Many people around the world are exposed to English through Hollywood films, so American English is the type of English they hear first. Not only is American English considered the glamorous language of film, but it also has a unique sense of style and confidence, more so than different types of English, like British or Canadian. If you’ve been dreaming about speaking English like they do in the movies, now is the time to consider taking American English lessons.
How to Learn American English
Learning American English is within your grasp when you use Eurekly, a marketplace of tutors in many subjects. When you visit the site, you will be asked to answer several questions, including:
- Your level of education
- Why you want to sign up for American English lessons (struggling in class, preparing for a test, a desire to get ahead, or other)
- When do you want the lessons to take place (weekdays or weekends) and what time of day is best for you (morning, afternoon, night)
- Ranges of how much you want to pay per lesson
Eurekly then pinpoints several tutors who fit your criteria and connects you automatically. You can also peruse the list of English tutors on your own if you prefer. Many tutors on the site speak American English, so you’ll be able to get the instruction you want.
Why Learn American English?
English is the most spoken language in the world. According to an article in the Indonesian EFL Journal, students associate English with fun and joy, mainly because they know that fluency in English can help people achieve educational, social, and economical success.
This success is possible in English-speaking countries, where knowing the native language can help students get good jobs, or in non-English speaking countries, where English-speaking employees are rare and highly valued.
When students learn to speak English fluently, they can gain a good measure of confidence. They don’t need to be embarrassed by poor grammar or mispronunciation.
American English, in particular, is one of the most popular types (compared to British, Australian, and Canadian English). According to Wikipedia, 225 million people in the world speak American English. It’s also the language of Hollywood films, which are popular all over the world.
Not only can students gain confidence by succeeding in their English studies, but American English is intrinsically associated with a sense of confidence. This likely has to do with the fact that Americans are considered some of the most confident people in the world, as cited by the BBC. Therefore, when you learn to speak this kind of English, you can embody this confidence too.
Is American English a Difficult Language for Foreigners to Learn?
While English fluency can certainly lead to success in many areas, some students do find it challenging to achieve. In general, American English has a bad rap of being hard to learn, but the truth is that its level of difficulty depends on several factors:
- Your native language
- Your natural language ability
- How much time and energy you invest in learning it
If you are a native Dutch, German, or Norwegian speaker, you’ll have the easiest time because these languages are the most similar to English. But French, Spanish, and Italian speakers also have it fairly easy because, even though English is a Germanic language and not a Romance language, they do all share some common roots. Asian and African languages are very dissimilar to English, so native speakers of those languages might have a bigger challenge learning English.
Despite whatever level of challenge you face, learning English is extremely doable when you choose the right tutor.
Can I Learn to Speak English like an American in 1-2 years?
The amount of time it takes to learn American English depends on the factors above, plus your starting point. Did you learn English in school as a child, or do you have a lot of exposure to the language? These things will make a difference in your learning journey.
However, despite your native language, natural language ability, and starting point, the main factor that determines how fast you learn the language is how much time you invest in studying. If you have an American English lesson once a month, you’re not going to advance very quickly. Even having a lesson once a week isn’t enough to propel you forward if you don’t put in additional hours of memorizing grammar, punctuation, and pronunciation rules.
The bottom line is, the more hours you put into learning American English, the faster you’ll achieve mastery. These hours include both American English lessons and time spent on your own practicing.
In order to make the most of the hours you spend learning, it’s important to choose the right tutor. Fortunately, at Eurekly, there are so many qualified tutors to choose from. All you need to do is take the plunge and get in touch with your potential tutor today.