Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[natumae]

Hi My name is natumae, and I'm Japanese.
I learn writing for the Internet in English in Japan.
So I want to listen to the diverse views of learning language.
Do you think that we using E-mail for language learning?
And do you think about Student Discussion Forums?

[BMO]

I think it is a great idea.

[natumae]

Thank you for your opinions.

[BMO]

I use Internet a lot to learn English, for example, if I want to find out whether it is many equipment or many equipments, singular or plural equipment, I just go to www.google.com, and search for both. Equipment is a noncount noun, and is not supposed to be a plural form. Same for information and informations. I then compare the listings and decide which has more listings.

If I want to know if this idiom "buying a pig in a poke," is correct, I use Google too. I will find many listings of the idiom and perhaps it's meaning too. To limit the number of listings, I often use an exact search, that is, put the idiom in quotes.

If I want to find this idiom's Chinese explanation, I go to www.google.com.tw and type in "buy a pig in a poke" and I will find it's Chinese equivalent.

If I want to know what a word means, I go to www.onelook.com, and enter the word in its search box, that will give me explanations from 10 dictionaries. If Idon't know how to spell a word, say I am not sure whether it is explanation or explaination, then I enter in the search area like this, "expl*ion." The * is a wild character, I will get words that has "expl" in the front and "ion" at the end. I will find out its correct spelling this way.

Of course, there are many free ESL sites that teach English. Most of them have quizzes that you can practice. There are also ESL discussion sites you can ask moderators or other ESL learners questions.

You can find ESL penpals on the Internet too. I don't know if this site has it or not, but you can go to Google and search for "esl penpal," that will give you lots of sites. This is a good way to practice writing. Let me say this to you, there are many nice people, native speakers and non-native speakers, who like to help ESL learners, and still some who like to talk to ESL learners because either they are ESL teachers or they plan to be one themselves.

The best way to find English discussion forums like this one and others is by entering "esl discussion forum," in a Google search, that will give you plenty of sites. You can do some research and find ones that you like. Please remember, some sites maybe good at something, while others maybe good at something else.

Okay?

[LucentShade]

Wow, BMO, it looks like the Internet has helped you quite a bit. I think that I have seen that "expla?nation" confusion before, from other learners. By most forms of logic, it really should be "explaination," yet somehow the "i" disappears in the process.

[BMO]

Where is Natumae?