how can I improve my writing?

jazz   Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:44 pm GMT
i m very impressed to see here new tips thanks to all
Paul   Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:56 pm GMT
I haven't learned English for almost one year since when I started my own business. And I think my feeling of English is fading away. The most effective way to get the feeling back is to hang around here. Anyway, Hey! Guys! I'm BACK!
Jasper   Tue Oct 23, 2007 11:58 pm GMT
Nick, do you want to write fiction or non-fiction? It matters.

You need to choose the model based upon what kind of writing you want to do.

For non-fiction, short essays, I'd recommend Colin Wilson. A prolific author, you'll have a lot of materials from which to choose.
nick   Wed Oct 24, 2007 2:18 am GMT
Thanks, Jasper, I will try Colin Wilson first.
Liliana   Wed Oct 24, 2007 5:58 am GMT
I am going to try to write the 1000 pages. It sounds like an effective excersise. I actually use this method to study. If I dont write it down down I dont really get it.!! It is just strange.
I need to improve both my writing and speaking abilities because I am a psychology major and these areas are fundamental.
Are there any tips to make one accent less heavy??
Thank you in advance.
Jasper   Wed Oct 24, 2007 6:19 pm GMT
Liliana:

:-)

The same method could be used for accent reduction. Take a 30-minute tape of a speaker you want to emulate--a speaker of the same age and sex.

Speak along with the speaker (not after her), sentence by sentence, until you can mimic her dialect; 10-15 times per sentence isn't too many repetitions. Then move on to the next sentence.

[Speaking along with the speaker will reveal all kinds of little differences you never knew you had. Prepare to be badly disappointed. I had always thought my spoken French was beautiful, until this method revealed just how bad my accent really was!]

Once again, it will take many hours of practice. It takes more than one hour to learn the guitar; to body-build; to learn cursive; to learn English! It will take many more hours to reduce you accent; be patient.
K. T.   Wed Oct 24, 2007 11:06 pm GMT
I agree with speaking along with the speaker and repetition, but I've found that it usually doesn't take more than three or four times before I can nail it. Of course, this may depend on your ear.

If you are not particularly musical or if you have trouble singing on pitch, you may need those extra repetitions.

The method below works. It works for me and it works for students I help teach and it works shockingly well!

Two ways that work:

Listen to the speaker the first time and mouth the words.
Next, speak along with the speaker OR
Repeat the phrase.

K. T.'s big hint:

Relax! If you feel relaxed going into your practice time, perhaps you'll be relaxed and sound more natural when you speak.
K. T.   Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:46 am GMT
I'd like to underline what Jasper wrote. So many people want a quick fix for their language issues, but what one really needs is discipline. Make time to reach your goal. You can do it.
Guest   Thu Oct 25, 2007 4:31 am GMT
well, K.T. I can write well. I can read well. I can listen well. It took me five years to reach an advanced level from a zero beginner. All efforts went out of the window because I could not be understood by an American teenager. How discouraging it was for me. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to speak well spontaneously,
K. T.   Thu Oct 25, 2007 5:18 am GMT
Guest,
Do you mean just one teenager could not understand you or is this an ongoing problem in oral communication?

Without knowing the details (relationship to the teenager, etc.) I can't tell you if this is serious.

If you speak GA or another standard form of English, most teenagers should be able to understand you in the US.

If this was an isolated incident, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Don't be discouraged if you encounter people who aren't familiar with other accents.

It sounds like you have discipline and that is no small gift in language learning.

Listening to foreign languages on the internet (in interviews) or on TV has helped to sear words in my memory, so they seem to pop up spontaneously when I speak in another language. Just doing this a few minutes a week has helped me in the other languages I speak. Since English is everywhere, this should be very easy. Use Youtube to search for interviews and topics.

I sometimes wonder about personality in relation to language learning.
I think it is slightly painful to make the effort to speak, but it's usually worth it.

Can you do a language exchange?
Guest   Thu Oct 25, 2007 5:47 am GMT
K.T: If you are currently living in the USA, can we do a language exchange on the phone (I'll make all phone calls, all you have to do is to pick up my call). or can you pinpoint shortcomings in my accent after listening to me for five minutes or so. (Even if you are adamant for a language exchange). I want live feedback from a native speaker on the phone. If you are agreed to my proposal, I can write my e-mail address right here for contacting me. Talking live with a native speaker or speaking alone and recording yourself are two different things all together.

<<Do you mean just one teenager could not understand you or is this an ongoing problem in oral communication? >>

It is certainly an ongoing problem. I was forced to repeat myself by most Americans, both men and women, of all ages, normally it happens on the phone. So it was not a sole case of an American teenager....though he was very blunt to tell me the truth, on the other hand, most adult Americans play it safe....that's the thing! He told me that he could not understand me a bit.

K.T: Nothing is helping me much in my spoken skills. I listen to audiobooks. I watch American sitcoms and movies. I listen to sports commentaries from time to time. I am immersed in the language, yet people dont understand me very well.
You are the man who can give me right advice and tips.
nick   Thu Oct 25, 2007 5:55 pm GMT
Talking about speaking now, that's another thing I should work on it, I will take a speech class next semester, I don't want to do a presentation with heavy accent that nobody can understand. In one of my class, a student made a brief presentation, she spoke with effort, but most of us cann't understand what she said, even the professor.
A question here, I have a couple native friends, so what can I ask them to help me in reducing the accent? I mean what I can do with them to help me. I think u guys understand what I mean.
K. T.   Fri Oct 26, 2007 6:14 am GMT
I suggest finding someone of the same gender (same age is not as important) who is interested in languages (and hopefully your SPECIFIC language) and doing a language exchange. Be clear that this is about languages, not a romantic ruse.
nick   Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:00 am GMT
Come on, K.T. u said same gender, how can that be a romantic ruse.
K. T.   Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:27 am GMT
Just be clear for the sake of both parties.