Tips

• Make friends with native English speakers.
• As a teenager, live for a year in an English speaking country. This is much less expensive if you do a barter - accept someone in your house in trade for living in theirs.
• Dictation is an excellent way to improve your listening and spelling skills. Have a friend read a few paragraphs from a book or a newspaper. Write down what you think you hear. Compare what you have written with the actual text.
• If you can dream in English, this means that you have succeeded in becoming a fluent English speaker, but not that your English is perfect.
• Learn English by reading, listening, studying, and asking questions; practice what you learn by speaking and writing.
• If you have your sights set on the US, look for literacy programs in your area -- they are often free, learn a trade and do your best to acquire English-speaking friends. Americans like people with an "I can do it!" attitude. In Britain, a useful skill and some modesty are more the key.
• Children might enjoy learning in a kitchen while drinking milk after school.
• Learn about the cultures of English-speaking countries.
• Find a native individual who not only speaks English, but can teach it. Learn grammar and vocabulary using visual, auditory and spoken methods. Spiral the cycle and keep it interesting.