I live in Colombia but the education I'm going to describe is probably only given to less than half of a percent of the population. I go to a British school and the method is to put all of the children since age 5 in an English speaking environment. I think what really makes a difference is that not only English is taught in English but also Maths, Science, History, most subjects except Spanish and Colombian Studies. I'd guess that this is an effective system because we are shown places and situations where we need English, not only a few hours a week. If you want to see if this system really works read this reply and see if you find bad grammar, misspellings or lack of vocabulary and judge for yourself.
How do other countries teach English?
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<see if you CAN find ANY bad grammar, misspellings or lack of vocabulary and judge BY yourself. >
How about pronunciation, Rodrigo? Do you have the full inventory of English vowels and consonants? Could you upload a recording? Is your accent rhotic or non-rhotic? Do you have /{/ or /A:/ in BATH? Do you voice your /t/ in CITY?
In Japan, teachers (some of whom cannot really speak English well) teach grammar and then they bring in "native speakers" to teach conversation.
I'm not sure that students learn a lot except they do get to hear native accents. Parents also send their children to English classes after school.
I'm not sure that students learn a lot except they do get to hear native accents. Parents also send their children to English classes after school.
If possible, it's important to get kids involved with English early and in a physical way (songs, dances, sports, drama); of course, adults who REALLY want to learn English or another language can apply the same methods to their own learning (dancing to music in the target language while singing along to the lyrics. Uh, be sure to close your shades if you live close to others.)
cuz in northern EU countries and Holland that they mainly broadcast the original English programs on TV... and my opinion is that they sound more like Americans
<< <see if you CAN find ANY bad grammar, misspellings or lack of vocabulary and judge BY yourself. > >>
I'd say the original phrasing was more (US) native-like:
" ... see if you find bad grammar, misspellings or lack of vocabulary and judge for yourself."
(Note that he never claimed perfect punctuation, though. :)
I'd say the original phrasing was more (US) native-like:
" ... see if you find bad grammar, misspellings or lack of vocabulary and judge for yourself."
(Note that he never claimed perfect punctuation, though. :)
I agree with what a few people already said, the key is in the society, the entertainment, if people listen to English music, if they read, if the TV shows and movies are subbed or dubbed, etc...
Usually school only teaches the basics and proper grammar, not a vast enough vocabulary nor a good pronunciation. That comes with practice.
Usually school only teaches the basics and proper grammar, not a vast enough vocabulary nor a good pronunciation. That comes with practice.
Already speaking a germanic language might be an advantage for learning English. We are also quite exposed to english. Movies are subtitled, not dubbed. Much popular music has lyrics in English. It is easy to find books and magazines in English. Books in translation are often more expensive than the originals. At least popular books like "Harry Potter".
I started learning English in 4th grade, when I was ten. Now I think norwegian children start learning a little in first grade, when they are six years old.
I never liked the subject and am not sure how much I learned. Later I started reading "The Wheel of Time" in translation, but only the first four books were translated. So I had to read the next books in English if I didn't want to wait for years. I think I have learned most of the words I know and some grammar from reading these and other books. But it certainly helped that I had learned enough English to be able to read these books while using a dictionary.
Today I think my worst skill is pronunciation. There's some sounds we don't have in Norwegian, or don't differate. Like v and w, s and z and th. I remember the teacher telling us about voiced and unvoiced th, but not how to make the sound in the first place.
I started learning English in 4th grade, when I was ten. Now I think norwegian children start learning a little in first grade, when they are six years old.
I never liked the subject and am not sure how much I learned. Later I started reading "The Wheel of Time" in translation, but only the first four books were translated. So I had to read the next books in English if I didn't want to wait for years. I think I have learned most of the words I know and some grammar from reading these and other books. But it certainly helped that I had learned enough English to be able to read these books while using a dictionary.
Today I think my worst skill is pronunciation. There's some sounds we don't have in Norwegian, or don't differate. Like v and w, s and z and th. I remember the teacher telling us about voiced and unvoiced th, but not how to make the sound in the first place.
I would like to add that if you want to get higher education in Norway, at least in science, you have to understand English. Almost all the textbooks used are written in English. There's a few terms from chemistry I'm not sure how to best translate to Norwegian.
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