Television, movies, music and radio programming provide an affordable, accessible and entertaining ways to improve English language skills. Watching or listening to media in English mainly develops listening comprehension and vocabulary; however, visual aids such as subtitles, captioning or transcripts also enhance reading and spelling skills. The main disadvantage of learning English through media is that it offers no real opportunity to develop speaking skills; supplemental activities for practicing verbal skills, such as conversation and pronunciation, are needed.
Many community colleges, churches, clubs and other organizations offer free or very low cost English as a Second Language classes. These classes may be taught by trained volunteers or certified instructors, and programs may offer day, evening or weekend sections. These community-based classes generally integrate reading, writing, speaking, listening and grammar skills. Specialized English classes on topics such as citizenship, computer literacy or workplace communication may be available as well. Some organizations also have programs that match native English speakers with learners for conversation practice.
Online learning may be a more flexible alternative to traditional classroom learning. The internet is teeming with websites that offer a vast range of language-learning activities, many of them at no cost. Games, articles, quizzes and exercises for every age, language level and purpose can be found. Commercial software may offer a more comprehensive approach to learning English. While purchasing language-learning software may be very costly, public libraries often have copies for patrons to use within the library. Examples of popular commercial language-learning software include Rosetta Stone and Ellis.
Writing letters in English offers a chance to build vocabulary, practice spelling and strengthen grammar while completing an exercise that has a true communicative purpose. Receiving letters in return allows opportunities to build reading comprehension and vocabulary. Numerous organizations will help match interested parties around the world so they can correspond, and many focus on specific populations such as soldiers, children, students or teachers.