Manners

Manner is really important in making your conversation run smoother and better. Using good manner in conversation is also a big deal to create healthy conversation. Besides, some manners should be comprehend as basic things to be done in understanding culture of speaking English. Since English is foreign language in Indonesia, the EFL learners need to learn about its culture as well. You know what they say, if you learn a language you need to learn the its culture. Some of us sometimes ignore how to use good manner in speaking English, and it can make the listener offends or feel uncomfortable with.

Here are some manners we can use in making our conversation better.

• Eye contact is important, keep your eyes to someone who is talking to you, out of respect.
• Speak nicely and politely, use good vocabulary too.
• Intonations is also important, your gesture too.
• Smile
• Say something loud and clear, do not mumble
• Do not yell, shout, whine, or whisper in front of another person.
• Say "Please, Thank you, Excuse me, Sorry, May I..."
• Do not use dirty language 

Awkward Moment

I feel a bit down lately since I found that my English is going bad. I didn’t even practice my speaking because it is hard to find someone who wants to speak English. I am pretty sure practicing speaking everyday can make my speaking much better. Hence, today I plan to record my speaking on my computer. I hope this kind of thing can hone my English, that for sure.

I am not just afraid of losing my ability to speak, but I am a little nervous when I realize that sometimes I am speechless when I talk to someone new, I need to keep up and get along with them too, so at least I can speak as fluently as I was. Here the story about how clumsy I was when I wanted to speak English without hesitation. Four days ago, I met some new guys at my work place, and their English was great, I felt a bit clumsy when I talked to them and I just realized I need to speak a lot that I used to do. They could speak English fluently and fast and I was stuck in the middle of my word, the cat got my tongue and I felt worse. I knew what to say but I could barely move my tongue, I was speechless and shivering. I was more like a real dumber. See, it is make sense that I have this worry. To be frank I don’t want to leave behind.

I know I could do better at that time and now I feel sorry to myself for being unsure what to say. Perhaps you have found the same experience as me, and how did you overcome that problem?  As for me I am still working on it now and I try to boost my own confidence that I can speak English better. No one can make us better but ourselves. Have you managed your schedule to practice your English? If not why don’t you start creating your own schedule to practice.

You know what they say, practices make perfect. Remember my old postings, find out more attractive ways to make your English ability better pal. Invite your friends to join to your English club and do many kinds of exercises. Besides, practice all the time and increase your confidence to speak. Hence, you will not get a awkward moment just like I did.

Have a nice day all, leave the comments, suggestions, or advices to my posting. Maybe you have brilliant ideas to overcome my problems. See you next time, bye.

What is your learning style?

Everyone has different learning style, by considering your own learning style, it can help us in gaining and achieving the learning goals easily. In fact I do the learning trick after I knew my very own learning style. But, some of you may ask me how to find your own leraning style. That's not really that hard. Now let's see how to discover your own learning style. Answer these following questions to know what learning style you can do.

• Can you learn English easily by listening to the music, radio, or podcast?

• Can you easily memorize something by listening to someone else? for example, when you have a test in the following day, you ask your friend to read the material for you in order to ease you to memorize the material.

• Do you like listening someone than paying attention to them?

• If you say yes for them, you are audiotory learner. My suggestion for you dear, listen much to your English materials, put in your mobile phone and listen to them, or you can record them,then listen over and over again. 

The next questions are:

• Can you catch the material well by watching videos, movies or tv programs?

• Do you find interested in learning much trough videos, color, pctures, diagram, chart or even nature?

• Do you like using color or symbol in your notes?

• If you say yes, you are the real visual learner. Try to find a cozy place to learn which serves you many visual media. You can watch English videos and movies, use color and unique signs in your text books, use attractive pictures too to ease you to memorize your material. 

The last questions:

• Do you like playing some games when you are learning English?

• Do you like using your physical movement when you want to remember words?

• Do you like outdor activities and observing things?

• If you say yes to these, you are kinestetic learner. You can play games or drama, or role play in improving your English. Go out and observing anything you want to learn.
  
  Which learning style is fit for you?, find the effective ways to improve your English ability by your own learning style. It can help you a lot, trust me. Well, happy practicing your English with your own style.
  
  By now

English Radio Program

We have a English radio program at 104,3 Jazirah Fm Bengkulu, it is on Sunday, 4.30 p.m, unfortunately the Streaming is not working for now. Listening the program called Fun With English is so much fun, it can help me in understanding English, it also give me much information about English. I know about the scholarship from that program too. The announcer also gives some interesting websites about English. I love that program because it gives many great tips in studying English. But I think not many people listen that English program, many English students of mine seldom listen to that program as well. It is so good program, and I never miss that program.

Well, Do you have any special program about English in your radio? if you have one, maybe you can send the info here too, and send the streaming link if you have some. 

Bye

British accent or American one?

American accent or British one?, I'd love the British one if I have to choose. It sounds so classy and so unique. Besides you can watch many movies use British style, Harry potter, Wild Child, Iron Lady, etc. I feel so get into British accent and sometimes I use it in my teaching. It is so natural and what can  I say, the British style is really awesome, it doesn't sound rustic or something. It is just simply polite and has a class. 

Actually there are some English accent to, Australian accent or New Zealand accent are also a bit different from American and British. You can check some of the differences among them.  

So what accent do you want to learn? If you like American one, you can learn from the movie, how they speak English by American style, you can also learn various movie to study all accent. What ever accent you use, always remember you need to learn how to speak it and pay attention to the manner, it is important.

Watch Your Mouth! Watch Your Slang Language!

Slang or no slang? it is all your choice. But I see many EFL learners use the dirty slang to insult someone. I do not know why it is so, but the main reason is they are trying to be cool, smart, and seraching for identity. I mean you may use the slang but the good one. Be mature here, we have a graet culture, manner and religion. Do not throw the dirt to them. 

Insulting or mocking someone with your dirty language is really Godless thing. I bet you must know how bad it is to be humiliated.Word you say is showing who you really are. Watch your mouth before you say something. We have manner how to speak with someone else. Besides, I asked some of native and they said that they actually did not use dirty language, they still have a way good menner in doing conversation.
I said, You'd better open some slang website and you'll find that the slang you speak has offensive level, so be careful to call someone with your slang language.

Let's see some common slangs EFL learners like to say in their conversation.

• Mother f***er has 78% offensiveness

• F**k has 78% offensiveness

• F**k you has 77% offensiveness

• F***king has 75% offensiveness

• Bi**ch has 76% offensiveness

Still want to shoot your dirty slang to someone else, wash your mouth with soap then. Disdain someone with your language is criminal. I mean, you may be clever but not clever enough to mock someone with your language. If you respect of yourself, you can respect somebody else, period. Do not waste your the one and only mouth with useless things.

Someone insults Your English?

I have some stories to tell that insulting someone because his English is not really good at English can make someone down and give up trying. Here are the stories, learn the message too.

• A week ago, someone talked to me that she felt so bad when her friend laughed at her English. She said that she did not want to talk to her friend again since that moment. She always kept silent in the class and tried to speak as rarely as possible. Hence in the end of semester she got D mark for speaking class. 

• Once, someone talked to me to that someone mocked his English. His friend said to him rudely, "Shut up! Your English is the worst", since that time he also stopped practicing his English. His inferior become greater. He did not want to speak English to anybody, including me.

• One of my best friends also got the same experience as the two of my fiends above. He was insulted by a pack of clever students in his class who things they are clever enough to insult him. That gang was always mocking his pronunciation. Besides, they also insulted the way of my friend's speaking. They thought it was dork. Ever since he spoke English in front of the class, the clever gang laughed at him. Sometime he just stood in front of class and became a lough stock for them.

I do not know how they were so mean to all of my friends. They may thing they are clever but They were not supposed to do those kind of means things.

Well, let's do this tips to keep practicing without noticing their insulting.

• Remember this prover, dogs bark, do not bite. Just ignored them because you have already won her. They insult you means they insult themselves.
• An insulting doesn't make you contemptible or low. The one who insults you is the real low, coward, or what can I say, a scrubby person.
• You are the one who can make yourself better, if you stop practicing your English because of her insulting, it means you are the one who real flop here. Do not give up so easily. Fight them!
• Show them that you are better than they know. Stop complaining and hiding from them.
• If you stop now, You'll left behind. They'll get much better and you are the real loser. Want that? I don't think so.
• They do not pay your school fee, your living or your food. Stop listening to that useless mocking.
• Take the insulting or mocking as positive Energy for you. Do not do the same thing to anyone else. You know how it feels to be insulted, don't you?

Still want to feel so dumb when your friends insult your English? I guess not. Just keep practicing your English and share many good things to anybody around.

Internet is the Door of Your English World

Many people say Education is expensive, but for me it depends on the situation. If you are really serious in improving your English, you can easily find some cheap resources, sometimes gratis. Book is the window of the world, but Internet is the door of the world, this is just my silly opinion about the generous Internet.  What can I can from internet? If you ask this question to me, I'll give you some marvelous answer about it. Check these out.

• A thousand websites provide you free learning materials, e-books, videos, listening audios. You can download them as additional materials for your English.
• It helps your curiosity about many things, especially English. For example, my friends asked me about what the difference between Amoral and immoral. I was not sure about it, so I asked the internet.
• You can find many tutorials about English, for example when your lecturer asks you to do demonstration in front of your class by using Total Physical Response method, but You do not know  how to do it. Find the tutorial in the internet, it will help you gladly.
• If you are dizzy to find some references or previous study for your theses, don't panic. Go online and ask the internet. Some websites will provide you links to download those references. Again, many of them are free too sometimes.
• You can also find a thousands educative websites not only for children, but also for adults. 
• You can also do online course, online sharing, or online consultation but mostly you need to pay for those.
• Get trouble in finding native speakers to speak or chat, Internet provides you this thing too. 

Bravo, Internet is a good place to study. Moreover, we can access internet almost everywhere now. Well, use the internet well, and learn your English better.

Cheerio!

Wake Up! Stop being a lazybones

Mastering all English skills must be the first priority for all EFL learners. By having good English skills, EFL learners can easily communicate orally and verbally. Most of the EFL learners know how to improve their English, but the most problem faced is lazy. The laziness is the biggest problems that should be overcome by every EFL learner. This fact, I found after I have done a little research about why mostly the students I teach cannot master English skills well.They mostly spent their time lazily at home.

I give you some tips how to overcome you laziness, I hope it can work to reduce it.

• The first thing you have to do is building a pure intention deep down in your heart. Make sure you have built a strong motivation to learn English.
• Set the goals, what skill you want to master. Ask yourself what importance that skill for you. 
• The next important thing is just give yourself sometimes a chance to join an English club, and test yourself there. It is hoped that you can see your own ability with people around you, also it is hoped to give much spirit.
• Going to another university which has the same English major/department in your town. Pick the best university and mingle with the students there. Again compare your English ability to them. I bet, your passion in learning English can be much better. Do not be a frog underneath the coconut shell.
• Many people who are good at English out there. They are not taking English major/program at university, but their English is great, make a time to join them because often they have a club too.
• Always remember, you are the only one who can make yourself better. If you are lazy, no one can help you. Especially for you who is studying at English major, make sure when you graduate from your English faculty your English must be good.
• Find the right motivation to be able to master English. As for me, parents are my biggest motivation. Make proud of them.
• Be humble and never stop sharing your English. This is important to be humble, because I  do believe when you are humble, everything you learn can be gotten easily.

Those are some tips to overcome the laziness, FYI I did all of them, and I found the advantages after I apply all of them.

Thank you for reading Friends.

(Big sorry for some mistakes. Leave comments please. Thank you in advance)

Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Let's speak English.

Mirror! Speak to me.

Do you have a big mirror? if you do not have, try to buy one. Why? because you can use this thing to improve your speaking ability. Gee! Practicing speaking in front of the mirror is a brilliant idea, speaking by seeing your own reflection in front of the mirror is also fun. How could it be? Now let's see what fun parts of practicing your speaking in front of the mirror. 

•  You can see your own lips movements when you are speaking. By this thing you can know how you pronounce your English. If you get wrong then you can check your dictionary and then fix your pronunciation.
• You can practice to do eyes contact when your are speaking. Remember, eyes contact is important in communication.
• By practicing your English in front of the mirror, you can memorize something fast, e.g speech, .
• You can practice to use your gesture and mime. These are also important parts in communication. 
• You can build your own confidence. 
• etc.

Those are what a mirror can do for you. So, do not waste your time worshiping your own reflection only, let's get something better then.

You know what they say, practices make perfect and let the Mirror tell you how good your English is because mirror is a good friend and never tells lie to you, mirror is the best friend after all. 

TTYL My EFL friends :D

English Video on You Tube

YouTube helps your English

Where can I find Speaking English videos?, I am sure most of you are curious to find those attractive videos for your English, and now, I'll spill the beans.

Some websites provides Speaking English videos, but you have to pay for those videos. But don't worry, be happy, a hundreds English videos are available in YouTube. You can watch them for free, or you can download the videos, but you need to install special application to download them. The qualities of the videos are not always good, but it is not a problem. You can still listen and watch them all. 

Here are some key words you can type on the YouTube search to find the Speaking English Video.

• Mr Duncan
• English Learning Lessons
• English Conversation
• Living English
• English Speaking Practice
• etc.

Now, what do you think? It's fun right. Check on YouTube now and enjoy the videos.

Bye now

English Videos for Your Perfect Englsih

We've been juggling around movies previous days. It is time to move on now. Well, I'd like to discuss about a great way in improving your speaking ability. Besides watching movie, cartoon and TV series, you can also sharpen your speaking ability by some English videos. I tell you this, you can find out many videos in the internet and Yay! some are free for you. Just clinks some links, and Viola! you can download all them without burning your pocket. You may be asking where you can find the out, but Do not so hasty, let's talk them one by one later.

English videos is a really good medicine for you who needs authentic material for speaking. If you get trouble to find real native speakers in your town (I found this hard to find native speaker in Bengkulu), English video can be the cure. Those videos can be used as an alternative supplement or emplacement of the real native speaker. Just watch the videos you want to learn, and enjoy the virtual native speaker in your screen. So, do not be so sad when you cannot find the real native ones. The English videos can be a really nice partner to speak English.  Again, a hundred of English videos are available for you.

So, it is good starting point to study English in better way. Use the technology as a medium in learning English. Last, but not least, practice your English you've just got from the English videos in your conversation. Practicing your English is all you need.

Bye my EFL friends :D

(Big sorry for some mistakes. Leave comments please. Thank you in advance)

English Cartoon for All

I am 25 now, but I still love watching cartoons. I sometime find myself staring at TV watching Toppy and Binno, a carton series at one of the private TV station in Indonesia. I also download some Dora the Explorer series. Maybe It sounds peculiar for some, but a small thing like watching Dora the Explorer can help you much in adding your vocabulary.

Watching Barbie sounds so funny for a man, but for me it does not funny at all. As long as the idea is to improve your English, watching barbie is not a big deal. I admit that I used to watch Barbie, and I found it was interesting. I could vary my vocabulary after I watched that cartoon. Besides, Barbie film also taught me good manners how to speak English politely. Just give it try sometimes, I bet you’ll find I mean.

Some of children cartoons also teach us pronunciation, how to spell a letter or word, for example Dora the Explorer, it can give us many vocabularies and also teach us how to pronounce them well.

Next cartoon is The lion king, it is excellent cartoon. It teaches us many moral value, provides us many interesting vocabulary and of course entertains us. You can use this cartoon as a medium in teaching English too. See, you can get many stuff from cartoon.Just find out many great cartoons out there and enjoy the benefits.

At last, just visit some website and check some cartoon you want to watch, or if you have your old collection of the cartoon just play it again and don not miss the learning time.

Bye my EFL friends, keep practicing your English!

Animated Movie for Your English

Greetings my EFL learners

Do you know Happy Feet, or Finding Nemo? Yap! those are really marvelous animated-movies ever. Learning English by watching some animated movie can be really fun thing to do. You can spend your quality time by enriching yourself with English, new knowledge and information. Since animated movie is mostly dedicated for children, it is safe to watch in every age.

Here are some good points why animated movies are awesome for you.

• It has courteous language. You can use it in your conversation.
• It has many educational values to your life.
• It can enrich your vocabulary.
• It usually has easy and understandable conversation.
• It teaches us manners too.
• etc.

Here are some recommended-animated movies for you.

• Finding Nemo
• UP
• Tangled 
• Toy Story
• Tinkerbell
• Bolt
• Despicable Me
• Ant Colony
• Cloudy with a Change of Meatball
• Ratatouille
• Barbie 
• etc.

Just do something very simple to improve your English. Watching is one of them. Well, next time I'll discuss some interesting cartoons that can be media to improve your English.

Toodles!

Some Educative Movies

Good movies, for good people

Even thought the movies I am about to shoot now are goods to watch, you still have to filter them well. Some inappropriate words may appear. I give you some recommended-movies for you dear pal. These are the movies that I've watched before.

• We Bought a Zoo is a really good movies for family. The language used is also good for your English. 
• The Help is a movie from a novel. If you like doing research about Semantics, Pragmatics, Sociolinguistics etc, this movie is really good. You can also learn about history.
• A Moment to Remember, this movie is for teenager, but the language used is quite good. It's an old movie but is still fine to watch. 
• The Ultimate Gift is a motivational movie. You can learn the language and the Educational values in the same time. You can be a real thoughtful person after watching this move. 
• Hanna Montana: The Movie. It is good movie too, but the genre is for teenager. Still you can enjoy it.
• Camp Rock is also the good one.
• Three Idiots (find the English subtitles one). This is a rally touchy movies from India. You can learn various educational values here.
• etc.

 Do you have some recommended-movies for all of us? let's share then. It's so great that you can share something good to everyone.

Never Stop Sharing :)

How to Choose English Movies

Educative Movies

Maybe you are asking why we should choose the right movies to improve our English, especially for EFL learners. Here are the answers.

Some English movies have no good moral values or proper languages to learn. Those inappropriate movies can lead your English even worse instead of the good one. I can say this because I have discussed to native speakers that choosing the right movie to learn is important.
Some dirty words can be found in many English movies. We did not filter it and check whether those dirty words are even used in daily conversation. Accidentally, often we use them in our conversation and as the result, we make someone upset. It is OK if you want to know the dirty words, but try not to use it. I think it is not real polite to say them to someone.

Next thing you can do to choose the right English movies are by looking at the guidance, I mean whom the movies are proposed for. You’d better choose the English movies that are dedicated for all ages, or family movie. Besides the language used is appropriate, we can also learn many moral values and cultures there.
Find the movie catalog and watch closely to the movie you want to watch. You can also check in the internet and find the recommended movie for learning English. I am also pretty sure that there are some groups on internet which facilitate some information about good movie to watch.    

You may also ask your English teachers and friends about the movie you watch. If it is possible you can also ask your native friends (if you have ones) about good movies to watch. It is so important for EFL learner to know which movies are right for them because some phenomena I found in my daily life show that most of the students use lines they got from movie without checking whether they are appropriate to use in real conversation or not. They do not even know that the words they used were rude.

In short, You have rights to choose your own English movie, but try to find some movies which have Educational values for you.
Smart choice is all needed here, find the educative movies pal. Happy watching!

Leraning English by Watching Movies

English Flicks are great media in learning English

Everyone likes watching movies, I am pretty sure about this. Besides I do believe that movies, especially English movies can help the EFL learners in improving their English. Am I right?

There are a thousands English movies available out there.They are nice media to sharpen your ability in English, they are also rich of knowledge and information for the watcher. Watching movies sounds like killing two birds with single stone, you are learning English and you give your brain break at the same time. Just go to the DVDs rental and pick up the movies you are dying to watch.

Below are some advantages of watching movies for your English.

• Watching movies can enrich your vocabulary. You may have a piece of paper and write down a new vocabulary you think important in the movie.
• You can also sound like a real native. Just repeat the line how the actors or actress say, snort not sweet child, it will work, especially to some spelling that is wrongly pronounced by EFL learners, e.g. Thought, tough, thirteen, thirty, etc.
• You can also learn how the real natives speak. How they use their gesture, mime etc.
• You can learn about the culture, for instance, table manner, how to greet someone, how they communicate etc.
• You can improve your listening ability. You'll get accustomed to native speakers' speeches by watching movies.
•  You can also learn grammar from the movies your watching. It's so true that you can find out some example for your grammar class.
• You can use some lines in the real conversation and make your word choice better. Besides it will sound awesome. 
• You can get the new idea about your linguistics task. You can even make the movies as an object of your research, for example theses, final report, art class report, or drama class.
• etc.

Hints: 

• You can play the movie over and over again, until you can memorize the words. It sounds crazy, but I apply it.  
• Use the vocabulary you've got in the movie in your writing, or speaking.
• Pay attention to lip movements of the actors or actress. It can help you to understand what they say. 
• Choose the right movie, not all the English movies are good for us (I'll talk this later)
• Don't forget to share your new knowledge you've got from the movie to everyone. This is important.

So, let's watch the movies and get all the good things from them. Do not waste your time watching something unimportant. Re-watch your old movie and make yourself good at English. Have fun!

 

Are You afraid of speaking English?

Confidence is all you need.

Are You afraid of speaking English?, I hope this sentence I am afraid of Speaking English is not available in your dictionary, or if you have one, let's think over that  its sentence should be turned to be I am not afraid to speak English. 

Now, let me share you my experience about my students who are afraid of speaking English, and I put some reasons why they are.

Most of my students said that they are afraid of speaking English. They mentioned various reasons why they are. I try to understand their problems and I do my best to motivate them, since learning English is a process, rushing is no need. Then, my duty is also to encourage them to keep practicing their English, especially they are English teacher candidates, and English is an important part for their future.

I pay much attentions how to give them many opportunities to learn much and persuade them by a number of motivations in order to build their very own encouragement in learning English.

Well, let's see some of their excuse in speaking English.

•  They are afraid of making mistakes. I've told them a thousands time that they do not have to pay anything if they make mistakes in speaking English. Besides English is not our mother tongue, it is not a big deal if you make a mistake.
• They are afraid of being ridiculed. Ridiculing, mocking, or insulting someone who wants to speak English is a real bad habit. Many students of mine feel uncomfortable and give up speaking English because of being ridiculed by other people. Again, I told them that they have to ignore what people say, remember dog's barking, doesn't bite. It is useless to pay attention to what people say. Just keep your chin up and be happy, keep practicing because it will be better .
• They are afraid because of the lack of vocabulary. Imagine, if they just stop talking because they have some vocabulary only, their English will get even worse then. I said, ignored your vocabulary and keep practicing your English. I guarantee, by practicing your English as often as possible, your vocabulary will be rich. 
•  etc.

Those are some reason why they are afraid of speaking English. In short, they are just not confident. Yap! building a confidence is quite tough, but do not give it up easily and get rid of your shyness!. Remember, you are what you think.

At last, maybe you've got the same problem as I am facing now. If you've got some brilliant ideas to overcome those problems, let's share. I am looking forward to it.

Thanks a billion for Reading

TTYL :)

Be brave!

I am back best bud. How's life y'all?

Now, let's talk something fun, but the most important thing is I want to ask you some questions first.

• Is English a hard language to learn? why?
• Do you have any difficulties in studying English? what are they?
• Do you often practice your English? how often?
• Are you afraid or stage fright when you have to speak English in front of your class? Why?
• Do people laugh at you when you make a mistake in your speaking?
• Do you feel a sort of anxiety when you want to speak English?
• Do you have any partner to speak English?
• Do people mock or tease you when you are practicing your English?
• etc.

I've got a bunch question to ask, but let's get started with those question above. If your answers were dominated by yes,you've just realized that you need to improve your English, you need to work really hard. Hey! You can be much better than this, I can guarantee. Show me that you can do better, YOU ARE THE KING OR THE QUEEN OF ANYTHING. Boost your energy and move on. Kill the problem you've got and be the best. English is just a piece of cake. I am sure you can handle your problem.

Finally, I'll share all of my experiences to all of you guys, and I'll discuss all the problem you've got. Let's move forward and get the brighter future together. 

Toodles!

Greetings Friends!

Hi there,

I am so thrilled that I can be here to share everything about English. This blog is dedicated to all of you fellas who want to hone your abilities about English, especially for you, EFL learners. Well, this blog also gives you a chance to solve your problems in English. In short, I hope we can cooperate together in giving meaningful knowledge and information together. Ask about anything you want and have a blast. Let's kick it!

Cheerios!