How to learn English

How To Learn English!

Here are some tips which may help you to master the English Language!

Speak without Fear

The biggest problem most people face in learning a new language is their own fear. They worry that they won’t say things correctly or that they will look stupid so they don’t talk at all.  Don’t do this.  The fastest way to learn anything is to do it – again and again until you get it right.  Like anything, learning English requires practice. Don’t let a little fear stop you from getting what you want. 

Surround Yourself with English

The absolute best way to learn English is to surround yourself with it.  Take notes in English, put English books around your room, listen to English language radio broadcasts, watch English news, movies and television.  Speak English with your friends whenever you can. The more English material that you have around you, the faster you will learn and the more likely it is that you will begin “thinking in English.”
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Listen to Native Speakers as Much as Possible

There are some good English teachers that have had to learn English as a second language before they could teach it.  However, there are several  reasons why many of the best schools prefer to hire native English speakers. One of the reasons is that native speakers have a natural flow to their speech that students of English should try to imitate.  The closer ESL / EFL students can get to this rhythm or flow, the more convincing and comfortable they will become. 

Watch English Films and Television

This is not only a fun way to learn but it is also very effective.  By watching English films (especially those with English subtitles) you can expand your vocabulary and hear the flow of speech from the actors.  If you listen to the news you can also hear different accents. 

Listen to English Music

Music can be a very effective method of learning English.  In fact, it is often used as a way of improving comprehension.  The best way to learn though, is to get the lyrics (words) to the songs you are listening to and try to read them as the artist sings.  There are several good internet sites where one can find the words for most songs.This way you can practice your listening and reading at the same time.  And if you like to sing, fine.

Record Yourself

Nobody likes to hear their own voice on tape but like tests, it is good to compare your tapes from time to time.  You may be so impressed with the progress you are making that you may not mind the sound of your voice as much.

Listen to English

By this, we mean, speak on the phone or listen to radio broadcasts, audiobooks or CDs in English. This is different than watching the television or films because you can’t see the person that is speaking to you.  Many learners of English say that speaking on the phone is one of the most difficult things that they do and the only way to improve is to practice.

Finally

Have fun!

10 tips to improve the way you speak English

Part I: Want to 'neutralise' your accent?

Many deserving candidates lose out on job opportunities because of their vernacular accent.

Can I 'neutralise' my accent?

Yes, you can. All you need to do is train yourself to speak English as comfortably and perfectly as you speak your mother tongue.

How do you train yourself? By inculcating certain practices in your daily lifestyle. These will get you closer to sounding like a native English speaker and equip you with a global accent -- and you will speak not American or British English, but correct English.

This is the first step to learn any other accent, be it American or British or Australian.

Lisa Mojsin, head trainer, director and founder of the Accurate English Training Company in Los Angeles, offers these tips to help 'neutralise' your accent or rather do away with the local twang, as you speak.

i. Observe the mouth movements of those who speak English well and try to imitate them.

When you are watching television, observe the mouth movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are saying, while imitating the intonation and rhythm of their speech.

ii. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of English, slow your speech down.

If you speak too quickly, and with the wrong intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a hard time understanding you. 

Don't worry about your listener getting impatient with your slow speech -- it is more important that everything you say be understood.

iii. Listen to the 'music' of English.

Do not use the 'music' of your native language when you speak English. Each language has its own way of 'singing'. 

iv. Use the dictionary.

Try and familiarise yourself with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary. Look up the correct pronunciation of words that are hard for you to say.

v. Make a list of frequently used words that you find difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks the language well to pronounce them for you.

Record these words, listen to them and practice saying them. Listen and read at the same time.   

vi. Buy books on tape.

Record yourself reading some sections of the book. Compare the sound of your English with that of the person reading the book on the tape.

vii. Pronounce the ending of each word.

Pay special attention to 'S' and 'ED' endings. This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you use when you speak English.

viii. Read aloud in English for 15-20 minutes every day. 

Research has shown it takes about three months of daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for speaking a new language.

ix. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes.

Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and avoid listening to themselves speak. However, this is a very important exercise because doing it will help you become conscious of the mistakes you are making.

x. Be patient.

You can change the way you speak but it won't happen overnight. People often expect instant results and give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if you are willing to put some effort into it.

Quick tips

Various versions of the English language exist. Begin by identifying the category you fall into and start by improving the clarity of your speech.

~ Focus on removing the mother tongue influence and the 'Indianisms' that creep into your English conversations.

~ Watch the English news on television channels like Star World, CNN, BBC and English movies on Star Movies and HBO.

~ Listen to and sing English songs. We'd recommend Westlife, Robbie Williams, Abba, Skeeter Davis and Connie Francis among others.

By: Anita D'Souza | September 02, 2005

Better communicator

Improving your English speaking skills will help you communicate more easily and effectively. But how do you become a more confident English speaker?

Practice where you can, when you can. Any practice is good – whether you speak to someone who is a native English speaker or not.

It's important to build your confidence. If possible, use simple English sentence structure that you know is correct, so that you can concentrate on getting your message across.

Try to experiment with the English you know. Use words and phrases you know in new situations. Native English speakers are more likely to correct you if you use the wrong word than if you use the wrong grammar. Experimenting with vocabulary is a really good way of getting feedback.

Try to respond to what people say to you. You can often get clues to what people think by looking at their body language. Respond to them in a natural way.

Try NOT to translate into and from your own language. This takes too much time and will make you more hesitant.

If you forget a word, do what native English speakers do all the time, and say things that 'fill' the conversation. This is better than keeping completely silent. Try using um, or er, if you forget the word.

Don't speak too fast! It's important to use a natural rhythm when speaking English, but if you speak too fast it will be difficult for people to understand you.

Try to relax when you speak – you'll find your mouth does most of the pronunciation work for you. When you speak English at normal speed, you'll discover that many of the pronunciation skills, such as linking between words, will happen automatically.

Hope this helps :D

In the outside world, lots of things can go wrong. Maybe you don't understand the other person – or maybe they don't understand you. Maybe it's the subject you're talking about which is difficult, or maybe the other person uses a lot of slang or English idioms that you don't understand. Here are some phrases you can use when there are communication problems.


You don't know the word
Don't let the conversation stop. If you don't know the word, try to say it in another way. Define it, give an example, or give a synonym.


For example, if you can't remember the word "mug" you can try these:
Definition: "It's something you can drink coffee from."
Explanation: "It's made of china. You use it for drinking coffee."
Synonym: "It's like a cup, but bigger."


The other person doesn't understand you
You'll probably guess that this has happened from the blank look on the other person's face.
Ask a question such as "Do you know what I mean?"
Or use a rephrasing phrase, such as "Let me say that again", or "Let me put that another way."


You run out of things to say
A conversation is a two-way thing. The easiest way to get the other person to contribute is by asking a question.
You can try a short question like this to keep the conversation going:


"We tried out the new Chinese restaurant last night."
"Did you?"
Or you can ask a more direct question, such as "What do you think?" or "what's your opinion?"


You don't know how to end the conversation
Some conversations should be short. For example, asking someone for directions, giving directions, asking for information in a shop are all situations where the conversation comes to a natural end.


 In these situations, a simple "Thank you" (where the typical response is "You're welcome" or "Not at all") shows both people that the conversation is over.
But in other situations, you might just be chatting, with no particular purpose. End the 
conversation with a phrase like "I'd better get going" or "I think that's my bus / train" (if you're waiting for public transport, say) to end the conversation naturally.

Confidence is the key

If you don't live in an English-speaking country, and you don't have friends or family to speak English with, where can you practise your English speaking skills?


It's easier to have a conversation if you have a reason to speak – something to talk about. These ideas all give you a reason to speak with another person.



Before you start speaking
- Try to plan what you want to say. Make sure you know the most important words or technical terms that you'll need.
- Practise standard expressions. For example, "Pleased to meet you", or "How are you?" Getting these expressions right makes you feel more confident to continue the conversation.
- As well as concentrating on what you want to say, also concentrate on listening to the other person. Give your full attention, and make sure you understand by using clarifying expressions such as "Sorry, do you mean…" or "I'm sorry, but I don't understand. Can you repeat that please?" Don't forget: being a good speaker also means being a good listener. People will want to have conversations with you if they know you're interested in what they say!

How to be better in English?*

My most important piece of advice is: "Do something (anything). If you don't do anything, you won't get anywhere. Make it your hobby, not a chore, but above all have fun!"

Sometimes you'll be in the fast lane and other times you'll be stuck in traffic, but there will also be lots of interesting things and interesting people along the way. Take your time to really enjoy the experience.

There are many ways to improve your level of English, but only you can find the right way for you. Here are a few tips that might help:-

Improve your Learning Skills

Learning is a skill and it can be improved.

Your path to learning effectively is through knowing

• yourself
• your capacity to learn
• processes you have successfully used in the past
• your interest, and knowledge of what you wish to learn

Motivate yourself

If you are not motivated to learn English you will become frustrated and give up. Ask yourself the following questions, and be honest:-

• Why do you need to learn/improve English?
• Where will you need to use English?
• What skills do you need to learn/improve? 
• How soon do you need to see results?
• How much time can you afford to devote to learning English.
• How much money can you afford to devote to learning English.
• Do you have a learning strategy?

Set yourself achievable goals

You know how much time you can dedicate to learning English, but a short time each day will produce better, longer-term results than a full day on the weekend and then nothing for two weeks.

Joining a short intensive course could produce better results than joining a course that takes place once a week for six months.

Here are some goals you could set yourself:-

• Read a book or a comic every month.
• Learn a new word every day.
• Read a news article on the net every day.
• Watch an English film at least once a month.
• Hear the radio

A good way to meet your goals is to establish a system of rewards and punishments.

Decide on a reward you will give yourself for fulfilling your goals for a month.

• A bottle of your favourite drink
• A meal out / or a nice meal at home
• A new outfit
• A manicure or massage

Hope this help you in your quest to speak better english!

I personally edited this article from learnenglish.de

*This article is for reference only. No copyright infringement intended.  

Vote

We did a vote in The Centris today and found out that 8/10 of the maids there had problems communicating with their employers when they first came to Singapore. We created a "voting paper" and got domestic helpers, who are Filipinos or Indonesians, and requested them to do our survey which look a little like this :

This vote would be contributed to a study*.

Suara ini akan memberikan kontribusi untuk mempelajari.

Boto na ito ay magiging ambagsa isang pag-aaral.

Did you have problem communicating with your employers when you first came to Singapore?

Apakah Anda memiliki masalah berkomunikasi dengan majikan Anda ketika Anda pertama kali datang ke Singapura?

Ba ikaw ay may problema sa pakikipag-usap saiyong employer mo noong una kang dumating saSingapore?

YES/NO   

Name: _____________________________________

                           

Signature:

*Westwood Secondary School’s Communication Studies

We believe that not only domestic helpers should learn English but employers should learn a little about their employee's language. We have prepared a video for you. (We do not own this video)

Not only can employers learn Indonesian, employees now can learn English too. This is called, killing two birds with one stone :D 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDuOSAxOQDk&feature=fvwrel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydIv8nvZHnQ&feature=fvwrel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBvOOLSYgYY&feature=relmfu

We believe that not only domestic helpers should learn English but employers should learn a little about their employee's language. We have prepared a video for you. (We do not own this video)
Not only can employers learn Tagalog (Filipino's Language) , employees now can learn English too. This is called, killing two birds with one stone :D 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPcOIiaS-54
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFkm-XaKPj0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcnIMcdYnFI&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNwGjmL3UDs&feature=fvwrel

Filipino Reference Sheet

http://www.filedude.com/download/UXsnctGDIOe4b3dc7dc0


This is the download link to download our Reference sheet. The contents are simple English phrases translated into Filipino. Its for a quick reference only, that is why it is only two pages.


Ito ang download link upang i-download ang aming Reference sheet. Ang mga nilalaman ay simpleng Ingles parirala isinalin sa Filipino. Nito para sa isang mabilis nareference lamang, na ang dahilan kung bakit ito ay lamang ng dalawang mga pahina.

Indonesian Reference Sheet

http://www.filedude.com/download/EU7Bpev024f1a0d43e4e


This is the download link to download our Reference sheet. The contents are simple English phrases translated into Indonesian. Its for a quick reference only, that is why it is only one page.  


Ini adalah link download untuk men-download lembar Referensi kami. Isi adalah frasabahasa Inggris yang sederhana diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Indonesia. Its untukreferensi cepat saja, itulah sebabnya hanya satu halaman.