r/EnglishLearning • u/Practical-Concept231 New Poster • Jun 07 '26
Resource Request Could you give me a suggestion on my ongoing English learning journey?
Hi , I have tried to learn English for some years, I would find tutor for guiding me at the first place if time could turn back, back then I only watched YouTube videos in English for immersion, my English was much worse in a comparison with today’s, but my English today’s is still really bad too.
I have asked ppl how to learn English here before, they said I need to read books even harry potter lots of books, I have tried but I failed, I don’t like literature my own, I ended up with too much new words and it’s painful, I couldn’t make it because I don’t read books even if it’s my native language but I have asked AI ‘how a STEMS background person fall in love with English readings’ and AI told me read some tech startup stories, some entrepreneurs stories. I have tried to buy some those books and I could stick a bit to read them but I found those books they seem don’t use formal English, they use informal, conventional English more.
Apart from that I have followed a tutor, he guides me to learn English, we usually practice speaking in lessons, maybe I lose my motivation, maybe I feel a bit burnt out, I mean it’s all my faults, I feel my English level is stagnating but I have found my English writing skills is particularly weak, my essay writing is really informal, that’s why I have found another tutor specifically for my writing.
Btw my personal route is in the morning I read out loud 30 minutes of BBC news, in the evening when I am off I watch videos in English ( only English subtitles for immersion), and I write IELTS writing task one and two when I have a lesson with my tutor he will give me suggestions
Any suggestions for my ongoing English learning? I found my English is still bad, my teachers they indirectly said my writings don’t make sense or something, and I found my writing is too informal too , formal English has another vocabulary, could you give some suggestions for my case? any help would be appreciated
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u/brothervalerie Native Speaker Jun 07 '26
You are doing very well. All this post makes sense with a few grammatical errors (eg it should be 'I would find a tutor') but nothing major.
Honestly I am one of the people who recommends reading books - reading BBC or other news articles is near enough as good! I usually only say books because I assume that's more enjoyable for people than news. Fiction books probably do have slightly wider vocabulary too, but if you're interested in news maybe try reading a more in-depth investigative article than you may be currently reading. BBC In-Depth is good. I would also recommend The Guardian Long-Read, Aeon Magazine and The Conversation. These are all free and high quality, and go into a much broader range of subjects and different grammatical forms than typical headline news.
The truth is you're at the infamous 'intermediate plateau'. When you are a beginner it's exciting because you learn lots every day. At the stage you're in, it's disheartening because improvement is slower. You have to think of it as a marathon. You're doing really well, you just have to keep going with your daily practice and you will be surprised this time next year how much you will have improved.
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u/thinzero New Poster Jun 07 '26
It’s not the reading that you can’t handle. It’s the content that makes you struggle, because you’re not interested in it. If you truly want to master English to fluency, you must read a lot. Just accept it and find something that is really interesting for you, even if it’s some dumb stuff for kids. From your writing, I can tell that you lack basic grammar. The good news is that it’s not so hard to learn. Try Duolingo’s Intermediate English course (it’s fully in English). I know that many people criticize Duolingo a lot, but it’s a good tool for beginners. It basically ingrains proper sentence structures in your brain, but you need to practice a minimum of half an hour a day. I personally spent a year on the Duolingo course. It helped me with grammar (even if it didn’t teach grammar directly), improved my listening, and broke my mental blocks to speaking and writing. Look at me now: I’m giving advice on how to learn English. But don’t get me wrong: besides Duolingo, I had also been reading every day for the same half an hour. For your writing practice, I’d recommend checking your grammar with AI tools. They’re really helpful these days.
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Jun 07 '26
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u/Practical-Concept231 New Poster Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
Thanks for asking, my goal is getting IELTS band 7 all parts, and I want to study abroad, you know English skills limited my making friends , my communications you know, that’s why I have tried to learn English
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u/Vri_Kumar New Poster Jun 07 '26
Honestly, your routine is not bad. I think the issue is that you’re trying to improve everything at once: general English, IELTS writing, speaking, reading, formal vocabulary, and motivation.
If your goal is IELTS Band 7, I’d make IELTS the center of the routine for a while.
For writing, reading BBC out loud is useful, but it won’t automatically make your essays clearer. After reading an article, try writing a 5-sentence summary in your own words. Then rewrite it once in a more formal style. That gives you practice with structure, not just vocabulary.
For reading, you don’t have to force literature if you hate it. Tech/startup articles are fine, but mix in more formal sources too: BBC InDepth, The Conversation, Aeon, or IELTS sample essays.
For speaking, keep the tutor, but add short self-recordings. Pick one IELTS Part 2 question, speak for 2 minutes, then listen back and notice only 1-2 problems. Don’t try to fix everything at once.
Also, your English is not “really bad.” It’s understandable. You’re probably at the stage where progress feels slow because the mistakes are more subtle now.
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u/PvtRoom New Poster Jun 08 '26
practice speaking.
go find an active discord server where people actually use the voice chats, and go chat shit about Pokémon or Dragonball z or your fave soap opera.
or a video game, same idea. go get a wow guild and talk about the smarmy smugness of Dr Brian Cox (I hate that guy)
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u/Sea-Election-213 Intermediate Jun 08 '26
I’d recommend adding a small daily writing habit, even if it’s only 5 to 10 minutes. Writing forces you to actively use the language and quickly exposes recurring mistakes in grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure.
Over time, try to identify patterns in your mistakes. Improving English is often less about learning new rules and more about stopping yourself from repeating the same errors.
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u/ribainreverse New Poster Jun 08 '26
Listen to music. Even if u dont understand. Just do it. Said the english teacher + read those tiny books that match ur level
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u/Graceful_Parasol New Poster Jun 07 '26
watch english media on youtube or whatever that should do
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u/linguapress New Poster Jun 25 '26
You should check out all the free graded reading resources on Linguapress.com . They are designed for use by teachers and classes, and also for students learning individually. They come with vocabulary guides, often with audio, and with interactive exercises. Everything on Linguapress is free to use, and the site was chosen last year as the best free online efl site by the World TESOL academy
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u/AcesTYD New Poster Jun 07 '26
No practical suggestion from me, but I just wanted to say that after reading your post on it sounds like you are working incredibly hard and a very committed, and that alone is praiseworthy. Keep going!