Angie's tips!

These tips are things I did myself to work on my French when I was a student. I hope they can help you too ☺

Post-its for household vocabulary

Self-explanatory. This is good for beginners specially and pre-intermediates. It'll help any level really, because sometimes we don't learn every-day English, we learn it in school or to discuss certain subjects, so this can help you learn those everyday words, useful when going on vacation and booking a hotel for example. 

→ Put the names of things, the simplest things, on them. Wall, stove, hairdryer, printer.. 

Shopping list

Beginners can start increasing their every day vocabulary with this easy task. Write your grocery lists in English! 

"Shop" abroad online 

Use sites like Ikea.co.uk, Bestbuy.com (electronics), Lowes.com (=castorama), Tesco.co.uk (everything), Target.com (groceries & home) to learn the real word for what you're looking for by navigating the categories. 

Use your hobbies

Interested in gardening, sewing, cooking, tech, DIY...? Use it to learn English, and you'll learn the vocabulary for it too. Go watch YouTube (or PeerTube 😉) videos about it (it's ok if you don't understand everything at first, you'll absorb by watching people do things at the same time), go onto forums like Reddit. Why are gamers usually the best at English with little effort? Because they play and watch their games in English, combining learning with what they enjoy. Don't leave learning to the classroom or to study-time, you have to invest yourself in it. 

Journaling 

Beginner or advanced, I think starting a journal is a good way to try to incorporate grammar into your own expression. And written expression is a great way to start!
- If you're a beginner, try doing it every day or as often as you can, it's ok if you start with very simple phrases. You should start as soon as you see the simple past.
- If you're more advanced you can drop it to maybe once a week, and talk about your week, what you did, what you plan to do next week, what you felt at different times of the week, what x movie made you think of, what you dreamt, etc.
It's also a good way to track your progress as you continue to advance through levels!
If I look back at my old diaries from when I was a kid... *phew* Let's just say my spelling wasn't always what it is now! 

Talk to yourself!

Whether you're in the shower, or in your car, talk to yourself!
(Que tu sois dans la douche ou dans ta voiture, parle avec toi-même!)
Tell yourself about your day, what you did yesterday and what you have planned for tomorrow. It's a great way to practice your verb tenses, to come up with new everyday vocabulary questions, and to practice fluidity in your speech.
It's what I used to do!

Listen to English even if you're not paying attention

So something that absolutely helps, with NO EFFORT on your part, is to listen to English even if you're not really listening to it.
What counts is exposing your brain to English sounds and the language in general. Even if you're not paying attention, your brain is absorbing the information.
Obviously active listening is important too, and analyzing what you hear in a listening activity or a movie is super important. But passive listening is helpful and as we mentioned, requires NO EFFORT. 
It can also be done at all levels! 
So while you're cleaning the house or doing the dishes, turn the radio on (there's apps for that)  or the TV, and set it on something where English dialogue is being had. 

Sing along to some songs!

It's a great way to work on pronunciation. :)
When I was learning French, my favorite artist for this purpose was the band Tryo. I loved "L'hymne de nos campagnes".  ;)
(yes, maybe also because I'm an "écolo")
But... I don't recommend listening to rap or R&B or hip-hop. It doesn't have the best or most understandable English grammar. Try classics or pop music, or even rock.

Use post-its around the house to remember vocabulary. Try to use them in a sentence every time you see them.