Learning English

My purpose of this blog is to help my students improve their English.
So.. how do all of you - non-native speakers can improve your English.
I've been teaching English for many many years, 17 years to be exact, and our Malaysian students have been learning English for many years also.. if they are in Form 5, that means they have learnt it for 11 years, but why can't they master the language?
Well, one main reason , in my opinion , is they never use the language. They just learn it in class , but they don't practise it outside the class, at home, never. Of course , that's the main reason why they could not improve their proficiency.
So today, i would like to suggest to my students to use the language all the time. For Malaysians, maybe it would be difficult because there are no opportunities to use it, even if they do, other people might think negatively of them (thought they are showing off etc... i don't understand this kind of attitude..)
What they can do will be :
1. read materials in English - story books, magazine, newspaper etc
2. write as much as possible - I would suggest that you keep a diary - a journal of your thought or what happened to you.
3. Listen well, especially when you watch movies, try to listen and understand the dialogue.
4. Speak the language - what else are you going to use the language for - except to communicate with others
Good Luck!!!