Eight Reasons Your English Stuck

Eight Reasons Your English Stuck

And

How You Need to Change It.

           1. When you meet new English speakers you always say the same thing: Hi my name is ________. What is your name? How are you today? After that you have a long awkward pause and how no idea what to say next.  Next time you meet a new English speaker ask them about their opinion about something that is currently on your mind. For example if you were going to buy fruit that day tell the English speaker about that experience and what kind of fruit he usually buys when grocery shopping. This may seem stupid but most conversations in any language is usually about someone’s day and their opinions about subjects surrounding it.

     2. You talk in past tense when it should be present tense, and you talk in future tense when it should be past tense: This is where most English speakers make their mistakes. They often say English is a hard language because they always mess up their tenses. The only way to improve this is by listening to many different point of view stories and by reading as many fiction novels as your can. Start with teen fiction novels the vocabulary and stories and easier to comprehend.

     3. You don’t understand most words and always use an electronic or regular dictionary to find the meanings: The biggest mistake most English learners make is using a dictionary that translates from their language to English, and from English to their native language. This is horrible cause it causes to continue thinking in the mind of your native language. Only use English dictionaries where the definitions are also written in English.

     4. All your friends English also sucks: The problem is you have nobody to really practice English with. Most of your friends English is also really poor. Practicing with them makes your English even poorer. You start making the same mistakes they do. Start practicing with native English speakers. There are many language exchange sites right now where you can find language exchange partners with other native speakers. Remember always split your time with them half and half. Offer half an hour of speaking in your native language for half an hour speaking in their native language.

     5. Your boyfriend or girlfriend isn’t a native English speaker:            When I was living in China I met so many foreign guy whose Chinese girlfriends spoke fluent English. I thought it was because they were native English speakers but they really weren’t. Because they lived with their boyfriend or girlfriend for so long and only spoke English their English sounded like those of native speakers. Unfortunerly the native English speakers Mandarin never improved cause their partners never spoke it with them.

     6. You watch English movies and TV shows with subtitles in your own language: What is the point of watching English TV shows and movies if you spend most of the time reading the subtitles in your own language. Having the subtitles in English will not only improve your reading but your understanding of the English language. It will make you think in English which will make you closer to a native English speaker.

     7. You use words and not sentences when you answer in English conversation: Stop using one word answers when people talk to you. Be confident and make sentences. If some asks you what you did during the weekend don’t answer by saying. “I sleep, eat food, and watch movie. That wasn’t a sentence it was more of a list. Try saying something like. “I slept in because I had a late night last night from partying with my friends. I went to a nice restaurant and ordered a delicious burger with extra bacon and cheese. I then watched a funny comedy on netflix.

     8. You only surf on websites in your native language: Stop surfing the web in your language. only surf in English. When you look up information make sure it is in English. You spend hours each day reading articles and all kinds of garbage from the internet. Make sure that it is reading websites and articles in English in the topics of your interest. Not only will you improve your English but you will gain more knowledge on your favorite topics. If you like reading about the new cellphone start reading a cell phone blog in English. It might be hard at first but soon you will know all the vocabulary and topics to have conversations in that subject.

Md. Saiful Alam

B. A. Honours and M. A. in English

E-mail: suman64924@gmail.com

Dear Readers,

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