This is no joke, Mr Yoke: Photo: Pixel Addict via FlickrIn another article, Matthew advised we write a "life script". This is a great idea, and one I have used myself (most recently learning German). Here, I want to give you a freebie, and show you what one piece of such a "life script" might look like—what it might sound like, in your head, if you thought in English as you got up in the morning.

English-speaking countries of the world

If you listen to and understand one programme in each of the following accents, your general English comprehension will almost certainly be greatly improved (unless it is fantastic already!). The greatest benefit will come if you figure out for yourself what people are saying, by just listening. This will be a real challenge for you. Don't worry if you cannot understand them. The point is to experience the different flavours of English.

It's an iPod, baby.: Photo: Beard Papa on FlickrOne great way to use an iPod is to record and play back your own study materials. For example, you might record a life script, or the results of your latest Poligo edit, or anything else that you have found or made that you want to memorise. You can either have a native speaker record for you, or you can record yourself. Many learners think that they should not record themselves, because they will reinforce their imperfect habits of pronunciation. It is true that it is better to have native speaker pronunciation on your recordings. But if you can't find a native speaker to do it for you, it is still far better to record yourself than to have no recording.

Montmartre s'éveille: Photo: gadlOne challenge in learning any language is the variety of accents that speakers have. Even when you can understand the "standard" version of the language quite well, you can have trouble understanding any non-standard accent. For this reason, it is advisable to "shop around"—deliberately expose yourself to a variety of accents, so you can gradually learn to understand the full range of pronunciations you will encounter in the real world.

Accents vary in strength, of course. Among both native and non-native speakers, you will always find some people with extremely mild accents. It's best, if you can, to look for accents that are slightly stronger, so you can see the typical features of that accent more clearly. (For this reason, it is sometimes best to avoid the news programmes of national broadcasters, which are often in an almost artificially accent-free, neutral English.)