Luna: Most students, even in places like the United States, never learn phonetics. They never learn, for example, that "ch" makes exacly 3 different sounds in in English. Neither do they actually learn that "a" makes 3 specific sounds, or that there are 5 specific phonograms for the "er" sound, as exemplified in the sentence: "Her First Nurse Works Early." Grammar is not the first step either. It is commonly said that one must learn to walk, before they can run. The equivalent of "walking" in a language, is to be comfortable with pronouncing the words with ease. Most learn English basically, by simply imitating the sounds they hear in a Nursery Rhyme or Song and learning to repeat it. Here is an example: http://www.italki.com/entry/315884 Be familiar with the Dolch Word List of the most common words in the English language. . Then perhaps, you can become familiar with Synonyms and the Antonyms which correspond with them. .