Be a CopyCat

     

     Bear in your mind that English language cannot can be acquired easily. You don't have to spend a lot of money by attending courses to master it. You don't have to forget your custom and culture in order to understand the language. You don't have to travel out of the country just to meet the native speakers and try to act like one. You don't have to do all that. All you need the most is definitely interest. Then guts, practices and enriched vocabs are counted to enhance your language proficiency. Very simple isn't it? Supposedly most of you must have nailed the basic grammar since your school days, haven't you? So I guess the only barriers that you have to get rid off are the lack of exposure and practises, am I right?

    How you could do that??

     Well if you ask me, I would tell you to watch a lot of movies, films, dramas and what nots. Everybody loves doing that. You don't need a lot of money to invest on this fun activity. It is one of the hardest simplest ways to learn English better and faster. How??? A movie for instance has its own story line as well as various of characters. Each character has his own lines or dialogues. Try to imitate the spoken dialogues by using the correct intonation and facial expression. Have them practised with someone right in front of you or merely a mirror could do. Repeat them over and over again until you sound almost native like. Next, apply the same sentences (if they are relevant, of course) in your daily conversation with colleagues and friends. Challenge yourself even better by approaching foreigners (those who aren't criminals) on the street and start having a conversation with them. Dare yourself to do it. Once and for all!!

    Have FUN with the language!!!

 

Dream in Malay English

There are few many ways that can be done to test whether you are really good in Malay English language or not. The simplest way is of course through your dreams. You might be saying "Why dreams? How could that be?". As you know, dreams mainly occur whenever your brain activity is high. Not many people remember the images, ideas, emotions and sensations that appeared in their sleep. We are in the state of subconscious: everything happens beyond our consciousness. Meaning, we do not have the power to control our minds. Dreams may be real to us while asleep. You could end up in a really frightening moment or exciting, magical, melancholic to adventurous. Notice the conversation which takes place in your dream. Is it in Malay or English?? If it is the former (Malay), you still have a long way to go before you actually empower English. If it is the latter (English), well done!! You are now have moved a step further in your journey to empower the English language. In other word, it is a sign that your ability to use the target language in the real life is quite impressive and excellent. 

P/s: If you are not good at conversing in English in reality but still dream in English, it is time for you to make THE DREAM COMES TRUE.

Dictionary a.k.a Best Buddy Ever

I laughed when I was once told by my lecturer to always keep my Mr. Dicky a.k.a Dictionary by my side. In fact, i have to make it as my BFF...the bestest ever! Well, to think about it over and over again, i guess the idea is not that bad after all. You NEED to improve your VOCABULARY but at the same time you are way TOO LAZY TO READ english reading materials right? The easiest way to do is of course to read and memorize the words listed inside the English-English dictionary instead. You heard me. You got nothing to lose by the way. So when someone come sneaking behind you and smirking, you tell them that "If you have nothing better to say, buzz off! I am more interested to put my nose in the dictionary rather than looking at your face!" Hah! Suit yourself.

Make a Mirror as your BFF

Low self-esteem and lack of self-confident are always be the main reasons of deficient conversing in English language among language learners. This could be due to the fear of being the laughing stock in class or elsewhere if making any silly mistake in terms of pronunciation and constructing sentences. This should not be the case if a mirror is to be made as their BFF (Best Fantabulous Foe Friend). Why is this so? A mirror is a perfect friend to ease away your nervousness and shyness when speaking. A friend that could reflect your facial expression. A friend that listen without criticizing. A friend that allow such hesitation as well as out-of-sense conversation. Interesting isn't it? Listen attentively to your own voice and take your time to look up for suitable words in constructing a sentence. It would be best if you could record your own speech. Start practising now and test yourself with real listeners. You'll see the difference. Better late than never.

Let YoUr tOngue Get TwisteD

Have you heard of any tongue twister before? One of the most popular tongue twisters is

She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I'm sure she sells seashore shells. You do know that one right? There are many more of the tongue twister collections that you can get from the internet. For instance:


If you understand, say "understand". If you don't understand, say "don't understand". But if you understand and say "don't understand". How do I understand that you understand? Understand!!

Training your tongue to pronounce each word as fast as you can will enhance your vocalization and if practise often, you will not experience tongue-tied especially when having a conversation in English language. Let your tongue get twisted. Have fun!!



Sing Along

The easiest and expensive cheapest way to polish your English pronunciation is through "SINGING". Not only you have fun but it helps to improve your speaking production. Start with your favourite songs. Get the lyrics and understand the messages. Next, pick some words or phrases from each song that you want to learn. If necessary, look up in the dictionary for the exact meaning. Last but not least, listen to the song and mimic sing along. That wouldn't be a problem at all, right?