Guys, it’s important to improve your English more and more. For me can speak English well is not easy, it depends on you. Serious, patient, and persevere are the keys for better English ability. I have tried them, and it is so hard to survive. But, I think they’re useful. Even until now, my English is just as the beginner.
Let’s practice and practice, because no gain without pain. All have the first moment.
Here I just want to share you a method to improve your English. I got this from bbclearningenglish.com, a series radio teaching who support your English language studies. This programme is ‘Talk about English’. The programme is about how to improve your English, it would be listening, speaking, writing, vocabulary, etc. You can download the audio and the text from bbclearningenglish.com
Talk about English consist many series. The first series I would to share is ‘English Makeover’. In this series presenter Vicki Sullivan will visited English learners from around the world and then they’ll tell their English language problems. And there is advice for them and you, from an experienced teacher of English, Karen Adams. But, sadly, I just can share the quick summery from each part. Here they are.
Part I
Learners English in Korea, Japan, China and the other countries with languages where l and r are almost the same sound often have problems with the difference between l and r. so If you have problems with the sounds /r/ and /l/, think about lip shape. For /r/, as in rice, push your lips forward and make them rounder. For /l/ as in lice, make your lips like a smile. You might want to practice the sounds in front of a mirror.
If you want to learn vocabulary for your subject- cookery, architecture or medicine – keep your eyes open. Notice the English all around you. For cookery terms, look at lists of ingredients on packets or in books. If you’re in an English-speaking country, notice the signs in supermarkets. You could keep a notebook and write down new words.
Part II
If you worry about speaking English and get nervous, build up your confidence by chatting with your friends in the language. Have plenty of relaxed chats about and find out what really interests them. On another note, when you write, perhaps you’re not sure about the best way to link sentences. Study texts, perhaps texts related to your work such as business letters or reports. Notice the kind of sentences used. Are they mostly long or short? What kind of connecting words are used to join the sentences together? Take them apart and see if you can put them back together again.
Part III
Do you sometimes have problems choosing the right personal pronoun? In general in English it’s ‘he’ or ‘she’ for people and ‘it’ for things. But what about animals ? Well, that depends on your feelings. Your own beloved pet might seem more like a person – so use ‘he’ or ‘she’. But if you don’t know the animal you’re more likely to use ‘it’.
Perhaps you find that people don’t understand you because you speak English too fast and get the rhythm wrong. Take more breaths and pause more. Think about what you are saying and separate different ideas.
Part IV
If you want to improve your writing, the first step is to read more. Read things related to your writing needs and notice the language. If it’s letters to the bank, try banking leaflets. If it’s an application, look at job advertisements. Get an idea of the vocabulary and style. Then buy yourself a writing textbook and carefully work through it.
And what about English spelling ? To help you remember, split words into syllables, for example IN-DE-PEN-DENT – independent. Look for patterns, such as I before E except after C, as in thief. And group words according to sound and spelling – right, light, night and sight all follow the same spelling pattern.
Part V
If fluency is your problem, pay attention to the small sounds and phrases that English speakers use to fill the gaps. Sounds and phrases like ‘umm’, ‘err’, ‘well’, ‘Hang on a minute’. Or buy time by simply repeating what someone has said. ‘What’s the time?’…’What’s the time?..It’s err ..let me see..six o’clock.’
Maybe you never seem to know which words go with which. Why do we say ‘Fish and chips’ or ‘make a mistake’? Collect collocations when you read. Notice common word combinations and keep a record of these. Learn them as whole chunks rather than individual words.
Or perhaps describing the past is your problem. When do you say ‘I’ve heard’ or ‘I heard’? Start with your thoughts about the action you’re describing. If it’s relevant to you now, you often need to use the present perfect. ‘I’ve just heard Karen’s advice’ – you just heard the advice very recently and you are still thinking or talking about it now. But if you definitely think the action is over, use a past tense. For example, ‘I heard this programme last week.’ Last week is finished, so there is no connection to the present.
And if that’s all too much, get round the problem by using time markers – yesterday, just now, last week.
Part VI
If you have problems writing proposals or applications, look for models of the kind of things you need to write. Ask friends or colleagues if you can see their CVs or proposals and use these as your guide. Notice the structure, the length and the style of language.
Maybe you wonder whether you’re using the right kind of language in informal situations. You can become a careful listener and copy the kind of language that friends or colleagues use. But if you're not sure whether the words are appropriate for the situation, it’s safer to use neutral language. For example, ‘I like that’ rather than ‘That’s cool’.
Part VII
In this part, most of Karen's advice is to watch TV and listen to the radio! This might not sound like study advice, but in fact doing both these things can help improve many different skills in English.
If you need to practice listening without seeing someone, try listening to radio programmes in English – like English make over programme!
To improve your knowledge of slang and colloquial language, watch soap operas or chat shows on TV. Make a note of new expressions. If you don't understand them, try to guess the meaning from the context, or ask English-speaking friends to explain.
Watching a variety of TV programmes will also help you to understand different accents in English.
Part VIII
If you want to work on your formal English, particularly writing, read more to get used to this kind of language. For example, if you have to write letters, read lots of formal letters. Notice the style and try to copy it. Use a writing book to practice.
If tenses are your problem read things you enjoy, such as newspapers or magazine articles, and notice how the verbs are used. You could even blank out the verbs and then try to write them back in again. Next, try to rewrite the article in your own words, being very careful to get the tenses right.
And Part VIII brings us to the end of the English Makeover series. Try out that advice and see if it works for you. Special thanks to BBC World Service. Also great thanks to all of learners for sharing their English language problems with us, and to Karen Adams for her advice on how to improve our English, and of course for the presenter Vicki Sullivan.
Let’s practice English together, thank you J
