7 books to help you learn English

                     07 books to help you learn English

Reading books is a great way to improve your English. As you’re enjoying the story, you’re learning hundreds of useful words, phrases and expressions without even realising it. Plus,  you’re improving your knowledge of grammar. You can read graded readers (simplified  versions of books) or the original versions (if you’ve got a high level of English). The following are some books recommended by students of English.

1 Three Men In A Boat

by Jerome K. Jerom 

This book is about three 

friends (Jerome, Harris, 

and George) who decide 

to go on a trip down

 the 

River Thames with their 

dog, Montmorency. As 

they travel along the water, 

they get into  

all sorts of trouble. The thing 

you’ll love about this book is the humour 

as it’s written in  

an ironic style.

2 An Officer and a Spy

by Robert Harris

Georges Picquart runs a top-secret 

department in the French secret service.

He finds that the evidence 

against a man called Alfred 

Dreyfus for spying is false. 

While Picquart investigates 

the case, he risks his 

career and his life to prove 

that Dreyfus is innocent. 

This book is based on a 

true story known as the

“Dreyfus affair”. I found it really interesting 

and I enjoyed reading it.

3 Dracula

by Bram Stoker

Dracula was first published 

in 1897 and has been an 

inspiration for many writers

and film producers. The 

writer, Bram Stoker, based 

the character of Dracula on

a 15th-century prince called 

Vlad Dracul. The book is mostly written

as a series of letters and diary extracts. 

Events in the novel take place in England 

and Transylvania during 1893. I love horror 

stories, but this is definitely one of my 

favourites.

4 Love Actually

by Richard Curtis

Love Actually has nine mini-stories all about 

the importance of love. It takes place a few 

weeks before Christmas and jumps from 

story to story. Some of 

the characters who 

appear in the book include Daniel, who has 

just lost his

 wife in a tragic accident, Harry, 

who starts an affair with a colleague, Jamie,

who falls in love with his Portuguese maid after his wife 

leaves him, and Billy, who is an aging rock star. This book is 

actually the screenplay for the film, so it isn’t like an ordinary 

book. However, I like romantic stories, and loved the movie, 

so this book was perfect for me.

5 Sons of Fortune

by Jeffrey Archer

by Jeffrey Archer 

Two twins are separated at birth and 

lead very different lives. One brother, 

Nat, grows up with a school teacher and 

insurance salesperson

 as parents. After 

graduating from university, he serves 

in the Vietnam War. 

The other brother, 

Fletcher, grows up with multimillionaire 

parents and 

becomes a criminal defence lawyer. Both 

brothers continue on their separate paths until one has to 

defend the other for a murder he didn’t commit. This is a

great book and really exciting.

6   1984

by George Orwell

Winston Smith lives in the 

fictitious country of Oceania, 

which is ruled by a dictator called 

Big Brother. The world is divided 

into three zones that cover the

entire globe: Oceania, Eurasia, and 

Eastasia. Big Brother is at constant

war with the two other super states. He also 

watches over his citizens at all times. I really like 

politics so this book was great for me.

7 The Da Vinci Code

by Dan Brown

While in Paris on business, 

Harvard professor Robert Langdon

receives an urgent call from the 

French police. They want him to

decode a cryptic message left 

by the murdered curator of the 

Louvre 

museum. Robert solves 

it and discovers that the message leads to a

number of clues hidden in works of art by the 

Italian artist Leonardo Da Vinci. Langdon joins 

forces with French cryptologist Sophie Neveu, the

granddaughter of the murdered curator. If you like 

mysteries, you’ll love this book.

8 people skills you need to succeed!

                   

                          8 people skills you need to succeed!

Having good people skills is essential for success at work and in life. These skills (also known as
“soft skills” or “emotional intelligence”) can make all the difference. Here are a few you need to develop.

1 Active listening

Active listening involves listening very carefully to what the other person is saying without interrupting them. Then, taking your time to think and respond, rather than just answering
as quickly as you can so you can say what you want to say.

2 A sense of humour

Humour is a great way of diffusing a tense situation. And being able to see the funny side of things

can often help make the environment more pleasant and relaxed.

3 Empathy

Having an ability to relate to others and understand how they’re feeling is a key skill.

Empathy allows you to create relationships. It can also give you an insight into

people’s motives, which can help you predict responses.

4 Flexibility

It’s important to have opinions and ideas, but you also need to be able to respond to changes.

 When the situation transforms, you need to be able to adapt.

5 Persuasive powers

Knowing how to persuade people to do things is a key skill in life and business. This often involves having a clear idea of who you’re talking to and their specific needs. This will allow you to focus on any potential benefits for them.

6 Patience

No one likes a hothead, so it’s good to be able to keep a level head in stressful

situations. The key to being patient is to wait and observe, and know when to

act, rather than just jumping in without considering your options.

7 Knowing your audience

Knowing what, when and how to say something is critical; above all, it involves

understanding exactly who you’re talking to. For example, if you’ve just been away on holiday 

while your colleagues have been stuck in the office, it probably isn’t a good idea to start talking

about your two-week trip to the beach.

8 Body language

Body language makes up around 80% of the meaning in the messages

we communicate. So, being aware of what your gestures, expressions and voice are

actually saying can really help. And understanding other people’s body language may tell you 

what they’re really feeling or thinking.

Start developing your people skills now. You need them!

How to improve your english

                                  How to improve your english

Before you begin, or go back to, studying English, ask youself one question. Why do I want to study English? Is it because you want to, or because someone else wants you to? Like every decision in life, studying English must be something you want to do.

Set goals

If you know why you want to study, setting goals is easy. For example, maybe you want to travel to an English-speaking country. Great. Your goal might be to learn "Survival English". Perhaps you already know many useful phrases, but you want to improve your listening skills and pronunciation. Whatever your goals are, write them down.

Dive into the Deep End

Studying English for an hour once a week isn’t usually enough to make any real progress. The best way to quickly improve your English is to spend at least a few minutes practicing every day. Immerse yourself as much as possible every time you study, and challenge yourself to listen to, read, and even say things in English that you think might be too difficult for you. If you want to speak English fluently, you need to make it an essential part of your everyday life.

Learn and Study Phrases

Speaking English fluently means being able to express your thoughts, feelings and ideas. Your goal is to speak English in full sentences, so why not learn it in full sentences? You’ll find that English is more useful in your everyday life if you study whole phrases, rather than just vocabulary and verbs. Start by thinking about phrases that you use frequently in your native language, and then learn how to say them in English.

Don’t Study Grammar Too Much

The key to learning a language is finding a balance between studying and practicing. Speaking English fluently isn’t the same as knowing perfect English grammar – even native English-speakers make grammar mistakes! Fluency is about being able to communicate. That’s why sometimes it’s important to put the grammar textbook away, so you can go out aDon’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes.

Don’t Be Afraid to Make Mistak

Sometimes it can be difficult to put all those rules and words together into a simple sentence. Don’t let the fear of saying something wrong stop you from speaking at all. Even if you think you’re making a mistake, keep speaking anyway. Most of the time, people will understand what you’re trying to say, even if you make a mistake. Plus, the more you speak, the easier it gets, and the more quickly the right words will come to mind.

Watch English TV

Children's programming is very useful for ESL learners.

Choose programs that you would enjoy in your own language.

Learn important spelling rules

Remember, you won't always have a dictionary or a spell-checker handy, especially when you are writing a test. Even native English speakers need to review the spelling rules from time to time.

Read something regularly

Children's books, simplified readers (Penguin), newspapers, magazines, Internet sites, novels, and much much more...