Search results for 'tag:English grammar tag:Intonations' matching tags 'English grammar' and 'Intonations'

Re: how to learn English

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 09:30:48 GMT

i. Observe the mouth movements of those who speak English well and try to imitate them.

When you are watching television, observe the mouth movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are saying, while imitating the intonation and rhythm of their speech.

ii. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of English, slow your speech down.

If you speak too quickly, and with the wrong intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a hard time understanding you.

Don't worry about your listener getting impatient with your slow speech -- it is more important that everything you say be understood.

iii. Listen to the 'music' of English.

Do not use the 'music' of your native language when you speak English. Each language has its own way of 'singing'.

iv. Use the dictionary.

Try and familiarise yourself with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary. Look up the correct pronunciation of words that are hard for you to say.

v. Make a list of frequently used words that you find difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks the language well to pronounce them for you.

Record these words, listen to them and practice saying them. Listen and read at the same time.

vi. Buy books on tape.

Record yourself reading some sections of the book. Compare the sound of your English with that of the person reading the book on the tape.

vii. Pronounce the ending of each word.

Pay special attention to 'S' and 'ED' endings. This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you use when you speak English.

viii. Read aloud in English for 15-20 minutes every day.

Research has shown it takes about three months of daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for speaking a new language.

ix. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes.

Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and avoid listening to themselves speak. However, this is a very important exercise because doing it will help you become conscious of the mistakes you are making.

x. Be patient.

You can change the way you speak but it won't happen overnight. People often expect instant results and give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if you are willing to put some effort into it.

Quick tips

Various versions of the English language exist. Begin by identifying the category you fall into and start by improving the clarity of your speech.

~ Focus on removing the mother tongue influence and the 'Indianisms' that creep into your English conversations.

~ Watch the English news on television channels like Star World, CNN, BBC and English movies on Star Movies and HBO.

~ Listen to and sing English songs. We'd recommend Westlife, Robbie Williams, Abba, Skeeter Davis and Connie Francis among others.

Books to help you improve your English

Essential English Grammar by Murphy (Cambridge)
Spoken English by R K Bansal and J B Harrison
Pronounce It Perfectly In English (book and three audio cassettes) by Jean Yates, Barrons Educational Series
English Pronunciation For International Students by Paulette Wainless Dale, Lillian Poms

Re: Poll: Difficulties learning English

Cool Breeze — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 13:13:34 GMT

For me the most difficult part is undoubtedly spelling. I can handle most common words but when I have to spell maneuverability, I hit a dictionary. Especially if I have to be sure I'll be using the correct British or American spelling.

Pronunciation, rising and falling intonations and things like that never caused me insurmountable problems. And English grammar is a breeze compared with the grammar of any other language I have studied. There is so little of it! The only difficulty are the exceptions to the rules.

CB

Re: ways to imrpove my english

Goodman — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 18:26:55 GMT

Friendshipz wrote:
hi all, i am from singapore, currently studying in polytechnic, in other terms if i am not wrong, it is called a college.

i came from a chinese speaking family,where i speak chinese all the time at home which makes this one of the main reason why i am not fluent in english, back in high school, my result for english langauge is always at the bottom of the class.

just about 1 years ago, i tired to shove up my foundation in english language by reading through some online source and forum.
eventhough people had advised me that the best solution to improve this language is by reading newspaper and story book, however, i felt very reluctant to do so.

i visited forum like animesuki that allows me to actively participate in some dicussion and at the same time, i will pick up some words that i did not understand the meaning.

i am very new to this forum since this is my first post, from now on, i will be glad that you guys here can help me in the journey of learning english language.

if possible do give me some suggestion and advice on what should i do to improve this language, something which is very entertaining at the same time. i am not looking to write queen language,just want to write and speak well in english.

side note: i have been learning japanese for the past 1 year, i am currently learning both of them at the same time.

From the same background as your, I also had the same experience. I had said it many times, here and other forum, English is particularly hard for Asian learners for the simple fact that our own language is not made up of alphabets and spoken very differently in terms of tongue and jaw muscle movement and pronunciation. Additionally, English grammar works nearly entirely opposite from ours. That said, itâs not completely impossible to learn and master written and spoken English. There are several critical elements learners must have in order to achieve the goal. Itâs a long commitment and one must have perseverance, determination, patience, and the what-ever-it-take attitude. You canât have a thin face or fear of people laughing at your accent or grammar because if you do, chances are you will be discouraged to practice or use what youâve learned. If we have these requirements established, we already won half the battle. The other half is to maintain constant English exposure to our ears and eyes, meaning listening to good radio programs, watching TV programs like Discovery or The History Channel etc, and reading good English materials. The more we are exposed to English, the more our senses get accustomed to the sound and sentence structure and thus our subconsciousness is reprogrammed to function in English. The most difficult part to non-native Asians is spoken English and speech patterns. I used to spent 30 minutes a day practicing my speech by repeating after TV program narrators or commentators. This allowed my tongue and jaw muscle to develop and adapt to the correct pronunciation and intonation. Thatâs my own experience and how I developed my English skills. It may not be an orthodox approach for others. But it sure worked for me. I hope this helps you as well.

Re: :::::: HOW TO SPEAK AND LEARN EGNLISH ::::

Exclusive — Thu, 04 May 2006 22:16:55 GMT

Part I: Want to 'neutralise' your accent?

Many deserving candidates lose out on job opportunities because of their vernacular accent.

Can I 'neutralise' my accent?

Yes, you can. All you need to do is train yourself to speak English as comfortably and perfectly as you speak your mother tongue.

How do you train yourself? By inculcating certain practices in your daily lifestyle. These will get you closer to sounding like a native English speaker and equip you with a global accent -- and you will speak not American or British English, but correct English.

This is the first step to learn any other accent, be it American or British or Australian.

Lisa Mojsin, head trainer, director and founder of the Accurate English Training Company in Los Angeles, offers these tips to help 'neutralise' your accent or rather do away with the local twang, as you speak.

i. Observe the mouth movements of those who speak English well and try to imitate them.

When you are watching television, observe the mouth movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are saying, while imitating the intonation and rhythm of their speech.

ii. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of English, slow your speech down.

If you speak too quickly, and with the wrong intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a hard time understanding you.

iv. Use the dictionary.

Try and familiarise yourself with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary. Look up the correct pronunciation of words that are hard for you to say.

v. Make a list of frequently used words that you find difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks the language well to pronounce them for you.

Record these words, listen to them and practice saying them. Listen and read at the same time.

vi. Buy books on tape.

Record yourself reading some sections of the book. Compare the sound of your English with that of the person reading the book on the tape.

vii. Pronounce the ending of each word.

ix. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes.

x. Be patient.

Quick tips

Various versions of the English language exist. Begin by identifying the category you fall into and start by improving the clarity of your speech.

~ Focus on removing the mother tongue influence and the 'Indianisms' that creep into your English conversations.

~ Watch the English news on television channels like Star World, CNN, BBC and English movies on Star Movies and HBO.

~ Listen to and sing English songs. We'd recommend Westlife, Robbie Williams, Abba, Skeeter Davis and Connie Francis among others.

Books to help you improve your English

Essential English Grammar by Murphy (Cambridge)
Spoken English by R K Bansal and J B Harrison
Pronounce It Perfectly In English (book and three audio cassettes) by Jean Yates, Barrons Educational Series
English Pronunciation For International Students by Paulette Wainless Dale, Lillian Poms

more info: www.ingilizcepratik.net

Re: is this a question??

Murasaki — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 06:02:48 GMT

Silversamand wrote:

hi

Is following Sentence a questional one or what?

" you still don't know what to do this summer? "

if it's a question why it's structure looks like a simple sentence?

if it isn't so then what's question mark in last of it?

thanks

Hello Silversamand

We find this form of question used mostly in spoken informal language.When written it is most probably dialogue. Correctly uttered, the speaker uses a rising intonation at the end to indicate that it is a question, not a statement. When written the question mark signals that it is a question.

In spoken informal language we often use this question form as opposed to "proper" questions - as practised in English grammar lessons! This makes the conversation sound more friendly and less like an interrogation.