English in 40 hours

This content is available in Spanish, English, French, Mandarin.

English in 40 hours is a way for beginners to quickly achieve functional fluency in English.

During these 40 hours, you will learn: a) key vocabulary (around 500 words); b) pronunciation strategies and c) basic grammatical concepts.

Each vocabulary topic contains a table with first language and English columns that can be hidden to move from comprehension to production. After initial exposure to words via English translation, you can listen to a word, then write it out. Here is an example of the guide for French speakers:

French Images English Listen and Repeat
Write
le chien the dog    

Each section also contains a series of interactive, vocabulary-building exercises and a game. Here's a preview:

¡Let's play!

At the end of each section, you will find a grammar point and simple translation tasks to check with our Grammar Checker (SpellCheckPlus.com).

Linguistic principles

English in 40 hours is different from other language learning programs because it is guided by the following linguistic principles:

a) Deep lexical learning ©

b) Learning through feedback

c) Learning through producing

d) Learning through noticing

Deep lexical learning © is an approach that allows you to do more than recognize a English word. You will know its meaning in your first language, be able to produce it in various ways and be able to do so spontaneously.

In terms of feedback, you will be able to immediately confirm your vocabulary knowledge by translating between your first language and English and by doing simple exercises to reinforce acquisition.

Importantly, you will learn to produce sentences with the words you learn and receive real-time feedback. In our view, the best approach is one that starts with the acquisition of core vocabulary, which is then used as a starting point to learn about English grammar.

As you build sentences, you will notice and improve lexical and grammatical gaps in your knowledge.

You should spend two hours on each category. At the end, we suggest you review for an hour, then do the final exam.

How to move through the course

In order to thoroughly learn the vocabulary from each category, the following steps should be followed:

Step 1: Study each word alongside the English translation, listen AND pronounce the English word (20 minutes)

Step 2: Hide the first language column, listen to and pronounce the English word; think of the definition (20 minutes)

Step 3: Hide the English (show first language if needed), listen to words randomly, pronounce (imitate) and write the English word in the box (30 minutes)

Step 4: Do the exercises at the bottom of the page (10 minutes)

Step 5: Play the game; this is a way to see if you can come up with the word spontaneously (10 minutes)

Step 6: Read the grammar point, and access more detailed explanations if desired (5 - 10 minutes)

Step 7: Do the translations and check grammar on SpellCheckPlus.com (20 minutes)

Step 8: Write down any new words you learn in a notebook (and review from time to time) (5 minutes)

Once you are ready to build sentences with the vocabulary, you can make further use of SpellCheckPlus's Grammar Checker (including a thesaurus).

Let's get started!

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