Effortless English: Learn To Speak English Like a native

For Practice
Go online and buy an English language novel for young adults. I recommend
starting with a series of books such as “The Hardy Boys” or “Nancy Drew.”
Read one chapter in the book each day. On a calendar, track the number of pages
you read.
After one week, increase average daily page count. Read a little more. Your goal
every week is to read more pages than you read in the previous week.
When you finish the first book, read another in the series. Continue reading
books in the series until you have completed all of them. You will then be ready for
somewhat more difficult material.
Of course, get the audio versions of your books whenever possible.

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CHAPTER 18
The Secret To Good English Writing
Years ago, I was teaching an advanced writing class in San Francisco. My students
were foreign learners who hoped to enter an American university. They had just
finished writing an essay about why they wanted to study in the USA.
Each student handed me their paper and then walked out of class. I sat down,
grabbed the first one, and began to read. I read the first paragraph and was
completely confused. The introduction was a mess. The sentences were extremely
long and complex and were written in the passive voice. The vocabulary was
complex and was used incorrectly.
As I continued to read, I was horrified. The student’s essay was unintelligible. I
couldn’t even understand his main idea. Frustrated, I put the paper aside and grabbed
another. I began to read the second essay and encountered the exact same problems.
Once again there were long complex sentences that were impossible to follow or
understand. Once again the student used complex vocabulary that was inappropriate
and used incorrectly. Once again I had no idea what she was trying to say.
Bewildered, I went through every essay and found the same problems in each of
them: convoluted sentences, overly complex vocabulary, overuse of the passive
voice, and no clear message or point. The essays were unreadable.
“What a mess,” I said to myself as I put down the last paper.