Search results for 'tag:Conversations tag:English as a second language' matching tags 'Conversations' and 'English as a second language'

Teaching English using the Chatbot Game

amichail — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:35:48 GMT

I believe that the Chatbot Game can be used to help students learn English as a second language:

http://chatbotgame.com
http://chatbotgame.com/?cmd=chat_rs
http://chatbotgame.com/?cmd=chat_s

Players of the Chatbot Game shape the chatbot's personality and expertise by adding simple chat rules. The better their chat rules, the higher they will score. Higher scoring rules are more likely to be used to generate a chatbot response.

I think such a game may be useful for learning English as a second language. After all, to score lots of points, you will do well by focusing on common sorts of conversation fragments -- exactly the sort of thing that someone learning English should focus on. Moreover, you get to see how well your rules do in actual chats in terms of a rule score and actual conversation fragments.

If the player uses poor grammar in a chat rule, then that rule may not score well assuming that most people chatting with the bot already know English pretty well. Even if someone doesn't vote down a rule with bad grammar, he/she might comment on the bad grammar in his/her response.

In essence, the chat rules can be viewed as open-ended exercises that are graded by the people chatting with the bot.

What do you think?

Re: Gramatical Mistakes Common to Chinese English-speakers

Goodman — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:22:42 GMT

Hblaw wrote:

Hi all,

My native language is Chinese and I am learning English as a foreign language. I am wondering if you could name a few mistakes that are commonly seen in Chinese people who speak/write English as a second language, so that I can be more conscious in avoiding them in the future.

Any advice (relating to gramma) will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Best Regards,

- HBLaw

Well, I think this is right up my alley, so to speak. Speaking from experience, the most common problem for Asian learners, including Chinese are the followings:

In writing:

Capitalization

Third person/ singular rule

Gender (he/ she)

Space

Punctuations

Incorrect choice of word

Grammar Structure

Speech-wise:

Awkward Accent

Frequent Iteration

Unclear or incorrect pronunciation

Change of gender in mid conversation, i.e. switching he to she or vise versa.

Mixed grammar

Looking for Part Time ESL teacher in Dong Guan, China

Puibright — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 14:56:23 GMT

We are a 19-year-old women shoes factory located in Dong Guan, China. We are now looking for a English Teacher who can teach our staff at our factory during weekend. Basically, I want to provide an opportunity to my staff to learn English. May be one session during Saturday evening for staff who know a little bit about English but can't speak and write smoothly.And one session during Sunday afternoon for people who had never learned English. The job is at least 6 months long.

Details
The Oral English teacher or English Class teacher are responsible for teaching English as a second language to students who have never learned English or who only have little knowledge in oral English and English wrighting skills. The English teacher should conduct teaching English phonics in English. Planning and organization of oral conversation interest classes are also part of the English teacherâs duties.

Preferred qualification: Degree-holder
Native English speaker/s or Chinese who has studied abroad only
Teaching experience: 1 year minimum

Qualifications
- One year experience as a teacher, assistant teacher or private tutor to non native English students will be an asset
- University Degree Holder
- Holding an Teaching English as a Secondary Language Course Certificate/ Teaching Certificate/ Teaching Diploma will be an asset
- Must be a native English Speaker or Chinese who has studied abroad
- Ability to work independently without regular supervision

Compensation
- The salary is RMB 5,000 per month, 10 hours work per week (Preparation, meeting and teaching), teaching about 8 hours per week (4 hours on Saturday afternoon/evening and 4 hours on Sunday afternoon).
- Driver will be provided from home to work every time.- 3 meals per day will be provided
- Internet access at factory.

If you are interested, please let me know. I will provide driver to pick you up from home (at Dongguan) to work every time. We are only 15 mins from downtown Dong Guan (New World Garden).

Thanks,

Charles

Re: How can you tell whether someone is a non-native speaker?

Englishuser — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 09:57:08 GMT

Hi Openmind,

You wrote:

Hi EU, where and how did you pick up the expression to speak a language natively? Also, why are you interested in knowing whether or not you might be able to "sound" like a native speaker? I mean, what kind of native speaker do you have in mind? Age, educational background, IQ, profession, character, life experience, etc.?

The expression 'to speak a language natively' is something I've picked up in a conversation with an American (native speaker of English). If you pay close enough attention you will also notice that I wasn't particularly interested in whether I could "sound" like a native speaker; instead, I wanted to know if you could participate in online discussions on websites for learning English as a second language without anyone (or at least most people) noticing that you actually speak English as a second language. It's true that there are tremendous differences between different native speakers: for sure, a native speaker with a Ph.D. in English would be expected to know more about the language than would a 15-year-old schoolgirl, for instance.

Englishuser

Re: Language learning vs. acquisition

Hena — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 13:53:30 GMT

Hello Englishuser,

I was eleven years old when I took my first english class...I have learned English as a second language; definitely it wasn't something simply acquired; I had to do loads of assignments. I guess you have to be surrounded by native speakers to acquire a new language. Living in the States for a couple of years made me acquire some additional stuff to what I have already learned...and recently I was in Syria for one and a half month. I guess I can say I acquired Arabic just enough to find my way and have a basic conversation for my needs and to get to know people a little...

Just out of curiosity, how did you come up with such a question? Are you in teaching business? Would you also tell whether you have learned or acquired a second language...

Take care...

Re: Two sentences under a microscope

Grammar Geek — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 15:35:25 GMT

Hi Believer,

It's my setence, I know, and it sure looks silly without the entire conversation, doesn't it? I have been thinking about this. Another example of how a native speaker just "knows" it - and I'm sure one of the teachers of English as a second language can explain this better.

In a consturction I am NOUN (or he is NOUN) you need the article. But I am ADJECTIVE, you do not use one.

I am happy, he is rude. (adjectives)

I am generally a happy person I know. He is the rudest person I've ever met. (nouns)

You had used an example - something like "He is the rudest person I know" - rudest is an adjective describing person. There, you need the article as part of the noun phrase "the rudest person I know."

I am the happiest = I am the happiest that I know how to be. Isn't there a rule about articles before superlatives?

Try to do well vs. try to do THE BEST that you can? I am thinner than I was vs. I am THE MOST slender that I have ever been.

So we still come back to why you can leave out the "the" before happiest, which is a superlative. And this is where we need a language teacher. Is it simply idiomatic, or is there another reason? I just know that it "sounds" okay either way.

Regarding your second sentence, I would not have used the "and" - but I hope you will keep in mind that many of us write our explanations squeezed in between other activities in our day and don't spend the time in formal composition that we would put into more formal corresondence.

Re: Free online word games posted here (only free ones!)

Audacious — Tue, 23 May 2006 22:58:00 GMT

www.ourchatterbox.co.uk

This site provides conversation starter questions from a wide range of topics suitable for anyone.
The Chatterbox is also ideal as a source of conversation starter ideas for anyone learning English as a second language.
There are hundreds of questions all in English.

Have fun.

Re: Can someone check my grammar ( especially fragment and commasplice )

paco2004 — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 08:17:45 GMT

Hello Hoang

I too am a learner of English (I'm Japanese). I know your essay is to be corrected by native speakers. But if you donât mind, please take a look of my version. It is not a correction of your essay. Please take it rather as a kind of worse alternative a mere English learner wrote. I believe some of our kind teachers will come and correct your essay.

Life seems to be full of obstacles that God created to challenge our toughness. Success does not come without obstacles on the way. I have experienced a lot of trouble in studying the new language. For those who speak English as a second language, English is not such a simple language that can be learned in a couple of days.

In the first year, I barely understood the conversation of people around me. Their conversations were so fast for me to catch up with, yet I pretended that I understood them clearly. I laughed at jokes that I did not even find the humor of them. I felt a fear, which obsessed me during my first year. The fear is that I could not belong to the group and I might be laughed at for not speaking English, and it made me hesitant to speak. I could not even pick up the phone because I knew that on the person on the line should speak to me in English. I did not do well at school either. I failed most of subjects that required reading skills such as history, government, etc. This essay probably is not written without the kindness of my host mom. She helped me go through each single step in the process of writing an essay, helped me see every mistake I usually make. She took me through the tough time. I am sure I could not get where I am right now without her help.

The biggest obstacle comes from inside, not from outside. The fear to face my weakness made English my biggest obstacle. I would have never learned anything if I had not conquered that fear. Everyone has his or her own obstacles, but I believe every obstacle could be overcome with a little effort.

paco

Re: Which countries are the most successful E.Grammar users

Danyoo — Sun, 18 Dec 2005 01:50:55 GMT

Well actually this is a very good question.

It makes a tremendous amount of difference what your mother tongue is when it comes to your ability to pick up English, especially conversational English. For natives of the Far East region (Korea, Japan and probably China too), their language structures are so vastly different than English, it is a tremendous struggle to learn English as a second language. Whereas, some of the European countries speak languages with similar roots and grammar structure which make it much easier to learn English.

My parents immigrated to the U.S. when I was just 13 years of age from Korea so I had the advantage of being immersed in English language at a relatively early age -- but it was, and still is, a big strugle. Then when I was in high school (long long time ago mind you) I took two years of Spanish. And it was a cinch!!! Not that I aced it without studying...don't think I aced it at all...but my point is since I already was pretty fluent in English, learning Spanish was so much easier! I remember thinking "wow if I had to learn this language from Korean, what a mighty struggle it would be!!".

I am told the easiest language for a Korean to learn is Japanese and probably vice versa. And I know Spanish and Portugese is very similar.

Now as far as being grammatically correct....well that's another story. I have seen many a high school English teachers from Korea and China come to the U.S. and not be able to hold a casual conversation in a restaurant. Being able to read and write and score high in TOEFL is different than being able to converse.

Finally, I agree with previous posters....the key is to start early!!!! Kids have amazing ability to learn. Not only langauages, but sports, musical instruments, arts, etc. Well I tried my best...but now my kids are teenagers and...need I say more?!

Re: Autobiographical Incident

anon1 — Fri, 12 Nov 2004 19:39:32 GMT

Julielai,

I am not sure where you want to take this conversation.

Let me state my position clearly.

You are more than welcome in the forum. Your participation is encouraged, especially when helping others learn English. Please keep in mind that many people reading this forum are learning English as a second language and non-standard English only serves to confuse them. From what I have seen, you do have a strong command of English and are capable of providing excellent assistance.

That said, if I find that you have zigged when you should have zagged, I am going to comment. This is not meant to be harsh. Rather, I am clarifying your post so that other people learning the language can more readily understand. When I goof, I am fully accepting of others, including you, correcting my errors. We can all continue to learn. No big deal.

The whole purpose of this forum is to create a community of people helping people. There are two strong guiding principles. One, the person who is providing advice should have a reasonable grasp of English. And two, everyone should contribute to a strong sense of community. The latter principle is most important.

I have zero desire to play typo tag with you. I find that wasteful.

I hope you find this message beneficial.

MountainHiker