What a great time to be learning English! There are so many apps, podcasts and other resources out there to help you. The most important things when learning a language are: speak as much as possible to native speakers, read as much as possible but make sure the books are appropriate for your level or you’ll get bored or frustrated and listen to as much material as you can in your target language.

For speaking, you should join your local meet up group at meetup.com. Just create a personal profile and then join all the English learning groups in your city. The more you get out there and mingle the better. Even if the other people are not native speakers it is still forcing you to speak your target language!

For reading, try reading short biographies, adolescent literature and shortened versions of famous American and British books. It is important to read frequently on a variety of topics to increase your vocabulary. The biggest challenge in learning English is the huge number of idioms and large vocabulary (over 1 million words ~ the largest vocabulary in the world!)

To help with your listening skills, you should be listening to podcasts at every opportunity such as while doing chores, walking or taking transit. Here are some suggestions for free podcasts all of which are available on iTunes:

Listen to English

English Class 101

Splendid Speaking

Voice of America Learning English

Business English Pod

Culips ESL Podcast

ESL Pod

All Ears English

Good luck!