TeechConsult's GELLpad

GELL@KPTM Perak, Malaysia... Saturday, February 19th, 2011

It has been some time since I took 'GELL' on the road. Today's 'show' at MARA Poly Tech College reminds me again of the fun to be had when we try to learn English with an open mind and to see the language as it is - a useful asset to have for the future, no more, no less.

As there are quite a number of comments and follow up responses on the GELL community on FaceBook (and also my personal profile), permit me to share with you 9 things to be learned from the event today.

Even if you couldn't be there with us (you missed a hell of a crazy show, I tell you), I'm sure you can still take these nine 'lessons' with you as you work as hard as you can to be a Good English Language Learner...

Learning pronunciation, Good English Language Learner style!

A super short Q&A with Teech...

Q: "Teech, do you think I should study English pronunciation?"

A: "Of course, my dear student! It is unfortunate that many English classes (and teachers) do not stress pronunciation enough. The sooner you learn pronunciation rules, the better!"

At the bottom of this page, you will find a COOL TOOL that I have developed to help you with your pronunciation of English, but before that...

 

...let me share with you some more pointers on proper English pronunciation:

WATCH A FILM!

Really! Watch this film, entitled 'My Fair Lady'. It is an old movie (1964 I think) but in the movie you will learn many things about proper English pronunciation and the many variations in existence, even among native English speakers in ye olde England.

LISTEN TO THE 'QUEEN'S ENGLISH'!

Listen to English speakers, who speak 'The Queen's English', it remains the official standard of spoken English in the world today. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the channel of choice for learning proper English pronunciation if you ask me.

BUY PRONUNCIATION TEXTBOOKS!

Learn or improve English pronunciation by listening to the CDs that come with these textbooks. They allow learners to 'pronounce along' and thus familiarise themselves with English words, phrases and sentences. You can progress at your own pace by listening to it as much or as little as you want.

SPEAK A LOT OF ENGLISH WITH OTHERS!

Practice speaking English with someone who speaks well, and don't be afraid of making mistakes, because conversing in English is the most active and direct way to master proper pronunciation.

CREATE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SPEAKING!

Many students complain that they cannot speak well or that their pronunciation is terrible. If you are still in school or college there are many activities that can help you improve AS LONG AS YOU WORK HARD AT IT!

For example, you can arrange group reading sessions with like-minded friends or acquaintances so that everyone benefits and can help one another with the correct pronunciation. The more you read aloud, the more confidence you will build in public speaking and the more your English pronunciation is likely to improve.

 
FINALLY, TRY USING THIS COOL FLASH TOOL TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION. YOU NEED TO TURN ON YOUR SPEAKERS OR RAISE THE VOLUME. I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST IN LEARNING PROPER PRONUNCIATION. ENJOY!!!

Your pronunciation of English really matters... but why?

Firstly:

Rightly or wrongly, the way that you speak is one of the first things that people notice about you. Do you know that people will judge your background, education and social standing just by the way you speak?

Secondly:

Even if you can already communicate well in English if you do not speak clearly enough, people around you will not understand you and they might not even want to talk to you. Why? Because it is just too tiring to try to understand you!

Thirdly:

Listening and understanding go hand in hand. If you do not know how different words are pronounced you will not improve your understanding of English.

 
Some EXTRA pointers to help you with your English pronunciation...

Speaking in English - The basic stuff

Developing your speaking skill in English: The beginning

From Fokus magazine (M) 'Living English with Teech Airil'
by Airil Haimi Adnan @ Teech, July 2008

Tentu anda pernah berjumpa dengan seseorang yang mampu bercakap dengan fasih dalam Bahasa Inggeris. Bagaimana perasaan anda ketika itu? Tidakkah anda juga ingin bercakap dalam bahasa antarabangsa itu dengan fasih? Sebenarnya ia tidaklah sesukar yang anda sangka. Tetapi seperti biasa, ramuan yang diperlukan adalah usaha dan tidak cepat berasa penat dan jemu…

Hello again readers! I hope that you have been trying all the tips that I have shared with you so far, with regards to your English language skill. In this article I hope to share with you some simple tips to improve your speaking skill.

Oh yes! Just to let you know, when we talk about speaking in English the skill itself can be divided into two areas, namely fluency and accuracy.

In order to become a really good speaker of English, you must have BOTH fluency and accuracy. Having one without the other is not good enough for a GELL!

Listening in English - The basic stuff

Developing your listening skill in English: The beginning

From Fokus magazine (M) 'Living English with Teech Airil'
by Airil Haimi Adnan @ Teech, June 2008

Ramai pelajar sekolah rendah dan menengah menghadapi masalah untuk memahami apa yang mereka dengar dalam Bahasa Inggeris. Mungkin hal ini berbunyi remeh, tetapi realitinya tanpa kemahiran mendengar yang baik adalah agak sukar untuk anda mula bercakap dengan fasih dan menjadi seorang GELL. Maka bulan ini saya ingin anda mula melatih kemahiran mendengar anda pula…

For many international students of English, listening is the most difficult skill to acquire and to master. Basically, nobody can teach you how to listen well, so you must try to work hard to make this skill a part of your life.

Let me share with you a secret, even though it is hard to practice your listening skill in English – the more you persevere the more you will start to enjoy listening, because you will REALLY understand what is being said by people who are using English.

Imagine you are watching ‘Spongebob Squarepants’ in the original English language version. You think that Patrick, Spongebob’s friend has just cracked a joke. But, you are not laughing. In fact, you cannot laugh because you really do not understand what Spongebob and Patrick had said to each other!

Writing in English - The basic stuff

Developing your writing skill in English: The beginning

From Fokus magazine (M) 'Living English with Teech Airil'
by Airil Haimi Adnan @ Teech, May 2008

Bulan lepas ruangan ini membincangkan cara untuk menambah kemahiran membaca anda dalam Bahasa Inggeris. Bulan ini fokus kita adalah kemahiran menulis pula. Memang sukar untuk belajar menulis dalam suatu bahasa baru tetapi anda perlu belajar agar hasil tulisan anda nanti akan dapat difahami oleh orang lain dan juga mempunyai daya tarikan yang boleh membantu anda mendapat markah tinggi di dalam ujian serta peperiksaan…

Whenever I mention writing to my students, they will always moan and groan and pull a long face. Let’s face the fact – writing is not easy and not everyone can become a good writer in the English language.

Is this true? NOT NECESSARILY! Even though not all of us can become excellent writers like William Shakespeare or John Grisham, ALL of us can learn how to write using good grammar and with good creativity.

One of the biggest problem for Malaysian students in terms of writing in English is that they are only good in one area at a time. So for example, your English grammar is okay but your essay lacks imagination and so it fails to get the high grade that you want.

Some students have a bigger problem when they write in English because their grammar is very bad and they do not know what to write whenever they are asked to do so!

Reading in English - The basic stuff

Developing your reading skill in English: The beginning

From Fokus magazine (M) 'Living English with Teech Airil'
by Airil Haimi Adnan @ Teech, April 2008

Apabila anda mempelajari suatu bahasa baru, kemahiran membaca amat perlu agar anda dapat menambah ilmu tentang bahasa berkenaan. Walaupun tidak semua orang gemar membaca, untuk menjadi seorang GELL yang berjaya anda perlu mencintai kemahiran ini. Membaca juga adalah titian ilmu yang akan membawa anda ke dunia baru serta mengembangkan imaginasi serta fantasi anda…

On your journey to become a GELL, you basically cannot run away from reading new things in English. But how do you start, and where should you begin, especially if you are trying to develop your reading skill independently on your own?

First, you must choose your reading materials carefully, so that you see suitable vocabulary being used in context. This not only helps you to become a good reader and to enrich your vocabulary, but it is also useful to help you practice your English grammar.

You must also remember that when you read on your own, you should start off with reading materials that are not too overwhelming either in size or with vocabulary which is too difficult to guess the meaning from the context.

Voices 5 - Your background and English

A person’s learning background is made up of many factors, including good and bad experiences, long, hard work and anxious moments. It has been influenced by encounters with different languages and cultures, by teachers, assessments and feedback, various learning environments and education systems.

Another very important factor is your own view of yourself and your English language learning. You bring this history with you to every new language learning situation. It does not necessarily directly explain your current problems, but reflecting on it and writing or discussing it may help you to become a better learner. It may help, for example, with any anxiety you may experience in English language learning situations at school, college or university.

Critical reflection may help you get rid of some attitudes or beliefs that are giving a negative impact on your English language learning.

 

Voices 4 - Your personality and English

As part of their personality, everybody has an individual learning style which determines they way they concentrate on, absorb, process and retain new and difficult information.

Many dimensions of learning style have been recognized. For example, learners differ according to whether they are visual (sight), auditory (hearing) or kinaesthetic (movement). Other personality factors that have been identified are extroversion/introversion, deductive/inductive, concrete, analytical, communicative and authority-oriented.

Other social scientists have suggested that there are four learning styles: the activist, who is open-minded, not sceptical and always ready to try; the theorist, who focuses on the grammar or morphology of a language before having the confidence to produce it. S/he likes to go step-by-step in a logical way; the reflector, who wants to see the patterns in language before trying something new and prefers to think things through first; and the pragmatist, who takes the practical approach, picking up new words or structures and immediately trying to use them. What about your own learning style?

 

Voices 3 - Your motivation and English

Motivation has been defined as the urge to create and sustain intentions and goal-seeking acts. The more motivated you are, the more you are likely to be actively involved in your learning and to take a positive attitude.

Motivation is not one single entity and many factors are involved. The applied linguists Oxford and Shearin have picked out six factors that have an influence on motivation in language learning: attitudes, beliefs, goals, involvement, environmental support and personal attributes.

Attitudes: How do you feel towards learning and using English? / Beliefs: Do you think that you will be able to become a good language learner? / Goals: What are your current and future targets in terms of English? / Involvement: Do you play an active role in English language discussions in your classroom? / Environmental support: Does your English teacher, family members and friends support your English language learning? / Personal attributes: Are you capable of working very hard and not giving up in the process of becoming a GELL?