10 Simple Ways To Improve Your English With YouTube
YouTube is a free platform with thousands of videos and teachers to choose from. This can be overwhelming when you want to improve your English, but don’t even know how to start. In this blogpost I’m going to tell you 10 simple ways you can improve your English with YouTube. This list isn’t in any specific order of importance so be sure you keep reading so you get all 10. Who knows, one of these tips may completely change the way you learn English on YouTube.
#1 make your goal
“learn something new today”
This can be vocabulary, grammar, exam preparation, speaking fluency practice, or anything else.
Goals such as:
- understand everything in a lesson
- feel confident using the vocabulary / grammar after watching a lesson
- watch as many videos as I can today
are not always realistic. Understanding and confidence come with time – a lot of time. Students can often feel discouraged when they start a video and already feel lost when they don’t understand everything.
So, “learn something new today” should be your goal. It’s OK if not everything is clear. It’s OK if you have questions. These same feelings will come up when you’re speaking English outside of a classroom as well.
If your goal is “learn something new today,” every day you will have achieved your goal. Little by little, like a puzzle, you’ll piece together the English language.
Of course everything depends on your level, but if you want to learn something new, you’ll find the videos that can challenge you.
If a video is too difficult, you can’t achieve your goal. If a video is too easy, you can’t achieve your goal. Keep searching until you find videos you are comfortable with.
#2 pause a video as often as you need to
Pause the video lesson as often as you need to. Most English videos on YouTube are between 15-30 minutes long. There can be A LOT of information for you to digest. What you’ll often see in 1 YouTube lesson is something a teacher in a classroom will cover over 2-3 days. That’s the beauty of video lessons – you can pause a lesson whenever you need to.
#3 you can choose the speed of your video
This teacher is speaking too quickly! I can’t understand everything.
This teacher is speaking too slowly! This is boring.
Have you ever thought these things?
You can control the speed of the video. I suggest slowing a video down or speeding it up to suit your needs.
Goo to “settings” and then “playback speed.” You can select the necessary speed. Just for fun try doubling the speed. 😉
#4 take notes in a specific notebook
Have a notebook just for your YouTube lessons.
Remember tip #2 – pause the video as often as you need to.
When you watch a YouTube lesson, pause and take notes.
You can:
- copy what the teacher has on the screen
- write translations in your own language
- add a few extra notes that can help you remember things
- write your own personal examples
At the end of the month, look through your notes. You’ll see that you’ve pretty much completed an English course.
Congratulate yourself when your notebook is full! Seeing evidence of how much you’ve been learning can motivate you to keep going.
#5 watch the same topic with different teachers
Every teacher is different. Even if many teachers teach the same topics, be sure to check out more than 1 video on the same topic. Every teacher has
- a different teaching style
- accent
- personality
- pace
- attitude
- sense of humor (or no sense of humor)
These are the same differences you’ll come across when you speak to people in real life.
Not only is watching different lessons a good way to “learn something new,” but it gives you a chance to review what you already know.
#6 you need to know these important grammar topics
Is learning grammar important?
Learning a language is a long journey. It’s a never-ending journey in fact. Knowing grammar terminology can really help you understand how the language works.
I’ve put together a list of important grammar topics you should know. This list is in order from easiest to most difficult. The level of difficulty is not set in stone, but it’s ordered in a way most students are taught grammar. You can search for these topics on YouTube. This is not a complete list of every single grammar topic in English, but it covers many of the problem areas a student may have. I’ve linked my own videos for each topic which are highlighted.
- singular and plural nouns
- countable and uncountable nouns
- many and much
- some and any
- regular and irregular verbs
- articles: a/an/the
- quantifiers (all, some, any, etc.)
- subject and object pronouns
- possessive adjectives
- possessive pronouns
- this, that, these, those
- adverbs of frequency
- direct and indirect objects
- auxiliary verbs: be do have
- prepositions of time: in on at
- prepositions of place
- make or do
- adjectives < comparatives < superlatives
- so and such
- reflexive pronouns
- modal verbs: can could be able to
- modal verbs: should and ought to
- modal verbs: may and might
- modal verb: must
- modal verb: will
- stative verbs
- “ed/ing” adjectives
- still / already / just / yet
- used to / be used to / get used to
- direct and indirect questions
- question tags
- gerunds
- infinitives
- causative verbs
- relative pronouns: who which that
- relative clauses (adjective clauses)
- modal verb: would
- the passive voice
- reported speech
- reporting verbs
- noun clauses
- the conditionals: 0,1,2,3
- mixed conditionals
- cleft sentences
- reduced participle clauses
- inversion
- the subjunctive
But, what about the English tenses?
For lower level students, I suggest learning the 12 tenses in this order:
- present simple
- present continuous
- past simple
- past continuous
- future simple and “be going to”
- present perfect
- present perfect continuous
- past perfect
- past perfect continuous
- future continuous
- future perfect
- future perfect continuous
For higher level students (B1+), I suggest moving forward with the tenses in this order:
- present simple
- past simple
- future simple
- present continuous
- past continuous
- future continuous
- present perfect
- past perfect
- future perfect
- present perfect continuous
- past perfect continuous
- future perfect continuous
What’s the difference between the two orders? The first order is a simple way to introduce the tenses from easiest/most common to hardest/least common (Trust me, the future perfect continuous is barely used). As you become more comfortable with the tenses, it’s important you are able to compare them. Comparing them makes them easier to learn and remember. You can see that in the 2nd list, the tenses are grouped like this: simple tenses, continuous tenses, perfect tenses, perfect continuous tenses.
#7 improve your vocabulary like this
Number 6 was all about grammar terminology. It’s also good to know the different names we give vocabulary.
When we say “vocabulary,” we are not just talking about “words.” English (as with many languages) is full of idiomatic expressions. A single word often cannot express what we mean. We need to group words together and we call these groups: idioms.
Example idioms:
- a piece of cake
- up in the air
Are idioms literal? No, we are not really speaking about a piece of cake or things floating in the air.
- The test was a piece of cake. = The test was easy.
- We’re not sure what our plans for next year are. Everything is up in the air. = Nothing has been decided or confirmed. We don’t know yet.
So, if you’re trying to translate something in English, don’t just translate the individual words because you might be looking at an idiom.
Are “expressions” the same thing? Most teachers use the words “idioms” and “expressions” interchangeably. If you search for both terms on YouTube, you’ll get similar results. However, to put it simply, “expressions” are often more literal and can be easier to work out in context.
You need to know what “phrasal verbs” are. Phrasal verbs are two or three-part verb phrases that look like this:
- look forward to
- work out
- turn off
- run into
Like idioms, phrasal verbs are not literal. It’s often difficult to understand what a phrasal verb means.
Look at this sentence here: I work out three days a week.
Without any context, it would be impossible for a student to understand. Does work out mean:
- work out of the office?
- get stressed and cry?
- eat too much?
- study hard?
No, the phrasal verb “work out” means “to exercise.” How often do you work out? Do you prefer working out at the gym or at home?
Make sure you search for phrasal verbs on YouTube. Here is my own lesson on 100 Phrasal Verbs.
#8 write a comment to practice what you’ve learned
Why should I write a comment if the teacher isn’t going to correct me?
You need to start thinking in English. Even if your sentences aren’t perfect, you are thinking about the new grammar or vocabulary. You want active knowledge, not passive knowledge. The best way to activate your knowledge is to think of your own personal examples. You don’t need perfect English to start thinking in English. Get your ideas out there. If you were speaking to someone at the airport, at work, in a café, at a dentist’s office, you would also need to use what you know.
Has your English ever been corrected outside of a classroom?
I’m worried about being judged. Should I still write comments?
Yes. YouTube is a really safe place to practice. Nobody knows who you are. And that’s a good thing! You can boldly practice your English and not worry about judgement. Get your ideas out there.
#9 rewatch videos
Revisit videos you have already watched. Go back after 1 week, 1 month, 6 months to rewatch some of the lessons. Use your notebook from tip #4 to remember what videos you’ve seen. Every time you watch a lesson, you’ll review the topic AND you’ll probably pick up something new.
“Pick up” is a great phrasal verb. It means “to learn something new.”
I picked up a lot of new words at the language exchange.
#10 shorts and community
When most people think about YouTube, they think of full-length lessons. Don’t forget that shorts can offer you a lot as well. If you’re in a hurry or tired, you can watch a few shorts to “learn something new” before the end of the day.
The community tab on a teacher’s channel is also a useful place to learn English. Teachers often post personal pictures, success stories, questions, and polls. If you don’t feel like watching a lesson, you can enjoy scrolling through a teacher’s community page and practice your reading skill.
