ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: Can You say?

Avangi — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 22:36:37 GMT

Hi gang,

I certainly don't advocate the "May I say this?" method to the exclusion of all others, but neither am I prepared to say that's what a learner is doing, simply because his progress seems slow. And I don't wish to deny him that tool.

Best regards, - A.

Beaverbeaver - I was thinking of classrooms with lots of work and high standards. I don't mean to imply that those can't be found - just not in my area. The methods which Goodman describes are excellent, and I think we should use whatever is available and works for us.

Re: Can You say?

beaverbeaver — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 04:58:24 GMT

Quote :What I have observed is that many ESL learners opted to learn the patterns of speech rather trying to work on the understanding of fundaqmentals

Hi avangi and goodman, could i join this topic ? it's very interesting to read since i myself pay a great of attention to what you're talking about

Avangi, before i write anything, what were you referring as "traditional" method ?

yeah goodman, well the name sounds really like someone from england , it fooled me for sure! i think students now they catch patterns from movies and song lyrics, which i say, do not have proper manner of speaking , so they (students) miss out on these things ..

Re: Can You say?

Goodman — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 04:25:44 GMT

I am not trying to crucify anyone, or negate the effectiveness of certain learning method. What I have observed is that many ESL learners opted to learn the patterns of speech rather trying to work on the understanding of fundaqmentals, but often misinterpreted the answers from the forum. This is evident from the sentence structure of the posted sentences which are often awkward and unnatural. Personally, I used the media to itâs full extents. For many years, I watched Discovery, BBC and channels like History and recently The Science Channel. With the aide of closed caption and narration, itâs much like sitting in an English class. Watching a program in certain topic and reading the captions, we can build comprehension and foundation of sentence structure. I had revealed my non-English speaking origin in the past and many of you may not know it from my posts. I am still trying to polish my writing style and enlarge my vocabulary. That said, I think my tone comes very close to being that of nativeâs. I know learning English isnât the easiest task for those whose mother tongue wasn't English. I had to learn it because I need to survive in my second mother land, the US. If I could learn it, Iâd venture to say, many coming to this forum can as well. Choosing the correct method to learn any skill can cut the time and effort in half and double the results. Thatâs my experience.

Re: Can You say?

Avangi — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:50:31 GMT

Sadly, some of our learners don't have a mother who speaks English, who will listen as they try out what they've learned, and say, "No, we say it this way." I think there's a place for "May I say this?"

Re: Can You say?

Marius Hancu — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:20:59 GMT

> building up the fundamentals of English by listening and reading

Fully agree with you, Goodman.

Re: Can You say?

Avangi — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:47:08 GMT

Hi Goodman, Thanks for your input. I know I have a lot to learn.

A couple of months ago a girl posted a nearly perfect essay in defense of throwing away the magazines and newspapers, and sticking to the internet for all learning and enlightenment. She made a good case. Far be it from me to discourage anyone from exploring these new tools and trying to find new ways to take advantage of them. People who know shortcuts seem to rule the world. I mourn the loss of traditional education, but I'm in favor of progress, painful though it sometimes is.

Re: Can You say?

Goodman — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:52:44 GMT

Avangi,

^{I agree with your comment. I have tried to explain to learners before that learning from the âmay I say this?â format does not help the cause. Instead of building up the fundamentals of English by listening and reading, some are trying to take a shortcut by asking âcan I say this?â and the answers were soon forgotten. I see many questions are of the same varieties because the answers we posted were not fully understood. Many volunteers didât mind answering these questions which is admirable.}

^{For this particular question, I would say} ^{ânow that we are no longer together,you should focus on the recovery of your illness.}

Re: Can You say?

Avangi — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:22:13 GMT

I know exactly what you mean, but can't say I've ever heard it put quite that way. "Healness" may not be a word. "Healing" is about it. "Wellness" is popular, but isn't used for a specific illness.

Now that we've broken up, you can focus on healing your illness. (If you want "gives") Our breakup gives you a chance to / let's you focus on healing your illness.

There are other ways to express your idea, but I've tried to stay close to yours.

Can You say?

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:55:35 GMT

Hi,

"Now that we broke up, It gives you all the focus on the healness of your illness"

Thanks