Tag: Writing

  • Successful Writing at Work

    Successful Writing at Work by Philip C. Kolin

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    Acknowledgments:

    Successful Writing at Work, Concise Second Edition, is a practical introductory text for students in business, professional, and occupational writing courses. As readers of the full-length edition of this text have found. Successful Writing at Work clearly helps students develop and master key communication skills vital for success in the workplace. Every Leader have to need Social Media Skills with Qualities.

    The Concise Edition serves the same purpose, but it is design for those who prefer a more compact text. One that covers nearly as many business writing topics but is more streamline and focuses. On the most essential skills and strategies for writing successfully on the job. Whereas the full-length edition includes seventeen chapters. The Concise Edition contains ten chapters, yet fully covers the range of workplace communication: from essential considerations such as audience analysis and ethics, to writing increasingly more complex business documents (memos through long reports), to making presentations, to preparing a résumé and interviewing for a job.

    This compact edition has design for a variety of educational settings where business writing is taught. It is versatile enough for a full semester or trimester course, or it can use successfully in a shorter course, such as on a quarter system. It can also meet the diverse goals of varied educational settings, including online, distance education, continuing education, and week-long intensive courses, as well as in-house training programs, workshops, and conferences.

    Successful Writing at Work, Concise Second Edition. Provides students with easy-to-understand guidelines for writing and designing clear, well organized, and readable documents. Along with user-friendly guidelines. This edition provides students with realistic models of the precise kinds of documents. They will ask to write on the job. In addition, this text can serve as a ready reference that readers can easily carry with them to the workplace. Students will quickly find that this book includes many practical applications. Which are useful to those. Who have little or no job experience as well as those with years of experience in the world of work.

  • Making the Feedback Training Method Work

    Making the Feedback Training Method Work

    This post will give you some practical suggestions in applying the Feedback Training Method work to your language study, helping you to gain fluency as quickly as possible. 

    Making the Feedback Training Method Work:

    From past experience with the Spoken English Learned Quickly course, it is fair to say that these methods can help you double the rate at which you acquire a new language.  That is, in hour-for-hour of study, you can reach the same fluency level in six months that you would otherwise reach in a full year of study relying only on an established school’s program.  This language-learning rate should be just as attainable when using your own program in an area where formal instruction limited.

    In order to succeed, however, you must remember the four rules that were previously given in:

    1. To learn to speak a language correctly, you must speak it aloud.
    2. To learn to speak a language fluently, you must think in that language.
    3. The more you speak a language aloud, the more quickly you will learn to speak fluently.
    4. You must never make a mistake when you are speaking.

    There is no alternative to committing a great amount of time to language study.  If you are devoting full time to it, then try to spend a full eight hours a day, five days a week on language study.  Ideally, that will be eight hours devoted to actual speaking by means of recorded exercises and newspaper reading.  If you are enrolled in a structured class, you will need to supplement your class and preparation time with additional newspaper reading and spoken exercises for a total of eight hours of study each day.

    Whatever your schedule permits — from one hour a day to eight hours a day — bring as much spoken the language of your study time as possible.

    If you are applying the four rules above and simultaneously thinking, speaking out loud, and listening to yourself in your target language, you are using a Feedback Training Method of language study.

    Learning an alphabet:

    Let’s assume that you are a first language English-speaking adult, that you possibly also have a college degree, and that you know the Latin alphabet.  With this background, you should find it fairly easy to learn the alphabet for languages such as Polish and others that use additional accents and diacritical marks.

    However, if you are learning a language that uses another alphabet, you will need to learn that alphabet first.

    Most languages use a relatively small number of letters in their alphabet.  You would severely hamper your language learning efforts if you did not first learn that short alphabet.  Some languages have considerably longer alphabets, and you may not need to learn all of the letters before starting to study the spoken language itself.  On the other hand, Chinese is the only language that uses only characters while Japanese uses two alphabets and additional Chinese characters.  In time, you will want to learn as many characters as possible.  However, with no personal experience to guide me regarding these two languages. I would think that your time might better spent by initially concentrating on the spoken language.

    Making the Feedback Training Method work during formal language study:

    If you are studying in a highly structured program which emphasizes written assignments. You will need to supplement that study with spoken language.  Our bias against written assignments for language learning does not concern the accuracy of the sentences themselves.  In all likelihood, the written sentences used in these language programs are an excellent representation of the language.  They should, however, learned as spoken phrases rather than as written sentences.

    If you are in a language program that emphasizes written assignments, then after completing the written portion of the daily work, spend your additional study time using the assignments as spoken exercises.

    1. Practice only with written sentences that you know to be correct. You may want to use the sentences from the previous day’s lesson after they have been corrected in class.  Or you may have access to a first language speaker who can check them for you.  Avoid getting your primary help from an advanced student who is a first language speaker of your own language.
    2. In the early part of your study, be very certain that your pronunciation is correct. When the pronunciation of your own language and the target language are similar, this will not be a major problem.  In other instances, it will be a serious concern.  For example, a first language English speaker cannot learn proper French pronunciation without help from either a first language French-speaking person or some form of audio recordings.
    3. In some cases, you can record short segments from the local television or radio programs for use as pronunciation drills.
    4. In time, your pronunciation will become more reliable and you can return to reading written class assignments and newspapers aloud for pronunciation practice.
    5. You will need to use a mix of methods when you are reading. The second rule above suggests that you never merely read the sentences, but that you also recite the sentences from recall memory.  That is, you read a sentence aloud and then look away from the page and immediately repeat the sentence from memory.  On the other hand, there will be times when reading an entire newspaper article or written language assignment aloud, using precise pronunciation, will be of great benefit.  Reading longer portions without pause will develop your sense of the cadence of your target language.  Be creative in adding variety so that you are able to maintain the intense schedule while avoiding the monotony that could undermine your best intentions.
    6. In all likelihood, if you are in a structured class, verbs, as well as other types of speech. Will be introduced progressively rather than as was suggested in; Studying the Verb. You may greatly enhance your learning speed if you construct verb tables as you encounter new verbs.  Very quickly, you should be able to take any new regular verb and recite the entire table without first writing it.  You may find it to be helpful to make tables with suffixes and prefixes while leaving blank spaces for the verb root.  Then each time you encounter a new verb, you can refer to that table for spoken practice.  As already suggested, get into the habit of learning each verb in its entirety.  Also, develop the habit of learning the verb as a spoken rather than written vocabulary word.
    7. If you are in a classroom language study program, you will undoubtedly have a language textbook that will provide enough information for you to be able to construct your own verb tables.
    8. When you begin the study, you will have a limited vocabulary that will not permit you to practice individual verbs in the context of a sentence. Again, turn to your newspaper.  Find sentences that include specific verbs with the tenses and persons you are looking for.  Look up the vocabulary for those sentences and then use the full sentences in spoken practice.  With that model sentence, you can construct oral drills by changes in person or tense.
    9. During your initial language study, the process suggested in the previous paragraph will be slow. It may require a good deal of time for you to find a sentence that can appropriately adapted and then to find the meaning of each word.  Don’t discouraged.  The laborious process is still teaching you important lessons about the language.  Soon it will take far less time as you become familiar with vocabulary and syntax.
    10. Notice that the emphasis on speaking not initially done “on the street.” Of course, as quickly as you are able, you will want to engage in live conversation. Understand, however, that your polite listeners will allow you to use their language incorrectly.  Because they will feign understanding, you will be unable to determine if your syntax or pronunciation is correct.  Carefully apply the fourth rule and try to learn basic syntax before you get into the habit of using words that

    will just get you by because your listeners are polite or have learned to interpret what you mean.

    Making the Feedback Training Method work as your only language course:

    Several assumptions made in this section.  Presumably, the target language spoken by a relatively large population, used in public education, and, at least to some degree, used in university level education.  Also, presumably books and newspapers are readily available in the language.

    We are also assuming that you will be able to locate a language helper who has the equivalent of a public school education.  Better yet, your language helper will be a university student.  University students trying to earn extra money are good language helpers.  They also have excellent contacts among their peers which would permit a substitute if they become temporarily — or permanently — unavailable.

    This post is not concerned with a target language that is unwritten and/or used by a remote and isolated group of people.  There are organizations that deal with language learning in that setting.  Therefore, devising a method for learning that language is not the intent of this book.

    You may find that language courses actually offered in the country by a university or private tutors.  However, you may have used them and decided that they are not effective for you.  Typically, these courses will consist largely of lectures on grammar or culture and will have class sizes that are too large to allow for significant spoken language experience.  They will provide little to nothing in audio playback language laboratories or pre-recorded spoken language exercises.

    You may enroll in a class as described above but plan on supplementing your class work with a great deal of additional spoken material as suggested in the section on formal classes.  Enrolling in this kind, of course, gives you access to a language teacher who could correct your pronunciation and syntax problems.  On the other hand, after evaluating the language courses that are locally available. You may decide that you would accomplish more by designing your own spoken language course.

    The information in the following sub-headings should help you structure your course.

    Selecting a language helper. 

    If you live close to a university, a student might be a good choice.  If you use a Feedback Training Method, an effective language helper does not need to have any training as a language teacher as long as they speaks your target language fluently.  In fact, if you feel confident in establishing the kind of language learning program suggested in this book. You may find that a university student with training as a language teacher could actually hinder your progress.  In all probability, this training would place the high value on teaching grammar.  In the absence of a local university, a secondary school student or graduate could also serve the purpose just as well.

    You will want a language helper who speaks clearly, can read well, and has an acceptable voice for recording purposes.  The language helper should also be able to write and spell correctly.  In your study, you will be using written exercise pages that your language helper will write.  It is important that you see correctly written sentences with correct spelling.  Of course, as suggested in; Selecting a Text, you will also use a newspaper which well edited, with good grammar and spelling.

    Your language helper will be making voice recordings that you will use for practice.  It is important that his or her pronunciation is correct and clear so that you can be confident in mimicking the recording.  As much as possible, find a language helper who speaks with a normal cadence.  Also be aware that missing front teeth or speech impediments will likely distort pronunciation.

    Initially, if you and your language helper share another language in common other than the target language. You could use it for communicating as you establish the pay, the study schedule, and your expectations.  In many parts of the world, you would expect to pay your language helper at least weekly, if not daily.

    Training your language helper. 

    Understand the skill differences between you and your language helper.  They is the expert in the language — you are not.  You are the expert in the language learning method — they is not.  After you have studied for a while, you could presumptuously assume that you know more about the language than your language helper does, hindering the process.  That can happen more often than you might imagine! On the other hand, your language helper has more than likely studied language in school using a grammar-based method. 

    If the university system uses a European language as the means of instruction. Your language helper will almost certainly have studied that European language’s grammar for many years in school.  It would also mean that grammar study was superimposed on the local language.  Your language helper will expect that you want him or her to teach you grammar.  It would be surprising if your language helper would initially understand the Feedback Training Method of using only spoken the language.

    In all probability, your language helper will expect that you are paying him or her to give you grammar lessons.  They will probably further expect that the language of instruction will rely heavily on a common language between you. Either they has studied English or you have studied French or another language of instruction used in the local university.  Your language helper may also have an agenda, hoping to practice English as well.

    Considering all of the above, you have an important task ahead of you in training your language helper to speak only the target language.  Nonetheless, in this section let’s assume that you have a common language in which you can communicate to some degree.  However, you will not be using this common language for instruction.  All instruction will be in your target language.  You will need to work together as a team — you will be guiding the language sessions. While your language helper will be providing the language expertise.

    Developing initial exercises. 

    The following suggestions assume that you have no language ability in your target language and that you are just beginning your initial language study.

    1. Start with the “hello”s and “goodbye”s of the language. Show your language helper that you want to mimic everything they says and that you want to speak at a normal cadence, using correct pronunciation.  Work with your language helper until the two of you can carry out a complete conversation using the appropriate greetings and farewells.
    2. Keep a notebook in which your language helper writes every phrase they is suggesting to you. When you have written the phrases in the notebook, the two of you should be able to repeat the phrases as a dialogue.
    3. Work on vocabulary. You will keep a vocabulary notebook that is separate from the phrase notebook your language helper is using.  Make a list of vocabulary words and write the definitions in English.
    4. Using your recording equipment, have your language helper record four or five phrases as a test recording. After each phrase, your language helper must pause long enough to give you time to repeat the phrase.  However, your voice is not recorded.  Now, demonstrate how you will use the recording during a study.  This will give your language helper a better idea of how much time should be allowed during the pauses.
    5. If the pause time is either too short or too long, re-record the first phrases until it is correct. Then finish the recording so that all phrases written in the notebook are recorded.  Depending on the time allowed for each session, this may complete the first lesson.
    6. You will keep both the phrase notebook and the vocabulary notebook with you.
    7. After your language helper leaves, you will spend a number of hours studying before the next lesson. You will practice until you can say all of the phrases with good pronunciation without referring to the phrase notebook.  You will also learn all of the vocabularies.
    8. During your next lesson, you may introduce the idea of verb tables. Select verbs from the vocabulary.  Have your language helper give you all of the tenses and persons. Other grammatical functions placed within the verb if pertinent to that language.  If it is a common verb, be alert to the fact that it may be an irregular verb.  If you have purchased language texts for your target language, you may already have textbooks giving all of this information.  If so, you can prepare the initial table information without your language helper’s involvement.
    9. Have your language helper write a number of the verbs used in the first lesson in table format. Have him or her repeat each person and tense — and other verb grammar functions — as demonstrated in; Studying the Verb.  Respond by repeating everything your language helper says.  Finally, using appropriate pauses, have your language helper record all of the verb tables they has just written.  This will probably be the end of the second lesson.
    10. Again, you will study using the recordings until you can repeat everything from the first two lessons perfectly without looking at the phrase or vocabulary notebooks.
    11. During the next lesson, have your language helper write simple sentences for each person and tense for as many verb tables as you will be able to finish and record for that lesson. Use as many of the words as possible which are already on your vocabulary list.  You will need to encourage your language helper to frequently reuse vocabulary you are already familiar with.  They must be in the habit of using your vocabulary notebook whenever new phases are written for recording.
    12. In successive lessons, you can complete more verb tables and example sentences for each of the verbs you have already used. Of course, new example sentences will introduce new verbs.  The new verbs will introduce even more new vocabulary as the new sample phrases are written and recorded.  Be creative and you will find that this process will be self-perpetuating. Producing enough material for many weeks of intense language study.  You will also soon accumulate enough recorded material so that you can profitably spend many hours a day repeating it.
    13. There is a mistake you must avoid. Your objective is not to review the recordings until you merely understand the meaning and the vocabulary.  You will reach that point quickly.  You should study every recording until you can flawlessly pronounce each phrase.  That will take considerably more work.  Do not be satisfied with merely understanding the phrases.  Work until you can reproduce the phrases with the fluency of a first language speaker.

    Selecting a text. 

    At some point, you will begin drawing your text from a newspaper.  Three previously stated principles need to be reviewed regarding newspapers as language study aids:

    • You will need to select your newspaper carefully. Making certain that it is an edition that uses everyday common language rather than one that uses a literary style.
    • You cannot use a newspaper for language study without having appropriate pronunciation assistance. During your early study, you will want to have your language helper guide you so that your pronunciation is correct.  You may want to read the article together and then continue reading the same article after your language helper leaves for the day.  You should have your language helper record the newspaper article with appropriate pauses.
    • You should always read the newspaper aloud.

    It may be helpful to have two identical newspapers so that both you and your language helper have the same text.  You will proceed much as you did earlier.  Initially, you will be able to use a single newspaper article for many weeks. So you do not need to buy a newspaper for each session.

    1. Select a short article that interests you. Your language helper may help you make selections based on the vocabulary or expressions contained in the article.
    2. Start by reading the article together. Have your language helper read a phrase, and then you reread the same phrase yourself until your pronunciation is perfect.  Then go to the next phrase or sentence, and so on.
    3. When you begin to study the same sentences on the recording, you will not be looking at the newspaper. Your response will be entirely from recall memory.  Therefore, show your language helper how longer sentences should be broken into shorter phrases.  For examples, see Appendix B: Text Exercises.
    4. During your practice reading, it might be helpful for your language helper to insert slash marks in the text to indicate where pauses should occur during the recording.
    5. Develop vocabulary lists in your vocabulary notebook as you have already done.
    6. Continue to develop verb tables.
    7. Add a new category for expressions and idioms. A newspaper will generally use many common expressions.  Identify each expression and define it.  In many cases, keywords may be substituted in the expression to change either the subject or the action of the expression.  You may also be able to change the time of the expression with the verb tense.  Learn how the expression can be modified.
    8. In time, your language helper may write actual exercises using word substitution or verb manipulation. However, this may require more time than is available during the lesson period that, in fairness, may require additional payment.

    The alphabet and numbers. 

    Assuming that your target language uses an alphabet with a relatively few letter. You will want to learn the correct pronunciation of each letter in order to be able to spell words for first language speakers.  You will also want to learn the correct pronunciation for numbers.  Construct simple drills for both letters and numbers.  Review the drills frequently enough that you can readily use both letters and numbers, utilizing perfect pronunciation.  See the alphabet and number drills in Appendix A: Introductory Lesson.

    You will probably use numbers more frequently because they are a part of daily conversation in making purchases.  Consequently, you will probably gain fluency with numbers relatively quickly.  However, be certain that you also learn the alphabet.  As a foreigner, you will frequently be asked to spell words.  It will be a great help to you if you learn to spell fluently in your target language.

    Finally, if your target language uses a monetary system that is identified with anything other than simple numbers such as we use in English. For example, we say seven dollars or three hundred and eighty dollars — you will also need to learn to rapidly use that system as well.  For example, in the country in which I lived for nine years, a price could be specified in either MGF francs or the national aviary.  The ariary was worth five MGF francs.  In the larger cities, you could get by with calling the price 350 francs.  In remote areas, one was forced to bargain by calling the same amount 70 ariary.  I learned, much to my chagrin, that mistakenly bargaining a price for 350 ariary was going to cost me a lot more than 350 francs.  At least I won that bartering round at my first stated price!

    Recording the exercises. 

    In spite of the high technology equipment that is available today for MP3 and CD (compact disc) computer-based recording. Some may still prefer the low-tech cassette tape recorder.  It is inexpensive and easy to use as both a recording and a playback machine, and it has a pause button and counter that facilitates use in language study.  However, if you take a recorder with you, you will need to either take an ample supply of cassette tapes with you or verify that tapes can be purchased locally.  Also, make certain that any equipment you take with you will work on the supplied voltage and frequency of that country.

    If you use a cassette recorder, limit your cassettes to the 60-minute length or less.  Longer duration cassettes use thinner tape that will not hold up to repeated forward and reverse usage in language study.  The thinner tape also tangles more easily.

    Today’s choice, however, would be MP3 technology.  If you use an iPod or MP3 player and have appropriate computer equipment. You may find that making the voice recording on a CD and downloading it to the MP3 player is a good alternative.  You can also purchase auxiliary attachments that permit an iPod to record directly.  In this case, you will probably want to upload your MP3 files to a computer so that they could be stored on CDs.  Many MP3 players may be paused just like a cassette tape recorder.

    You will need to establish a routine with your language helper.  During the time they is helping you, you will be working on text material that will be spontaneously organized or written as recorded exercises.  In addition, you may also record verb tables and the like.  You will need to allow enough time so that each day’s recording can be completed.

    View the recorded material as the most important part of the lesson time spent with your language helper.  You can easily get three or four hours of language practice time from each hour of recorded material.  Thus, live conversation with your language helper will only give you an hour of spoken language for an hour of your language helper’s time. Whereas an hour of recording will give you a minimum of three or four hours of spoken language time for the same hour of your language helper’s time.  In addition, past recorded exercises can be frequently reviewed, which will give you even that much more spoken language exercise.

    There will also be days when your language helper is not available because of illness, school schedule, holidays, and other reasons.  Previously recorded exercises will allow you to continue language study without lost time.

  • Selecting a Text

    Selecting a Text

    Find out how to enhance your language learning with the right selecting a text for studying. Newspapers offer a wide range of topics and vocabulary for effective language practice.

    Selecting a Text for Language Learning: Enhance Your Skills

    This chapter will use the term text to identify a written manuscript. Enhance Your Language Learning Journey with Selecting a Text. A newspaper in your target language is usually an excellent source for a study text.  Most newspapers use good syntax, relatively simple sentences, and common expressions.  In addition to general vocabulary, newspapers will give you many common political, scientific, economic, and technical words.  Generally, newspapers are also a good source of colloquial expressions.

    Important: Not all newspapers would be suitable for spoken language study.  In many countries, there are both common language and literary newspapers.  You would want to select a newspaper that uses commonly spoken the language.  You may also be able to find magazines that work equally well.  There may be magazines of particular interest to you such as political news, handyman, sewing and crafts, travel, outdoors and camping, sports, or any number of other topics. 

    You would want to have your language helper evaluate the newspaper or magazine to be certain that the one you select uses an acceptable level of conversational language.  The term newspaper throughout the remainder of this chapter will refer to whatever text you would have selected.

    Some may also argue that a local newspaper does not always provide the best conversational language for spoken language study.  That may be true, but the reality is that you probably would not be able to find the ideal text at any price.  When carefully selected, the inexpensive and readily available newspaper will undoubtedly be your best compromise.

    Further, this chapter attempts to describe the use of a newspaper in language study without suggesting when its use in that study might occur.  The introduction of the newspaper into the language study schedule would depend entirely on the unique circumstances in each language study program.  The reference to time (six weeks) at the end of the chapter is done simply for the sake of illustration, though it is entirely realistic with the help of a competent language helper.  Similarly, some users of the newspaper suggested in this chapter could occur early in language study while others are for students who have already had considerably more experience with their target language.

    As you begin language study, you will need both a text and an audio recording of it to use for pronunciation practice.  Since it would be difficult to procure a constant supply of companion texts with recordings, you will need to select one and then produce the other with the help of your language helper.

    Going from a written text to an audio recording:

    Making the Feedback Training Method Work, the role of a language helper in your language study program will be fully explained.  This present chapter, however, will be primarily concerned with the text itself.  As we begin this chapter, we will make two assumptions: 1) that you will have a language helper who is a first language (L1) speaker of your target language and pronounces the target language correctly, and 2) that you will have audio recording equipment.

    Everything considered it should be easier to produce an audio recording from a newspaper text than to produce a written text from a radio broadcast recording.  It would be much simpler for your language helper to record the text than it would be for the language helper to transcribe the audio recording.

    For your study purposes, a printed newspaper text will assure a more precise use of the language, better spelling, and a more easily preserved printed copy.  Because live radio broadcasts are difficult to record when inexpensive audio equipment is being used, it would be difficult to hear all of the words clearly.  Therefore, it may be easier for you to make a good language study recording by having the language helper read a newspaper text for the audio recording.  With a little coaching, your language helper could also learn to record the material in such a way that there would be long enough pauses to allow you to repeat the phrase when studying alone.

    The purpose of using the newspaper is to facilitate spoken language practice.  You would always read the newspaper aloud, reading a sentence and then looking away from the text while repeating the sentence from recall memory.

    Appendix B: Text Exercises will illustrate how the text is actually used to create audio exercises.

    A number of uses of a newspaper are suggested under the following headings. These uses, however, are progressive.  That is, during the first few weeks of language study, you will begin using the newspaper as an aid for building vocabulary and improving an understanding of the meaning of the language.  As language study continues, the newspaper will become an increasingly important tool for syntax development.  Learning expressions from the newspaper will require more language skill and will take place somewhat later in the language learning process.  Each of these uses of a newspaper as an aid to language learning will depend to some extent on the readiness of the student to progress to that level.

    Using the newspaper for vocabulary:

    First, read the article out loud, identifying new vocabulary as you go.  Whenever you read a word you do not know, stop and find it in your dictionary.  Keep a vocabulary notebook.  If a word you do not know is used more than twice in an article, enter the word in your notebook and put a check () by it to flag it as a word needing special study.  However, do not record place names or personal names in your notebook.  After you finish reading the article for the first time, review the meaning of all of the new vocabulary words.  Study these words enough that you know what they mean when you read the article.  Always pronounce vocabulary words out loud so that you learn vocabulary as a spoken language.

    After you are more familiar with the process, select other newspaper articles and continue reading aloud while you look for new vocabulary words.  When you find a word in a second newspaper article that you have already checked () in your notebook, place a second check () by it.  Any word in your notebook with two checks should be memorized as an important word to know.

    Whenever you are able to do so, write out the cognate forms of the same word.  For example, to adhere, an adhesive, and adhesion are cognates.  It will be helpful for you to learn multiple cognate forms of a word at one time rather than learning each form as a new vocabulary word when you first encounter it.  Association of a single word in its multiple forms with one root meaning results in more rapid vocabulary retention.  It will also teach you how to accurately develop cognate forms of words during the speech when you do not already know the word.

    The following will be used as an English illustration.  If, for example, you as an L2 speaker know the word “high” but do not yet know the superlative “highest,” you could nonetheless develop the sentence, “It was on the highest shelf,” if you have the ability to develop cognitively.  By learning all cognate forms of every new word as a group — and always learning them in the same pattern, such as sharp, sharper, sharpest, and sharply, or quick, quicker, quickest, and quickly, your ability to accurately create unknown regular cognitive during speech will be greatly enhanced.

    The real essence of language fluency is understanding the target language well enough to intuitively use previously unknown vocabulary during the conversation.  It may be helpful to you to reserve a section in your vocabulary notebook for exactly the purpose of listing cognitive forms.

    Verbs should be listed in your notebook in their infinitive form (for example, “to remember”) rather than in a conjugated form (for example, “she remembers”).  Note that not all languages identify verbs in their infinitive form.  Use your target language’s dictionary notation form as your pattern.  After you have mastered the verb’s conjugation, it will be far simpler for you to learn a single verb form than it will be for you to learn each form of a verb as an individual vocabulary word.

    Using the newspaper for meaning:

    Read the article again for meaning.  If you do not understand a sentence, stop and find out exactly what it means.

    If some of the definitions you have written in your notebook do not make sense when you read them in the article. Find the word again in your dictionary and see if it has other meanings.  If a second meaning for the word makes better sense, in this case, write that definition in your notebook.

    If you still cannot figure out the meaning of a sentence, it may be because two or more words combined to form a single expression.  Try to determine the meaning of expressions.  Look for similar expressions in other articles.  If you still cannot determine the meaning of an expression, ask your language helper for assistance.

    Using the newspaper for syntax development:

    An ideal way to reinforce your use of grammatically correct syntax in your target language is by reading newspaper articles aloud.  Your goal is to retrain your mind, hearing, and mouth to understand and use your target language correctly.  Reading aloud from a newspaper is one of the best ways to accomplish that.

    The great advantage is that you are reading a large number of different sentences that are all organized according to the same grammar rules.  Thus, you are learning the acceptable range of the syntax of that language.  That is, there may appear to be many variations from sentence to sentence, yet all of the users are still correct. 

    An example from English would be learning that you can place the word “however” at the beginning, middle, or end of an English sentence.  You would also learn that the position of “however” can make a slight difference in meaning, or it can enhance the style of the sentence.  You will discover equivalent nuances in your target language.

    In many respects, using the newspaper for syntax development is similar to using it to increase fluency and to help you develop fluid conversation as mentioned below.  The same exercises suggested below would be as profitable for syntax as they would be for fluency and conversation.

    Using the newspaper in order to learn expressions:

    Expressions add richness and variety to all languages. Identify expressions as you read the newspaper.  Use a special mark to identify them in articles.  As we will see in a moment, many expressions may divided, with component words of the expression being separated by non-component words.

    Try substituting other words within the same expression.  Say or write as many sentences using the expression as possible.  As an English example, you may read a sentence in a newspaper that says, “The Governor announced on Friday that he will not run for another term, putting to rest months of speculation about his future intentions.”  Most expressions can used in different tenses with different people or things. 

    For example, the expression “to put to rest” can used in the present tense, “I want to put our disagreement to rest,” in the future tense, “He will put his argument to rest,” or in the past tense, “They finally put their rivalry to rest.”  Notice that in these phrases, the component parts of the expression separated as in, “They finally put their rivalry to rest.”  Watch for such variations of construction in expressions in your target language.

    English also uses forms of words as a type of expression.  For example, you may read a sentence in a newspaper that says, “We’re getting many calls from people who are panicking and asking what they can do.”  This form of expression uses two or more words ending in “…ING” to describe two or more actions that the same person is doing at one time.  You will certainly find many similar expression forms in your target language.

    Using the newspaper for fluency enhancement:

    As you use the newspaper in your spoken exercises, you will begin reading longer sections rather than simply alternating between reading sentences aloud and then repeating them from recall memory.  You will want to read the entire article aloud for fluency practice.  Try reading the article as smoothly as possible without stopping.  Read it aloud at least twice.

    For more fluency practice, continue reading the article aloud until you can read it at the same rate of speed that a first language speaker uses when talking.  Practice until your pronunciation duplicates that of a first language speaker.

    Your purpose is not to merely learn the vocabulary in these newspaper articles, but to learn to speak your target language.  Keep practicing until you can read the article aloud well enough that a first language speaker could clearly understand what you are saying.

    Fluency is the ability to speak smoothly with proper intonation.  Initially, use single sentences for fluency drills, repeatedly reading a single sentence until you can read it smoothly.  Eventually, do the same with multiple sentences or paragraphs.  Even as a beginning student, there is value in reading a longer passage or entire article without break in order to establish the rhythm of the spoken language.  This is excellent proprioceptive training.

    Your natural tendency will be to move on to new articles too quickly.  In reality, it is only after you already know all of the vocabularies and can pronounce each word correctly that you will be ready to use the newspaper article to full advantage.  You are not fully retraining your mind and tongue until you can read the article at normal speaking speed with proper inflection and pronunciation.  You will better attain fluent speech by rereading fewer articles aloud perfectly than you will by reading many articles aloud with faulty pronunciation.

    Using the newspaper for conversation practice:

    It was stated, “You must never make a mistake when you are speaking.” That objective will be the most difficult when you first begin a free conversation.  However, using a newspaper article will be a great aid in producing the conversation that is essentially free of mistakes.

    A newspaper article can give you a great deal of structure for conversation practice.  This structure will give both you and your language helper a defined group of vocabulary words, defined sentences with an understood meaning, and a defined context in which the vocabulary and sentences can communicated.  After very little coaching, your language helper can use the newspaper article to structure the free conversation.

    To continue with the illustration from English, your language helper could lead you in a discussion evolving from a newspaper article.  You could easily have the following discussion after only six weeks of full-time language study.  Notice that your language helper is asking each question twice, expecting that you will substitute a pronoun in your second response. 

    Language Helper: “What did the Governor announce on Friday?”

    Reply: “The Governor announced on Friday that he will not run for another term.”

    Language Helper: “What did the Governor announce on Friday?”

    Reply: “He announced on Friday that he will not run for another term.”

    Language Helper: “Will the Governor run for another term?”

    Reply: “No, the Governor will not run for another term.”

    Language Helper: “Will the Governor run for another term?”

    Reply: “No, he will not run for another term.”

    Language Helper: “When did the Governor announce that he will not run for another term?”

    Reply: “The Governor announced on Friday that he will not run for another term.”

    Language Helper: “When did the Governor announce that he will not run for another term?”

    Reply: “He announced on Friday that he will not run for another term.”

    Assuming that you have only been studying your target language for six weeks, your initial response to each question may be slow and halting.  You may also be looking at the printed text when your language helper initially asks the question.  But at least your answer is word perfect.  You are training your proprioceptive sense by using perfect syntax.  Now you can add perfect pronunciation and fluency to that.

    Typically, in language instruction, extra attention given when a student makes mistakes.  That is, when a sentence used incorrectly, it will corrected with additional drills.  On the other hand, when a student responds correctly, the instructor will move on to the next sentence.  That is not what you want your language helper to do for you now.  Of course, you will want help with incorrect syntax and pronunciation. 

    But in order to learn the language effectively, you will want to emphasize correct language use.  To continue our example, let’s say that none of the sentences in the above illustration have any phonemes that you cannot reproduce acceptably.  Therefore, at your instruction, your language helper will continue to drill you on these same sentences until they are perfect.

    Your language helper will again ask the first question twice, allowing you to respond accordingly.

    Language Helper: “What did the Governor announce on Friday?”

    Reply: “The Governor announced on Friday that he will not run for another term.”

    Language Helper: “What did the Governor announce on Friday?”

    Reply: “He announced on Friday that he will not run for another term.”

    Now, however, you will not be looking at the text.  Your language helper will ask these two questions until you can answer word perfectly from recall memory.

    But she still not finished.  She will now increase the tempo and will expect you to answer in the same cadence.  She will persist until the two of you are conversing so quickly and naturally that a first language speaker coming into the room would hear a strangely redundant conversation in what would otherwise be completely understandable language.  It would be just as understandable to that first language speaker as any conversation would be between two first language speakers on the street.

    This would continue — maybe for several days of practice — until the entire series of questions from that newspaper article could be asked and answered in fully fluent conversation.

    You would be worn out by the time you finished studying this intently from a newspaper article.  Yet while others would be in the beginning language course after their initial six weeks of study, you — after your first six weeks — would already be speaking on an advanced level, though you would only be using a relatively small number of sentences.

  • Grammar and Writing in Spoken Language Study

    Grammar and Writing in Spoken Language Study

    Discover the impact of grammar and writing on language development. Explore the role of proper sentence structure and pronunciation in effective communication.

    Grammar and Writing in Spoken Language Study:

    Personal experience about Grammar and Writing:

    I had the great advantage of growing up in a home in which grammatically correct English was spoken.  As I progressed through grade school and on into high school, my language ability matured as a result of my home and school environments.

    In retrospect, I believe that this is what happened. For the most part, I used proper sentence structure and pronunciation because that is what I heard in my home.  However, when I went to school, I needed to learn grammar in school in order to reinforce my knowledge of my own language.  I — like probably most of my classmates — did not learn to speak by studying grammar.  Rather, I was able to learn how to do grammar exercises because I already knew how to speak.

    Certainly, I learned many important things about my language through grammar study. But it was of importance to me only because I had already achieved basic English fluency.  I did not learn to speak English as a result of English grammar lessons.

    In contrast, I also took two years of Spanish in high school.  We started with basic grammar.  We wrote exercises almost every day.  But we almost never heard spoken Spanish and had even less opportunity to try to speak it ourselves.  (Language instruction in the United States has changed considerably since I was in high school.) After high school graduation, I could neither speak Spanish nor did I understand Spanish grammar.

    In my mid-twenties, I spent a year in Paris studying French.  I had the great fortune of enrolling in a French language school that emphasized spoken French to the complete exclusion of written exercises.  Not only did I learn French grammar — meaning that I learned to use sentences that communicated what I intended to say to a French listener — but, interestingly enough, because verb construction is similar in both French and Spanish, I also began to understand the Spanish grammar which had made no sense to me in high school.  Because I could read and write in English, I had no difficulty reading French.  It was a simple transfer of knowledge from reading in English to reading in French.

    Later, I studied another language in Africa.  Because school-based language courses were almost non-existent in that country, all of my language training was done by way of recorded language drills that I adapted from local radio broadcasts.  I also had a university student as my language helper.  Yet I learned how to structure a sentence in that language — which is applied grammar — and how to write much more quickly than had I been studying grammar and writing independently of the spoken language.

    Traditional language instruction:

    Traditional language instruction has reversed the process with poor results.  Most second language classes teach grammar as a foundation for spoken language.

    The quickest way to teach students to read a new language is to teach them to speak it first.  The fastest way to teach them sufficient grammar to pass college entrance exams is to build a foundation by teaching them to speak the language fluently.  Then as they build on that foundation, they will understand the target language’s grammar.  Finally, it is almost impossible to teach non-speaking students how to write well before they have mastered the basic spoken language.  Whenever the process is reversed, it takes a needlessly long time to succeed in teaching grammar and writing skills, much less spoken language fluency.

    Do not misunderstand.  One cannot speak any language — fluently or otherwise — without using the grammar of that language.  That is true because grammar consists of the rules used in that language to string words together as units to convey meaning.  (In English we call these units sentences or paragraphs.) In English, we can use a given number of words to make a statement or ask a question by the way in which we order the words and use inflection.  Simply stated, placing the words in the correct order applied grammar.

    The issue is not whether or not students learning a new language need to know grammar.  Language is unintelligible without it.  The question is, “How is grammar best taught?”

    The best time to study grammar:

    That effective spoken language instruction simultaneously trains all of the cognitive and sensory centers of speech.  To again resort to an English example, when is the best time to introduce the grammar rule that the sentence. “That is a book,” is an English statement, and “Is that a book?” is an English question? The best time is when students simultaneously learn to speak these two sentences. Inverting word order to change a statement to a question.  That would take place while they are learning many other similar sentences. So that they develop a cognitive sense reinforced by motor skill and auditory feedback that the order and inflection of the one sentence is a question, while the other is a statement.  The sound of the sentence is as much an indicator of its meaning as its written form.  Right? Right!

    There is also a relationship between good pronunciation and good spelling.  I am a poor speller.  I understand that I misspell many words because I mispronounce them.  At some point, everyone who expects to write a target language well must learn its spelling.  Yet, it will probably be faster for a student to learn good spelling after learning good speech habits. Than it will be for the same student to learn good spelling without being able to speak.  In practice, in a spoken language course, students should learn the spelling of new words as they added to the vocabulary of each new lesson.

    This is not to say that grammar and spelling are unnecessary for the new language learner.  Rather, what is being said is that grammar can be taught more effectively — and in less time — by using audio language drills.  Teaching grammar by means of spoken Learning to Speak a Second Language

    language has the great advantage of reinforcing the cognitive learning of grammar. While using two additional functions found in normal speech — motor skill feedback and auditory feedback.  Teaching grammar as a written exercise does develop cognitive learning, but it reinforces it with visual feedback.

    Though visual feedback through reading and writing has some merit, it is outside the context of spoken language.  Reinforcement through visual feedback outside of the spoken language context is far less effective. Than motor skill feedback and auditory feedback that are both inside the spoken language context.  The trade-off in gaining visual feedback at the loss of motor skill and auditory feedback is costly and retards progress.  Far more gained when the student identifies correct grammar, by the way, a sentence sounds, rather than by the way it looks. 

    Though it would not typically explained this way, it is also important on a subconscious level that the student learns how to correct grammar feels.  As a function of the proprioceptive sense, a statement produces a certain sequence of sensory feedback from the mouth, tongue, and air passages that feel different than a question.  A speech pathologist working with children’s speech problems will pay a great deal of attention to this part of speech during retraining.

    It would take considerably longer to teach a language student. How to manipulate the grammar of the new language and then speak that language correctly. Than it would teach the same student to first speak the language correctly and then introduce rules of grammar.  This gain would greatly augmented, however, if the rules of grammar were incorporated into the spoken language lessons themselves.

    A year spent exclusively in spoken language study will produce a marked degree of fluency.  With that language fluency, the student will gain a functional understanding of the grammar of the target language.  The same amount of time spent in grammar study will produce limited fluency and little practical understanding of that language’s grammar.

    Grammar study in your own language program:

    How you approach grammar study in your target language will depend on the language program you are using.

    If you enrolled in an established school program with written grammar assignments. You will obviously need to complete them just like every other student in the class.  However, as you will see in Making the Feedback Training Method Work, on your own time. You can then use the completed (and corrected) written exercises as spoken language drills.  If you focus more on using your grammar exercises as spoken language drills rather than simply as written assignments. You will find that your ability in your target language’s grammar will increase much more rapidly.  Of course, this will add time to your study schedule, but it will undoubtedly result in considerably higher exam scores.  You will also see an important caution regarding correct pronunciation when you are reading grammar assignments as spoken exercises.

    As also explained in Making the Feedback Training Method Work, if you design your own language course with a language helper. You can have much greater freedom in the way you study grammar.  In that case, you will try to incorporate your grammar lessons into your spoken drills.

    Nonetheless, there will be times when you will ask your language helper for clarifications regarding grammar.  For example, to again use an illustration from English, during the first week of lessons you would encounter the two articles “A” and “AN.” If your language helper explained that “A” used before a word beginning with a consonant, and “an” used before a word beginning with a vowel, it would certainly be a grammatical explanation.  With that knowledge, however, you could then ask your language helper to record an exercise with both “A” and “AN” sentences.  Your grammar study on “A” and “AN” would then done with a spoken exercise rather than a written assignment.

    International students struggling to learn English will often say that they want more grammar lessons.  But that is not what they are really asking for.  Many undoubtedly have a large vocabulary from studying written grammar for years.  They do not need more grammar rules to memorize — they need spoken language exercises that will teach them to organize the vocabulary they already know into fluent, spoken English sentences.

    Irrespective of the kind of language learning program you are in, the primary emphasis of this closing section is to encourage. You to study grammar by using spoken exercises rather than written assignments.

  • Common Mistakes to Avoid for Beginners

    Common Mistakes to Avoid for Beginners

    Improve your English writing and speaking skills by avoid these 30 common mistakes. Learn about grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation errors to sound more natural.

    30 Common Mistakes to Avoid for Beginners

    English is a confusing language; there is no doubt about that. There are a lot of mistakes even native speakers make.

    30 Common Mistakes to avoid in English: English is a confusing language; there is no doubt about that. There are a lot of mistakes even native speakers make. Below are 30 common observed mistakes with explanations and examples to help you avoid them.

    1. Focusing Solely on Grammar

    This is the most common mistake new learners make. If you focus on correcting your grammar too much, your English might sound unnatural to a native speaker. Grammar is important, but over-focusing can hurt your ability to speak fluently.

    2. Confusing ‘in time’ and ‘on time’

    ‘On time’ means punctual. For example: “I am always on time.” ‘In time’ means before a deadline. For example: “I submitted my college assignment just in time.”

    3. Misusing Gender Pronouns

    It is common to mix up he, she, him, and her. This can be a problem for learners from languages without gender-specific pronouns. For instance, confusing ‘he’ and ‘she’ may not affect the meaning much but can lead to funny mistakes.

    4. Fun and Funny

    ‘Fun’ is a noun, while ‘funny’ is an adjective. For example: “The rides were fun” and “My friend is funny”. Something that causes enjoyment and pleasure is ‘fun’, while something that makes you laugh is ‘funny’.

    5. Singular and Plural Errors

    Sometimes, learners miss the ‘s’ at the end of a word to make it plural. Problems also arise with uncountable words or names ending with an ‘s’. For instance, “There are a lot of Smiths in our building,” not “Smithies.”

    6. Less and Fewer

    ‘Less’ and ‘fewer’ are often confused. Use ‘fewer’ for countable nouns: “There are fewer people.” Use ‘less’ for uncountable nouns: “There is less water.”

    7. A and The

    ‘A’ is used when referring to something for the first time, while ‘the’ is used for something specific or already mentioned. Avoid these articles when speaking about things in general.

    8. Who and That

    ‘Who’ is for people, and ‘that’ is for objects. For example: “The boy who yelled wolf” and “The cycle that rolled off the hill.”

    9. Overusing “Very”

    Instead of saying “very happy,” it’s more natural to say “thrilled” or “ecstatic.” Overusing ‘very’ can make your text sound repetitive.

    10. Using the Wrong Preposition

    Using the wrong preposition is a common mistake. For instance, it’s “interested in” not “interested on.”

    11. Incorrect Conjugation of Irregular Verbs

    For example, “He goes to work every day” but “He went to work yesterday.”

    12. Mixing Up Their, There, and They’re

    ‘Their’ is possessive, ‘there’ refers to a place, and ‘they’re’ is a contraction for ‘they are’. For example: “They’re going to their house over there.”

    13. Misplacing Modifiers

    Modifiers should be placed next to the word they modify. “She almost drove for six hours,” and not “She drove for almost six hours.”

    14. Using Double Negatives

    Avoid double negatives like “I don’t have no money.” Instead, say “I don’t have any money.

    15. Mispronouncing Words

    Keep practicing pronunciation. For instance, “pronunciation” is often mistakenly pronounced as “pronounciation.”

    16. Wrong Word Order in Questions

    It should be “Where are you going?” not “Where you are going?”

    17. Redundant use of Expressions

    Avoid redundancy. Instead of saying “return back,” just say “return”.

    18. Confusing Affect and Effect

    ‘Affect’ is a verb, while ‘effect’ is a noun. For example: “The weather affects my mood” and “The effect was surprising.

    19. Incorrect Use of Apostrophes

    Use apostrophes for contractions: “They’re” (they are) and possessive: “John’s book.”

    20. Overusing Passive Voice

    While not necessarily incorrect, overusing passive voice can make sentences less direct. Try to use active voice where possible.

    21. Using Much and Many Incorrectly

    ‘Much’ should be used with uncountable nouns and ‘many’ with countable nouns. For example: “How much water?” and “How many apples?”

    22. Improper Use of “Me” and “I”

    Use “I” as the subject and “me” as the object. For example: “John and I went to the store.” and “The gift was for John and me.”

    23. Ending Sentences with Prepositions

    While often acceptable in spoken English, it’s best to avoid this in formal writing. Instead of “Where are you at?” use “Where are you?”

    24. Incorrect Comparative and Superlative Forms

    For short adjectives, add -er for comparisons and -est for superlatives. “Shirt is shorter” and “shortest,” not “more short.”

    25. Using “That” instead of “Who”

    Use “who” when referring to people and “that” for things. For example: “The man who spoke” not “The man that spoke.”

    26. Forgetting to Use “To” in Verb Infinitives

    For example: “I want to eat,” not “I want eat.”

    27. Misusing “Then” and “Than”

    ‘Then’ refers to time, and ‘than’ is used for comparisons. For example: “I had breakfast, then I went to work.” “She is taller than I am.”

    28. Incorrect Use of “Lay” and “Lie”

    ‘Lay’ requires a direct object, but ‘lie’ does not. “I lay the book down” versus “I need to lie down.”

    29. Misuse of Reflexive Pronouns

    Reflexive pronouns should refer back to the subject. “I did it myself,” not “Myself did it.”

    30. Using Conditional Sentences Incorrectly

    For example: “If I were you, I would…” instead of “If I was you, I would…”.

    Note: Steps to Start Improving Instantly

    • Go on the Internet and look for common mistakes made while learning English for your native language.
    • Keep a pen and paper beside you.
    • Write down all the mistakes you have been making.
    • Understand the correct way to use the words or phrases.
    • Make your own sentences using these words and phrases.
  • The hidden secrets that will help you learn English in a weekend

    The hidden secrets that will help you learn English in a weekend

    Unlock the secrets to learn English in a weekend! With dedication and immersion, you can learn vocabulary, grammar, and speaking skills in record time.

    The hidden secrets that will help you learn English in a weekend

    Since you can read and learn English, you could strive to perfect it in one weekend. It will not be easy to learn everything there is to learn in a weekend but if you work hard enough, it can be done. However, implement what you learn is probably the hardest part.

    Speak English daily:

    Do not slip up and start using your native language. Even when you are with your own people, speak in English. If you do not have any way to speak English outside, do it at home. Watch T.V. or read a book and repeat out loud. Not speaking English will not help you learn. You have to use it to remember it!

    Study it:

    Every day, for at least one hour, study the language. Study the words, the history of the words, learn the grammatical rules etc. Even if you spend only half an hour a day, that will work. Think of your English skills as a piece of iron that will rust and break apart if you do not study and oil it.

    Goals:

    Setting goals for yourself is a good way to learn English. Pick common everyday words, and decide to use them regularly by the end of the week or month. You could set any goal you want. This would also turn learning English into a challenge with yourself.

    Be confident:

    Being confident means speaking English when you are outside, even if you are not good at it. Do not apologize for not being able to speak properly, instead ask for help and advice. It is essential to be confident or you will never have the guts to speak out in the open and you will never find out what your level of English is.

    Keep a small notebook with you:

    While you are learning, it would be a good idea to keep a notebook with you at all times. Every time you come across a word that you do not understand, write it down! After that look for its meaning. At the end of your day, go through this list and learn the words on it. Try making sentences in which you can use these new words that you learned. This is a good practice because without writing down the words, chances are that you will forget them.

    Learn to listen:

    Speaking in English outside with other people is not your only problem, you also have to learn to listen. Speaking and listening require two different parts of your body. You have to train your ears to listen to a new language and differential the words. Listen as much as you can. You could also read aloud and this way you would be listening to yourself.

    Do not lose confidence:

    Learning anything new can be emotionally draining, but do not start thinking in a negative way. Instead of thinking “I can’t” think “I will”. Set a date, say a year or two years down the line, when you will be a fluent speaker, reader and writer in English.

    Work hard:

    Everything requires hard work, even learning a language. It is important not to think of it as something that will occur in its own time. You can work hard and reduce your learning time.

    Treat yourself:

    Motivation is the best tool! Treat you and your friends to dinner after you complete a particular goal. Also, ask your friends to test you. This way you will not only look forward to dinner with friends every weekend, but also completing goals on time.

    Thesaurus:

    To develop a vast vocabulary, use a thesaurus. Learn different words with the same meanings, and then use these words in a sentence. Here, you might also see a word that you find fascinating.

    Group study:

    If you know other people trying to learn English, propose a group study. They always work better than trying to study alone. In the group, test each other using flashcards. This will not only be fun, but you will retain more when you are in a group.

    Spellings:

    Do not just learn new words, remember to learn their spellings as well. Spelling as important to learn pronunciations. However, many times in English the words are not always pronounced as they are spelled. I would suggest using an online source to perfect your pronunciations, and then writing each word while pronouncing it aloud. This would develop an association in your brain for the word.

    Pay attention to idioms and colloquialisms:

    To talk as a native speaker talking in English, it is important to pay special attention to idioms and colloquialisms. Make a separate notebook for these and follow the same process as you use for the words.

    Revise:

    Revise every word you have learned during the week on Sunday, or any other day. This way you make sure that the words stay with you. Remember to speak out loud so you hear yourself and your ears are trained to catch the word.

    English movies and songs:

    Whenever you have time on your hands, watch an English movie. This way you will get used to the idea of listening to and speaking English. It will begin to seem like a natural language. Songs can be heard any time, so pick your favorite songs and play them. Pay attention to pronunciations. Do not use subtitles or you will not pay attention to what the person is saying. Books are for readings, when you are watching a movie, listen!

    How to Learn English in a Weekend: Tips and Guides

    Learning English in one weekend is an ambitious goal, but with intense focus and the right strategies, you can make notable progress. Here are some effective tips and guides to help you on your journey:

    1. Immerse Yourself Completely

    Spend the entire weekend surrounded by English. Change the language settings on your phone and other devices to English. Consume all forms of media—TV shows, movies, music, books, and news—in English. This immersion helps to reinforce vocabulary and familiarizes you with common phrases and sentence structures.

    2. Focus on Basic Vocabulary and Phrases

    Start with the essentials. Learn common vocabulary and phrases for everyday situations such as greetings, ordering food, shopping, and asking for directions. Here are a few examples:

    • Greetings: Hello, Hi, Good morning, Good evening
    • Common Questions: How are you? What’s your name? Where are you from?
    • Useful Phrases: Thank you, Please, Excuse me, I’m sorry

    3. Use Language Learning Apps

    Download language learning apps like Duolingo, Babbel, or Rosetta Stone. These apps offer structured lessons that focus on vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. They are designed to be interactive and keep you engaged.

    4. Practice Speaking

    Find a language partner or use language exchange platforms like Tandem or HelloTalk to practice speaking with native speakers. If that isn’t possible, try speaking to yourself in English or use voice recognition features in apps to get feedback on your pronunciation.

    5. Listen and Repeat

    Listen to English audio resources like podcasts, songs, or audiobooks. Pause and repeat the sentences to practice pronunciation. Try to mimic the intonation and rhythm of the speakers.

    6. Use Flashcards for Memorization

    Create flashcards with useful vocabulary and phrases. Use apps like Anki or physical flashcards to test yourself repeatedly. This spaced repetition technique will help improve retention.

    7. Work on Common Expressions and Slang

    Get familiar with common English expressions and slang. Understanding and using these will make your speech sound more natural and fluent:

    • Expressions: Break a leg, Piece of cake, Under the weather
    • Slang: Cool, Hang out, Catch up

    8. Write it Down

    Practice writing simple sentences and short paragraphs. Start with a daily journal entry or describe your day in English. Writing helps reinforce learning and improves your ability to construct sentences correctly.

    9. Watch Educational Videos

    Watch YouTube channels like “English Addiction with Mr. Duncan” or TED Talks. These can be helpful for both understanding spoken English and picking up new vocabulary.

    10. Stay Confident and Positive

    Last but not least, stay confident and positive. Learning a language is challenging, but with dedication and the right mindset, you’ll make progress. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes—they are a crucial part of the learning process.

    Sample Schedule:

    Here’s a sample schedule to help you organize your weekend:

    Day 1:

    • Morning: Start with basic vocabulary and phrases; Use language learning apps
    • Afternoon: Practice listening and repeating with podcasts and songs; Create and review flashcards
    • Evening: Watch an English movie or TV show; Write a short summary of what you watched

    Day 2:

    • Morning: Review previous day’s vocabulary; Practice speaking with a language partner or app
    • Afternoon: Learn common expressions and slang; Practice writing sentences
    • Evening: Watch educational videos or TED Talks; Write a journal entry about your weekend

    By following these tips diligently, you’ll be on your way to improving your English skills significantly over the weekend. Good luck!

    Note: Steps to Start Improving instantly;

    • Pick a topic that is trending
    • Decide on your opinion on the topic
    • Prepare a speech on a pen and paper
    • In a gathering of friends or family, make this speech!
  • English Writing Improvement Tricks and Tips

    English Writing Improvement Tricks and Tips

    Discover effective techniques to improvement your English writing. Practice daily, review your work, and avoid common mistakes.

    English Writing Improvement Tricks and Tips

    As I said earlier, a language has four components – Reading, listening, speaking and writing. Each of these components is complementary to each other. Once you know how to listen, read and speak English, it is time to finish the process by writing properly. Writing is probably the easiest to do; However, one can make mistakes in spellings. Also, a person thinks and writes at different speeds and that could unintentionally ruin the sentence. Still, writing is not all that easy. Problems arise when it comes to punctuation marks.

    Write, write, write!

    Just like reading and expanding your vocabulary, writing properly involves a lot of practice. Pick a topic, and start writing. Do this exercise every day. Make a portfolio of all your pieces and review them in a month and look for Mistakes that you made. Once you are done, ask a friend to edit it for you.

    Learn the correct version:

    Once you have figured out your mistakes, make it a point to learn the correct version. Incorporate the corrected version in your next piece of writing exercise.

    Avoid using a guide:

    While you are practicing your writing skills, do not use a guide or dictionary. Make mistakes and then learn from those mistakes. If you do not make mistakes you will never learn. Once you know the mistakes you made, start writing again and try correcting those same mistakes.

    Use new words and phrases:

    Make it a point to use at least two new words and phrases, as well as idioms, slang and colloquialisms in your article. Make sure you ask somebody to correct these if they are wrong.

    Punctuation:

    The punctuation marks you use at the end of each sentence will set the tone of that particular sentence. Whether it is an exclamation (!) or a question (?) depends on how you frame your sentence.

    Note: Steps to Start Improving instantly;

    • Pick a topic that interests you and are passionate about,
    • Start a blog based on the topic.

    English Writing Improvement Tricks and Tips

    Improving your English writing skills involves consistent practice and getting familiar with different aspects of the language. Here are some practical tips to help you enhance your writing:

    1. Read Regularly

    Reading a variety of materials such as books, articles, and essays helps you understand different writing styles and expand your vocabulary. Pay attention to sentence structure, word choice, and grammar.

    2. Write Daily

    Set aside time each day to write. It could be journaling, blogging, or writing short stories. Consistent practice helps you refine your writing skills.

    3. Use Writing Prompts

    Writing prompts can help spark creativity and push you to write about new and diverse topics. There are many online resources available that provide daily writing prompts.

    4. Expand Your Vocabulary

    Make a habit of learning new words daily and using them in your writing. Tools like flashcards, vocabulary apps, and keeping a word journal can be helpful.

    5. Focus on Sentence Structure

    Vary your sentence structure to make your writing more interesting. Use a mix of short and long sentences and experiment with complex and compound sentences.

    6. Pay Attention to Grammar and Punctuation

    Proper grammar and punctuation are essential for clear and effective writing. Refer to grammar guides and use online tools to check your work.

    7. Edit and Revise

    Always review and revise your writing. Editing helps you catch errors and improve the clarity and flow of your text. Consider getting feedback from others to gain a new perspective.

    8. Avoid Repetition

    Using the same words and phrases repeatedly can make your writing monotonous. Use synonyms and rephrase sentences to keep your writing fresh.

    9. Practice Mindful Writing

    Be mindful of what you are writing. Think about the message you want to convey and the best way to articulate it.

    10. Use Writing Tools

    Several online tools can help you improve your writing. Tools like Grammarly, Hemingway Editor, and Thesaurus.com can assist in grammar checks, readability, and finding appropriate synonyms.

    Beginner Steps to Start Improving Instantly:

    • Pick a topic you are interested in and write about it.
    • Start a blog to share your thoughts and practice writing regularly.
    • Engage in writing communities to receive feedback and tips.

    Improvement your English writing takes time and dedication, but with consistent practice and the right strategies, you’ll see significant progress. Happy writing!