Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Ai.T]

Hello. I'm a Japanese girl. I like to learn English. I want to go many countries. And I want to make many memories and friends all over the world. I will go to New Zealand next year for one month. So now I learn English so hard. Because I want to spend good time in there.
My purpose which I learn English is to make friends in many country. I think friends and trip tell me the important things. I love English.

[fceblog]

[minomino]

Iwant to master English
Let's practice together.

[EnglishSpeaker]

[charless16]

If you want to improve your English take a look at a website that is very new and going in a different direction than all the rest.

www.elliesenglish.com

There is free text and audio with audio recordings linked to text And your suggestions about what should be added to the website will be welcomed.

Maybe you would like to practice your English by writing a blog. Ellie will help you with the grammar. Free. No charge.

[ringo0409]

Hi!!
I also wanna be a good English speaker
I like English but I'm not good at English....
I think The knack of learning English is to fan and concentrat its attention on the scene:!:
I read English every day.I think it is impotant point.

I wanna do my best for English

[Sugarshane7]

Hi Everyone!

As with the general consensus, I believe that PRACTICE is the most important thing!!!

You can study by yourself for 10 years straight, but will still have problems if you don't practice. My experience with students (I have taught ESL to people from all over the world) is that the ones that aren't afraid to make mistakes are the ones that learn the fastest.

The reason why it is so difficult to learn English by studying alone is because it is a language that has many variations. It has certain rules but do not always follow them, unlike many other latin based languages such as Spanish, French, and Italian. So you really only pick up correct grammar and sentence structure by practicing and speaking to your peers.

Do not be scared to make mistakes, because that is the only way you will learn. The most important thing is that you are able to communicate, and I see that most people here are able to do that very well. My own background is Chinese, but I grew up in Canada. So when I am in Taiwan or China, and I speak Chinese, it is not very good. However, the point is that I am ABLE to communicate, and that is all that matters for me to improve. Some people may find my accent different or even funny, but the main point is that I am trying my best, and I am not afraid to make mistakes.

Remember that learning has to be fun as well. If it becomes a chore to you, then you won't be able to do it. Do fun things that are related to your learning such as watching movies, listening to music and reading the lyrics, or playing English trivia games.

HAVE FUN AND GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!

[alexwest]

Hello,

I'm also a chinese student learning english. This is my first reply I hope to meet some new friends and learning more to speak and impoving my english. I think i have gotten better recently. I have been listening to radio and tv, and watching movies so can improving my english slang and sayings.

I think i have found the best way to talk to foreners and try and picking up how they say things. I have actually recently coming across a new website i think aimed for students to learn how to speak especially for chinese like me . It's www.china232.com . Has anyone seen this one? Do you know any other sites that have these listen podcasts besides this and of course the one here on daves esl cafe which i like too. I like to hear what are the sayings. not just like in study books.

alex

[tcxch]

My English Learning Philosophy

By Christopher Xie from China
I am a Chinese who speaks and uses English as a second language. My English learning method was not totally created on my own but came from a mixture of reasonable and useful language learning philosophies I have encountered. I think my learning method could help everyone who wants to study a foreign language.

First of all, consider the acronym �ESL�. It is the abbreviation of �English as a second language�. In my opinion, this term does not precisely indicate the situation that most English learners experience. Instead, the learners should be identified in two categories: EFL and ESML. The first is easy to understand, as it has the same last three letters as �TOEFL�. Right, it means, �English as a foreign language�. The second one may be a little confusing. It is �English as a second mother language�. You probably get the idea already. The first class of learners may use a dictionary to translate the English words into their native tongue and can hardly do anything without interpreting from one language to the other. The second class of learners, ESML, boosts its vocabulary and use of the language by listening and reading purely English materials.

Is it really important to divide into different classes learners who are studying generally the same language? Well, actually not. But the current language-learning situation is that most learners attempt to learn a foreign language (especially English) through memorizing vocabulary and grammar rules. This approach is perhaps the longest and the most difficult of all. Students who do this and succeed in passing English exams are abundant, but also plenty of these students�at least in China where I am located�have a really tough time communicating with native speakers of English.

What�s the reason for this? The most important reason is that their English learning and educational structure misses the point. All the exams are focused on the CORRECTNESS of the language but fail to take into account the ACCEPTABILITY of using what is learned. This is a serious problem, especially in China.

I am a learner of English as a non-native speaker, and I have done some talking with native speakers from the US, UK and Australia. I speak with limited vocabulary and so-so grammar, but as long as I can be understood and not try the patience of the person I�m talking with, then I am not doing a bad job of communicating.

You may ask me: Why, then, is the traditional method a bad one, and how I do change my method? I will answer the first question. There are some books that have pretty good learning methods but are too long and too hard to understand. Instead, I shall cut to the chase and write in a paragraph what most good linguistics books teach. There are theories about right-brain and left-brain differences in learning English. These theories are correct but are so abstract that they are useless for the average language learner. A language is always a language and as such is different from subjects such as math and physics. Even native speakers do not use so many words as they talk with one another on a daily basis, and certainly they make mistakes, too. In studying theories, we are RESEARCHING the language, which is NEEDLESS! If we have a perfect knowledge of grammar but can hardly use it in conversation, the grammar is lifeless.

Native speakers often speak too quickly for �EFL� learners to understand. That�s because �EFL� learners need internally to translate what they hear into their native tongue, then they have to form a response in their mind and translate it into English. Otherwise they cannot form a sentence at all. But for �ESML� learners, they have an English thinking structure already in their mind, probably right beside the location in the brain used by their native language. So, a native speaker can easily communicate with them as long as s/he does not use terms that are too difficult. Even if there is some new vocabulary in the native speaker�s statements, an �ESML� student can get the meaning of the words by connecting them with the other parts of the conversation.

It is all about our way of thinking. If we can think the same way that a native speaker thinks, we can learn the language by using and absorbing useful information from materials prepared for native English speakers. We normally do not buy a vocabulary and grammar-learning book to prepare for tests in our native tongue. Similarly, we can always learn something new from daily newspapers, novels and other reading materials. The same is true with the study of a foreign language. We only need to send signals or input information of the language we are learning and let the brain do all the digesting and structuring. Otherwise, we will never react naturally and comfortably when we express ourselves in English.

So, my meaning is simple. In brief, we do not have to listen to �ESL� lectures or lessons in our native language; instead, what we have to do is just listen and read, just let it go and let all the language organized naturally. Language is meant to be useful; it�s a tool�like an axe. We generally learn little about using an axe by reading a book introducing its components. What does help is to watch people use an axe and practice using it ourselves after we get familiar enough with it.

Please remember others who are now learning the very same language as I am: absorbing--digesting--structuring--mastering. These are important things in the process of learning any language. The speed we learn is not only up to our natrual talent in learning language, but also involves learning smarter and better method.

This my English learning philosophy, as drawn from my experiences as a learner. If you have anything we can discuss about feel free to contact me at [email protected].

[littleyoyo]

[fanciacheng520]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/index.shtml

This website is BBC Learning English, I usually surf this site to improve my English.
This website are divided into several part. The first one is "News English''. In this part, you can read many news with audios. After the news, there are vocabulary of the news with simple explanation. It is very convenient for learner to learn new vocabulary. The next part is "The flatmates", it is an episode with audio of conversation, it will have new episode every week. And there also are some quizzes and games. For example, crossword, voczbulary exams,and so on. It also have business English. In this part, you can read many article about getting a job or working abroad. It also have audio of the articles.
This website is very nice. The essays are not too difficult,but vivid. It can motivate you to learnig English, to improve your listening skill

[toefluploader]

www.englishpractise.NET

I love this site. Tons of people all around the world and very friendly enviroment.

and also grammar lessons as well.

www.teslcafe.com

check them out..

[alexwest]

Hi everyone.

I just read some articles about listening to podcasts. I agree that this is the best method to improve our English most quickly. I was surprised to see that they didn't mention www.china232.com It is definitely the best one on the internet. I put it on my mp3 player and listen each day when i go to school. It helps me even more than my classes which cost me money. Ha ha. I hope you will have a try. I know it will make a big difference to your level. You can read the script for free too. Amazing! I hope to see you there.

www.china232.com

[stefan111]

"jump and get an apple",the first lesson from my english teacher.i have to admit that i didn'''''''''t get a vaguest idea about this sentence till i realized learning english cann''''''t go without patience as well as some shortcuts
I have been also learning oral english rencently, i wish i could speak as well as a native english speaker overnight,but it is just a daydream.you know ,when you want something too badly,it may work out aliitle bit against u.
I think it of great importance to do some listening practice and new words while you r improving your oral english,lisening practice will give you the tongue and pronounciation,big vocabulary offers flexibility.
And good luck,fighting!

[StephenLong]

Stefan,

Good luck to you too, my pal.