No More Long Paragraphs! Let's Dive In!!

In my last two entries, I talked about input and output for studying English. The paragraphs were quite long. Maybe you didn't finish reading. If you have time, I highly recommend you read those entries thoroughly because the information may be useful for you. However, if you get bored easily and you just want to GET STARTED WITH STUDYING, here are two recommendations:

1. MEMRISE

Memrise is a learning site where you can learn and memorize a variety of languages. It's like an online flashcard program and it's super effective. You will be able to memorize a lot of English vocabulary. 

Learn idioms:

http://www.memrise.com/course/365604/really-useful-english-idioms/

Choose a course for TOEFL:

http://www.memrise.com/courses/english/english/?q=TOEFL+

Choose your own course for studying English:

http://www.memrise.com/courses/english/english/?q=English

You can copy and paste from the sites above if they don't link!

I have learned and memorized many French and Japanese words from MEMRISE. Personally, I think it's the best flashcard type program online for learning vocabulary!! You can use it to improve your English vocabulary! It will also be good practice for you to register for Memrise in English!!

2. YOUTUBE

 There are several YouTube channels to help you study English. Here are some suggestions:

http://www.youtube.com/user/JamesESL

*James is a very fun English teacher! 

 http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHaHD477h-FeBbVh9Sh7syA

*These lessons are from BBC. Check out the English teacher:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSPR0572glk&list=PL5945726A989B480B

Okay, that's all for today. Try out my recommendations and tell me what you think. You can comment here on blogger or you can send me an e-mail. Have a great day!

Use your tools! Shape your world!!

What is OUTPUT?

Last time I talked about input and how it is an important part of studying English. Before moving on, I want to mention that I really do believe that most of the input you use to study should be a little close to your level, but also very challenging. If the content is too easy, you may be bored and just keep hearing the same "baby words" again and again. However, if you cannot understand even one word you see or hear, you may feel frustrated and just want to give up. So here's a rule for you to follow:
If you can understand about twenty percent, then keep going.
If you understand less than twenty percent, the level is too high for you.

 "ONLY 20%??? THAT NUMBER IS TOO LOW!!" I know what you're thinking. Maybe you think it's crazy. Maybe you think it's not realistic. But you need to challenge yourself. And you want to learn new things, right? You want to pick up new vocabulary, right? You want to become more familiar with the real rhythm and flow of English, don't you? Well, if you don't expose yourself to it, you can't learn it. You especially can't learn it if you don't know it exists. Let me give you an example using a word than many English learners don't know about. Read this short conversation:

Andy: Hey, what are you up to tomorrow evening, Hank?
Hank: Tomorrow? Well, Andy invited me to a party at his house. I don't think I'm going, though.

 What does the conversation mean? Andy asked Hank what he's doing tomorrow evening. Hank answered that Andy invited him to a party, but he doesn't think he is going. Do you understand the situation? Is there anything strange about the conversation? Did you learn anything? What does "though" mean? How can you use it? Let's read 3 more sentences:

1.) John is very good at sports. He's not good at long-distance running, though.

2.) Amy is an excellent English speaker. She's terrible at spelling, though.

3.) Rebecca is a great singer. She can't play any instruments, though.

 Now can you understand how to use THOUGH in this way? Maybe you can. Even if you cannot understand how to use it perfectly, NOW YOU KNOW ABOUT IT. You just saw four examples of how to use it, and maybe if you saw it or heard it again, you would understand the meaning. You may not understand something the first time, but if you ENCOUNTER IT AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN, maybe you WILL UNDERSTAND IT. And after the third or fourth or fifth time encountering it, if you still don't know, you can check.

 You can ask a friend. You can check a dictionary. You can go online and ask someone for answers. You can ask someone on Dave's ESL Cafe or send a message to JAMES ESL on YouTube. Then you can write it down in a notebook or on a sticky note. You can say it over and over again. You can try to use it when speaking to a friend. You can try to write it in a sentence or in a story. You can start your own English blog and try to use that new vocabulary. This is OUTPUT.

 You took something in through your eyes or ears and now it's time to put it out somewhere. It's your turn to pick up your pen or pick up your phone or any tool you can use and show what you have learned. And if you do it in many different ways, you will INCREASE THE CHANCES OF PUTTING INTO YOUR LONG-TERM MEMORY. For example, take the word "annoying." Then follow these steps.

 Step 1: Write it down seven times at the top of a page.
annoying   annoying   annoying   annoying   annoying   annoying   annoying

Step 2: Read the word aloud over and over (if you don't know how to say it, check an online dictionary)

Step 3: Try to make two or three more sentences using the word.
-Sometimes my sister is annoying. 
-I don't like going to the mall on the weekends because it's annoying to wait in long lines. 
-My friends finds it annoying when I try to rap.

Step 4: E-mail or call a friend who speaks English and use the word in a sentence again.
Hello Jessie. How are you? My brother is annoying sometimes. How about your brother? 

Step 5: Think of things that are annoying for you and then record yourself saying them. You could record a video or just an audio. It's even okay to use a simple sentence structure and repeat it.
_____________is annoying!!
Rush hour traffic is annoying!!
Extremely hot weather is annoying!!
Someone being noisy at a movie theater is annoying!!

These are only examples of steps you can take. It's okay to find your own style or do it your own way. The main point is that some kind of output is also necessary if you want to learn more quickly.

Next time I want to share come cool stuff with you. I want to talk about some sites, some tools, and some techniques for improving your English even more. So LOOK FORWARD TO IT!!

BFN!!! Happy studying!!

LET'S TALK ABOUT THE BASICS

 When you study English or any other language, it's good to mix it up. To "mix it up" means to do something different. For example, if I always use a textbook to study English, maybe today I can find a song on YouTube with lyrics and try to sing along. That way, I can practice English pronunciation and intonation. Studying in a variety of ways is good for your English because you can develop different skills. Of course, the main skills you need are speaking and listening, but you also need reading and writing. But let's break it down even more.

 To put it simply, improving your English is a matter of input and output. Today I will talk about input. 

 "Input" means what you put into your brain, what you see or hear or smell or touch. The most common inputs for studying a language are probably listening to something and seeing something. 

 Listening to a song is input. Listening to a podcast is input. Listening to someone speak is input. Something goes INTO your ears and if you really think about what you hear, your brain will start to process it.

 Reading a book is input. Reading news online is input. Reading a poster on the wall is input. Something goes INTO your eyes and if you really think about what you see, your brain will process it and save the information. 

  Watching a movie or TV drama is input, too. And if you watch it with ENGLISH SUBTITLES, you will use your EYES and your EARS a lot! You will be practicing listening and reading at the same time. Even if you don't understand many words or expressions in the movie, you will become more familiar with English spelling and you will SEE and HEAR the word at the same time. This will increase the chances of getting it into your long-term memory, ESPECIALLY IF YOU WATCH MANY TIMES in this way. You may not understand the word or expression yet, but it will be in your mind. You will become familiar with it. You will know how it sounds and how it is spelled. Then when you hear it in another movie in a different context, your understanding of the word and how the word is used may become more clear. It's also possible that you will read the word somewhere and when you see it, you will understand more about how it is used in a sentence. Of course it's great if you check the word in your dictionary and write it down in a notebook, but not every time. EVEN NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS continue to watch a movie or read a news article even though they don't understand a few words.  

 In addition, if you have a book with an audio CD, you can read it while you listen to the CD. Again, you will be practicing reading and listening at the same time. If you have a book that includes pictures (a comic book, a children's story book, or a good ESL book), you will also increase the chances of remembering because of the visual stimulation, ESPECIALLY IF THE PICTURES ARE UNIQUE OR INTERESTING. There is also a high chance that if you see the picture and read the word at the same time, you can understand the meaning without checking a dictionary. Furthermore, if you read it with a CD or audio track, you will quickly know how it's pronounced, too.

 Getting a lot of input is your first step on the road to improving your English skills, and it's good to get the input in many ways. That's why I decided to start this blog. I want to introduce you to all kinds of songs, movies, stories, learning sites, and other things you can use to study. Of course one of those main forms of input will be entries you find here.

 Next time I'll talk about output and what you can do with the things you see and hear (input) to make learning more effective. 

 Until next time, take it easy. See you soon!