- Don’t worry about making mistakes because you will. We all must learn to crawl before we can walk. The funniest mistakes you make will be the ones you remember the most!
- Be patient. This isn’t a one day process. Learning a new language stimulates new parts of the brain. Not only memory, but new motor skills in the brain must be remembered. Do you know how difficult it was for me to pronounce "人" properly?
- Learn certain phrases that can be used in multiple situations. A friend of mine told me to learn the "music" of the language. English is a beautiful language when spoken in a manner that flows freely.
- Learn how to greet someone properly. Luckily with English, there are not a lot of references to masculine and feminine words or greetings. It's more of a matter as to formal and informal greetings.
- Talk slowly and carefully. Don’t rush through. Try to pronounce each word correctly, don't mix "L" and "R". Remember "silent e"
- Restrict yourself to simple sentences until you gain confidence. Take your time. Pick sentences that you might normally use on a daily basis.
- Watch out for your pronunciation. Many online tools will tell you how to pronounce a word correctly. Check one of them out when you’re in doubt. You can always ask a friend or me. I'll tell you how it is pronounced. Don't make the mistake I did and ask the bus driver in Taipei for a "Jiewen" when I meant to ask "Qing Wen" because I was careless with my pronunciation.
- Carefully observe how proficient speakers of the language pronounce words and frame their sentences.
- Ask your friends, relatives and anyone you can to point out your mistakes and correct them. Not all of us knows exactly the same levels of English. Some may have a little more of less knowledge as you. This is how you pick up little bits of knowledge and tips.
- Speak to people you learn English, in English only. Practice is a must. Enough said about that.
- Record yourself reading one article aloud every day. Focus on pronunciation, speed, clarity and emphasis. Play it back to yourself and listen for mistakes. Then practice those words and try again.
- Many online sites offer you the opportunity to voice chat with another user. This is an effective way to practice. Get a Skype account, I know most of you already have one and practice this way. SharedTalk also has a voice chat feature. Most of you here met me there.
- Learn at least one new word every day and use it as a part of your conversation with people. By the end of the week, you should know seven words really well. This is more helpful if you actually have someone to practice with.
- Watch English movies with subtitles. This is how I perfected my German accent. When I speak German, even native speakers (German) think I am native too. One of my QQ friends speaks almost perfect English using this method as well. No, I will not reveal who it is, but she knows who she is.
- Watch English shows. Same as #14.
- Read books and magazines. Once exception with this. Stay away from the New York Times. They tend to write using a lexis that isn't meant for normal people. They fill the articles with a lot of words that are not commonly used in normal life.
- Keep a pocket dictionary handy for any word you may need to know the meaning. You probably already have one you keep with you at all times anyway.
- When you hear a new word, try to find its usage and its antonyms. If you read my previous entry on this tip, you will remember the reference to the English word, "Intercourse".
A lot of these are common sense and again, they can apply to any language you may be wanting to learn. I have simply targeted English, since most of you reading this are learning, wanting to learn or already know how to read and write English and want to speak better English.
I'm not giving up on learning Chinese, so don't you give up on learning English! You can learn to be proficient, confident speakers. I have faith in each one of you!
太谢谢大家!
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