How to improve English after graduation
I don't think that I am a good English learner. But Cancuk seemed to be interested in my expression ability in English. I would not like to let Canuck, such kindness friend, down, so I write some experience to improve English after graduation. In fact, there are so many friends here,who post their articles on the board, their English levels are higher than me. So my experience is just reference to you.
Firstly, I want to claim that the system of teaching English of school is not good for non-native English learner. I only knew how to read English and translate English article into Chinese. The main task of English lesson seems how to corret grammar mistakes. The ways to learn English are all passive ways. So we just accept all kinds English knowleges but use them. That is the worst point.
Secondly, I want to talk about the language's action. In fact, mastering English seems to be so hard that lots of learners feel pains when they think of English. So the motivation to study it is just because of pushing out of exam or going abroad. If you don't like to to do something. it is hard to imagine that you will do it best. In my views,the basic point is wrong opinion about language's action. The reason that we learn English is not in order to pass exams, not for master thousands words. The real action of language is a tool to communicate between different natives. The real reason to study language is just to master a tool to communicate. So after we leave school and exams, we should be clear this point first. Then you will get motivation as well as good ways to improve your passive school English, that only can meet examsa but communicate, the basic action of master language.
Thirdly, after you are clear the main task to study English, you need to change your ideas about studying. There are so many methods to study English. You may puzzle which one is best. I think that it depends on what way you like to do. I just introduce the way that I study as reference. Of course, I declare it first that it may be suit for you and not suit for you.
Many people knew Liyang as well as his crazy English. Yes, I like his way to study English in crazy way. The real milestone to study English for me is to crack English through Liyang's way. I won't introduce Liyang's studying way. You can get it everywhere. Most bookstores keep it a lot. Just follow liyang's way, I recited many many useful sentences on the way between my home and office. After that, I could not find chance to communicate with foreigners. Then I try to find some friends who like to communicate in English. Of course, most of them are Chinese too. The best way is to write emails in English. It is cheap and useful. Because the content of email can be involved in many many fields. Life, work, feeling, hobby and what you like to talk. Of course, the partner that you write should be better English learner than you. You will be lucky if he or she is native English speaker. In fact, I did not know that there were so much English resources on web. I just went to some English joke web to see English jokes. Now I know hongen, it is a real good place to practice English. The question about how to find a good partner to communicate with in English sounds a dumb question. You can find them in chatting room if you have not ones around you. Also find them in English class if you take some English course part time. At least, you can find a good English learner at English salon here beyond native English speakers, just like dearly Canuck.
It is worth to refer here, chatting in English chat room is nice way to practice you English. When you accumulate enough sentences and words to meet general conversation, you can enter into English chatting room if you can not find a real partner to speak in real world. It is a challenge to test your English level. You don't need to worry time pressure when you write something in English. You even can thinking in Chinese, then translate it into English. But in chat room, if you think in Chinese first, then translate into English, you will not be popular.Slow speed will let others lose interesting to chat with you. If your speed is too slow, that means that you need to learn more expressions in English and keep them in your mind.
If you read my story and Coca, you will know why I can write like this. I told Coca that she brought me into a real English world. Before meeting her, I just wandered at the lobby of English world, meeting her in chat room. I started to a real practice to use English. Her perfect English pushed me to march on and on. The motivation of learning English comes from exciting of using English naturally. When you can express what you want to say easily, you will be clear what you should study in future. When you read aritcles, you will no long care the sentence structure but useful expression in life even in chatting room. You will imagine what occasion you can use it. Maybe I will use in to chat with someone. It is a real useful word. Then you will keep it in your mind to wait a chance to practice it. If you use it one time, I assure that you will not forget for two or three months. The more you use it,the deeper it will be rooted in your mind. I learned many many thing from Coca, her wording in chat room as well as her over scores of thousands of words of emails. She seldom corrected the errors that I made in chat room or email. But I always can find my faults after her correct expression. That made me feel confidence when I talk with others.
Last but not least, I must say here is how to talk with foreigners. Many people worried whether their expression are right or wrong when they talk with foreigners. In fact, native English speakers did not care your grammar at all. They only care what you talk to them. The contents are more important than correct grammar. You always remember one point when you talk to foreigners, you just express your thinking by a tool, you just need to make sure whether the foreigner can understand what you talk. Then you will find that handling English is piece of cake and it will creat your passion to improve your English. Then you will enter into a free kingdom. A nice circle. The more you study, the better you master it. And vice versa.At the same time, you will find, before you write or chat, you organize your thinking in English not Chinese.
That is all for my experience of cracking English. Hope to share it with you.
Dove
