1. Watching English tv programs and movies.

Personally I don’t have much time left after coming home from school or a gym session, doing some homework and also doing some chores (which are all, by the way, perfect occasions for speaking English with myself!)

Therefore the more I enjoy watching a good movie on a Saturday night or an interesting TV program on one of the Discovery channels when I have some time left in the evening! Yes, watching TV is a great way of creating an English immersion environment!

Still, over the years I’ve learnt a good few English phrases from TV and here’s the thing – even if you’re not aware of what exactly you learn from it, the English language still seeps into you; so you’re much better off watching TV in English anyway!

2. Reading English fiction, newspapers and magazines.

I read English fiction during my launch breaks and before bed – I’d choose a book over a sleeping pill any day!

I also regularly grab one of the daily tabloids on the way to school and read the most interesting articles during the tea-break.

Does it constitute a massive amount of reading? It doesn’t sound like it does, but over the years I’ve managed to read through dozens upon dozens of English fictions books and I think it’s not to be sniffed at!

While reading alone won’t make you into a fluent English speaker, it’s a great way of growing your passive vocabulary, and you also learn to understand meaning of a sentence or a paragraph without understanding every single word they contain.

Also, reading is the first step towards developing a habit of thinking in English because when you read, your inner voice switches off your native language.

Sure, many foreign English speakers still have massive fluency issues despite being fluent English readers. What you can read and understand doesn’t necessarily translate into your ability to produce the same content using your vocal chords and mouth.

3. Keeping a diary in English.

Another great way of passively immersing yourself into the English language is keeping a diary. Many will disagree with me saying it’s active immersion because writing in English is seemingly a process where one gets actively involved. After all, you’re the one creating all the content going into the diary.

When you create entries in your diary, it’s a bit like as if you were speaking to somebody – you’re putting your thoughts into words, putting them down on paper, and creating a coherent piece of writing. But unfortunately that’s where the similarities end.

Everything that’s got to do with being ACTIVELY involved is spontaneous by nature. When you speak with your friends or yourself, or just think in English, your brain learns to produce automatic, instant string of words and word groups whereas when writing, you have enough time to think over the same sentence many times and plan for the proper arrangement of words in it.

I believe it’s this technical side of the writing process that places it into the passive English immersion category. Anyway – if you put your thoughts down on paper in English when you feel melancholy or there’s a lot on your mind, it will only contribute to your overall English improvement and it doesn’t really matter whether it’s active or passive immersion!

You don’t necessarily have to keep diary on a daily basis – you can create entries only twice or once a week to write down the most important stuff that’s been going on in your life.

Here are a few important things to bear in mind when keeping a diary:

• When verbalizing your thoughts, try to use English phrases and expressions you’ve read somewhere or heard being used by other English speakers. It’s important you learn to use the same means of expression native English speakers use and writing is a great way of wiring them into your brain.

• Whenever you can’t think of a proper English term, use other words instead to explain the same thing of feeling. Don’t forget, however, to make a sidenote and look up the relevant term so that you constantly keep learning new English words.

• When writing, try to speak with yourself as you create sentences in you diary. You’ll find it much easier to write that way and you’ll also facilitate your spoken English improvement.

• Don’t write very personal stuff in your diary – there’s always a chance someone might find it and read it!