7 secrets to studying English

[dung_forever]

1) listen and repeat
2)stop studying English grammar
3)learn phrases always,not individual words
4)learn deeply ,not vaguely
5)learn word stress
6)learn sentence stress
7)30 mins a day better than 7.5 hours a week

if you have anything to ask,you can read my previous posts in which i ve explained everything i gave here.

[dung_forever]

useul webs

http://art-hanoi.com/collection/vnpaper/

[Naiad]

I think we forgot one thing which is very important:

- delve into Phrasal verbs and Idioms ( international English tests always require these: Toefl IBT, SAT...):9::uongbia:Good luck:love2:

[dung_forever]

I think we forgot one thing which is very important:

- delve into Phrasal verbs and Idioms ( international English tests always require these: Toefl IBT, SAT...):9::uongbia:Good luck:love2:


what do you study phrasal verbs and idioms for whyile you cant speak and listen to english?you ll forget them soon if if you dont practise them regularly.

[dung_forever]

THE BEST WAYS TO STUDYING ENGLISH
English is of paramount importance nowadays and insufficient knowledge of en glish can cause you trouble.Therefore ,more and more people,from very old to very young,of all social strata and classes are learning english.However,not all of them have succeeded in en glish.So,what is the best way to study english?Reading my article,you will,certainly,find useful methods to master english in all the 4 skills. Research shows that 95% of en glish learners fail to speak and listen to english though they may be very good at reading english.So what is the rationale for that?The answer is that they always learn individual words,then translate them into their mother tongue.In this way,they have to memorise all the words they have seen.Contrary to their expectations,they can t use their vocab when they want to express their emotions.The solution to this problem is to learn deeply ,not vaguely as they did before.They should practice every phrase they learn,not single words themselves,every day.This method not only helps them remember the words themselves but also know how to use them accurately.

The second key rule to studying english is stop learning english grammar.Textbooks dont help you ,even make your speaking slower,because every time you want to speak E,you are frightened to make grammatical mistakes.Therefore,you cant speak in response to the other speaker in time.Hence, i strongly advise you not to study grammar.But you may think you can t speak E without grammar,maynt you?To help you,Ill give the third rule

This rule is very important and it determines the results of studying E.

Listen,repeat

Listen,repeat

listen ,repeat

you know what i mean ?Ive followed this rule for long and now my E speaking an d listening are unexpectedly excellent.To achieve my success ,you should quit your old methods and turn to my ways.You should practice listening 3 times at least a day.At first, you practice listening to short conversations and paragraghs,at the same time repeating them .Then you build it up gradually.

Follow these methods for 6 months and i guarantee you ll succeed.You ll be able to speak E naturally and automatically without thinking in your language.

All of these ideas stems from the internet,which is a useful tool for learning E.In comparison with my old methods taught at school,I find them terrible.They didn t help me good at E at all, but even made my speaking in my own langlange become slower.I was taught to MEMORISE english words,grammar and idioms.So i could only translate but i couldn t speak and listen to my english natives when facing them on the streets

After several years of taking these rules,i ve found that private lessons are not always valuable.Its also not worth spending time and money in an english speaking country when you cant afford it..Because you can speak and listen to E with the help of the internet and televisions nowadays.And with the current globalisation ,you have more chances to talk E directly with foreigners.My methods can also help you feel more confident when meeting with them. .

[dung_forever]

You are very good at languages. That's obvious, because you already speak one language very well - your own! And if you can learn and speak one language well, then you can certainly learn and speak one or more other languages.

But did you ever ask yourself: "How did I learn my own language?" In fact, you never really "learned" it at all - you just started speaking it. One day, when you were about two or three years old, you started speaking your language. A few words at first, not full sentences. But you spoke. And very soon you made progress without even thinking about it. It was like magic!

But it wasn't magic. It was the result of hearing. For two to three years before you spoke, you heard people speaking your language all day, and maybe all night. You heard people speaking your language. Maybe you listened to people, but more importantly you heard. them. Then, as if by magic, you started to speak. All that hearing was necessary for you to start speaking. For two to three years words went IN to your head. Then words came OUT of your head! That is why hearing (and listening to) English as much as possible is so important to you now. The more English you put in, the more you'll get out!

So how can you hear a lot of English when you're not in an English-speaking country or family? Fortunately, there are many ways of hearing English in almost all countries of the world.

Radio
You can receive English language radio in most countries. Two of the best international networks are the BBC World Service and Voice of America. Both of them have special programmes for learners of English. You can find information about times and frequencies for your country on their web sites. .

Television
TV is an excellent resource for hearing and listening to English. The pictures help you understand what is being said. If you don't have access to English-language TV, you may be able to watch TV on Internet.

Internet
It is now a lot easier to hear English by Internet. Im sure that most of you,paticularly english gifted classes in Lam Son upper secondary school, are very good at the enternet and you ll have no problem finding some websites with english tv or radio
Music/songs
Songs in English are everywhere, even on foreign-language radio and TV stations. Listen to them often. Buy some cassettes or CDs, or make recordings, and try to write the words for an entire song. But choose one that is not too difficult. That means it should be reasonably slow, and with real words sung clearly. Some pop songs are very unclear and are difficult even for native English-speakers to understand fully!

Cinema
Outside the English-speaking world, many large cities have cinemas that show films in English, usually with sub-titles. Make it a habit to go to these films. If you need to read the sub-titles, at least you'll be hearing English even if you don't understand it.

Vi
Vi has one really great advantage. You can play it again . . . and again. You can use vi to watch film cassettes that you buy or borrow. If there are sub-titles, you can cover them with paper (which you can remove if you really don't understand after listening several times). And you can use vi to record programmes from television and then watch them several times to improve your understanding.

Friends
Try to make friends with English-speaking people so that you can practise your English through conversation. Of course, this will practise your speaking as well as your listening. And if you don't have a lot of time to go out and meet people, at least you can chat a little by telephone.

Finally, don't worry if you don't understand everything you hear. HEARING COMES FIRST,UNDERSTANDING COMES NEXT,SPEAKING THEN,AND LAST READING AND WRITING.
I ll give you the 7 secrets for studying English I got from the internet in several weeks time.But,even now you already know that listening is the most important secret.

[dung_forever]

Secret #6: SENTENCE STRESS

Sentence Stress is golden key number two for speaking
and understanding English. With Sentence Stress, some
*words* in a sentence are "stressed" (loud) and other
words are weak (quiet). Look at the following sentence:

We want to go.

Do we say every word with the same stress or force? No!
We make the important words *big* and the unimportant
words small. What are the important words in this
sentence? Yes, you're right: WANT and GO.

We WANT to GO.

We WANT to GO to WORK.

We DON'T WANT to GO to WORK.

We DON'T WANT to GO to WORK at NIGHT.

It's impossible to explain everything about Sentence
Stress in this email. The important thing for you is
that you know it exists and try to learn about it.
Sentence Stress is *very important*!

[dung_forever]

Secret #1: LISTEN! LISTEN! LISTEN!

Students sometimes say: 'I don't listen to the BBC news
on the radio because it's too fast for me and I can't
understand it.' That's a pity! When it's too fast for
you, when you can't understand it, that is exactly when
you NEED to listen to it!!!

How can you improve if you don't listen and practise?

When you were a baby, did you understand your own
language? When you were 3 weeks old, or 2 months, or 1
year, did you understand everything? Of course not! But
you *learned* to understand by *listening*. Think about
it. You learned to understand your own language by
listening, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. After that,
you learned to speak. Then you learned to read. And then
you learned to write. *But listening came first

[dung_forever]

Secret #5: LEARN ABOUT WORD STRESS

Word Stress is golden key number one for speaking and
understanding English. Word Stress is *very important*.
You can try to learn about Word Stress. This is one of
the *best* ways for you to understand spoken English -
especially English spoken fast.

What is Word Stress?

Take 3 words: photograph, photographer and photographic,
for example. Do they sound the same when spoken? No!
They sound different, because *one* syllable in each
word is "stressed" (stronger than the others).

PHOtograph

phoTOgrapher

photoGRAPHic

This happens in ALL words with 2 or more syllables:
TEACHer, JaPAN, CHINa, aBOVE, converSAtion, INteresting,
imPORtant, deMAND, etCETera,

The syllables that are not stressed are 'weak' or
'small' or 'quiet'. Native speakers of English listen
for the stressed syllables, not the weak syllables. If
you use Word Stress in your speech, you will instantly
and automatically improve your pronunciation and
your comprehension.

If you have an English teacher, ask her to help you
understand Word Stress. Try to hear the stress in words
each time you listen to English - on the radio, or in
films for example. Your first step is to *hear* and
recognise it. After that, you can *use* it!

[dung_forever]

Secret #7: 30 MINUTES A DAY BETTER THAN 3.5 HOURS A WEEK

In fact, 30 minutes of English study once a day is
better than 5 *hours* once a week! Study regularly.
Study often.

LITTLE + OFTEN is better than LOT + SOMETIMES.

It's easier, too. You can easily find 30 minutes each
day. How? You can get up 30 minutes earlier. Or have a
shorter lunch break. Fix a particular time every day -
and keep it!

[dung_forever]

Secret #8:additional
DON'T LISTEN!

In the first secret, I said LISTEN! LISTEN! LISTEN!
Now I say DON'T LISTEN! What do I mean?!

Do you know the difference between the verbs TO LISTEN
and TO HEAR? TO LISTEN is active. TO HEAR is passive.
Sometimes you can LISTEN too hard. Sometimes you can TRY
too hard. Sometimes it is better only to HEAR. Let the
radio play. Let the cassette play. But DON'T listen.
Just HEAR. Your subconscious will listen for you. And
you will still learn. If you listen and try to
understand, you may block on one word and get
frustrated. Don't worry! Just HEAR! Believe me, you will
still be learning. The important thing is to let the
radio or cassette or television or record PLAY. Let it
play. And you - you do nothing. Your brain will HEAR,
your subconscious will LISTEN and you will LEARN

[Naiad]

:love2:GREAT! GRAT! GREAT!:love2:
:kem:I've read all advice you gave, I think you are all right, studying English today is now different from studying E before ( the way our predecessors stydied it).We nolonger need to gnaw at grammar every day, every month and every year.
:love2:With what you advised everyone, I totally belive that you are very excellent now ,RIGHT?
:love2:Yeah!And I want to share my point of view, and exprience with you and all other people
_:kem:First, as Dung say,listening and speaking are very important. But there is a question mark hangs over them:" How can I IMPROVE my ability of listening and speaking", and many English leaners get confused with it, and don't know what to do to improve it or don't know how and where to start. Of course you can't listen anything when you start listening by listening to radio or TV, also it can help you to improve but not much effcient, and it turns out to be a waist of time in the end.You can start with some c for learners such as ENGLISH STREAMLINE 3.0, HEADWAY, so on and so oN, gradually, you will find that your ENGLISH is improved remarkably ( with condition that you are diligent). And when you finish these cs, let's try listening to radio or TV ( E Channels with goodwill such as BBC or CNN,...). After that, you don't feel worry much about your listening.And about speaking, practice as much as you can ( I mean every day), with 1 CD like 3.0, you can hone your ability of listening and speaking by repeat what people in the CD say , always err on the side of concerning stress, which is very important.
_:kem:Sencondly, as I say , your idiolect plays a very imporant role in your passing of an international test, Enghlish people say that : your English is supposed to be good only when your idiolect is rich, so they also test your idiolect rigorously in SAT and Toefl IBT tests, everrything in SAT and TOEFL pivots upon the axis of vocabulary. AT first you find studying vocabulary rather monotonous, but try not to become low- spirited, gradually you will find it interesting ( I can promise :">:">). Here are some books which help you to solve this problem :
_WORD PERFECT ( you should do it first before practice with other books;;)), _VOCABULARY IN USE( upper and advanced )(witten by Michael Mccarthy and Felicity O'Dell). these books are very very interesting. LET'S TRY!
_ :kem:ANOTHER thing I MENTIONED before, phasal verbs and idioms are very very important as well ( SAT and toefl all require these). idioms and phrassal verbs help you very much in making you stand out and put all others candidates down ( they also help me to gain 80% scholarship of BROOKE HOUSE college over a month ago, I knew that because the headteacher of this collge told me ). I sincerely and strongly adviced you that you should delve into them.AT first they are difficult to study, but they are really really interesting, they help you to enrich your English VERY MUCH. HERE are some books for studying them :
_ENGLISH IDIOMS IN UES, PHRASSAL VERBS IN UES ~X(
_ if you like, you can buy OXFORRD IDIOMS dictionary for learners of english ( and prassal verbs as well). Let's try them with diligence, you know " you reap what you sow":">:"> All books that I mentioned really help you very much in gaining high score in SAT and Toefl ( there is a geat number of toefl iBT books , here are some books I think much of :
_LONGMAN iBT ( DEBORAH PHIPLIPS), with 1 CD ROM
_CRACKING TOEFL IBT 2007 ( published by THE PRINCETON REVIEW) with 1 CD ROM
_MASTERING SKILLS FOR TOEFL iBT , with 10 CDs
_SHARPENING SKILLS FOR THE TOEFL iBT ( book 1 and book 2.) ,each book has 4 CDs
:x And about SAT, there aren't any SAT books available on the shell nowadays, you can ask for them by asking your E teacher in HN, they may have copies of them ( when they took mision in US):-":-":"> ( There are 2 books "HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE NEW SAT", and " 11 PRACTICE TESTS FOR THE NEW SAT" :9::9:, these books contain huge vocabulary)
_That's all what I can share with you, so don't hesitate to share with me all you know (and let me know you books and your syllabus, OK?) DUNG, OK?.
_I'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOU T YOU , DUNG! :uongbia::uongbia:
:uongbia::xBest wishes to my online friend:uongbia::x
:love2::love2: GOOD LUCK!:love2::love2:

[hương giang]

I think this forum is very interest and usefull for all English learners:uongbia:Thanks for all your sharing expriences above. WHERE THE OTHER ONES?:9:
First when all of you read this forum, I suppose you eyes are nearly pop out of your heads:)):)) because all the books above are not ubiquitous, and they will took you a lot of time to mull over them, but if you use these books, you will realize that your English has improved so miraculously by the time you've finished some parts of them
Another aspect I want to refer now is vocabulary. I must say that iF your lexicon is not OK, you CAN'T WRITE ANYTHING (may be you find this sentense is so negative, but deem that I don't offend anyone). The word "OK" I use here may be prosaic but I mean your lexicon is OK only when you've finished " Word perfect" and " English vocabulary in use"( elementary, intermediate and upper).You can learn step by step. This is only my sharing, not all people's opinion so it's up to you.
Ah, and about SAT, when you practise, you may make lots of mistakes because they are very long and logical, sometimes you can be "caught into a trap"=)), if your train of thought is "off the line", I mean a very very small mistake you make, you may lose marks very easily
So English and American students always say "SAT is a catastrophe":-":-"
I hope if anyone concern about English will join this forum and give us about your experience. OK?:x:x
Ah, by the way,: MERRY CHRISTMAS, everryone!

[dung_forever]

I think this forum is very interest and usefull for all English learners:uongbia:Thanks for all your sharing expriences above. WHERE THE OTHER ONES?:9:
First when all of you read this forum, I suppose you eyes are nearly pop out of your heads:)):)) because all the books above are not ubiquitous, and they will took you a lot of time to mull over them, but if you use these books, you will realize that your English has improved so miraculously by the time you've finished some parts of them
Another aspect I want to refer now is vocabulary. I must say that iF your lexicon is not OK, you CAN'T WRITE ANYTHING (may be you find this sentense is so negative, but deem that I don't offend anyone). The word "OK" I use here may be prosaic but I mean your lexicon is OK only when you've finished " Word perfect" and " English vocabulary in use"( elementary, intermediate and upper).You can learn step by step. This is only my sharing, not all people's opinion so it's up to you.
Ah, and about SAT, when you practise, you may make lots of mistakes because they are very long and logical, sometimes you can be "caught into a trap"=)), if your train of thought is "off the line", I mean a very very small mistake you make, you may lose marks very easily
So English and American students always say "SAT is a catastrophe":-":-"
I hope if anyone concern about English will join this forum and give us about your experience. OK?:x:x
Ah, by the way,: MERRY CHRISTMAS, everryone!

i think you should check your errors before posting your comment
because it will be read by other people and these mistakes may influence their knowledge.thank you anyway for your comment on this tip first created by me.I hope you will give more or your opinion on it in the future in accordance with my expectations.
PS I also have the same thought as yours about the books huongvan mentioned.However i ll try to buy them somewhere else they sell .

[Naiad]

HIc hic... anh Công criticise em nó như thế thì còn ma nào dám vào đây viết bài nữa hử :-":-":devil::devil:.
Kệ các bạn nhá!, viết sai viết đúng cứ vào đây post bài lên cho nó vui, để chia sẻ kinh nghiệm của mình về việc study English ( đúng sai gì viết xong sau rut kinh nghiệm, ko vấn đề gì hết, nhẩy?)

REMEMBER : IF YOU HAVE IT, FLAUNT IT.:">:))
The most important thing is never stop asking questions and sharing your experience:docsach:

[dung_forever]

HIc hic... anh Công criticise em nó như thế thì còn ma nào dám vào đây viết bài nữa hử :-":-":devil::devil:.
Kệ các bạn nhá!, viết sai viết đúng cứ vào đây post bài lên cho nó vui, để chia sẻ kinh nghiệm của mình về việc study English ( đúng sai gì viết xong sau rut kinh nghiệm, ko vấn đề gì hết, nhẩy?)

REMEMBER : IF YOU HAVE IT, FLAUNT IT.:">:))
The most important thing is never stop asking questions and sharing your experience:docsach:

Thats a pity that you wrote your comment in Vietnamese,in what i hate most and not in compliance with my objectives of creating this title all written in English.However,i still thank you for your advice and i ll take it in the future,meaning not criticising anybody who wants to compose in these pages,whether its correct or wrong.

[tmyt]

Hey Cong! Do you remember the topic I gave you about a week ago? Have you written ỉt to me? I think you are too lazy to do, rite? And so do I! =)) But I had to do it 'cause it was my homework. :-S Here is my composition. Read it and give me a piece of advice if you want. :P

Topic: Write about the stereotypes of Vietnamese people
Each nation has its own stereotypes which are somehow good or bad. Of course, there are some stereotypes of Vietnamese people.
Here are some that people consider the stereotypes of people from Vietnam. Firstly, there are a few stereotypes that are good, for example people are hardworking, smart, friendly, peaceful, hospitable, patriotic, helpful, etc. Besides, there are some that are bad such as corrupt, nosy, patriarchal, passive, old-fashioned in mind, careless drivers, traffic jam, pollution,…
Certainly, those are what people think to be the stereotypes of Vietnamese people. Therefore, there are some true but there are some not true. In my opinion, the true stereotypes are hardworking, smart, friendly, hospitable, peaceful and patriotic. First of all, Vietnamese people are very hardworking. In the past, when Vietnam was only a poor nation, the people of Vietnam worked very hard to help the country overcome the difficulty of war. Nowadays, when Vietnam is becoming richer and richer, the people are still very studious. Their only wish is that Vietnam will become one of the most developed countries of the world. Moreover, the people from Vietnam are smart, especially the young when they are day by day approaching to information technology. In addition, Vietnam is peaceful nation attracting a lot of foreigners by not only the beautiful sights but also the friendly and hospitable people. Vietnam has an ancient history of protecting the country. Thus Vietnamese people love their nation so much, especially in war. They are willing to die to protect the peace of Vietnam.
Beside the good stereotypes, there are the bad ones: nosy, patriarchy, passive, pollution, bad traffic. Firstly, Vietnam people are nosy people, they seem to love to put their nose in somebody’s problem. If you have a problem, yours will be known by everyone immediately. Secondly, in Vietnam, the men always take important parts in the family. They have power and most of their decisions are powerful. Moreover, in the family, children and sometimes women are passive. They donot have permission to decide their life. Thirdly, the traffic and environment in Vietnam are very bad. Drivers, especially bus drivers, are careless, traffic jams occur everyday. The air is full of dust and smoke. It is really awful.
However, some people think to be the stereotypes of Vietnamese people arenot true, for instance: corrupt, old-fashioned in mind. Those only exist in some people.
All in all, we should know and improve the good and get rid of the bad to make Vietnam become a wonderful nation.

Do ya guys think that I’m boasting about Vietnamese people??? =))

[dung_forever]

Hey Cong! Do you remember the topic I gave you about a week ago? Have you written ỉt to me? I think you are too lazy to do, rite? And so do I! =)) But I had to do it 'cause it was my homework. :-S Here isDo ya guys think that I’m boasting about Vietnamese people???] =))[/QUOTE

i think theres something wrong in these sentences,including wrongly used words and grammar, or some ideas you said about the vietnamese i dont agree with, or something incommensurate with my knowledge,though i dont want to give any corection to them.

[QUOTE=tmyt;139737]Each nation has its own stereotypes which are somehow good or bad. Of course, there are some stereotypes of Vietnamese people =))

In my viewpoint,you should write another sentence for the opening,which is somewhat stupid(i have to use this word because i dont find any alternative)

for example people are hardworking, smart, friendly, peaceful, hospitable, patriotic, helpful, etc. Besides, there are some that are bad such as corrupt, nosy, patriarchal, passive, old-fashioned in mind, careless drivers, traffic jam, pollution,…???] =))[/QUOTE

there may be structural mitakes in the above sentence.You shouldnt use adjectives along with nouns.

here is another strange sentence

[QUOTE=tmyt;139737]All in all, we should know and improve the good and get rid of the bad to make Vietnam become a wonderful nation=))

thats some i can share with you.

[tmyt]

=))=))=))
Oh God, I cant help laughing! So sorry! =))
All you said to me are wrong, including your correction and what you told me. :)
1st, "Do ya guys think that I’m boasting about Vietnamese people???" isnot one of the sentences in the composition.
2nd, "In my viewpoint, you should write another sentence for the opening,which is somewhat stupid" - the sentence of yours, I cant get it!!! "which" for "you should write another sentence for the opening" or smth else? It's an obscure sentence.
3rd, "above" is a prep, not an adj.
All sentences of mine arenot strange. They are very common to everyone, maybe except for you.
One of the most important rule in writing a composition is "dont use "big" word and "big" sentence" :)

[Naiad]

=))=))=))
One of the most important rule in writing a composition is "dont use "big" word and "big" sentence" :)

:kem:I beg to differ. i don't agree with you about this. The more we use "big" word and "big" sentence, the more our composition will help us in gaining score .
With what you said, be that as it may, it really goes again the grain that why SAT and TOEFL ( for example) require your skilled and rich idiolect not only in diagostic tests ( a lot of "big" words), critical reading,... but also in your essay. They encourage you to use "big" word and "big" sentence as much as possible ( in order to sort out the sheep from the goats). The purpose of taking an exam like toefl and sat is to make you stand out. And if you want to make you stand out you will show your salient features such as rich idiolect, special structure ( idioms , phrasal verbs) ,of course by and large. There are a lot of other prerequisites, but i don't mention here, hì hì hì...:">

:love2: BEST WISHES TO MY ONLINE FRIENDS:love2:
:uongbia: GOOD LUCK:uongbia:

[dung_forever]

Huong van,again i am suprised by your knowledge of english.you used many dificult structures ,including idioms and phrasal verbs few english learners know.Thank you for reasoning with an unknown tmyt protecting me,though i know you just said your true thoughts with no intention of helping me

[dung_forever]

Homework Center – Speaking & Listening Skills

Listening Skills

You probably spend more time using your listening skills than any other kind of skill. Like other skills, listening takes practice.
What does it mean to really listen?

Real listening is an active process that has three basic steps.

Hearing. Hearing just means listening enough to catch what the speaker is saying. For example, say you were listening to a report on zebras, and the speaker mentioned that no two are alike. If you can repeat the fact, then you have heard what has been said.

Understanding. The next part of listening happens when you take what you have heard and understand it in your own way. Let's go back to that report on zebras. When you hear that no two are alike, think about what that might mean. You might think, "Maybe this means that the pattern of stripes is different for each zebra."

Judging. After you are sure you understand what the speaker has said, think about whether it makes sense. Do you believe what you have heard? You might think, "How could the stripes to be different for every zebra? But then again, the fingerprints are different for every person. I think this seems believable."

Tips for being a good listener

Give your full attention on the person who is speaking. Don't look out the window or at what else is going on in the room.

Make sure your mind is focused, too. It can be easy to let your mind wander if you think you know what the person is going to say next, but you might be wrong! If you feel your mind wandering, change the position of your body and try to concentrate on the speaker's words.

Let the speaker finish before you begin to talk. Speakers appreciate having the chance to say everything they would like to say without being interrupted. When you interrupt, it looks like you aren't listening, even if you really are.

Let yourself finish listening before you begin to speak! You can't really listen if you are busy thinking about what you want say next.

Listen for main ideas. The main ideas are the most important points the speaker wants to get across. They may be mentioned at the start or end of a talk, and repeated a number of times. Pay special attention to statements that begin with phrases such as "My point is..." or "The thing to remember is..."

Ask questions. If you are not sure you understand what the speaker has said, just ask. It is a good idea to repeat in your own words what the speaker said so that you can be sure your understanding is correct. For example, you might say, "When you said that no two zebras are alike, did you mean that the stripes are different on each one?"

Give feedback. Sit up straight and look directly at the speaker. Now and then, nod to show that you understand. At appropriate points you may also smile, frown, laugh, or be silent. These are all ways to let the speaker know that you are really listening. Remember, you listen with your face as well as your ears!

Thinking fast
Remember: time is on your side! Thoughts move about four times as fast as speech. With practice, while you are listening you will also be able to think about what you are hearing, really understand it, and give feedback to the speaker.

copied from http://www.infoplease.com/homework/listeningskills1.html

[dung_forever]

There are 10 admonitions to learn English effectively

First:

You should obviously know the reason you need to learn English. For your working or applying for a job, talking with people using english or at your school.

Second:

Knowing thoroughly how your English will be limited. Speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. Which skill do you want to improve ?

Third:

When you speak English fluently you should try to listen or imagine the things that you can wish to understand them

Fourth:

You should register an English course. If it is not you try to think you are living in an English environment,in which you always use English

Fifth:

You should always seek new opportunities to learn and use English. You say English when you can. You should listen to the English radio programs and English CDs, reading and writing in English. If you really want to seek opportunities you will find them

Sixth:

Writing new words in a record book is useful. If you always bring it you can see new words at any time when you have free time

Seventh:

Practice more and more. There is an English idiom “if you don’t want to lose it, you should use it” This idiom is true with studying English.

Eighth:

Finding a person can help you to learn English, your colleague is example. You talk with him/her by English or send her/him English messages and vice versa

Ninth:

You should always learn a little. Making sure you learn 10 minutes each day. Therefore, it is better than one time in a week though the time is longer

Tenth:

When you start each class, you ask yourself “what do I want to learn this day” and at the end of the class you ask yourself “what have i learned to day"



see also http://hocit.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-1325.html for more details

[dung_forever]

history of days

The history of the names of the days of the week is a tangled one. The Greeks named the days of the week after their gods, but when the Romans were supreme, they substituted the names of their favorite gods for the original Greek names. However, with English being a Germanic language, it’s perhaps no surprise that our current week has several days named after Germanic gods.

Sunday was the day of the sun, whether you were Latin, Greek or Germanic, while Monday was the day of the moon. Tuesday is named after the God of War (who was Mars in Latin and Ares in Greek). However, the English form comes from Tiu/Tiwa, the Germanic/English name of the god of war and the sky.

Wednesday is named after Wodin, the main Teutonic god, who is similar to the Norse god, Odin. In Latinate languages such as French and Spanish, this day is named after the messenger of the gods, Mercury. Thursday is named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder. In Latinate languages, this day is named after the chief Roman god, Jupiter, who created thunder and lightning.

Friday is named after the Teutonic goddess of love, fertility and beauty, Freya. In Latinate languages, this day is named after the Roman goddess Venus, who had similar responsibilities. Finally, Saturday is named after the planet Saturn.

see http://www.dailywritingtips.com/ for the original.

[dung_forever]

7 Ways to Say "OUGH"

It's a pity that English is not phonetic! In some languages,
you can look at a word and know immediately how to pronounce
it. But in English you need to be a little more careful.

Take the letters "ough", for example. They occur in many
words, but they do not always sound the same.

1. though (like o in go)

2. through (like oo in too)

3. cough (like off in offer)

4. rough (like uff in suffer)

5. plough (like ow in flower)

6. ought (like aw in saw)

7. borough (like a in above)

So how do you know the pronunciation of a word? Well,
fortunately "ough" is an extreme example. English words are
not always that difficult. But in general, when you learn a
new word, you should also make sure you know its
pronunciation. If you do not have a teacher or someone to
say the word for you, you can look in a dictionary. All good
dictionaries give the pronunciation for each word, often
with special symbols. So it's a good idea to look at your
dictionary carefully and learn the pronunciation symbols.
After that, you'll always be able to find the pronunciation
of any word, easily. Try it with the 7 "ough" words above

copyright of http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation

[dung_forever]

Hopefully,everyone is willing to post their writings here,such as essay assinement at class,scussions about social issues ,in english of course

[Naiad]

:-"I don't think everyone is giving you silent treatment, of course:">:">.
:-"You know," you can take a horse to water, but you can't make it drink".So let it be??
:-"I hope that you are not hopping mad about what I say, RIGHT?, hì hì...:">:">

@ Công: công nhận là bác này tài viết, em viết được vái bài là thấy ngại lắm rồi, mà bác đây chơi cho mấy trang, phục bác sát đất:9: ( em toàn lên đây comment linh tinh thôi)

[cool_star]

Hopefully,everyone is willing to post their writings here,such as essay assinement at class,scussions about social issues ,in english of course

I am so surprised that your English are so good, all of you. It is the fact that some students at our school are not worse than ones from Ams or Foreign Languages Specializing School. That is for sure. But I think about each skill, it would rank like this : reading > writing > listening > speaking. The last one seems to be difficult to study well in Thanh Hoa :(. But thanks to Internet, nothing is impossible :devil:.
I have an assignment at class. This is my writing for final exam. I've sent it to my teacher :-S. Anyway, I would so happy if anyone check it for me.

Topic : Challenges of Vietnamese businesses as trading internationally.

In the world of free economies, along with many opportunities, Vietnamese companies also have to cope with a lot of challenges. Those difficulties appear to increase in quantity and even to be more complex since Vietnam became the 150th member of WTO last year. Because of the government's agreement as the member of the biggest trading organization, local businesses have to compete with international giants while they still have lack of experience and so that often get into troubles with law barriers from other countries.

In the first place, Vietnamese corporations now have to compete with many multi-national companies. These rivals have both well-known reputations and international trading experiences. Hence, this market of 84 million people no longer is a piece of cake for local businesses. Besides, a great deal of Vietnamese people tends to prefer foreign products, though those of Vietnamese brands are more competitive. Before, goods from US, Japan or any modern country were considered to be luxurious in people's thinking. However, as the country's agreement to access WTO, the importing taxes will be deeply reduced, even become zero in some types of goods. Thus, ordinary people have the chances to use foreign products with more proper prices. That is to say, local corporations even have to face the probability of losing their traditional market.

Next, Vietnamese companies have lack of either capital or international trading experiences. Thus, while many countries set up law barriers to protect their industries, those companies often get into troubles with local governments. An obvious example is the Great Catfish War between Vietnamese farmers and US enterprises. It happened whilst a number of American catfish producers denounced that their Vietnamese competitors had lowered the actual prices in order to attract more US customers. Consequently, those products now must be applied with the higher taxes. That means their prices, which traditionally is their advantages thanks to low-paid labor, seem to be less attractive. This is a lesson for many Vietnamese businesses that they must know the law before entering the international market.

After that, another problem for local companies is the human resources matter. Till now, Vietnamese universities are unable to supply enough high-quality employees for their businesses. As the result, a lot of companies are trying to attract a limited amount of talented officers. Nonetheless, they find hard to offer attractive conditions for these people as their foreign opponents. In fact, many students are eager to take a job in an international corporation after graduation, rather than working for a Vietnamese company with lower salary and bonuses.

To sum up, while joining the international games, Vietnamese corporations are facing many difficulties. However, they have the advantages of low-paid labor and a variety of natural resources, which hopefully would help them to take a higher position in the global trading market in the near future.

[dung_forever]

[QUOTE=cool_star;141565]
checked it for me.

[In the world of free trading, along with many opportunities, Vietnam became the

. These rivals have both well-known reputations and international trading experiences. Hence, this market of 87 ,a good number of of Vietnamese people , though those of Vietnamese brands are more competitive.

. However, as the country's agreement to access WTO, the importing taxes will be considerably reduce
.
.[/QUOTE

above are some words i thibk you should alter,though i am not sure about them.

with my limited knowledge,i dont find many mistakes in your writing.But even so,i dont like it very much for lots of reasons.Better still,i shouldnt mention here.

[dung_forever]

Here are some words originated from jewish language used in english i ve got from the internet.,though they are nt popular at all.

There is no universally accepted transliteration or spelling; the standard YIVO version is based on the Eastern European Klal Yidh dialect, while many Yidh words found in English came from Southern Yidh dialects. In the 1930s, Yidh was spoken by more than 10 million people, but by 1945, 75% of them were gone. Today, Yidh is the language of over 100 newspapers, magazines, radio broadcasts, and websites.

baleboste
A good homemaker, a woman who’s in charge of her home and will make sure you remember it.

bissel
Or bisl - a little bit.

bubbe
Or bobe. It means Grandmother, and bobeshi is the more affectionate form. Bubele is a similarly affectionate word, though it isn’t in Yidh dictionaries.

bupkes
Not a word for polite company. Bubkes or bobkes may be related to the Polish word for “beans”, but it really means “goat droppings” or “horse droppings.” It’s often used by American Jews for “trivial, worthless, useless, a ridiculously small amount” - less than nothing, so to speak. “After all the work I did, I got bupkes!”

chutzpah
Or khutspe. Nerve, extreme arrogance, brazen presumption. In English, chutzpah often connotes courage or confidence, but among Yidh speakers, it is not a compliment.

feh!
An expression of gust or approval, representative of the sound of spitting
.
glitch
Or glitsh. Literally “slip,” “skate,” or “nosedive,” which was the origin of the common American usage as “a minor problem or error.”

gornisht
More polite than bupkes, and also implies a strong sense of nothing; used in phrases such as “gornisht helfn” (beyond help).

goy
A non-Jew, a Gentile. As in Hebrew, one Gentile is a goy, many Gentiles are goyim, the non-Jewish world in general is “the goyim.” Goyish is the adjective form. Putting mayonnaise on a pastrami sandwich is goyish. Putting mayonnaise on a pastrami sandwich on white bread is even more goyish.

kibbitz
In Yidh, it’s spelled kibets, and it’s related to the Hebrew “kibbutz” or “collective.” But it can also mean verbal joking, which after all is a collective activity. It didn’t originally mean giving unwanted advice about someone else’s game - that’s an American innovation.

klutz
Or better yet, klots. Literally means “a block of wood,” so it’s often used for a dense, clumsy or awkward person. See schlemiel.

kosher
Something that’s acceptable to Orthodox Jews, especially food. Other Jews may also “eat kosher” on some level but are not required to. Food that Orthodox Jews don’t eat - pork, shellfish, etc. - is called traif. An observant Jew might add, “Both pork and shellfish are doubtlessly very tasty. I simply am restricted from eating it.” In English, when you hear something that seems suspicious or shady, you might say, “That doesn’t sound kosher.”

kvetsh
In popular English, kvetch means “complain, whine or fret,” but in Yidh, kvetsh literally means “to press or squeeze,” like a wrong-sized shoe. Reminds you of certain chronic complainers, doesn’t it? But it’s also used on Yidh web pages for “click” (Click Here).

maven
Pronounced meyven. An expert, often used sarcastically.

Mazel Tov
Or mazltof. Literally “good luck,” (well, literally, “good constellation”) but it’s a congratulation for what just happened, not a hopeful wish for what might happen in the future. When someone gets married or has a child or graduates from college, this is what you say to them. It can also be used sarcastically to mean “it’s about time,” as in “It’s about time you finished school and stopped sponging off your parents.”

mentsh
An honorable, decent person, an authentic person, a person who helps you when you need help. Can be a man, woman or child.

mishegas
Insanity or craziness. A meshugener is a crazy man. If you want to insult someone, you can ask them, ”Does it hurt to be crazy?”

mishpocheh
Or mishpokhe or mishpucha. It means “family,” as in “Relax, you’re mishpocheh. I’ll sell it to you at wholesale.”

nosh
Or nash. To nibble; a light snack, but you won’t be light if you don’t stop noshing. Can also describe plagarism, though not always in a bad sense; you know, picking up little pieces for yourself.

nu
A general word that calls for a reply. It can mean, “So?” “Huh?” “Well?” “What’s up?” or “Hello?”

oy vey
Exclamation of may, grief, or exasperation. The phrase “oy vey iz mir” means “Oh, woe is me.” “Oy gevalt!” is like oy vey, but expresses fear, shock or amazement. When you realize you’re about to be hit by a car, this expression would be appropriate.

plotz
Or plats. Literally, to explode, as in aggravation. “Well, don’t plotz!” is similar to “Don’t have a stroke!” or “Don’t have a cow!” Also used in expressions such as, “Oy, am I tired; I just ran the four-minute mile. I could just plotz.” That is, collapse.

shalom
It means “deep peace,” and isn’t that a more meaningful greeting than “Hi, how are ya?”

shlep
To drag, traditionally something you don’t really need; to carry unwillingly. When people “shlep around,” they are dragging themselves, perhaps slouchingly. On vacation, when I’m the one who ends up carrying the heavy suitcase I begged my wife to leave at home, I shlep it.

shlemiel
A clumsy, inept person, similar to a klutz (also a Yidh word). The kind of person who always spills his soup.

schlock
Cheap, shoddy, or inferior, as in, “I don’t know why I bought this schlocky souvenir.”

shlimazel
Someone with constant bad luck. When the shlemiel spills his soup, he probably spills it on the shlimazel. Fans of the TV sitcom “Laverne and Shirley” remember these two words from the Yidh-American hopscotch chant that opened each show.

shmendrik
A jerk, a stupid person, popularized in The Last Unicorn and Welcome Back Kotter.

shmaltzy
Excessively sentimental, gushing, flattering, over-the-top, corny. This word describes some of Hollywood’s most famous films. From shmaltz, which means chicken fat or grease.

shmooze
Chat, make small talk, converse about nothing in particular. But at Hollywood parties, guests often schmooze with people they want to impress.

schmuck
Often used as an insulting word for a self-made fool, but you shouldn’t use it in polite company at all, since it refers to male anatomy.

spiel
A long, involved sales pitch, as in, “I had to listen to his whole spiel before I found out what he really wanted.” From the German word for play.

shikse
A non-Jewish woman, all too often used derogatorily. It has the connotation of “young and beautiful,” so referring to a man’s Gentile wife or girlfriend as a shiksa implies that his primary attraction was her good looks. She is possibly blonde. A shagetz or sheygets means a non-Jewish boy, and has the connotation of a someone who is unruly, even violent.

shmutz
Or shmuts. Dirt - a little dirt, not serious grime. If a little boy has shmutz on his face, and he likely will, his mother will quickly wipe it off. It can also mean dirty language. It’s not nice to talk shmutz about shmutz. A current derivation, “schmitzig,” means a “thigamabob” or a “doodad,” but has nothing to do with filth.

shtik
Something you’re known for doing, an entertainer’s routine, an actor’s bit, stage business; a gimmick often done to draw attention to yourself.

tchatchke
Or tshatshke. Knick-knack, little toy, collectible or giftware. It also appears in sentences such as, “My brother divorced his wife for some little tchatchke.” You can figure that one out.

tsuris
Or tsores. Serious troubles, not minor annoyances. Plagues of lice, gnats, flies, locusts, hail, death… now, those were tsuris
.
tuches
Rear end, bottom, backside, buttocks. In proper Yidh, it’s spelled tuchis or tuches or tokhis, and was the origin of the American slang word tush.

yente
Female busybody or gossip. At one time, high-class parents gave this name to their girls (after all, it has the same root as “gentle”), but it gained the Yidh meaning of “she-devil”. The matchmaker in “Fiddler on the Roof” was named Yente (and she certainly was a yente though maybe not very high-class), so many people mistakenly think that yente means matchmaker.

yidher kop
Smart person. Literally means “Jewish head.” I don’t want to know what goyisher kop means.
As in Hebrew, the ch or kh in Yidh is a “voiceless fricative,” with a pronunciation between h and k. If you don’t know how to make that sound, pronounce it like an h. Pronouncing it like a k is goyish.

Links
Yidh Language and Culture - history of Yidh, alphabet, literature, theater, music, etc.
Grow A Brain Yidh Archive - the Beatles in Yidh, the Yidh Hillbillies, the Pirates of Penzance in Yidh, etc.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright Daily Writing Tips: Visit the site for more writing tips

[dung_forever]

here is vietnams claim over the Spratly islands

Vietnam
Vietnam also claims the islands on historical grounds. Vietnamese geographical maps record Bãi Cát Vàng (Golden Sandbanks, referring to Spratly Islands) as Vietnamese territory as early as the 17th century. In Phủ Biên Tạp Lục by the scholar Lê Quý Đôn, Hoàng Sa (Paracel Islands), and Trường Sa (Spratly Islands) were defined as belonging to Quảng Ngãi trict. In Đại Nam Nhất Thống Toàn Đồ (Dai Nam Unified Map), an atlas of Vietnam completed in 1838, Trường Sa was shown as Vietnamese territory. Vietnam had conducted many geographical and resource surveys of the islands. The results of these surveys have been recorded in Vietnamese literature and history published since the 17th century. After the treaty signed with the Nguyen Dynasty, France represented Vietnam in international affairs and exercised sovereignty over the islands. On 7 July 1951, Tran Van Huu, head of the Bao Dai Government's delegation to the San Francisco Conference on the peace treaty with Japan declared that the archipelagoes of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa were part of Vietnamese territory. This declaration met with no challenge from the 51 representatives at the conference including delegates from both the People's Republic of China (mainland) and the Republic of China (Taiwan). After the French left, the Vietnamese government exercised sovereignty over the islands. Vietnam currently occupies 31 islands. They are organized as a trict of Khanh Hoa Province. At the 12th National Assembly Election held early in Trường Sa, the people and soldiers also voted for their local trict government for the first time. For the first time, Trường Sa is organized like a normal inland trict, with a townlet (thị trấn Trường Sa) and two commnunes (xã Sinh Tồn, xã Song Tử Tây). Forty nine people were elected to the communes' people's councils.

[dung_forever]

The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim. The Islands are located in the Southeastern Asian group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truong_Sa

[dung_forever]

The Paracel Islands are a group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea, about one-third of the way from Vietnam to the Philippines. In 1932, French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island; maintenance was continued by its successor, Vietnam.

The islands are claimed by the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Vietnam. The People's Republic of China has occupied the islands since 1974, when its troops seized a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands. The Paracel Islands are surrounded by productive fishing grounds and by potential oil and gas reserves


followed by this link for the original

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoang_Sa

[dung_forever]

English version of the vietnamese anthem translated by an editor of the website wikipedia.com.

Verse 1

Armies of Vietnam, forward!
With the single determination to save the Fatherland,
Our hurried steps resound on the long and arduous road.
Our flag, red with the blood of victory, bears the spirit of the country.
The tant rumbling of the guns mingles with our marching song.
The path to glory is built by the bodies of our foes.
Overcoming all hardships, together we build our resistance bases.
Ceaselessly for the People's cause let us struggle,
Let us hasten to the battlefield!
Forward! All together advancing!
Our Vietnam is strong, eternal.

The sixth line was originally: "We swear to flay the enemies and drink their blood" This was changed to current wordings in 1955 by the Fifth Plenum of the First National Assembly.


Verse 2

Soldiers of Vietnam, forward!
The gold star afluttering
Leading the people of our native land out of misery and suffering.
Let us join our efforts in the fight to build a new life.
Arise and break these chains.
For too long have we swallowed our hatred.
Be ready for all sacrifices and life will be radiant.
Ceaselessly for the People's cause, let us struggle,
Let us hasten to the battlefield!
Forward! All together advancing!
Our Vietnam is strong, eternal.

[dung_forever]

Preface,
Below are some lines i ve found on the internet .To tell you the truth,they surprise me.They explain fully a halt in my process of practising listening english and now i understand why.I hope you ll draw much useful information from them.


Teaching listening skills is one of the most difficult tasks for any ESL teacher. This is because successful listening skills are acquired over time and with lots of practice. It's frustrating for students because there are no rules as in grammar teaching. Speaking and writing also have very specific exercises that can lead to improved skills. This is not to say that there are not ways of improving listening skills, however they are difficult to quantify.

One of the largest inhibitors for students is often mental block. While listening, a student suddenly decides that he or she doesn't understand what is being said. At this point, many students just tune out or get caught up in an internal dialogue trying translate a specific word. Some students convince themselves that they are not able to understand spoken English well and create problems for themselves.


They key to helping students improve their listening skills is to convince them that not understanding is OK. This is more of an attitude adjustment than anything else, and it is easier for some students to accept than others. Another important point that I try to teach my students (with differing amounts of success) is that they need to listen to English as often as possible, but for short periods of time.

I like to use this analogy: Imagine you want to get in shape. You decide to begin jogging. The very first day you go out and jog seven miles. If you are lucky, you might even be able to jog the seven miles. However, chances are good that you will not soon go out jogging again. Fitness trainers have taught us that we must begin with little steps. Begin jogging short tances and walk some as well, over time you can build up the tance. Using this approach, you'll be much more likely to continue jogging and get fit.

Students need to apply the same approach to listening skills. Encourage them to get a film, or listen to an English radio station, but not to watch an entire film or listen for two hours. Students should often listen, but they should listen for short periods - five to ten minutes. This should happen four or five times a week. Even if they don't understand anything, five to ten minutes is a minor investement. However, for this strategy to work, students must not expect improved understanding too quickly. The brain is capable of amazing things if given time, students must have the patience to wait for results. If a student continues this exercise over two to three months their listening comprehension skills will greatly improve.

[tmyt]

You are so studious! Hic! :-S
Ok, I'll support you! :)
===========================
In field of pronunciation, it is very difficult for all of us.
If you can pronounce correctly every word in this poem, you will be speaking English better than 90% of the native English speakers in the world. After trying the verses, a Frenchman said he'd prefer six months of hard labour to reading six lines aloud. Try them yourself.


Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.
Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it's written.)
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.
But be careful how you speak:
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.
Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far;
One, anemone, Balmoral,
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.
Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.
Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward.
And your pronunciation's OK
When you correctly say croquet,
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.
Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.
Query does not rhyme with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
Though the differences seem little,
We say actual but victual.
Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
Dull, bull, and George ate late.
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific.
Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
Mark the differences, moreover,
Between mover, cover, clover;
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police and lice;
Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, ciple, label.
Petal, panel, and canal,
Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor.
Tour, but our and succour, four.
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
Sea, idea, Korea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.
Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion and battalion.
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
Say aver, but ever, fever,
Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
Heron, granary, canary.
Crevice and device and aerie.
Face, but preface, not efface.
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
Ear, but earn and wear and tear
Do not rhyme with here but ere.
Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.
Pronunciation (think of Psyche!)
Is a paling stout and spikey?
Won't it make you lose your wits,
Writing groats and saying grits?
It's a dark abyss or tunnel:
Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
Islington and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict and indict.
Finally, which rhymes with enough,
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
Hiccough has the sound of cup.
My advice is to give up!!!
Good luck! :x

[dung_forever]

i must say i cant pronunce every word accurately except the words i know.

you said that i must be very studious but in fact,im not at all.im just loyal to something until something else makes me tired of of it.The proof is that i dont hit the books in the least though im sitting for an important exam.

whats more,can i ask the source of your post?

[dung_forever]

There is a topic that has been given to us as an assignment in an exam.Does anybody want to try?

The government should not take sole responsibilities for reducing the number of road accidents.They should be shared with the road users themselves.
do you agree or agree with this?use specific reasons and examples to support your answer?

[dung_forever]

Hello, everybody:

7 Days of the Week

Everybody knows that there are 7 "days of the week".

But do you know that there are only 5 "weekdays"?

And of course there are 2 days at the "weekend".

The days of the week come from the Names of mythical figures,
so the first letter of each day must be a CAPITAL letter.

Days of the Week:
Monday = associated with the Moon
Tuesday = from the god Tiw, associated with Mars
Wednesday = from Germanic god Odin
Thursday = from Germanic god of thunder Thor
Friday = from Germanic goddess Frigga associated with Venus
Saturday = associated with Saturn
Sunday = associated with the Sun

Weekdays:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Weekend:
Saturday, Sunday

Here are the abbreviations:

Mo., Mon.
Tu., Tue., Tues.
We., Wed.
Th., Thu., Thur., Thurs.
Fr., Fri.
Sa., Sat.
Su., Sun.

(The most common abbreviations are the ones with 3 letters.)

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[Born in October]

Hello, everybody ^^!

I'm an Informatics gifted student. I know I'm not expert in English but I like it very much :">. So, I wish joining this topic with you :). Hopefully, I'm wellcome :x

[dung_forever]

Hello, everybody ^^!

I'm an Informatics gifted student. I know I'm not expert in English but I like it very much :">. So, I wish joining this topic with you :). Hopefully, I'm wellcome :x


Everybody is welcome!So,dont be afraid to post your comments in here.In english,of course.

[vietnamisation]

But i thiink everybody chould chẹck their posts for errors before posting,do you agree?

[Born in October]

Sometimes, I listen to Channel News Asia because I think Asian MC's pronouncing is close to us :">. But I can't understand what they're talking :">. I'm only able to hear a few individual words :">. I think the reason is that I know too few words.

Should I continue listening to Channel News Asia? Please, give me some advices :x. Thanks ^^

[dung_forever]

Sometimes, I listen to Channel News Asia because I think Asian MC's pronouncing is close to us :">. But I can't understand what they're talking :">. I'm only able to hear a few individual words :">. I think the reason is that I know too few words.

Should I continue listening to Channel News Asia? Please, give me some advices :x. Thanks ^^

you should read my previous posts in this topic.You can find the solution to your question there.Furthermore,you can also improve your english if you take my whole instructions.they
helped me achieve todays success.

If you cant see all the points i gave,you can also visit my vietnamsese translation topic called Bi quyet hoc tieng anh.But the obstacle is that i havent translated all my english written rules.Do you have the patience to wait till i have time?

[dung_forever]

There s an interesing topic i d like to post here for everyone to cuss:

What language do you think is the most difficult ?

Please use specific reasons and examples to support your opinions.

[dung_forever]

Please make comments on the topic:What language do you think is the most difficult to learn,compared to varieties of languages throughout the world,being composed of adapted versions of the latin alphabet and the chinese calligraphy?

[Born in October]

I think Chiness is the most difficult language.

It's a kind of ediogram. It takes about 3 years to remember some common words. Ediogramical words are long and difficult to remember. And learning Chiness is not only learning a language but also understanding hiden meanings.

Ediogram is live. When reading an Đường poem, we feel more interested in Chiness than in Vietnamese. We'll be more attracted if we can perceive author's stroke.

The end :">

[dung_forever]

I think Chiness is the most difficult language.

It's a kind of ediogram. It takes about 3 years to remember some common words. Ediogramical words are long and difficult to remember. And learning Chiness is not only learning a language but also understanding hiden meanings.

Ediogram is live. When reading an Đường poem, we feel more interested in Chiness than in Vietnamese. We'll be more attracted if we can perceive author's stroke.

The end :">

There are some errors id like to correct?Is it ok?

an Đường poem>>a Tang poem
hiden>>hidden

But i think your reasoning is very convincing.I admire you very much.However,others have their own opinions,do you agree?So,lets wait for later posts.

[dung_forever]

Below is the english translation of the first 6 lines of the Tale of Kieu written by celebrated confucian poet Nguyen Du.They are translated by a wikipedia editor.

Trăm năm trong cõi người ta,
Chữ tài chữ mệnh khéo là ghét nhau.
Trải qua một cuộc bể dâu,
Những điều trông thấy mà đau đớn lòng.
Lạ gì bỉ sắc tư phong,
Trời xanh quen thói má hồng đánh ghen

Original Chữ Nôm version
These are the images for those who don't have the required fonts.

𤾓𢆥𥪝𡎝𠊛嗟
𡦂才𡦂命窖羅恄饒
𣦆戈沒局𣷭橷
仍調𥉩𧡊罵忉疸𢚸
邏之彼嗇私豐
𡗶青慣退𦟐紅打慳


A hundred years of human existence,
Prodigy and fate intertwined in conflicts,
Mulberry fields turned into open sea,
Enough's been seen to melt the heart.
Little wonder that beauty begets misery,
For Blue Heaven's jealous of exquisite glamour.

[dung_forever]

What do you think when some people say that Japanese is much more difficult than chinese?

[dung_forever]

Hi,Born in october,.now im going to answer the question you asked me.

i think you should continue listening to english programmes on tv,radio and other means of media. But dont try to understand it,you just hear them,not listen too carefully.

The most important point is that you should practice listening to easy english tapes or cs.This time,you should try to hear every word by rewinding the tape as many times as you want till you recognise it.

Practise regularly.Dont miss any day.Twice a day at least.,along with repeating what you hear.
You can start with these curricula: life lines,Headway(elementary,pre-upper imtermediate,upper,advanced) and others that you think they are suited for you.

The reason you cant see what you hear on the radio is that you pronounce wrongly andyou are influenced by your vietnamese.Practice speaking in order to improve your english comprehension.Only when you can understand the word in english.not in vietnamese can you succeed in listening.

Dont care much about the grammar of what you hear.Just repeat it exactly.

[dung_forever]

BỎN IN OCTOBER,can i know more about you?

[Born in October]

BỎN IN OCTOBER,can i know more about you?

I'm a girl and you once visited my house :-"

[tmyt]

Personally I find it easy to learn Chinese. I had learnt it for least than 3 months and now I can pronounce Chinese precisely and write some simple sentences. And if you have learnt Chinese, it will be easier for you to learn Japanese or Korean. It's my own experience. Everything is up to you. Good luck!

[dung_forever]

Personally I find it easy to learn Chinese. I had learnt it for least than 3 months and now I can pronounce Chinese precisely and write some simple sentences. And if you have learnt Chinese, it will be easier for you to learn Japanese or Korean. It's my own experience. Everything is up to you. Good luck!

What about other languages?Which one do you think is the most difficult to master?

[dung_forever]

We are often asked what is the most difficult language to learn, and it is a difficult question to answer because there are a lot of things to take into consideration. Firstly, as a first language, or mother tongue, the differences are unimportant, so the question of how hard a language is to learn only arises in the area of second language acquisition.

A native speaker of Spanish will find Portuguese much easier to learn than a native speaker of Chinese, for example, because Portuguese is very similar to Spanish, while Chinese is very different, so first language is an important factor. the more different a language is from our mother tongue, the harder it will be to learn. Many people answer that Chinese is the hardest language to learn, possibly influenced by the thought of learning Chinese characters, and the pronunciation of Chinese does appear to be very difficult for foreign learners. However, for Japanese speakers, who already use Chinese characters in their own language, the writing will be less of a challenge than it will for people from languages using the Roman alphabet.

Some people can learn languages naturally and easily without much effort, while others find it very difficult, so natural aptitude for language learning is another factor. Teachers and the circumstances in which we learn also play an important role, as well as the motivation for learning. If people learn a language they need to use, they often learn it faster than people studying a language that has no direct use in the lives.

There is no single answer to this question; it depends on so many factors. However, the British Foreign Office has looked at the languages that diplomats and other embassy staff have to learn and has worked out which they find the most difficult to learn. The second hardest is Japanese, which probably comes as no surprise to many, but the language that they have found to be the most difficult to learn is Hungarian, which has 35 cases (forms of a nouns according to whether it is subject, object, genetive, etc). This does not mean that Hungarian is the hardest language to learn for everybody, but it causes British diplomatic staff, who are used to learning languages, the most difficulty. However, Tabassaran, a Caucasian language has 48 cases, so it would probably cause more difficulty if British diplomats had to learn it.

Different cultures and individuals from those cultures will find different languages more difficult. In the case of Hungarian for British learners, it is not a question of the writing system, which is alphabetic, but the grammatical complexity, though native speakers of related languages may find it easier, while struggling with languages that we find relatively easy. No language is easy to learn well, though languages which are related to our first language will be easier. Learning a completely different writing system is a huge challenge, but that does not necessarily make a language more difficult that another. In the end, it is impossible to say that there is one language that is the most difficult language in the world.

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