english for beginners
Essential Tips for Beginners at Business English – Get Your Priorities Straight!
For those who are just starting to study English as a foreign language, life can seem pretty tough. Especially if you are a beginner. As many say, beginnings are always scary Now, for beginners who need to study English in order to be able to work or function in a business environment in general, things seem even scarier. The added pressure students feel to achieve as much as they can in as little time possible is so great it ends up having the contrary effect. Frustration is never a good companion when learning. Well, here is some good news. It doesn’t have to be that way. It’s all a question of setting the right priorities. Want to know what they are? If you do you should definitely read on.
Priority 1
Identify exactly what vocabulary you should be learning first. What area of business will you be functioning in? What types of situations do you think you will be in? Keep in mind that although we can narrow things down to a selection of phrases needed for specific business related situations some general vocabulary is also important. After all, there are also social situations in the business world. Learning how to greet someone properly is just as important as knowing the specific words you will need to discuss business-related topics. Also, take into consideration there might be business lunches and dinners where the conversation might very generally be social.
Priority 2
Balance out fluency and accuracy activities so that your performance is both fluent and precise. Just studying grammar will make your English more precise, but it will also make your performance slower. If you’re too concerned with being accurate it might take you too long to think of and produce a sentence. On the other hand an excess in fluency-based activities may not be enough to correct mistakes or even learn new grammar. This can also be a problem since some grammar mistakes can affect what you’re trying to express. A good way to increase fluency is to use the language as much as you can outside the classroom.
Priority 3
Just relax. Keep in mind that English is not your native language and that you are allowed to make mistakes especially where pronunciation is concerned. Very often pronunciation can be a huge barrier to overcome. You shouldn’t set your expectations too high. It is not very likely you will be talking like a native speaker of English if you just started to study. Your main focus is to be understood as well as to understand. Everything else will come naturally with practice and exposure to the language. The use of audio tools that allow you to hear the language are very useful in helping you to learn proper English pronunciation easily. Audio tools (like the ones used in ESL classes) - such as CDs, cassettes, and downloads to your MP3 players are effective and convenient to use as you can listen to them in your car or while completing other tasks at the same time.
If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.englishlci.com as the original source).
How to Increase Your Exposure to the English Language
You have already proven that you are good at languages; after all, you learned yours pretty well, didn’t you? If you were able to learn one language, you are able to learn others.
Have you ever considered how you learned your language? When you think about it, you realize that you never learned it; you just started using it when you were around two years old. You started with a few words, but rapidly moved to employing whole sentences and communicating fully.
All this happened because you can hear. During your first two years of existence, you heard people talking all around you, and this was the decisive factor for you to start speaking. This is why, if now you want to learn English, you have to hear and listen to it as much as possible.
But, how can you constantly hear and listen to English if you live in a country where the language is not spoken fully? In fact, there are many ways to do it.
1. Radio
No matter where you are, there is always a radio station playing music or talking in English. Just consider the two major international networks: BBC World Service and Voice of America. Both of these have special programs for ESL students.
2. TV
The TV is probably one of the best resources to hear and listen to English, because it offers a visual backup that helps you understand what is being said. Most people now have access to TV with English-speaking channels; however, you can also watch programs on the Internet.
3. Internet
There are thousands of radio stations on the Internet, and you can also watch all kinds of videos in hundreds of sites. Soon enough, you will have TV channels available on the Web.
4. Music/ songs
We don’t have to tell you how much music there is in English. You can listen to music on the radio, TV, Internet, or get some CD’s. Practice writing down the lyrics, or download them from the Internet to follow while you listen to the song. Start with an easy one, maybe a slow tune, and chose a singer whose voice is clear. Some songs are difficult to understand even for native English speakers.
5. Movies
Around the world, many movie theaters show movies in English, with subtitles in the country’s language. Try to watch a lot of these movies; even if you have to read the subtitles, you are listening to the words in English.
6. Video
The great advantage of videos is that you can play them as many times as you wish. You can watch and listen to a certain part, or the whole movie, as much as you need to understand the subtleties of what’s being said. Equally, you can enable the subtitles or not; these can be an aid, but you should try to avoid them little by little.
7. Friends
Try to speak English with your friends who speak the language. Here you will practice your speaking as much as your listening, and it is very helpful to hear the language from someone who is right there, standing next to you. You can also chat on the phone, which is a much more difficult listening exercise than listening in person.
As teachers have most certainly told you in your ESL program, don’t worry if you don’t understand everything you hear. The important thing is that you hear the language. Sooner than you think, the understanding will come alone.
If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.englishlci.com as the original source).
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