how can i be fluent in english for just a month.

ashton   Thu Sep 11, 2008 11:49 am GMT
I really need to speak English fluently in just one month because it is a major requirement in our job,but the problem is I am having a hard time speaking the language in a spontaneous manner. I've tried talking to other people in English but it seems that it did not help me at all. I really can not voice out what I really wanted to say in English. What do you think is the problem with me, Am i not really that good in this language or i just lack confidence to speak this language?
Guest   Thu Sep 11, 2008 6:07 pm GMT
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

that's a good one
Guest   Thu Sep 11, 2008 6:40 pm GMT
You, and everyone else, can not.
Guest   Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:42 pm GMT
Try Spanish, you'll catch it in a month. ;)
Guest   Fri Sep 12, 2008 4:02 am GMT
If your native language is Spanish, you're in luck. Every now and then you'll see ads on TV for quickie English courses, with a booklet and perhaps a tape or two.

If the ads are accurate, they work anazingly well. For example, in one ad, there was this plumber who was fixing a leak in the men's room in an office building. As he's fiddling around with the pipes, he gets he idea of learning English to get ahead. He buys this course, and a month later, his mastery of English has allowed him to obtain an executive position at some firm in this office building. You see him in a business suit, making a presentation with flipcharts. (Strangly, this firm hasn't switched from flipcharts to powerpoint presentations on laptops/projectors, yet.)
K. T.   Fri Sep 12, 2008 4:26 am GMT
Lol. If you mean "ISB", it's not really a quickie course. It's quite extensive. You can see clips of the ads and the course on youtube. They've been around for many, many years.

I have trouble believing this a real request since the poster already writes very well in English...

If confidence is the issue, try to find a conversational partner. There are some conversation exchange sites on the internet. They probably use skype. If it is an accent issue, try Barron's "Pronounce It Perfectly in English" or sign up for an accent reduction class.
Curioso   Fri Sep 12, 2008 5:13 am GMT
English shouldn't be hard to learn, it's a very easy language and just read a lot of serious magazines, newspapers, etc. You may listen to radio stations online, good stations such as BBC, NPR and some other public station not just American but Canadian, Australian, etc. In other words, any person with a minimal intelligence can learn English. It's not like some other and more complex language such as French or Spanish that whose verbs conjugations vary according to the pronoun and tense.
ashton   Fri Sep 12, 2008 6:39 am GMT
Thanks for the pieces of advice...it would really be a big help on my part.
Matt   Fri Sep 12, 2008 7:21 am GMT
"the poster already writes very well in English... "

should be

"the poster already writes English very well"
Guest   Fri Sep 12, 2008 7:32 am GMT
<"the poster already writes very well in English... "

should be

"the poster already writes English very well" >

both of these statements are correct...
Matt   Fri Sep 12, 2008 8:38 am GMT
There are too many learners on this list who think their English is word-perfect and even at the native-speaker level.

These are correct:

I speak English well
I write English well

These are incorrect:

I speak well in English
I write well in English

They are not huge mistakes, not very noticeable mistakes, but a subeditor would catch them and alter them. I know because I have worked as an English-language subeditor for years.
Guest   Fri Sep 12, 2008 10:26 am GMT
"the poster already writes very well in English... " - this sentence is absolutely 100% correct and entirely natural.
US guest   Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:11 pm GMT
<<"the poster already writes very well in English... " - this sentence is absolutely 100% correct and entirely natural. >>

I'd agree with this, too.

I'd also agree that "I write well in English." doesn't sound quite as natural as "I write English well." I'm not sure why this is -- perhaps the extra "already" and "very" in the original sentence somehow change the rhythm or flow of the sentence and make the alternate form sound more acceptable? Maybe it's a US vs UK thing?
Travis   Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:20 pm GMT
>>I have trouble believing this a real request since the poster already writes very well in English...<<

Mind you that just because one can write relatively well in a given language does not mean that one is necessarily anywhere near fluent in that language in actual speech. Hell, I myself can make reasonable-looking written German if I try hard enough (even though I am getting rustier these days), but I can only say basic sentences and like in Real Life without needing a dictionary to look up words in.
Matt   Fri Sep 12, 2008 3:50 pm GMT
Guest and US guest, it is not a UK vs. US thing. It is become clear that greater numbers of native speakers of English have a tin ear for the language. As an English-language subeditor, I am working on articles written by "native speakers", such as yourselves if you are native speakers, but they are riddled with errors that would not once have been made by graduates. That is why I can say that "I write English well" is correct and "I write well in English" is incorrect. There are no doubt native speakers with a tin ear for language who do not have a good feel for good, native English.