Many students ask for advice about how to improve their English. Here are three basic questions.

The first question is about understanding English films and songs. Li Hao from Hubei wrote, “I like watching English films and listening to English songs, but I don’t understand very much. What can I do?”

Watching films and listening to songs are great ways to learn English! Watch and listen several times, and guess the meaning of the new words. Each time you will learn something new. I also advise you to talk about the films or songs with your friends.

The second question is about speaking. Wang Fan from Jilin wrote, “Our school has a teacher from the US. I am shy and I am afraid to speak to her. What should I do?”

You can say, “Hello! How are you?” “Do you like China?” These are good ways to start a conversation. And before you begin, you should smile at her! Remember this: Do not be shy. Just try.

The third question is about vocabulary. Zhang Lei from Anhui wrote, “I write down new words, but I forget them quickly. How can I remember them?”

Do not worry. It’s natural to forget new words! I suggest you write four or five words a day on pieces of paper and place them in your room. Read the words when you see them, and try to use them.

There are some ways to improve your English, but I think the most important thing is to make English all around you. Here’s some advice for you.

▲Listen to the radio in English. If there are no English radio stations at the place where you live, listen to one on the Internet.

▲Watch TV and movies in English. If you have English channels on your TV, watch them. If there are no English channels, you can buy some DVDs of English movies.

▲Speak English to your friends. You can find a friend who is good at English and speak English with him as much as possible. You’d better find friends whose native language is English. Ask your friend to correct you when needed.

▲Study in or travel to an English-speaking country. Of course the best way to improve your English is to live in English environments. You’ll find yourself surrounded (围绕) with the language everywhere. It can be a more difficult and expensive choice, but you may find it to be a very valuable and helpful experience.

It is very important for us to exercise to stay healthy. How should we exercise to keep fit?

Depending on (取决于) your personal fitness goals (目标), how often you should exercise will be different. But it’s important to work your way up to the minimum amount (最低量) of 150 minutes of moderate (适度的) exercise every week.

Exercising too hard or too often can cause injuries. And if you exercise too much, the soreness (疼痛) you feel may make you give up exercise all together.

Here is how to get an idea of a starting off point:

★Write down how much exercise you get now each day, even if it’s walking. Walking is exercise, too.

★Decide on what kind of exercise you are going to do. Will you do cardio (有氧运动), weight training, or other sports?

★Check out the minimum for cardio and weight training. What’s the minimum of that you can do each week.

★Make an exercise plan. It could be something as simple as walking around the street each day.

Start off with exercise that you love to do now!