
Sorry to be brief, but I receive many emails like this and my time is limited.

I’ll assume that, for whatever reason, you can’t go to the UK before the course starts. That would obviously be the most useful thing. Here are a few quick tips:

• Don’t worry about technical vocabulary. It’s secondary and easier to learn.

• To optimise learning, adopt an attitude of curiosity and fascination.

• About your idea of watching films and series in English: in my opinion it’s an excellent, highly recommended method. Attention: avoid subtitles. It’s true they help you understand better, but the downsides outweigh the benefits. Basically, subtitles “make your ear lazy”, and the ear is the first thing you need to train when learning a language. If you struggle so much that you can’t follow the series, choose an easier one. You can also read the plot of each episode in English beforehand on the internet to understand better and to develop reading comprehension. I speak from experience. I learned a great deal of English and German by watching films and series.
  
  

Congratulations on deciding to go on Erasmus. Make the most of it, squeeze every day, and don’t waste time.
Alejandro

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Good morning, Alejandro,

Thank you for your reply. I always watched series with subtitles; I’ll make an effort to watch them without subtitles.

But I’d like to know one more thing: if you were in my place (B1 level), what strategies would you follow to be as well prepared as possible for Bradford? It’s mostly out of curiosity, since you know so many languages.

Thanks.

Kind regards,

Pablo 

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Pablo,
I don’t know your situation well enough to recommend a full strategy. I can only give you a bit more advice.

If you have time, sign up for in-person classes at a language school or similar. Even a few hours will help. If you enrol one level above your current level, you’ll get much more out of it, because you’ll be forced to keep up with the pace—exactly what will happen when you arrive in the UK. I used that trick before going on Erasmus to Belgium and it turned out to be a great idea for learning a lot of French in a short time.

You’ll find classes much easier to understand than you think, because teachers tend to speak slowly and use formal language. At first you probably won’t understand natives when they talk among themselves, but little by little you’ll understand more.

With a B1 level, going to a country with a harder language than English would be tough, but in this case you can absolutely manage—with some work and the right attitude. That attitude can’t be stressed enough. Do you know why children learn so fast? Because they’re incredibly curious and always analysing everything. Another point in your favour is that the final year of a degree is always the easiest.

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My intention was to go to England for two weeks before 14 September, but it’s quite expensive, and with what I’ll spend on Erasmus I can’t do it.

Right now I’m on holiday and I’ve got plenty of time to study English. I’ll focus on watching series and films (without subtitles); I’ll leave technical vocabulary and engineering documentaries aside.

Thank you very much for the advice and I hope everything goes well for you. 

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