How to Learn English

Many Asians today clamor to learn English, why? English is the most widely spoken language for business and education around the world, that's why. Demand is high, and many schools are available as well as online sources for instruction. What is the best way to learn English?
There are probably as many answers as teachers and students. Joking aside, English is a difficult language to learn if you are an Asian. There are some fundamental differences in the way western or Latin based languages approach grammar, syntax, and pronunciation.

The best way to learn any language is to immerse yourself in its total experience. this is called a holistic approach. simply put, surround yourself with English speaking native speakers. One way to accomplish this is to live in America, the UK, or Australia. Live there fro a year study and speak English everyday. Obviously, we all can't do this. It is simply not feasible for us to interrupt our lives and go live in an English speaking country.

Thankfully there are economical alternatives to going to the U.S. The Philippines offers a great opportunity to study in Asia, in an English speaking country with an abundance of qualified native speakers available. Here you can surround yourself with people speaking English everyday. One can practice their English just by going shopping or taking a taxi. In addition, the Philippines offers many tourist venues and boasts a tropical climate to make a stay here like a working vacation.

Learning English is a practiced art, and yes language is an art as well as a skill. We not only have to learn grammar and vocabulary, we have to visualize ideas and concepts in English to become proficient. In addition, we have to train our brains to think in English as well. This process is called assimilation. Idiomatic expressions, figures of speech, and phrasal verbs simply have to be internalized by either memorization or repeated usage.

Living in a culture of English is the fastest way to accomplish this. There is no substitute for practice and using all your senses to assimilate English in a native speaking environment.
So consider the Philippines as a language learning destination. The Philippines is close (a few hours from Korea by plane) economical, and English is spoken by nearly all the local citizens.

Philippines Information

GENERAL INFORMATION The Philippines is made up of 7,107 islands covering a land area of 115,739 sq. m. (299,764 sq. km.). Main island groups are Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Capital is Manila. Time Zone is GMT + 8 hours. CLIMATE March to May is hot and dry. June to October is rainy, November to February is cool. Average temperatures: 78°F / 25°C to 90°F / 32°C; humidity is 77%. POPULATION There are a total of 76.5 million Filipinos as of the latest national census in May, 2000. Population growth is estimated at 2.36 percent annually. Luzon, the largest island group, accounts for more than half of the entire population. LANGUAGES Two official languages --- Filipino and English. Filipino which is based on Tagalog, is the national language. English is also widely used and is the medium of instruction in higher education. Eight (8) major dialects spoken by majority of the Filipinos: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinense. Filipino is that native language which is used nationally as the language of communication among ethnic groups. Like any living language, Filipino is in a process of development through loans from Philippine languages and non-native languages for various situations, among speakers of different social backgrounds, and for topics for conversation and scholarly discourse. There are about 76 to 78 major language groups, with more than 500 dialects. RELIGIONS Some 83% of Filipinos are Catholic. About 5% are Moslem. The rest are made up of smaller Christian denominations and Buddhist. UNIT OF MEASURE The Metric System is used in most trade and legal transactions. ELECTRICITY 220 volts a/c is the common standard. 110 volts a/c is also used, especially in major hotels. CURRENCY The Philippines' monetary unit is the peso, divided into 100 centavos. Foreign currency may be exchanged at any hotels, most large department stores, banks, and authorized money changing shops accredited by the Central Bank of the Philippines. International credit cards such as Visa, Diners Club, Bank Americard, Master Card, and American Express are accepted in major establishments.