1. Beginner Level
1.1 Definition of Beginner Learners
The beginner stage planning is mainly for:
- Most freshmen just entering university (non-high scorers in college entrance exam)
- College students who barely passed CET-4/6
- People with average but not terrible foundation
- People who had decent English but abandoned it for too long and want to pick it up again
- Working professionals with some foundation who want to quickly improve practical skills, especially speaking and listening
- People who can barely understand VOA slow English, completely lost with normal English, and don't know how to learn English
The beginner level might be the most cost-effective chapter in the entire course:
- You can feel improvement almost every day
- What you learn today can be applied immediately the next day
- Especially suitable for busy working professionals
Benefits:
- Understand colleagues' speech
- No problem with communication, interviews, etc.
- Almost free, and very effective
- Solve most workplace English speaking problems
Keep going!!!
1.2 Beginner Learning Goals and Evaluation
Goals we hope beginners can achieve:
- Basic daily and business speaking vocabulary (approximately 3000 words)
- Systematically complete pronunciation learning, and master basic linking sounds and natural speech patterns
- Have basic oral communication ability
Prerequisite for choosing beginner level: Must have basic high school English foundation!
1.3 Beginner Learning Plan and Methods
Beginner level is divided into three main stages, taking about 1-3 months total (depending on foundation level)
- Pronunciation Correction (1-3 weeks)
- Daily speaking and speech flow training (1-2 months)
- Business material listening, business usage, and vocabulary building (1-2 months)
1.3.1 Pronunciation Correction
1.3.1.1 Material 1: "Lai Shixiong American Phonetics"
Selected textbook: "Lai Shixiong American Phonetics" less than 20 yuan
This book is quite unique, the essence of the whole book lies in the audio lectures
This book comes with his full explanation, detailing all pronunciation techniques, and repeatedly demonstrating with his own pronunciation, leading everyone to learn well
This kind of personal learning tips and experience is priceless for most students who want to improve their pronunciation
It's much better than other poorly made pronunciation books
Why must you start from phonetics?
Because the best way to practice listening is not to directly select suitable materials and start listening, but to learn pronunciation first, then listen
Recommended Learning Method
Step 1:
Read the book and listen to the CD without pausing, follow the recording and imitate loudly, go through the book 2-3 times systematically
Take notes in the book for chapters and sentences you find difficult
It's recommended to complete step 1 within one week
Step 2:
Find the difficult chapters, focus on learning, repeatedly listen to explanations and imitate, try to break through as much as possible
If you really can't break through, you can temporarily set it aside, it won't affect you, because at the beginning listening ability is low, you certainly can't imitate all pronunciations well.
Try to complete this step within one to two weeks
Less is more, slow is fast
It's recommended to go through the book several times in at least 2-3 weeks
Then immediately enter the second phase of the beginner stage for large amounts of practical input, so that the learning effect can be consolidated and maximized
Note 1
All phonetic symbols in this book are marked with KK American phonetic symbols
- It's slightly different from the international phonetic notation you learned since childhood, so some people find it difficult to learn
- Completely forget that you've learned phonetics, start from scratch, treat it as a new subject to learn
Note 2
About practical issues of KK phonetics
- Currently, any slightly formal dictionary will definitely mark both British and American pronunciations
- Generally British pronunciation comes first, American pronunciation second, whether it's Oxford Longman or Cambridge
Note 3
Pronunciation cannot be learned well through just one book
- Through the learning amount of just one book, it's hard to completely change all your bad pronunciation habits that have lasted for 20 years
- A book's content is limited after all, it can't cover all pronunciation phenomena and rules, and can't provide enough practice to completely internalize pronunciation rules
- We will provide these exercises in the third stage
Note 4
When learning phonetics, you must use it! Never deceive yourself
- Many people develop goldfish syndrome when learning, with super short memory time. When learning, they follow Teacher Lai reading happily and accurately, but as soon as they put down the book, they immediately return to their original state. It's not that they don't know they're wrong, but they clearly know they're wrong but are too lazy to change
- Every day when you learn new rules and tongue positions, you must immediately use them! No matter what occasion, talking, reading aloud, memorizing words, you must consciously use them more, even if it's uncomfortable, until it becomes a complete habit
1.3.1.2 Material 2
Coach Shane's Daily Easy English Expression
- Made by American English teacher Coach Shane
- Coach Shane doesn't have any prominent background, identity, or title, but he is the most powerful teacher I've encountered in decades, with very deep teaching skills. It's hard to find a teacher so good at pronunciation, listening, and speaking
- This set of materials has over 1000 videos, each video is very short, only a few minutes
Why must you start from phonetics?
- To improve the reaction speed of ears and brain to listening, the key to training is to figure out the rules of English speech flow
- Summarize these rules and let the brain learn
- Once the brain is familiar with various rules, it can greatly improve comprehension and speed
- And in the rules of English speech flow, broken down to the simplest and smallest element, it's individual phonetic symbols
Just learning phonetics well can greatly optimize your brain processor. After learning, you'll find yourself more sensitive to English listening, and your listening ability suddenly improved a lot. There's nothing more cost-effective than this