Practice English with Tanya

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Practice English with Tanya

Dicussing different topics, sharing ideas, improving grammar and vocabulary

Members: 1279
Latest Activity: 9 hours ago


Dear friends! At first, I organized this group for all of us to be able to master our English in all possible ways and for those who are learners to get the answers to their questions. Besides, I sincerely believe that to understand what we all desire and strive for we should understand what we mean first af all. And the only one language that is able to unite us is English. A few months have passed and now I see that you are interested in such problems like pollution, differences in cultures and others. Your positive attitude to the problems of the whole mankind makes me feel that this world is in reliable hands of the new generation. So, let's go ahead with new discussions. It is one of the best ways to know one another better. I appreciate all your opinions. Please, feel free starting new discussions.

I am asked the same question time and again. So, I decided to place my answer to it here.

I'd like to answer  your question "What is the best learning technique in studying English Language?"

I believe that only perfect knowledge of grammar gives us possibility to speak English fluently. Fluency of speech doesn't mean that you know all words. By no means! Even native speakers don't know all words and sometimes look up dictionaries. Fluency means that you can always express your mind clearly, correctly and literary. Sure, the richer your vocabulary is, the easier it is for you to speak. But I'd like to say that if you knew grammar better, you would speak much better English with your present vocabulary. So, the following are my recomendations for you and all other students who want to improve their language:

1. You should combine different ways of learning: grammar, vocabulary, idioms, listening, writing and spoken practice.

2. You should revise or learn grammar in the appropriate sequence. I can recommend the following one checked out by my 25-year teaching experience:

Parts of speech and simple constructions like "It is..", "There is...", "have", "have got", etc.
Modal verbs in the present
Tenses (first, all The Present Tenses, then all The Past Tenses, The Future in the Past,
Sequense of Tenses, Reported Speech, The Future Tenses, The Passive Voice)
Modals in the past
The Verbals (Gerund, Infinitive,Participle)
The Moods
Special constructions, inversion, etc.

I can also recommend you Raymond Murphy"s Grammar book "Essential and English Grammar in use".

3. As to the vocabulary. You can enlarge it greatly reading English fictions or other literature using good dictionary. I can also recommend some literature for those who are interested in academic vocabulary.

a) Michael McCarthy. Academic Vocabulary in Use.

b) Rawdom Wyatt. Chech your English Vocabulary for TOEFL.

4. Idioms. There are a few famous authors who write such kind of literature. One of them is Robert J. Dixon and his "Essential Idioms in English". But I like another one much more. He gives better explanations and more examples. I can email you this book if you tell me your address. I've already sent it to
many members of my group and they all like it very much. You can read one chapter of this book if you enter the discussion "Idioms and Phrasal Verbs".

5. Listening. There is a lot of listening material in the net. The podcasts are the best because the audio files come together with the scripts.
Here are some sites:

http://www.eslpod.com/website/index_new.html

http://www.dailyesl.com/

http://www.britishcouncil.org/professionals-podcast-english-listening-downloads-archive.htm

To improve your listening skills the technique should be the following:

a) First, listen to it as many times as you need to understand what it is about.
b) Read the script and translate all new words (it is better to write them out together with the translations and transcriptions; in this case you will remember them better)
c) Listen again paying special attention to the new words.
d) Do it until you hear each word clearly.

6. Writing compositions or essays is the must. But it makes sense only if you have someone to check them out and to explain your mistakes.

7. And we all need as much spoken practice as possible. You should use any opportunity to speak English, especially with native speakers. If you do, tell them to correct you. Otherwise they will not (at least Americans).

I think, it is a good idea to combine all these ways of learning. Actually, it is very boring to do the same for long. It depends on how you feel. If you want to learn grammar today, just do it. If you want to listen or read, it is OK. Got it?

Have I answered this question? If not, please, go on asking.

Sincerely yours,
Tanya.

Discussion Forum

group for speaking english

Started by khaled emam. Last reply by Mohothman May 4. 1 Reply

How to improve english.

Started by Iman Khalid. Last reply by dkh.Soufian Apr 1. 15 Replies

New words

Started by Maxxik Jan 24. 0 Replies

how to use be,being,was,were and been

Started by avinash. Last reply by Frank DiSalle Jan 20. 1 Reply

how to use " concern "

Started by avinash. Last reply by Frank DiSalle Jan 16. 1 Reply

Plz

Started by riad uddin. Last reply by Tanya Nov 25, 2012. 3 Replies

THE DOUBLE LIFE OF US

Started by Wayne. Last reply by Bimal Sep 5, 2012. 6 Replies

The uses of definite article "THE"

Started by Daniel. Last reply by Tanya Jun 19, 2012. 3 Replies

How to use adverbs correctly

Started by Tanya. Last reply by Tanya Apr 28, 2012. 24 Replies

writing skills

Started by ali a. Last reply by Tanya Apr 7, 2012. 5 Replies

Spelling and Vocabulary

Started by aa_f Feb 8, 2012. 0 Replies

Mastering Writing

Started by aa_f. Last reply by Tanya Jan 22, 2012. 3 Replies

How to write an essay?

Started by Tanya. Last reply by a012 Nov 30, 2011. 9 Replies

How to Correct the sentence.?

Started by Sono. Last reply by Sono Nov 15, 2011. 10 Replies

Comment Wall

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Comment by Maha dhevi 9 hours ago

hi i hope i can speak and write fluently.

Comment by redha dgn on May 14, 2013 at 21:20

hello tanya hope to speak english fleuntly

Comment by khaled emam on May 3, 2013 at 22:15

I will launch a group to speak English everyday , if u are interested in improving ur speaking u can join us .. just add me khaledemam092@skype

Comment by George Liang on April 23, 2013 at 18:33

Dear Tanya and all friends,

   I am a new member. It seems very interesting and valuable group. I hope I can improve both listening and speaking skill in the group, and make many friends as well. thank you.

George

Comment by saleh Uddin on April 18, 2013 at 13:41

Thanks

Comment by shivine on April 13, 2013 at 15:47

Dear Teacher,

I want to join your group to improve my communication skills in English. How should I proceed. Please help me

Comment by Tanvir ibne Amin on April 12, 2013 at 18:00

skype: helloeshan..I need a partner to improve my english speaking...

Comment by bothaina ahmad on April 3, 2013 at 20:34
hi tanya, i want to improve my english language especially the conversation skills, so can u lead me?.thank you
Comment by Hirak Kumar on March 26, 2013 at 9:58

Thanks Tanya. How do I get a partner to improve my interaction skills?

Comment by Tanya on March 26, 2013 at 9:46

Hi, Hirak! Welcome to EC and to my group! You can master your English in different ways here. You can take part in different discussions, leave your comments, ask your questions, communicate with other members in the chatroom, make new friends and so on. I hope, you will like EC. Have a good time here!

 

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