Thoughts about practicing English

[Warren]

I've been thinking about this for several weeks: how we practice
depends on what we are trying to learn, or acquire.

http://www.successfulenglish.com/Successful_English/English_Talk/Entries/2008/5/13_Thoughts_About_Practicing_English.html

[Eduardo Rocha]

Hi Warren,

I was thinking about your text and I agree that we can improve our
English skills a lot by listening to easy to understand materials. I
have improved much by listening to ESLPod, Voanews and BBC. However,
speaking is still a problem.

There are some American universities which give free video lectures
through the Internet (MIT, Berkeley etc). I am watching some lectures
and I understand them very well. I have also improved my writing
skills, mainly by writing to this group. However I cannot speak well.
You know, usually we cannot speak as much as we can write, listen or
read.

Do you know any technique or book about how to improve speaking
skills? How fluent must we be in order to get a good score on tests
like Toefl?

Best regards and thanks for the text you wrote,

Eduardo R.

[Elham Moazzen]

Dear Rosha

hello

 

May you give me the link of free video lectures that the american universities give?

 

Really Thanks

Waiting for your reply

 

Elham

[Eduardo Rocha]

Hello Elham,

How are you?

Here you are:

http://webcast.berkeley.edu/courses.php
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/av/index.htm

Greetings from Brazil,

Eduardo R.

[Warren]

Elham,

Here is an article with quite a few details to go along with the links
that Eduardo gave you -
http://www.successfulenglish.com/Successful_English/TOEFL_Talk/Entries/2007/9/27_Prepare_for_Academic_English_at_iTunes_U!.html

Warren

[Warren]

Eduardo,

You ask a lot of good questions!

1. One of the best ways to improve your speaking is to find
opportunities to speak with other English speakers, including other
English students. One of the biggest improvements in speaking ability
among my classroom students came several years ago when I began to use
a lot of cooperative learning, small group learning. Two things
happened: they began to think of themselves as English users, not
English students (a very important idea). Second, since the other
members of the group were "junior" users like themselves, they relaxed
and the psychological barriers to improving their English began to
disappear.

Formal, structured practice does not help much. Using English for real
communication does, even if it is very simple communication at first.
That's why groups like this are important. If I could wave a magic
wand, the members of this group would have long, extended discussions,
either here or during Skypecasts about all kinds of interesting
subjects. When that happens, as you realize with your writing, you
become comfortable and confident using the English you have acquired
by reading and listening.

One personal experience: I have been working with a Taiwanese graphic
artist for about 9 months. We meet 30 minutes a week, and talk about a
book or articles we read during the week. Mostly we talk about ideas;
occasionally I explain a grammar point to help her better understand
something. In the 9 months, her confidence and comfort using English
has increased tremendously. This is the kind of practice I am talking
about. It's the same approach I use in the classroom.

2. About the TOEFL

First, I believe that the iBT TOEFL is a very good indication of a
student's preparation for American academic English. It is much better
than the paper- or computer-based TOEFLs.

Second, it's very difficult to answer your question about the level of
fluency required. Perhaps the best way to find out if your English
ability is good enough is to sign up at the ETS web site - www.ets.org
- to take the practice TOEFL that they offer.

The most common problem I see and that I hear about is not enough
general English ability, the kind that comes from real exposure to the
language, which is another way of saying not enough reading and
listening. I wish that students and teachers fully understood the
importance of this.

As a very rough estimate of English ability, I would say that if you
can understand a variety of lectures from iTunes U and read and
understand some of the magazines that I have marked "Advanced" on my
Online Reading and Listening page -
http://www.successfulenglish.com/Successful_English/Online_Reading_%26_Listening_for_English_Learners.html
- you are probably ready, or very near. Again, this is a rough
estimate.

This is too long! I must stop. Let me know if you have any other
questions.

Warren

[pchamorro]

For EFL learners this problem its bigger. If I could I would get
friends to form an English Club to practice speaking around previously
selected subjects. Anyway what I remember is that to get fluency you
just need to use your basic language, although I don't if you are
already fluent.

Pablo

> Online Reading and Listening page -http://www.successfulenglish.com/Successful_English/Online_Reading_%2...

[Warren]

Yes, you're right, Pablo. It is more difficult for EFL students.

That's why I mentioned the importance of groups like to provide
opportunities for extended "conversations" either in writing or
through tools like Skypecasts. This is the big need of international
English students.

Another suggestion: Greg Thomsen, who works (or used to, I believe)
for the organization that you linked to recently - sil.org - suggests
finding a "language resource person" or what I call a "language
buddy", someone who will meet with you from time to time to converse
and, if necessary, explain some of the finer points of English. You
will be surprised how much progress you will make in only 30 minutes a
week if, at the same time, you continue to "feed" yourself with a
healthy diet of understandable input. I know many students who have
done this, often finding an American student at a local university
or .... Just remember to offer to pay for the coffee!

Now that you've brought this up, I'm curious. I am going to e-mail
some of my EFL professor friends in different countries to see what
kinds of experiences their students have had. I'll report back when I
find something.

Warren