I’ve got lots of DMs from followers recently, saying they want to learn English as working adults but are total beginners who can barely recognize letters, and have no idea where to start without wasting money.

The silliest method I’ve ever tried was memorizing word lists for 3 months straight, and I still couldn’t even ask for directions when I went abroad. I made so many mistakes back then. (Seriously, I even memorized words during meals, total waste of time looking back)

01Don’t wait for "enough basics" to take foreign teacher classes, start with high-frequency scenarios

A R&D teacher from Kuaiku English’s Callan Method team once said: "The core of learning spoken English for beginners is to build the habit of speaking first, not to accumulate 1000 words first."

Frankly, I used to think I had to memorize all junior high school words before I dared to take foreign teacher classes, until I learned about the training logic of Callan English. That’s totally unnecessary.

Take Xiao Zhou, an admin worker, for example. She was a total beginner, and started with 10 common sentences for meeting greetings and communicating with foreign suppliers. After 3 weeks of classes, she could already give simple greetings and itinerary introductions to visiting foreign guests, which fully met her needs for workplace English improvement.

Don’t try to learn too much at the beginner stage, just focus on these 3 types of scenarios first:

  • Daily high-frequency short sentences (greetings, asking for directions, ordering food, 10 sentences cover 80% of daily scenarios)
  • Work-related essential expressions (match your own needs, such as meeting check-in, project reporting, common phrases for email replies)
  • Interest-related content (if you like watching dramas, learn the lines that often appear in dramas first, it’s totally painless to learn)

02Adult English beginners don’t need to sit through long classes, 25-minute high-frequency short lessons are more efficient

Let’s be real, many people say they are too busy to learn, but you can definitely squeeze 25 minutes a day that you usually spend scrolling short videos, which is perfect for taking 1-on-1 online foreign teacher classes.

Many people don’t know that all foreign teachers of Kuaiku English work on-site at our physical campus in Manila, not random freelance teachers. They are very stable, and you will never have the problem of not finding your teacher during class time.

I used to take offline weekend classes too, sitting there for 3 hours straight. My brain completely shut down in the second half, and I forgot almost everything I learned. The current 25-minute high-frequency short lesson mode only teaches 3 to 5 new expressions each time. You practice repeating them 5 times with the teacher in class, and recall them once on your way after class. You can use them naturally in a week, no rote memorization needed. This is the most practical spoken English practice method I have ever tested, no exception.

If you don’t know what course suits you, you can check all course directions first and choose according to your needs.

03Use what you learned on the same day, don’t leave it in your notebook to collect dust

I personally recommend that you find a chance to use the sentences you learned that day right after class. For example, show off a new authentic expression you learned to your colleague, or say it 3 times to yourself in the mirror. It’s 10 times more useful than copying it in your notebook and reading it once a week.

Many beginners dare not speak because they are afraid of making mistakes and being embarrassed. But foreign teachers are already used to the mistakes of beginner students, they will correct you slowly in class, never laugh at you, and will always encourage you to speak more. When I first started taking classes, I even mixed up subject and predicate, but the teacher was still very patient to listen to me. After half a month, I dared to take the initiative to chat with the teacher.

Actually, adult English learning is not as hard as you think. You don’t have to force yourself to be a top student. Find the right path and follow it, you can communicate smoothly in daily situations in 3 months. If you are interested, you can book a free trial class first, and feel the rhythm before making a decision.