Which is better?

China
April 16, 2009 3:36am CST
Hello mylotters, I am a Chinese. It is known to everyone that English is widely used throughout the world. It seems that everyone can speak some simple sentence. Can you speak English well? Do you have a perfect pronunciation? To tell the truth, I have learned English for almost 7 years-from junior middle school. Now i'm a college student, but i have to admit that my oral English is poor, sometimes i find it is difficult to express myself clearly. It is really disgusting. How to improve oral English? To learn with a local English speaker or with an experience Chinese teacher whose oral English is good? Which is better?
4 people like this
23 responses
• United States
17 Apr 09
I have always spoke English and just English, but my mom is a teacher. So I see lots of young kids trying to learn english. She has a lot of second language learns and you really see a difference when they are around native english speakers. It's the same thing with people in the United States that only know English and they move from the East Coast to the West Coast. Slowly you start sounding like a West Coast speaker when you are around those people, but if you go back to the East Coast you pick up the old accent again. I would say be around native English speakers and you will improve. If I was ever to learn a language I would try and go to a country that speaks it and learn it there after I get the basics done.
2 people like this
@happy2009 (330)
• China
16 Apr 09
we are the same ,maybe just speak more ,your written English is very good ,why not speak out when you wrote these down ? and mylot is a best place to practise.
2 people like this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
16 Apr 09
i always think that practice makes perfect and the more you speak english, the more fluent you will be... don't feel embarassed and don't be afraid to make mistakes... that's what i do when i first learn english language... i don't care if people laugh at me because i can't pronounce the word correctly... the most important thing is to have a courage and to set aside your pride when you are learning... good luck... learning from a local english speaker will be a better idea if you had just started learning... this is my opinion though... take care and have a nice day...
1 person likes this
@derry123 (610)
16 Apr 09
Hi happyforever. Your written English is very good , I dont speak any other language so I greatly admire you .. Is there an English speaking group you could join at your college , I expect many students like you just need the opportunity to practice . If you have one near to you some time with an English speaker would help *
1 person likes this
@hsofyan (3446)
• Jakarta, Indonesia
16 Apr 09
Assessment would be different if you write 'myLot tasks'
@agv0419 (3022)
• Philippines
16 Apr 09
Watch English films and shows so you know your pronunciation is correct. Sometimes the local English speaker have an accent. There are many shows to choose from. If you want to learn the proper pronunciation try to listen carefully and speak loudly. Reading is also a great help. I admit sometimes it is hard to speak English fluently. I'm a Filipino, imitating an American accent is not difficult to us. There are so many call centers right now here that employs Filipino.
1 person likes this
@kodigo (171)
• Philippines
16 Apr 09
Working out to speak English very well is really hard in the first place specially if your mother tongue is Chinese. One thing I noticed about my accent before is really strong vernacular Filipino accent. I'm a Filipino by the way. My mother tongue is Filipino(Tagalog). But working for an American clients from the Call center I worked before. That's for 2 years. talking to them everyday is one of my biggest problem on my 1-3Month of work. But time goes by, I slowly adopted their accent. Now after 2 years with American clients I resigned from that company and now I'm working for an Australian customers. And Guess what. Maybe 3 out of 10 customers I spoke with think I'm in America because of my Strong Midwestern Accent. See the learning process through my experience. Exposing your environment to the people that speaks English as their mother tongue will make you to be like them in no time.
@lrglara (1334)
• Philippines
16 Apr 09
oral or spoken english can be practiced. i have to admit that it also helps when you talk more in english, be it online, with friends, families or with a foreign friend. the truth is, it doesn't matter if you can correctly pronounce a word, although, it helps. as long as everyone can understand you, that is more important. i am not an native english speaker myself but english is taught in our schools are quite comprehensive. we may not be as vocal in english as the others but we manage. try reading an english book aloud, mimick your favorite english shows, speak in english even when they make fun of you, etc. if you really want to improve your oral english, you have to practice... practice... practice... :)
1 person likes this
@chimrani (1426)
• India
16 Apr 09
Ya friend i too facing some problems in speaking but i can write good English.But now my many friends mostly chat and talk in English and i too can talk and write in good English English is easy to learn.You can learn English online also.You can watch Youtube videos where you can get many peoples teaching English online..............
@chimrani (1426)
• India
16 Apr 09
I the today world english should be must because it is a world wide speaking language
@Reyah23 (640)
• Philippines
17 Apr 09
I am not good in english too. But i believe that practice is the best way to improve the english communication skill. And this is my way on improving it, I also visit some free online english language tutorial website.
• Canada
16 Apr 09
Definitely through native english speakers...I think it helps you improvise more, which is important for conversations and it'll help you be more natural at it.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
17 Apr 09
To be honest, my English is not really perfect. I might be very good in written but not in oral because I have flaws when it comes to that. I know I can speak them well but not as perfect as the native english speakers. So to make me improve, I try to speak English as much as possible. I only listen to English talking radio stations and only watch English movies and t.v. shows.
• India
16 Apr 09
Same problem I am also facing, hence can not give you proper answer, But I think that Only practice is the way from which you can achieve the fluency, Try to speak in English with your family members or friends, though you are not comfortable.
1 person likes this
• Malaysia
17 Apr 09
Hi, I would suggest you to learn from a localm English speaker. Do not worry about your fluency because it will soon be fine. Maybe when you speak you can go slow so you have time to think of the correct word. Dont worry. Wish you all the best. Thanusha
@guzhao (25)
• China
16 Apr 09
I have the same trouble to you.My major is Interation trade,but I am still poor in my oral English.It makes me very distress.At college,I often talk with each other in English.But now,I don"t use it frequently.I am afraid of forgetting some similar everyday language. To your question,I think that learning with a local English speaker is more useful.I think their pronunciation is more standard.And what do you think of it?
1 person likes this
@flagella08 (5065)
• Philippines
17 Apr 09
ALso, being in mylot will improve your English written correspondence. Happy mylotting!
@flagella08 (5065)
• Philippines
17 Apr 09
well, i think you wrote well in English. you don't have to make your english as A+ because even Americans do have wrong usage of English grammar. About your problem in Oral English, make it sure that you often use it at home as the second medium of communicationg with your family. Nothing makes perfect than practicing. by the way I'm a Filipino.
@rakesh284 (1472)
• India
17 Apr 09
It was my problem also initially still I am learn to improve it. Learning a language is a life-long process. You might hear some new words for the first time. To improve you just have to watch some English news channels and some good English Movies. Even regular reading will also help you. Most importantly you should think in English rather than your local language. I think you will definitely find some changes after few days.
@pavan4568 (122)
• India
16 Apr 09
English is not my mother tongue but i learnt english all my life ha ha. I have done all my studies from kindergarden till graduation in english only but still i don't admit that i am good at english speaking because of the influence of mother tongue and i use english only at office that to, only when i speak to clients but rest of the time i speak in my mother tongue only and due to lack of practise, i am really not comfortable in english just like my mother tongue. I feel glad that i got mylot, atleast my writing skills are improving.
@fan2009 (121)
• China
17 Apr 09
Hello,my countryman.I am Chinese too.I have the same problem.But I will advise. There are many ways to practise your oral English.Is there an English corner in your college? If any go to it and pracetise speaking.Reading is more important for your oral English.Why can't we express ourselves?We don't have enough words.or we can't use the words freely.Read in English,think in English and speak in English.you will make good progress.Talking to your roommates, classmates and whoever you can in English may help your oral.
• China
17 Apr 09
To many English learners, the oral English is the most large difficulty which need they to overcome.I believe most students can speak several methods to practice oral English from the beginning learning English. However only seldom of them can speak fluently,why? In my opinion, many chinese teachers stress the grammatical knowledge as the most important one when we begin to learn English, while ignored practicing speaking.I think choose a method suitable for you and stick to it, and you will get a good result. Take part in some oral English conner and speak more with native speakers.When you speaking English as a habit, and your oral English improved naturally.