3/7/10
Learning English Sports Terms
Just watching a few minutes of a football game or a baseball game in English will make it obvious that the commentators are using a whole new set of expressions and vocabulary words. As native English speakers growing up in the US this language is second nature. How does an ESL student pick up these words and sound natural in a conversation with Americans about sports? There's a few things you can do.
Besides asking your native English speaking friends to translate every expression that you hear in reference to sports, you can do a little work on your own. Watch ESPN a few times a week. Write down the unique words and phrases you hear. It is a language of its own in many ways. After a few weeks you will start to recognize some of the common expressions used in sports. Most people from countries outside the US are not very familiar with American football. Here, we are obsessed with it. From August to early February it is a major part of life for many. Now a days many women are even into it too. During these months you are going to hear plenty of football related conversations in any office. It is a safe topic and an ice breaker for work situations. Learn to speak about football, know the colloquial terms and you will sound like a true English speaker.
3/2/10
Exercises to Improve Your English While You Drive
We all spend a lot of time in our cars or in some form of public transportation. This time can productive in terms of practicing your English. Instead of pondering how frustrating the traffic problems are on your commute, you can put your time to good use.
One exercise I recommend involves talking to yourself. Pick a situation that happened to you recently and explain it out loud in English like you were telling your best friend. . It can be anything from an argument with your wife to a problem you had at work. Just relax and explain what happened the best you can. Don't pause to think of the correct words or to start over again. Just do what you can to get the message across. You are practicing your real time English conversation skills.
Depending on your level of English, you will probably come across a few words or expressions that you can't quite express smoothly. Look those words up later. Just work on pronouncing the words the best you can and carrying out your entire story. You can even pick a situation that you had with a native speaker in the past and replay it. This time you will have the time to think about what you really wanted to say during the original conversation.
This exercise is harder than you think and it can be draining. Try it for ten minutes or so a day and your English fluency will improve.
2/23/10
How to Learn English Slang
Many people study English and get close to becoming fluent. To really be considered fluent though, one needs to have a good grasp of slang expressions in English. Nothing gives away a non native speaker like a person being too formal for the given situation.
How do you improve your knowledge of English slang? Most formal classes don't have the time to go into the different sayings and expressions used in informal situations. This would take too long. As an ESL student, you need to learn these sayings and slang on your own by observing native speakers. Take note of the way they talk in different situations. This can be done through real live interactions with English speakers, or through watching a movie or TV. Jot down the different slang words you hear. Try to come up with the meaning by the context in which it was used. Later, ask a native English speaking friend what the term means exactly. Type the phrase in Google and see how other English speakers use it.
2/15/10
How to Use Your TV to Improve Your English
People say that watching too much TV is not good for you. This is not necessarily the case if you are an English language learner. Watching TV is a great exercise to improve listening comprehension skills for ESL students. A student can relax in his own home and concentrate on the overall meaning of the program being watched.
If you are an ESL student looking to improve English fluency make a point of watching an hour of TV a day. Watch a variety of programs so that you get exposed to all kinds of language situations. To improve slang and everyday English watch a sitcom. To improve your formal English watch the national news. Have a notebook handy and jot down any words that you aren't familiar with. Don't stop to look these words up right away. Your goal during the viewing hour is to get the overall meaning of the program. When you are done look the unknown words up in a dictionary. Type the word into Google and see how native speakers use it.
Make TV viewing a regular part of your language improvement strategy and you will see results. You may even have fun while you are at it.
2/8/2010
How do I get more English Practice?
My students tell me that they are dying to get more English practice. Many of them live and work with non English speakers from their original country. The conversation tends to always go to the home language. I tell these students that if they really want to improve their English they may need to get another job. The new job has to be one that gets them around other English speakers. Nothing improves language skills like being forced to communicate in English in everyday situations.
Once in a while I will hear my students go on about how their kids are picking English up quickly. I am quick to point out that this is occurring because they are in English speaking schools and they hear it all day. The motivation factor is huge when you are surrounded by kids your age who are speaking in English. The same could work for adults. Get a job where you need to speak English. I'm not saying get a customer service job that would require perfect language skills. Any job where the main language used is English will work. I know that it is easier said than done to just switch jobs. That being said, a change of work environment could be the key to improving language skills. where else do you spend more time besides your bed?!