As a foreigner, how do you study English in an effective way?

Hi helen_hj, i'm not a native english speaker. However, i have been brought up in a multi lingual society and learnt 5 languages (though not proficient in all *LOL*) growing up. I learnt English, Malay, Bahasa Indonesia, Arabic and Mandarin. Now, i mainly use english to everyone else, malay to my parents, bahasa indonesia to my indo friends and occasionally mandarin too. I don't remember my arabic since i've not used it for a very long time. I think verbal and written english is totally different. So you need to work on 1 at a time. Verbal - watch english news so you get use to the language when it is spoken. British english is different from american english. Stick to one when you are still learning. Good books - read to understand how words are used or how to phrase certain ideas. Again choose if it's the american or british authors. Readers Digest is good but not for beginner readers. Hope this little tip helps. Good Luck! - Lyn

as for me,do some reading and writing is useful,sometimes words didnt pop out,so i use a dictionary,both english-english and chinese-english,i found it useful to expand my knowledge. listening skill is another important thing for us,but i think we should notice that reading and writing is also that important,they have mutual effects,and each of them can make you progress quickly. well that's just my own point,hope it helpful.