A Short Guide to Learning English for Study and Professional Purposes: Language Learning and Teaching, #2

By Damian Johnstone

A Short Guide to Learning English for Study and Professional Purposes

(Language Learning and Teaching: Volume 2)

 

Approx.100 pages

 

Is English a second or foreign language for you?

 

Do you need to improve your English language skills for your current studies or work?  Or do you wish to develop your knowledge of English in order to enhance your future academic or career opportunities?

 

Perhaps you are keen to work on your English independently but are not sure how best to do this.  Or maybe you lead a busy life, and therefore need to ensure that you target your learning time and efforts carefully and effectively.

 

This booklet, written by an experienced teacher of English as a second language, has been produced to help you.  It will show you how by following some easy to understand principles and implementing a small number of practices and habits you will be able to see sustained improvement in your English skills.  It will show you how your vision to become a more competent and confident user of English can become a reality.

 

This booklet is suitable for all readers with a current level of English of Intermediate or above.  Written with readers who want or need to work on their English independently especially in mind, it will also be useful to those who are attending English classes.

 

Another intended use of this booklet is as a training tool for people who are not English language specialists but work with students or employees who want or need to develop their English Language skills.  Thus, it would be of interest to a wide range of personnel who work in a multilingual context where English is used as a link language or language of instruction.  This would include, for example:  lecturers, tutors, in-company trainers and their managers.

 

Topics covered include:                                         

• What there is to learn
• How to make principles of language learning and memory work for you
• How to achieve balance in your learning
• How to exploit texts most effectively
• How to handle vocabulary, phrases and grammar
• How to use word frequency information to help you prioritise
• How to use web-based tools to enhance your learning
• How to set motivating and realistic plans and goals
• What habits to develop in order to make sustained progress toward your goals  

If you are serious about developing your English skills for study or work purposes, or helping other people to do so, buying and using this book would be a good investment of your time and money.

 

Damian Johnstone has a background in ESOL teaching in the UK.  He now works primarily in training and teacher education, with a particular focus on language awareness for teachers and the learning of English as a second language.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Damian Johnstone
• Release date: Jul 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393635604

Damian Johnstone

Damian Johnstone has a background in ESOL teaching in the UK.  He now works primarily in training and teacher education, with a particular focus on language awareness for teachers and the learning of English as a second language.

Book preview

A Short Guide to Learning English for Study and Professional Purposes

Advice for Independent Learners

––––––––

Damian Johnstone

LEGAL NOTIFICATIONS

Copyright

© Damian Johnstone 2020

All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the express permission of the copyright holder.

Exclusion of liability

This work is offered for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as constituting formal advice in relation to the matters treated therein. Although every effort was made to ensure that the information in this booklet was correct at time of publication, the author does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any party for any loss or damage, financial or otherwise, that may be incurred as a result of reliance on the contents of this work.

Websites

Website URLs cited were correct and functioning at the time of writing, but may be subject to change.

To D & H, with love.

Merci beaucoup

Ευχαριστώ πολύ

for your help and support!

A short guide to Learning English for Study and Professional Purposes

Table of Contents

Who is this booklet for?

Introduction

PART 1: WHAT IS THERE TO LEARN?

Starting point

AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE

Vocabulary

Phrases

Words and their grammar

Grammar

Text structure

SUMMARY OF PART 1 : What there is to learn

PART 2: HOW CAN I LEARN?

Key Principles

Use texts

Leverage your own language

Prioritise vocabulary

Make and keep notes

Concentrate on chunks

Memorise

Keep a balance

Tools and Tips

Dictionaries

Phrases

Grammar

Texts

Academic English

SUMMARY OF PART 2: How to learn

PART 3 : DEVELOPING THE HABITS

The 7 habits

Prioritising

SUMMARY OF PART 3: The 7 habits - and prioritising

A FINAL FEW WORDS

APPENDIX 1

The Vocabulary Levels Tests

APPENDIX 2

A list of intermediate grammar points with examples

USEFUL BOOKS AND WEBSITES

REFERENCES

A Short Guide to Learning English for Study and Professional Purposes

Who is this booklet for?

Do you use English for work or study, but find it a struggle?

Are you able to have simple conversations in English, but find using the language for work or learning challenging?

When you are learning or working in English, are you regularly frustrated by unknown words and phrases, or sentence patterns that are hard to understand?

Do you want to improve your skills and confidence in English so that your work or study becomes easier and more effective?

If you answered ‘yes’ to some or all of the above questions, this booklet is written with you in mind.  It is particularly aimed at readers who need or want to improve their English independently, although it will also be helpful to those who are attending English classes or following some other course of study.  It is not intended, however, to compete with or replace your existing teacher if you have one.

I have written this booklet for people who are not native speakers of English, and intended it to be suitable for as wide a readership as possible.  For that reason, I have tried my best to keep the language relatively simple, but I do assume that you have an (approximately) intermediate level of English.

Even though the style of writing here is fairly informal, due to the nature of the subject matter I do use quite a bit of formal and academic vocabulary, and you may find that it stretches you at times.  If whilst reading this you need to look up some of the words (-or even a lot of the words-), or re-read some of the sentences, that would be completely normal for reading in another language.  So please do not allow yourself to feel discouraged or embarrassed if you find yourself reaching for your dictionary! 

Introduction

The plan of this booklet is simple.  There are three parts.

In the first part, we look at what there is to learn in order to use English effectively for professional or study purposes.

In the second part we examine the question of how to learn, and I also introduce some helpful tools and resources.

In the third part, I recommend seven habits to develop in order to see your English skills improve. 

A brief summary concludes each part, and there is also an overall summary at the end of the booklet.

I do not assume that you have a lot of time available for studying English, nor do I assume that you have a passionate interest in the English language.  Therefore my approach is direct, practical and realistic, and I keep in view the importance of motivation.

Since this is a practically oriented rather than an academic work, you will not find many citations and references in the text, although I do include a short bibliography.

If experience and research in language learning over the years has shown anything, it is that there is no perfect method for mastery, and that time spent engaging meaningfully with the language is the most important factor for success.  Indeed, people throughout the ages have successfully managed to reach their foreign/second language learning destination by many different routes.

Nevertheless, some methods are better than others for a particular purpose, in the same way as some tools are better than others for a particular job (- for example, a screwdriver is better than a hammer for driving screws into a piece of wood!).  And some routes to learning are quicker and more pleasant than others. 

My aim in this booklet is to outline methods which are both principled and workable, and to signpost a route which is as quick and pleasant as possible. 

The independent learner does not need a special technique or magic formula, but rather a very small number of key principles and a few proven and practical ideas. Plus, of course, the motivation needed to actively keep on learning.

I hope that you find this booklet not just informative, but also helpful and motivating.

PART 1: WHAT IS THERE TO LEARN?

Starting point

Clearly, the answer to the question ‘What is there to learn?’ depends on your current knowledge of English.  This will be different for every reader of this booklet, depending on your educational experience with English and the amount and type of your exposure to the language.

For the purpose of developing your English for study and professional use, I strongly recommend getting to at least an intermediate level - preferably upper intermediate - in general English before focusing on this more specific type of English.  You can think of an intermediate proficiency in general English as a foundation to build on.  Without that clear foundation you are likely to find your efforts to learn formal/academic English very difficult and frustrating.

If you are attending an English course you can ask your teacher to tell you your current level.  Or perhaps you completed a course in the past and were tested at a certain level.

If you are at a good/upper intermediate level, you are in a position to benefit from a focus on academic / formal English.  If you have not yet reached the intermediate level, it is better to work on developing your general English first, although you could make a start on building up your knowledge