Search results for 'tag:Vocabulary tag:Accents' matching tags 'Vocabulary' and 'Accents'

Re: Berlusconi's English

Kooyeen — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:55:53 GMT

I didn't understand everything that Slovakian minister said... it even took me a little to figure out that "vee veel" was supposed to be "We will", lol.

CalifJim
The surprising thing I think, for those of you who are not native speakers of English, is that these men can be understood.

Yeah, English is not my native language, so I can't know whether a certain accent is difficult or not to understand for a native speaker.

CalifJim
So concentrate on fluency, and don't beat yourselves up if you don't have a perfect accent!

Well, then I have to ask you... What do you mean by "fluency"? Using good and understandable grammar structures, and common mainstream vocabulary? I think that would be the most important thing when being understood and communicating effectively is the main goal. If I said "Today I have been to the market" with a bad accent, many would probably understand anyway, but if I said "I am market today before"... hmm.
Rutelli's English is very good compared to the others. He's got an Italian accent, but it's perfectly understandable. (Rutelli is another Italian politician).
[youtube:v12ghF6G1Ks]

Re: AMERICANS PLEASE HELP!!

Tanit — Sun, 04 May 2008 10:09:06 GMT

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 ).

Good Luck!

Re: Native-speaker/native language

Tanit — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:03:57 GMT

Forbes

I remember listening to a radio programme about the varieties of forms of speech in Italy ... They simply change language like they change clothes without worrying about the status of their "home" speech.

There's some truth in that article. My parents, for instance, used to speak in Sardinian (not a dialect, but recognised as an endangered language by the UNESCO) when talking to each other or to their relatives, but they would only speak Italian with my brother and me. I grew up monolingual, and although I can understand Sardinian, I am unable to articulate a sentence that contains more than a few words!

Many people who speak both Italian and their dialect, although able to switch from the first to the second depending on the context, speak a form of Italian that I would classify as regional and sub-standard. I noticed that people from Southern Italy (I have little experience of Northern Italy) who speak also a dialect usually don't speak standard Italian, but a form of language deeply affected by their dialect. Accent is not an issue. I find some grammatical structures odd, as well as the choice of some verb modes, tenses and aspects (ex. past simple versus present perfect, indicative versus subjunctive), and have problems with some vocabulary (let alone idioms, of course). I am usually able to understand the general meaning, though.

Re: I Want To Be Fluent English Speaker How Please?

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:58:38 GMT

Hello to all,

I believe that to learn English depends of the interest of individual and depending of the English knowledge you wanted to learn. like for instance, if you want to speak English all you have to do is to listen very carefully to some tools such as CD, DVD, tapes etc. either audio or video, any kinds of topics as long as educational and knowledgeable and while you are listening just follow and speak what they are talking this is a training of the tongue or tongue twisting trying to develop proper accent, pronunciation, intonation etc, if any words you donât understand have your dictionary besides you and open it. next step just prepare any topics as guidelines [ prepare the main topics, sub topics and conclusion] prolong, elongate and expound the topics you wanted to discuss make it in English version at first you might have the difficulty to speak but try and try until your English would connect and connect at this point your trying to bridge the gap. What is needed in English is that at least you have many words to know {synonym and antonyms} is what i mean.

The basic training of English is that you have to speak English by any topics. I understand that for a person who lived {not speaking country have the difficulty to speak English} on my behalf, English education must start first on basic like for instance if you need English conversation find a person who could talk with you English, or else speak and talk English with yourself even if someone listening at you and say something you are a fool forget it. What is needed is you learn something and speak English. if you have the difficulty to write English just read books literatures etc at this point you can get many ideas and your vocabulary broadens, watch the period, punctuation, commas, etc, if you are not a good English listener try to listen English teachings, news whatever that could improve your English, the four pillars of English are: reading. Speaking, writing and listening, if you have this all then you can speak English although not fluent as what others did but at least you can communicate via reading, writing, listening and speak. Fluent English would follow donât give up keep trying until success.

I am a Filipino not an English speaker, writer, etc but in terms of communication i could communicate. For to me to learn English depends on individual. If we have the basic then we have to improve, have the desire, act on it, and apply no need a tutor individual interest is vital here. Donât be shy to speak English if the English is crooked and someone laughs at you accept it consider yourself that you are not an English person, perhaps the person who laughs at you donât know how to speak English and even to communicate with. Thereâs a saying goes: a noisy person have little knowledge than a silent one. in this world what is important is communication regardless of races, nationality and religion. a crooked English is better than nothing, a crooked or a carabao English has the opportunity to become fluent rather than nothing. but if you have nothing at all nobody blames except yourself, your making your own fate and destiny donât blame your parents and the government its your own decision for what you are now, your right decision now will be your future someday but if you donât plan or decision today do you think you have something to expect in the future. To speak English needs perseverance, long patience and determination to reach the goal this is fundamental requirements. people who cannot speak English has less opportunity to go abroad particularly in the open country, and thatâs the reason why I wanted to learn English even basic for this is my only tool to go to other countries if opportunities permit.

From Philippines,

Rene

Re: the best way to learn english?

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:35:55 GMT

Speak without Fear

The biggest problem most people face in learning a new language is their own fear. They worry that they wonât say things correctly or that they will look stupid so they donât talk at all. Donât do this. The fastest way to learn anything is to do it â again and again until you get it right. Like anything, learning English requires practice. Donât let a little fear stop you from getting what you want.

Use all of your Resources

Even if you study English at a language school it doesnât mean you canât learn outside of class. Using as many different sources, methods and tools as possible, will allow you to learn faster. There are many different ways you can improve your English, so donât limit yourself to only one or two. The internet is a fantastic resource for virtually anything, but for the language learner it's perfect.

Surround Yourself with English

The absolute best way to learn English is to surround yourself with it. Take notes in English, put English books around your room, listen to English language radio broadcasts, watch English news, movies and television. Speak English with your friends whenever you can. The more English material that you have around you, the faster you will learn and the more likely it is that you will begin âthinking in English.â .

Listen to Native Speakers as Much as Possible

There are some good English teachers that have had to learn English as a second language before they could teach it. However, there are several reasons why many of the best schools prefer to hire native English speakers. One of the reasons is that native speakers have a natural flow to their speech that students of English should try to imitate. The closer ESL / EFL students can get to this rhythm or flow, the more convincing and comfortable they will become.

Watch English Films and Television

This is not only a fun way to learn but it is also very effective. By watching English films (especially those with English subtitles) you can expand your vocabulary and hear the flow of speech from the actors. If you listen to the news you can also hear different accents.

Listen to English Music

Music can be a very effective method of learning English. In fact, it is often used as a way of improving comprehension. The best way to learn though, is to get the lyrics (words) to the songs you are listening to and try to read them as the artist sings. There are several good internet sites where one can find the words for most songs. This way you can practice your listening and reading at the same time. And if you like to sing, fine.

Study As Often As Possible!

Only by studying things like grammar and vocabulary and doing exercises, can you really improve your knowledge of any language.

Do Exercises and Take Tests

Many people think that exercises and tests aren't much fun. However, by completing exercises and taking tests you can really improve your English. One of the best reasons for doing lots of exercises and tests is that they give you a benchmark to compare your future results with. Often, it is by comparing your score on a test you took yesterday with one you took a month or six months ago that you realize just how much you have learned. If you never test yourself, you will never know how much you are progressing. Start now by doing some of the many exercises and tests on this site, and return in a few days to see what you've learned. Keep doing this and you really will make some progress with English.

Record Yourself

Nobody likes to hear their own voice on tape but like tests, it is good to compare your tapes from time to time. You may be so impressed with the progress you are making that you may not mind the sound of your voice as much.

Listen to English

By this, we mean, speak on the phone or listen to radio broadcasts, audiobooks or CDs in English. This is different than watching the television or films because you canât see the person that is speaking to you. Many learners of English say that speaking on the phone is one of the most difficult things that they do and the only way to improve is to practice.

Finally

Have fun!

Re: How to learn English from music/songs?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 05:30:46 GMT

Teroff wrote:
Hello. I think this is bad idea to learn English from musics and other.

First of all you must learn a gramma and after that you may learn English from Music/song, but not gramma only vocabulary bank.

But this is my IMHO

Sometimes I thought of it as you did.
But I take me back in time, when I was a kid, I just listen, listen, and listen...and I speak. I think learning English from songs is one of the ways to improve your skills. It must be accompanied with other ways not only way.
Grammar, ok, I think you are right. In a song, I can learn new words, pronunciation, maybe...accent...and so on. Do you agree?

Re: have --> huv

Kooyeen — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 14:31:36 GMT

I see, thanks a lot.

I'd better not focus on these seemingly trivial features, or I'll go crazy, lol. It seems to me that, apart from "important features" that are worth learning about (like T+Y=CH, tapped T's, etc.), there are an awful lot of interesting features that are likely to vary from speaker to speaker, and from situation to situation. But if I start to look for these minor features, my search will never come to an end
The fact is that I always hear an infinity of different ways of speaking, so I don't think I'm likely to pick up a "real" accent unconsciously... I'll just pick up some of the features I can recognize and I hear the most. Actually, I don't know if it's worth picking up an accent... now. Because I might well end up anywhere, maybe nowhere, or maybe even in the UK or Australia, who knows. Then I would have to change everything, from my set of vowels to my vocabulary. Homer Simpson would say Doh!!!

How can a non-native English speaker improves his accent

David Little — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 12:45:38 GMT

Hi friends greetings to you all
Is it really important that a non-native English speaker should speak almost(99%) like that of a Native English speaker.I mean the ACCENT.Or is it OK if a non-native was good in pronounciation,fluency,vocabulary and grammar.Which is really important in conversation.

Thank you.

Re: Grammars of Songs

Yankee — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 20:15:55 GMT

Quangtn03 wrote:

Here're my questions:
If you don't understand the lyrics, will you be able to remember the song?
It is easier to remember a song if you understand the lyrics. But understanding the lyrics is not simply a matter of grammar. It's a matter of vocabulary and collocation.

Why are you simply to try to imitate what you hear? Do you mean to imitate the accent?
Most American children learn our national anthem when they are very young -- often before they can read. So, when they sing it, they are only singing what they have heard (or think they have heard), not what they've read. In addition, some of the words in the national anthym are too advanced for a very young child. Therefore, even though they are native speakers of English, they usually don't get all of the words right. Music is a good way to practice a language, but I do think you need to be careful about which songs you learn. Some are more grammatical than others. Some songs contain a lot of slang. And there are even songs that are simply nonsense.

Re: When I have trouble...

Kooyeen — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:24:07 GMT

Hi everyone...

Anonymous, I understand that for most learners this would be too much... as long as you are understood, you're fine. But there are several different kinds of learners. I think we were talking about advanced learners who are interested in understanding English very well, almost like a native speaker (so you need to know about accents, slang, different registers, culture and society, etc.). So finding a model to imitate or comparing different native models is something for more advanced learners who are really interested in English, not for people who are only going to use English for business and with non-native speakers, for example.

Hey Hummingbird,
yes, listening to the radio is a good way to train our ear and learn vocabulary... I know I should listen to it more often... it's just sometimes I find it a little bit boring, LOL. But I know a few talk shows that are not boring...

Anyway, my problem was not about sounding American or anything, it was just about those words that are supposed to have more than one pronounciation, according to the dictionaries. I can't solve this problem completely though, even if I listened to the radio all day long. A little example: take the word "with". It can be pronounced too ways, th as in think, or th as in there. Which one do I have to choose? I used to say it with th as in there, always. Then I realized, listening to the radio, that most people say th as in think. So I changed my pronunciation and now I say it that way. In that case, listening was helpful. That word, "with" is very common, and you can hear it on the radio. But take "basil". My dictionaries list several possible pronunciations. And what do I have to do? I don't think you're going to hear "basil" much on the radio or on TV. Unless you look for a program about food... but I don't care about those programs, lol, I'm not going to look for them just to hear "basil". That was another little example... but what about "hydrocarbon", "pythagorean", etc.? I'm definitely not going to hear them... Whatever, lol.

Hummingbird wrote:
Good luck to you

Thanks!

PS: I just remembered that there's a channel (free, and online) where I might hear a lot of those weird words... The Research Channel!