Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[kaho]

Hello, everyone!
I'm Kaho. I'm a girl studying English seriously. I really want to speak English fluently like a native or almost a native. But my English is terrible and horrible.... I'm a tipical person who completed the education in Japan. In our age, we studied grammar, idioms, reading, grammar, grammar, and grammar. I talked to nobody in English until I traveled in Canada when I was 21 years old. I still remember I couldn't understand what some people at the airport were asking me. Three years have passed since I started to study English again. My listenig is getting better little by little, but it is not so good as to enjoy movies with well understanding. But I really like English, so I will never give it up!

I will sometimes write my diary on this website and ask questions to somebody kind to answer them.
How is my writing? I will appriciate it if you correct my writing or tell me better expression native would say.

Bye for now.

[LucentShade]

I wouldn't say that your English is "terrible" or "horrible," not from this at least. Since you did request it, I'll make a few corrections and changes.



Hello, everyone!
I'm Kaho. I'm a girl, and I'm seriously studying English.
//"I'm a girl studying English seriously" is grammatically correct, but it sounds a bit formal, so I rephrased it to sound more natural and conversational.

I really want to speak English fluently like a native or almost like a native.
// Since you are repeating the comparison, the comparison word "like" needs to be repeated.

But, my English is terrible and horrible....
// The only thing mising here is the comma that needs to follow introductory words like but, therefore, however, because, although. (I don't think the sentence is true either )

I'm a typical person who completed the English education in Japan.
// This i -- y spelling confusion is typical for native speakers as well. I added "English" to make the type of education more clear. (Yes, I know that you probably wouldn't need to include it if you were writing in Japanese. . .)

In our school, we studied grammar, idioms, reading, grammar, grammar, and grammar. I didn't talk to anybody (or "anyone") in English until I traveled in* Canada when I was 21 (years old).
// "I traveled in Canada" means that you spent some time travelling all around Canada. "I traveled to Canada means that you went there for a short time. The choice of preposition "in" or "to" depends on what you want to say--that's why I didn't make a correction above.
Also, saying "21 years old" is fine here, but you can leave out the "years old" part and say "when I was 21." It may be strange to "be" a number, but in informal English, people often talk about their ages like this.

I still remember (that) I couldn't understand what some people at the airport were asking me.
// As a personal preference, I like to include words like that, who, whom, or which as connectors, but they are often left out in conversation.

Three years have passed since I started to study English again. My listening is getting better little by little, but it is not good enoughto enjoy movies with good understanding.
// Saying "it is not so good as to enjoy" is, once again, grammatically correct. However, I don't think that native speakers use that structure very often, at least not in conversation. Don't feel bad about this sort of thing; if you learned English with a heavy focus on grammar, it's only natural that you may sound a little more formal than average from time to time. People generally understand those things, even if they don't use them.
Also, "well" is an adverb, and "good" is an adjective, so you need to use the adjective "good" to describe "understanding." This well--good confusion is also a problem for native speakers.

But I really like English, so I will never give it up!
// That's the spirit!!
How is my writing? I will appriciate it if you correct my writing or tell me better expressions natives would say.// maybe someone else can offer more suggestions, or corrections to the corrections

If you have other questions, go ahead and post them, I enjoy answering this sort of thing.

[tomtoledo]

Hello Kaho,

I think you sound like the kind of student who might enjoy my website, www.englishzoom.com.

There's a strange story to listen to, and also grammar / listening practice.

I've just completed 14 activities featuring phrasal verbs, and I'd love to have people enjoying themselves learning with them. English Zoom also includes practice activities on noun and adjective clauses and gerunds and infinitives.

Please give the site a look. Let me know what you think!
_________________
Tom Sheehan
English Zoom!!! -- Free Story-Based Grammar / Listening Practice. www.englishzoom.com

[kaho]

Hi, LucentShade
Thank you for correcting my English. Everything was clear! I'm lucky to find this site.
I'm happy that you corrected some sentences that were grammatically correct , but sounded unnatural. And, I could know the difference between "in Canada" and " to Canada".

" it is not good enoughto enjoy movies with good understanding. " I like this sentence. I'm sometimes or rather often confused good with well. I thought what I should say about this one for a while at that time.


"If you have other questions, go ahead and post them, I enjoy answering this sort of thing.[/quote]"

Thank you, I will
"Let me ask you a question now right off the bat."
I quoteed this sentence from a website dictionary, but do you say like this?

And.......Could you correct this reply?

[txqtpup]

Dear Kaho, I am not a native speaker either. I'm glad you asked questions, so I could learn from Lucent's answers too. I love English. I speak a little bit Chinese and Malay. I also learnt German in high school. But don't know why, English always comes into my mind especially when my feeling's involved. I feel uncomfortable saying wo ai ni or ich liebe dich, but say 'I love you' very often to my love one. It's funny since they have the same meaning. Again, I don't know the reason, it's a sort of unexplainable feeling. Well, I think I'm already out of topic now. Just want to let you know, I found English very interesting and useful... please don't give up learning, let's learn together, OK?