AMERICANS PLEASE HELP!!

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Anonymous

#509044 Sat, 03 May 08 05:42 PM

Hi~there.i'm live in PRC and first language is Mandarin.I'm asking for someone can help me.I really wanna speak English like an US borned and raised guy,may like ABC,NBC,CNNs announcer,ya know~at least,AMERICAN!!!!!Failing so many times makes me crazy and freak out and,even worse--wanna die.Thinking maybe then i'll born and raise up in THE US.I wanna speak,talk,pronounced,or...above all,like an American.God,please save me.I dunno what 2 do!!!!!!!!! Yeah,i jealous those American!!!!!!They are so lucky!!!!!!!Please~Tell me what to do!!!!!I'm begging!!!!!!

Anonymous

Speak english

Doll

#509073 Sat, 03 May 08 06:46 PM

No,no don't do this. You are still young. A bright future lies ahead of you. I am sure you will succeed.

Doll

Joined on Sat, Mar 10 2007

Turkey

Senior Member (2,519)

I am a netizen!

Tanit

#509301 Sun, 04 May 08 11:09 AM

First, study a lot to improve your grammar and enrich your vocabulary.
Second, do as many things as you can in English. This includes reading books and magazines, watching films and TV programmes, listening to music and radio etc.
Third, improve your pronunciation (practice, practice, practice!).
Fourth, I think it's impossible to sound like a native unless you move to the US (if you want an American accent) and live there for a loooong time with nobody to speak Mandarin with.

As for me, I'd be just content if I could write and speak a good and natural English; I really wouldn't care too much about my accent, if it were not too strong (unfortunately, it is Crying

).

Good Luck!

Tanit

Joined on Mon, Jul 31 2006

In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea

Senior Member (2,147)

A man can do only what he can do. But if he does that each day he can sleep at night and do it again the next day. (A. Schweitzer)

Accents, American accents, Grammar, Pronunciation, Vocabulary

Kooyeen

#509489 Sun, 04 May 08 07:19 PM

First of all, you need some grammar too, because I noticed typical Asian mistakes, or non native constructions anyway.

Anonymous
i'm live in PRC <-- I live in...

Here's the best tips I can give you:

1 - Get a grammar book, and read it, learning the most common structures. "English grammar in use" by Cambridge University Press seems a good one.
2 - Learn how to recognize the sounds of vowels and how to speak like a native speaker. I used "American Accent Training", by Ann Cook. It is one of the best.
3 - Practice, replacing your first language with English every time you feel like it. You should start to think in English.

Point #2 is the most important. I improved my listening skills by at least 50% (from understanding 25% to understanding 80%). The link is http://www.americanaccent.com/ ,if you want to take a look.