Although the course will not cost you any money when you learn English free online, you do have to make an investment of time and commitment. You do need to take the course seriously in order to get the most you can out of it. One of the benefits of taking an online class is that you don't have to arrange your work schedule to allow you to attend classes nor is there a specific time of day when you have to do your studying. You can log on at any time and do the lessons at your own pace, reviewing as often as you feel it is necessary. Another advantage is that there are no textbooks to buy. If you wish you can have your own notebook in which you make notes and you should have some device in which you can record your own English speaking.



First of all you do have to be committed to your learning so that you won't give up as soon as you start making mistakes or you encounter difficulties. There are various resources available to help you through the learning process, even a separate section for those learning English whose first language is Chinese. Qualified teachers design all the lessons and the practice exercises, so the instruction you receive is very similar to what you would receive if you attended a class.

Skim through the site to see the wealth of resources available to you to help you learn to speak, read and write better English. These include such things as a complete audio course in American English in which you can listen to numerous conversations and passages on topics of relevance in ordinary social situations and in business. You listen to these being read by a native English speaker and since the script is included on the screen you can follow along with the recording. You do need to have Macromedia Flash installed in order to play the recordings, though.

After you feel comfortable that you can read the passage on your own, read it aloud while recording. Then you can play it back and compare it with the pronunciation and fluency rate of the speaker on the site. You can repeat this as often as possible. It is not enough just to be able to read sentences in English. You do have to comprehend the meaning and for this reason the practice exercises on each passage check your comprehension.

Then there is the free course in English grammar, which also has a listening component for the beginning lessons. The lessons are arranged from easy to difficult and again you can spend as much time as you need on each lesson. The starter lessons consist of short dialogues read by a native speaker, which you can also follow with because the words are on the screen. Then you can proceed to a page of instructions about the rules related to this specific structure and then to several pages of practice exercises.

For your convenience, you can use an online dictionary that translates words from English into a variety of world languages. All you have to do is choose the language you want the word translated into and type in the word. The screen will then display the translation for you. This is very helpful if there are any words in the dialogues or the instructions you don't understand. By translating them into your native tongue it makes it much easier to learn English.

Then there are games and other reading and listening passages as well as opportunities to find pen pals with whom you can communicate or personal tutors that you can pay by the hour if you wish.