Thursday, September 10, 2009

How to Become an Advanced English Speaker

1. Read English constantly, whether it is books like Harry Potter or non-fiction, scholarly works.
2. Watch English television, such as news programmes (e.g. BBC Worlds can be viewed in many parts of the worlds). While watching shows with words that you may not understand, while using a notebook and pen, write the word down (how you think it is spelt) and then find its correct spelling and find out what the word means.
3. Do not have subtitles when watching tv series or movies.
4. Read aloud in order to build both your written and spoken vocabulary.
5. Practice writing a lot. Essays, article contributions, blogging, etc.
6. Communicate as much as possible in English.
7. Make use of the dictionary or thesaurus.
8. Be relaxed and confident when speaking English.
9. Build English vocabulary at the appropriate level; otherwise you will remain an average English speaker.
Tips
· Grammar is very important. Lay yourself a good grammar foundation and your English will improve exponentially. Nevertheless, don't get bogged down and held back by grammar rules. You want to speak the language, not learn how it's spoken.
· Grammar is not only about sentence/verb formations. You should understand the implied meaning associated with the grammar used.
· Try to think in English instead of your mother tongue/the language you are familiar with.
· Use an English dictionary instead of a bilingual dictionary (as you progress).
· Practice using natural English instead of finding the English equivalents from your mother tongue.
· Watch movies in English without subtitles or English language satellite channels like BBC or CNN and try to understand it.
· Find a friend with whom you can practice English.
· Be careful of a dictionary's definition of synonyms. There are no two completely synonymous words in English. Car and automobile are said to be synonymous, but telling your English friend that you have an automobile instead of a car is unusual.
· If you learn English at school, then be as engaged as you can in those lessons, and always only speak English (if you can) there.
Warnings
· Be patient; language learning takes a while.
· Don't say "I can't do it", as long as you study English, words and phrases will be printed unconsciously into your mind.


TEY SOK CHEN
ONG WAN YUN
LIM YEN NEE

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