Learn English: ESL Lesson about learning new languages

Hello Julito, thanks for your kind and interesting comment. It’s good to be back :) And not only because I consider ebaby a fruitful resource for finding new learning material , if you know what I mean ;)  Surely, it takes courage to babble away in a foreign laguage. That’s why I try to motivate my students to just open their mouth without thinking too much about making mistakes. I know it sounds unusual but it really increases the success rate of becoming fluent. You, Julito, you recognized the importance of putting yourself out there by fitting ebaby into your daily routine. That’s marvelous because it not only keeps you on your toes but helps you to immerse in the American language :)

Alston, my teacher, role model, conversation partner and friend, you are always injecting us with constructive feedback and support. Thanks so much!

Anja and Julito you both hit the Bulls-eye, i.e., acquiring English instead of learning it.

Dear Anja, welcome back !!! Thanks for your feedback  . i believe from my own experience of assisting to english courses is that one of the   main stumbling blocks on the way to fluency is  to be afraid to make mistakes while talking. I have seen students that were already  in intermediate   levels, and yet  they couldn`t  hold a  steady conversation with the teacher. As you have mentioned , a little practice everyday is essential , tape recording our voice trying to imitate  the native speaker voice  and intonation . When i joined in EB`s  i barely could write a few sentences, but daily practice finally paid off. I am far from perfect but  i know that i have improved a lot considering that i don`t take classes with an english tutor. 

To me there’s no magic bullet solution when it comes to learning a new language.

Variety is not only the spice of life but also a super ingredient on the language learning journey. I really do enjoy all sorts of native speaking medias. They are in many ways helpful and inspiring. Watching episodes from popular TV series are a fun way to dive into the language that people really use in everyday life. Reading blogs or listening to podcasts are other useful resources to gain new vocabulary or expressions.  Like I said..there’s no magic bullet solution, you just have to bring yourself to take responsibility for your learning process. It demands patience, there’s no doubt about it, but in the long run it’s worth every minute you’ve tried and tried to become fluent.

Tar1ta- I have since started adding phrases to my flash cards. It works just fine. Good idea. Thanks.

i speak 4 languages and it’s not very hard to learn other languages if u really like it and enjoy it :) but if u dont then u’ll find it very difficult :/ so my advice is that if u want to learn a new language try to pick up the one that u like the most :D

tar1ta if you can think in english then you will realize that you are an english speaker or an english thinker xD …however, keep practicing thats the the secret…and try to be in a place where you listen english 24/7 …

I don’t like books…I prefer a web where I can interact with people that speak english for improve my english and see my english skills..

TOPO, I don’t know if it’s the right thing. I listened to English dialogs during sleep some time ago. And I seemed to have remembered nothing… :D

Maybe some “teachers” writing books like “Learning English thus and so” just invent new methods to sell their bestsellers. There were a lot of such books in bookstores here.

P.S. I like listening music too

tar1ta I love listen music…I make this all the time…in fact just when I’m sleeping I can not do it xD …so all the music that I listen is in english ….24/7 rigth??? ...

TOPO, I doubt if it possible to learn a foreign language 24/7. I wonder who do it in this way.

For example, I learned English enthusiastically (about 2-3 hours per day) for a month and I think learning took a lot of time :)

Who thinks otherwise?

rigth tar1ta  ...thats why we are here :D …continue listen the foreign language 24/7 !! 

TOPO, that’s what we (all?) do here: communicate with pen pals who don’t speak our native language. So we have the motivation to learn. It’s strange to speak to people living in your country :) And I can’t imagine how it is when it is easier to speak English. It was difficult for me and it is still difficult.

I’m learning english since 2005 …it was very difficult when I started but I was listening english 24/7 for six months in 2007…after of it…it was more easy speak it…the problem is that here in my country you listen spanish 24/7 xD …

Try to improve your english with someone that doesn´t speak your native language..it will be more easy…

tarita, hello, yes, i did the test online , according to the test my level is intermediate .

I think that we can speeding up our road to fluency by  chatting in english , even better,  immersing in the idiom “only english”  ,grammar is secondary . An english tutor is necessary ,the problem is that not everybody can afford it , also free time to attend a course.    bye bye, enjoy the weekend !!! 

julito, I agree with you. But why don’t we test ourselves online? I’m going to try tonight. Maybe my level is not intermediate yet; I want to know it anyway.

P.S. Oh, why can’t we learn languages the way children do it!? :( It would be much more interesting.

Tarita, 

when we don`t want to write sleep ,we may write ZZZZZZzzzzzzz.  

the only thing that i like   grammar books is the tests, then i can know my level . Children do not learn grammar , they repeit what their parents say. But it is true ,we should try to learn  grammar without being obsessed with the rules. rome was not built in a day , baby steps. 

julito, thanks. What does “Z…z” mean?

I think there are a lot of methods for using a book.

For example, I’ve put my monitor on an extremely voluminous grammar book (about 900 pages in the fine print) so the screen was in higher position ))

@ Tarita,

ZZZZZzzzzzzzz.

bye the way ,  I like your sense of humour !!!

julito, hello!

I’ve just sent a letter to my friend. In it I told her how I had tried (in vain) to read very complicated grammar book. I doubt if it will help me sleep but I’ll try. Maybe that awful book is good for something )))

@Tarita, hello,

with people who have sleep disorder i have a cure that  it`s  100×100 garanteed and i am giving it for free . No pills, chamomile tea or  amazonian herbs , it  comes in the form of a book  ,the title is” English grammar usage. ” :))))