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movies, tv.

i think TV series is a good example I like to watch Sex and The City e.g.

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Откуда: UK,Greater Manchester

eanglish version of KKM ?

Сообщения: 2017
Откуда: Рига, Плявниеки

at least for a start
as mentioned above tv-shows are great - sitcoms, dramas, whatever
can use subtitles

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Мария 20.06.2006.
Агата 15.01.2011.

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Откуда: Рига, Пурвциемс

dEadLock :

movies, tv. i think TV series is a good example I like to watch Sex and The City e.g.

how could I forget about Sex and The City???
thanks for an advice!

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Откуда: Riga

heh, amazing people, when do you get the time for all this stuff? (I sing my old song )

I tried to watch movies and started with What Women Want, probably not the best choice for the beginners, then it was some story poined by SoundOfLight, September or something like that about fashion

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Откуда: Рига, Пурвциемс

Fenix :

heh, amazing people, when do you get the time for all this stuff? (I sing my old song )

every kid sleeps

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Сообщения: 9708
Откуда: Prague, CZ

well, I won't agree Sound.

The thing is to SPEAK and no matter how you do it, i mean, how you start it... and with practice all come in place - slang, grammar, word position and vocabulary... its better to translate word by word your thought than dye unsecured never ever tried

I mean - i really know what am i speaking about Again, back to Czech i'll better copy words and translating in head, then live and wait that illumination of truth, that suddenly make me speak like Czech people do in pubs

PRACTICE, no matter how you do, no matter how far you are. That is the language success button for anyone.

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Зайка сыночек и лапочка дочка (2007+2009)


murrmelade
Thanks God I'm a WOMAN!

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Откуда: Пурвциемс

Now I really really hate to join into the conversation! This thread was not exactly meant for someone with a spyglass to point out stuff like "hey guys - long way to go - had fun reading btw - peace" Advices like "don't translate" work no better than "free your mind, Neo..." I sure do translate from whichever language rolls in my head--that is the way brains work. Any language skill is about practicing and sometimes it is good to have room to practice without critic's notice.

Anyway...
Ladies do you listen to audio books, anyone? I tried and realized I cannot follow with the reciter. And I cannot watch movies while cooking for the same reason: when it's mostly sound I lose track of events very fast. Does it work for you?

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Помогу освоиться со слингом-шарфом

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Откуда: Рига, Пурвциемс

Yes, it is true. Practice is a key word! More practice- better language. Besides, except native speakers from USA, England and Australia, the rest of the world speaks in English translating from their native languages, so do not bother about thinking/speaking as native speakers, but just ENJOY communicating in English.
Concerning study of any new language, from my experience I would recommend the following:
1. to study some basics of grammar
2. to study as many as possible new words:
- take some books for children or just easy and short stories, read and translate it and learn by heart all new words (then you will be able to remember these words not out of context but in connection with some specific story, the associative memory will work)
- watch some TV programs or movies with dictionary, if you hear some unknown words, look it up in the dictionary. Again it is always easy to memorize new words, when you associate it with something.
3. use a notebook, where you write down all unknown words and read/study it everyday.

There is the most important thing in language study - an internal motivation, if you have it, then there is not problem.

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Откуда: Рига, Плявниеки

[quote="SoundOfLight"]

Alja_S :

That's the point Most people speak some form of slang. Very few use proper language That's what makes the language alive and real and that's totally the reason why foreigners have problems with both speaking and understanding natives. Surely it's important to know the proper language, but you use the other one in real life

Well, the slang easy sticks to you, when you are in environment... But when You have the interview...better if You know proper language even if it sounds too ""academically" imho... Though having a lot of correspondence with my clients I've noticed that really few of them use business language properly and at least have an idea of some rules in official letters.

Some off: I know one guy, he is programmer in UK, works for Microsoft, but originally he is from Israel. He speaks very proper English, very beautiful. When he came to work to UK, he tried to be very polite and friendly and his phrases were like "Would You like" etc, while someone form his stuff told him "can you talk like normal people?!?!" And it seems he speaks English better then his local colleagues

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Зорко одно лишь сердце (с)

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Откуда: Prague, CZ

Alja, I've got exact situation in my life!!

it was years ago, I came to USA and shared dorm with other american girls. I tried to do my best to speak as much as i can... but they treated my like "that girl from some iceberg or wherever she came from", was polite but cold and quite separated. One evening, normal regular evening, dorm was sitting in living watching TV and i was about to cook some dinner (the living and kitchen was in the same room, like studio). I asked loudly - Girls, may I have your attention? Won't i disturb your time if i cook some dinner now?

...

they went quite... then one girl asked - "Will you please stop speaking to us like writing a letter to the President of the United States?"



the wall was broken My non-presidental english come to me faster i could imagine

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murrmelade
Thanks God I'm a WOMAN!

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Откуда: Рига, Плявниеки

anaj :

Anyway... Ladies do you listen to audio books, anyone? I tried and realized I cannot follow with the reciter. And I cannot watch movies while cooking for the same reason: when it's mostly sound I lose track of events very fast. Does it work for you?

No... I like to watch movies with subtitles... and I hate audio books, because actually I perceive the info much better visually than orally. If honestly it's my big problem to start to "hear" language, cause "a bear stepped on my ear" (Not sure that's possible to tell such phrase in English). So for me the best way is to communicate with live people, when I concentrate all my attention on what they tell me. Live people I understand much better than movies. (the exception is Indians, I understand them partly, and afroamericans, I don't understand them at all and wanna advise to swallow the porridge before talking )

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Зорко одно лишь сердце (с)

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Откуда: Prague, CZ

one more joke from the same dorm about movies.

We were watching Others, the one with Nicole Kidman.

It was the moment, when She went to city and there was a lot of fog in the park she came through, and She met Him. According to the movie, He just returned from the war. They huged, the moment was quite strained, girls was sitting in the dark quite and stressed. The man in the movie was very... strange. I asked my neighbour as quite as i could - why He is so STONED?" meaning - окаменевший

Dorm explosed in a laugh after a little pause...

Since then I know, that STONED is actually "обкуренный" instead of PETRIFIED

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Зайка сыночек и лапочка дочка (2007+2009)


murrmelade
Thanks God I'm a WOMAN!

Сообщения: 9708
Откуда: Prague, CZ

I can't carry a tune in a bushel basket - this is an idiom, meaning медведь на ухо наступил

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Зайка сыночек и лапочка дочка (2007+2009)


murrmelade
Thanks God I'm a WOMAN!

Сообщения: 4911
Откуда: Рига, Плявниеки

To a question about new language studying... I work with Latin America so my main language is Spanish at work. Even I speak Spanish very "un poco". When I've come to my company I knew only some basic grammar and some common phrases, but chief wanted I would call to the clients... every day... If was a horror actually... because spanish people cannot answer just yes or no, they always tell you whole poem, answering simple question plus bad connection... and my very bad spanish But I began to think what exactly I want to tell.. which additional questions I can get... what answers variants I can get... and I translated and learned all these words, sentences and phrases. If gives a result quickly enough, cause You don't just study separate words from the text... no, You really gotta use it. So just think which themes will be the most important when You arrive... in the store... in restaurant... some common questions. Then it will be live process, not so boring

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Зорко одно лишь сердце (с)

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Откуда: Prague, CZ

Spanish.... you remembered me the way i begun to understand Spanish... as absolutely new language My friends from Latin Amerika (Peru and Colombia) was listening music, Alejandro Sanz. I just LOVED his voice, the tone of music and the poetry (friends translated me some words or common sence of song) and day after day i started to understand not only the songs, but the language itself as well... In such a short time, two weeks or something... I guess its just the brain was younger and not breastfeeding

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murrmelade
Thanks God I'm a WOMAN!

Сообщения: 487
Откуда: Riga, Imanta

Murr :

Spanish.... you remembered me the way i begun to understand Spanish... as absolutely new language My friends from Latin Amerika (Peru and Colombia) was listening music, Alejandro Sanz. I just LOVED his voice, the tone of music and the poetry (friends translated me some words or common sence of song) and day after day i started to understand not only the songs, but the language itself as well... In such a short time, two weeks or something... I guess its just the brain was younger and not breastfeeding

That's the way I learned english..eehh.. about 20 years ago My first original CD (with lyrics) was George Michael's "Listen without prejudice" - I knew all songs by heart, and started to try to translate other songs. That was fun and easy And extremely useful.

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Откуда: Кенгарагс

I'm sorry for intruding in your conversation but I would like to add that it is good to do some short or better long records in your diary every day -it will help you to improve grammar and spelling.And speaking to itself loudly infront of the mirror at least some 10-15 minutes every day will help you not to be afraid of talking to other people in foreign language,besides you can train the pronunciation

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well, girls!

there is other way how to learn to speak correctly. LEARN THE GRAMMAR! it helps, you know

best way to learn a language is: grammar + tv + talk talk talk

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Откуда: Riga, Imanta

It certainly does!

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yeas, letter to the president Murr

i remember in 12th grade we had advanced grammar as I was in language school (40th) advanced was really advanced !

I remember horrible exercises: in English there are rules how to put adjectives in the correct order. E.g. beautiful silk red dress is not the same as read silk beautiful dress. 'course i don't remember any rules, but this stuff was hardcore

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Откуда: Межциемс

I'm sorry for speaking without really having something to say. Here's a chat room and I want to check my English after all those many non-practicing years. I've always felt terribly shy about foreign languages, sort of perfectionist. Couldn't speak a language when not feeling perfect in it. Now I'm not perfect in English at all, and it was hard to start even writing here but I made myself, so here I am. So this post of mine is just something to start with, sorry if that was just a flood for you. Hope I'll say something meaningful next time .

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Ярику - 12, Сашеньке - 9, Олесеньке - 5!
А еще я пеку les macarons на заказ!

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Откуда: Riga

macabra :

Fenix : heh, amazing people, when do you get the time for all this stuff? (I sing my old song ) every kid sleeps

Not mine , only when I'm tired and asleep.

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Откуда: Riga

helen :

Yes, it is true. Practice is a key word! More practice- better language. Besides, except native speakers from USA, England and Australia, the rest of the world speaks in English translating from their native languages, so do not bother about thinking/speaking as native speakers, but just ENJOY communicating in English.

Many thanks for this, your words like a honey.

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Сообщения: 7505
Откуда: Рига, Иманта

hi, english speaking girls this theme has become the most interesting theme for me since it was opened to all I haven't used my english knowledge for 3 years, i think. I still remember, that sometimes I could say smth, but now its are only memories

I could talk breathly in latvian before my first child birth, but now i fell like i`m loosing it too. i was spinning around latvian speaking forums that time, it was really good language practise.

I want to tell, it was very pleasant for my ears to read SoundOfLight's and Murr's posts, couse its are the most english like Especially SoundOfLights. Tasty!

and i'm starting to think about joining the club

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