Thoughts About Practicing English

Tue, 13 May 2008 14:49:19 -0700

Students often ask me about the best way to practice their English. When they do, they are usually asking about some kind of regular (repeated) activity that they can do to improve their skill (or pass a test!).
The traditional idea of practice is very good for some things. Practice helped me learn how to multiply and divide. It helped me learn how to hit a baseball and shoot a basketball (Yes, I did both!). Practice even helped me learn how to play the correct key on the piano when I saw a certain note in the printed music.
Many people think the same kind of practice will help them improve their English. They believe language is like putting numbers into mathematical formulas. They think that they will be successful if they can put the correct number (vocabulary word) into the best formula (simple sentence, compound sentence, complex sentence, etc.). Unfortunately, that is not the way language works.
Every time we use language, we use it in a new and fresh way. It is different almost every time. Even if we use the same vocabulary in the same sentence, we may use a different tone or emphasis. It is impossible to learn all the formulae (such as grammar structures) and numbers (vocabulary) and when and how to use them. There are too many of them.
What can an English student do? First, an English student can concentrate on acquiring (absorbing or picking up) as much English as possible. The best way to do this is to read and listen to as much easy-to-understand English as possible. It is like feeding your body a good balanced diet so that is has all the nutrients (specific foods) it needs to grow. If a student consistently (all the time) reads and listens to interesting, easy-to-understand English, he or she will absorb vocabulary words and ideas about how to use them to communicate with other people, just like native speakers do.
The second thing an English student can do is to exercise, or use, the English he or she has acquired. This is different, and much better, than mechanically writing or saying English sentences. If you are an English student, look for opportunities to use English to write or to speak with other people. Find an English-speaker and ask if you can talk to him or her once a week for 30 minutes or an hour (Be sure you pay for the coffee!). Ask questions about his or her daily life, work, or school. Tell him or her about yours. Use Skype to find and talk to English speakers in other countries. Find someone who is willing to become an e-mail friend or join an Internet discussion group.
The best way – and the only effective way – to practice a new language is to use it for real communication with real people who use the same language.

How hard do you have to work?

Tue, 8 Jan 2008 17:23:37 -0800

In Read to Improve Your English!, I wrote that reading has awesome power to improve your English. I wrote that reading is both effective (causes the desired result) and efficient (doesn’t waste time, energy, or money).
Here are some facts about reading and English-learning that might surprise you:
Students who study English in a country where English isn’t spoken will know about 3,000 words after studying for five or six years (about 600-720 hours in class). (Dr. Paul Nation, a vocabulary researcher from Victoria University Wellington, New Zealand)
You will acquire (pick up or absorb) about 5,000 words If you read interesting, easy-to-understand English for about 245 hours. You can do this by reading 20 minutes a day for 2 years. (Dr. Jeff McQuillan, ESL Podcast, and Dr. Stephen Krashen, University of Southern California)
Students who did only free reading (the reader chooses what to read) improved just as much on a TOEFL exam as students who spent approximately 390 hours studying for the TOEFL in a 13-week intensive (involving a lot of work in a short period of time) English class. (Dr. Beniko Mason Shitennoji International Buddhist University, Osaka, Japan)
Compare the numbers:
Vocabulary development
Spend 600-720 hours (five or six years) in class to learn about 3,000 words.
Spend about 245 hours doing free reading to acquire about 5,000 words.
TOEFL preparation
Take a 13-week intensive English class to add 45-50 points to your TOEFL score.
Add the same amount by doing only free reading.
Which would you rather do?
(Information sources are available upon request.)
If you have a question or comment, use the “Add a comment” link below or send an e-mail to warren@successfulenglish.

Read to Improve Your English!

Tue, 1 Jan 2008 11:52:10 -0800

Scientific research tells us that reading has awesome (very impressive) power to improve your English. Reading is effective (it’s successful and does what it is supposed to do) and it’s also efficient (it works well without wasting, time, money, or energy.)
Reading will improve your vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension (understanding what you read), your writing, spelling, TOEFL scores, and more.
If you want to learn more about why reading (and listening) are important, read what Dr. Jeff McQuillan says about how we acquire (absorb, or pick up) language in his ESL Podcast blog about learning phrasal verbs.
What should I read to improve my English?
Anything interesting. Your English will improve more if you relax and enjoy what you’re reading. Read for fun and watch your English improve! If you aren’t sure where to begin, look at Online Reading & Listening for English Learners and The English Learner’s Book Room.
Books, stories, or articles that are easy to understand. Your English improves when you understand what you are reading.
Here are two rules for choosing something to read:
1. You should recognize at least 90-95% of the words. I often tell my students, “No more than 5 unknown, or unfamiliar, words per page.” You should be able to understand what you are reading without stopping to look words up in the dictionary.
2. You should be able to read at least 80-100 words per minute. If you have to read slower than that, you will probably have trouble understanding what you are reading.
And here are two ideas to try:
1. Read several books, stories, or articles by the same author or on the same subject. This is called narrow reading, and it helps make your reading more effective and efficient.
2. Read good English translations of books you are already familiar with.
How should I read to improve my English?
Read for recreation, for your own enjoyment. If you made a good choice, you will subconsciously (without knowing what is happening) acquire, or absorb, more English. You don’t have to work at it!
Read without stopping. If you understand what you are reading, ignore the words you don’t know. Each time you see them in a setting that you can understand, you will become a little more familiar with them. Eventually (after seeing them several times) you will probably acquire them. It is not important or helpful to stop and look up every word you don’t know.
If you are reading a book or article that you can mark in, circle or underline words you don’t recognize while you are reading, but don’t stop. At the end of the chapter or article, go back and look at them.
If you still think they are important, try this:
1. Read the sentence or paragraph again, two or three times. We often understand something better the second or third time we read it.
2. Try to figure out (understand) the unknown words from the context (the sentence or paragraph where they appear). We can often find clues to help us figure out the meaning of words if we take time to look around.
3. Look them up in a dictionary. This should be your last choice, not your first! Rereading and looking at the context are often more effective for permanent learning.
Slowly increase the difficulty of what your read.
How much should I read?
That’s easy: as much as possible! The more you read, the more your English will improve.
In a new journal article, two American language experts estimate (determine the approximate amount) that if you read 20 minutes a day at 100 words per minute for 2 years, you will read about 1,460,000 words. If you do, you will probably acquire (pick up or absorb) the 5,000 most common words in the English language. That’s impressive!
The 5,000 words represent almost 90% of the words you need for normal conversation and reading (The first 2,000 words represent almost 80%.).
If you read more, you will acquire more. Some of my students will read almost 1,000,000 words during this school year. During the first three months – September through December – Julian, from Colombia, read 330,000 words!
What about listening?
Listening and reading provide similar benefits. And, if you read and listen at the same time, there are additional benefits. For ideas about reading and listening, look at Online Reading & Listening for English Learners.
If you have any questions or comments, use the “Add a comment” link below or send an e-mail to warren@successfulenglish.com

The secrets of learning english

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 15:15:08 -0700

I recently visited an Internet site that promises to tell you the secrets of learning English. I wonder: how many secrets do you have to know if you want to learn English as a second, or foreign, language? Let me answer my own question: none!

There are no secrets to learning English. However, there is one very important fact that you should know about learning English, or any other language. Here it is:

When you read or listen to English that you can understand, you acquire – pick up, or absorb – more English. The more you read or listen, the more you acquire.

This is the way languages are acquired – first languages, second languages, native, or heritage, languages, foreign languages – all of them.

Think for a moment how children acquire their first language. In the beginning, adults speak to them slowly, clearly, one simple word at a time. They repeat words and gradually add more words. They point to objects and show them pictures and talk about them. They explain what things are and what words mean. They read them simple stories with pictures. Later they read them more difficult stories. Eventually children begin to read and speak by themselves. Children acquire language because the people around them provide them with a constant supply of understandable language.

You can do the same for yourself. If you want to acquire more English, read and listen to more easy-to-understand English. When you do, your reading, writing, listening, and speaking – everything – will improve.

Here are some suggestions to help you:

1. Read or listen for fun! Choose stories that you enjoy and topics that interest you. If you find an author that you really like, find more of his or her books to read.

2. Be sure that you can easily understand whatever you read or listen to. It’s okay if there are a few words that you don’t know, but you should be able to easily understand the story or ideas.

3. Learn to ignore unimportant words. Many students feel obligated to stop, open their dictionary, and look up every word they don’t know. It is more important for you to continue to read or listen so you can follow the meaning with as few interruptions as possible.

4. Read more than once. If you enjoy what you are reading, read it again. Each time you do, you will acquire more English.

There are no English-learning secrets! But there is one important language-learning fact, or principle. It’s called comprehensible, or understandable, input. It’s the natural way to acquire language. And it is supported by years of research. I can’t say that about all the secrets I found.

Treat yourself to a feast … of understandable English!

On the Internet, The ESL Podcast or Voice of America Special English are good places to begin.

If you have a question or comment about this subject, use the “Add a comment” link below. I would like to hear from you.

Warren Ediger
warren@successfulenglish.com

It isn't broken!

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:19:14 -0700

I recently received an e-mail from a student who apologized for his English and wrote, “…from this email you may know that I use 'broken' English.”

I have a different opinion!

While we are acquiring a new language, we develop an “in-between” language. Language teachers call this inter-language. Inter-language includes (1) what we know of the new language, (2) guesses about the new language, and (3) influences from our first language. Some of my Spanish-speaking students call their inter-language Spanglish!

Inter-language constantly changes while we are acquiring the new language. If an English language learner continues to read and listen to easy-to-understand English, their inter-language sounds more and more like the English they want to speak and write. The ESL Podcast and VOA Special English are good places to find easy-to-understand English on the Internet.

The important thing about the e-mail I received from this student is that it was easy to understand. It was effective communication, even if it wasn’t perfect English.

Inter-language. It isn’t broken! It’s just different. It’s a sign that you are somewhere in between where you started and where you are going. And it will keep changing as you move closer and closer to your destination: fluent English.

If you have a question or comment about this subject, use the “Add a comment” link below. I would like to hear from you.

Warren Ediger
warren@successfulenglish.com