Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[susan_wu]

From last month, i falled in love with chatting on web. The original aim is for improving english. at late, i met many frineds they were not come from english language country, but we exchanged our views and become friends. I like chat with them everyday, it wasted me much times. On the other hand, i don't think it's beneficial for improving english. Even though, i do love chatting with stranger people on web that make me freshing my mind. My friends beside me all don't agree me to chat on web. they warn me that is very dangerous. what should i do? Please give me ur opinion, i'd appreciate it very much!

[garo]

Some people make their mind refresh by drinking alcohole.
Some people make their mind refresh by playing golf.
It is important for us to make our mind refresh
as we all have any pressure.
We have risk no matter how we do (driving car, climbing mountain, etc).
So I agree you chat on web.
But take care.

[greencookie]

actually i do no object that u r fall in love on line, but please do be carefull~~~~ so many crimes was done by online friends. its hard to know a person only through online chat .
so, just take it as a way to relax urself ,and do not put too much time or even ur emotions on it .

[advoca]

Please may I give you, Susan, (and anyone else who is trying to learn English some advice.

To improve your English you must be in touch with someone (preferably a teacher) who will correct your mistakes. Otherwise you will only drop into bad habits. And bad habits are difficult to get rid of.

For example, you wrote:

From last month, i falled in love with chatting on web. The original aim is for improving english. at late, i met many frineds they were not come from english language country, but we exchanged our views and become friends. I like chat with them everyday, it wasted me much times. On the other hand, i don't think it's beneficial for improving english. Even though, i do love chatting with stranger people on web that make me freshing my mind. My friends beside me all don't agree me to chat on web. they warn me that is very dangerous. what should i do? Please give me ur opinion, i'd appreciate it very much!

There are many mistakes here, but nobody has corrected you. How can you learn unless you are told of these mistakes. If you simply chat to friends you do not get any feedback. Your mistakes go unnoticed.

If you want to enjoy conversations with friends on the web then enjoy them, have fun, but do not think this will improve your English.

I have too many of my students who have been using bad English for years, successfully communicating with foreigners, but never having had any corrections in their bad English. When I correct them some of them refuse to accept that their English is bad. They have got into the habit of speaking and writing badly, and find it difficult to change their habits.

So, in a nutshell, find someone who will correct you when you make mistakes.

For example, you said, "From last month, i falled in love with chatting on web." and you also said, "What should i do?"

First of all get rid of the dreadul habit of using lower case i intead of upper case I. And do not "falled in love." Fall in love. Fall in love with chatting, by all means, but do not expect chatting to improve your English.

[Openmind]

Dear Advoca, Why is using lower case 'i' a dreadful habit? What about using lower case nicknames? How exactly do you define 'bad English'?

[advoca]

Dear Openmind (and anyone else who is learning English)


Bad English is English which does not conform to the usuage of most English-speaking people.

Why use capital I? I do not know why we do it, but it is the normal usage. Have you ever read a book or a newspaper or a magazine that uses lower case i instead of I?

Suppose I wrote inglish instead of English, or chyna instread of China, or merica instead of America, and done lotsa other strange and stoopid things, thet would be wot is called bad inglish

lotsa kids don know how to write proper. If u are a student try and lurn puroper inglish.

[soso]

Hi susan_wu,


I think that whether chatting on the web is anadvantage or disadvantage depends on you.

You can decide how to use the technology in good or bad way.

[Automated by GetSmile]However, over all I agree with you that internet I a good method to improve our personally, language and many other things since it opens the door for new adventure.

[Automated by GetSmile]
_________________
The key of life is Balance

[Openmind]

[Genjo Sanzo]

Depends on how u use it.... Chatting can somehow improve your English... and that is what I'm doing but you should find someone that really can help you. And be prepared with questions to ask so that you won't chat about other things beside improving your English. But... if you don't 'like' English.... no matter what you do or how hard you try.... nothing can be improve....
_________________

[advoca]

Touch�, Openmind. But using lowercase nicknames is not a habit. It is a convention. It is not conventional to use i instead of I.

And I completely agree with you that using i is a lazy way of typing.

And spelling the word labor instead of labour is not using a more modern way of spelling. It is the way the word is spelled in the USA. But by all means write labor if you are from the US, but if you are a European, and are writing in Europe, it would be more conventional to spell the word labour.

Everybody hates the illogical way English words are spelled, but we are stuck with it at the moment. None of us dare change the conventions. Neither you nor I can write tuf instead of tough, or bow instead of bough or cof instead of cough, or Arkansaw instead of Arkansas. We are stuk with the conventional spelling, yes stuk with it.

I am a teacher, and I try to teach my students how to write in the conventional way, in the way in which most people write. You may prefer to type in a lazy way when you are writing to this forum but I advise you not to write in the lazy way and write u, i, or ur, or lol, when you are writing business letters or e-mails, or if you are applying for a job.

Being lazy is a dreadful habit to get into.

[flower]