colleague might say, “We scored a touchdown on that project.” This idiom
comes from the sport of American football, and it means to have a big
success or victory. You’re unlikely to learn this phrase in a textbook, yet it is
very commonly used by Americans.
Clearly, textbooks are ineffective learning tools. What tools will you use
then? You’ll learn the same way native speakers do: by using real authentic
materials. Use only real English materials: the sixth rule. What do I mean by
real? Well, I’m talking about English materials that are for native speakers or
that are very similar to those used by native speakers. They can be books,
articles, audio books, podcasts, videos, etc.
You can find plenty of real English listening material on the Internet.
Podcasts are perfect. I have a Podcast. You can go to
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/effortless-english-podcast/id188333691
and listen to me talking about English, talking about learning, talking about
my ideas. It’s free. It’s easy. You can just listen, listen, and listen – there are a
lot of real materials. I’m just talking normally and I’m a real native speaker.
I’m not acting and I’m not reading.
And there are a lot of other podcasts out there. You can pick English
learning podcasts, or better yet, a podcast on any topic you like. If you like
sports, find English podcasts that talk about sports. If you like cars, find ones
that talk about cars. If you like exercise or health, find podcasts about that.
Audio books are another great way to practice your listening. An audio
book is just a book that someone’s reading and they record it. So instead of
reading the book, you listen to the book. The key is to choose audiobooks
that were created for native speakers. Also, choose audio books that are easy
for you. You may need to start with children’s storybooks. That’s okay. I can
guarantee that listening to a children’s storybook is more interesting and
more useful than some boring textbook.
One of my favorite examples of good authentic materials is a children’s
book with an audio version. These are useful because you can listen and read
along at the same time. You can also easily look up unknown vocabulary in a
dictionary. I often have to tell my adult students not to be too proud to get a
