How To Learn English Faster

HOW TO LEARN ENGLISH FASTER By Robbie McMullan, copyright 2010. Table of Contents I. About the Author II.
Introduction 1. Adopt the right attitude The 80-20 Learning Rule: Stop relying on others and making excuses for your slow progress. Mistakes are your friends Learn, unlearn and relearn Break all the rules! 2. How to relax in class The use of W.I.N.E.: Wow, It's Now Easy) 3. Find the right teachers and the right school 4. Find the right 'homestay' 5. Simplify Nouns are your enemies Eu2roise it! 6. How to improve your grammar and writing 7. Build fluency in English Initiate conversations with foreigners and classmates Boost fluency and verbal structure with timed 60 second speeches Raise your ability to use academic words in speech 8. Make foreign friends yes we want to meet you How to meet native speakers 9. Cultural considerations for East Asian students You think you're being polite by not speaking up and by not interrupting; you're not. You can't just start conversations with strangers in Asia, but in the West you can Abandon your arrogant East Asian English teacher for a more engaging westerner.
2010 Chelsea Language Academy in Toronto, Canada. Please quote source when re-publishing this material in whole or part. Visit www.ChelseaLanguageAcademy.com for more information.
Learn, unlearn and relearn Break all the rules!
10. The Village Principle: How to immediately improve your accuracy with the articles A and The by 50% 11. How to increase your vocabulary fast with highly effective word analysis and memorization techniques (The CAP method) 12. How to build listening skill rapidly 13. How to increase your motivation to study English more 14. How not to talk like a robot: The 4 most important pronunciation tips Intonation, emphasis and pacing Burn your textbooks and learn how to speak natural English The story of the ESL student who got in a car accident ABOUT THE AUTHOR Robbie McMullan is principal of Chelsea Language Academy, a fast growing English school in Toronto, Canada, which he originally established in 1993 in Tokyo. He is also a highly experienced language teacher, writer and alumnus of Harvard University. Students are encouraged to schedule free trial lessons at and find out more about Chelsea Language Academy by visiting their website at www.ChelseaLanguageAcademy.com or www.ChelseaESL.com .
INTRODUCTION The goal of any good English program, at its core, should be to help get students to think! Indeed, it is by encouraging learners to involve as many parts of our brains as possible, not by forcing rote memorization or mindless practice, that ESL students advance as quickly as possible. Hard work is not enough; just look, for example, at the millions of Japanese who, each year, work so hard in class to
improve their English ability, but who too often make little or no real progress. So, to learn English quickly requires breakthrough thinking, hard effort and a good set of strategies.
Many students are conditioned to study like passive robots, though. And though it is true that robots, governed by computers, are great memorizers and they never complain about having to work hard (in fact, they are very motivated), the problem is that they don't really speak English well because they don't actually think (they can't). So, stop approaching your English studies as a robot would and instead start to develop natural skill in the language by following the strategies outlined in this e-Book. They are gleaned from almost 20 years of experience
But before we begin to discuss the details of these strategies, maybe it's best to tell you a little cautionary story about a student who was a friends with one of my staff member's at my school, Chelsea Language Academy in Toronto.
Well, this young man from Korea decided to rent a car one day while he was an ESL student in Canada. Unfortunately, he got into a car accident and got trapped inside the car for a while (he also broke some bones, but he would later recover fully from his injuries). Someone called 911 and an ambulance arrived on the scene quite quickly. The ambulance attendant went over to the young man's car, talked to him through the shattered window and asked him, How are you?, to which he replied, I'm fine, thank you. And you?
Clearly, the young man was not fine. He was trapped in the car and bleeding. All he could say at first, though, was the standard ESL textbook line above, just like a robot. The story is funny, but also has
sad things to say about the state of ESL education in much of the world today.
With this is mind, then, why don't we begin.
CHAPTER 1 Adopt the right attitude Too many students, of all types and not just ESL students, place too much emphasis on the role of the teacher in their learning. The reality is, though, that about 80% of the responsibility for learning English lies with the student and only 20% or so is up to the teacher. Upon realizing this, students will realize that they must stop relying so much on others to determine their progress. Further, they will know that they will no longer be able to make excuses for their own slow progress (ie., they will have to stop blaming teachers).
A lot of ESL students are overly concerned about making mistakes when they speak in front of others. Some of the reasons for this are cultural and some are more personal. They have been conditioned by their parents, teachers or societies to believe that making a mistake in class is a shameful thing. But the reality is that making mistakes is how we learn best. We try, we make a mistake and then we corr or have it corrected by a teacher. Students from homogeneous and relatively perfectionistic Confucian East Asian societies are particularly made to feel worried about making mistakes.
Classrooms, however, must be places where we are free to make mistakes. Of course it is true that students should try and minimize their mistakes when they take tests, but during a regular class they
should find a class with a teacher that sees making mistakes as a normal and very important part of the learning process. Fear of mistakes is the single most significant factor that causes students to fail to advance rapidly in the development of their English skills, particularly speaking and writing.
Rapid and extensive progress requires a flexible and adaptable mind. As an ESL student you must not be rigid in your thinking or tied to old ways, ideas or habits. Instead, you must always be willing to learn, unlearn and relearn. So, ask yourself often: am I studying the right way and is my knowledge correct? Then, make the adjustments necessary. As a learner of English, therefore, you must be willing to break all the rules whenever doing so makes the most sense!
CHAPTER 2 How to relax in class The use of W.I.N.E.: Wow, It's Now Easy) With so many students having an unhealthy fear of making mistakes, it's no wonder why they are often anxious in English class. Beyond adjusting one's attitude toward mistakes, there are other steps ESL students can take to relax during a class, which will allow them to participate more fully in class and, therefore, learn more.
Relaxation training, however, must begin outside the classroom. So, first take a look at what English speaking opportunities are available to you in your neighborhood. If you are not an ESL student in an English speaking country, then hopefully you are fortunate to live in a city that is large enough to support an English-speaking community. So, take advantage of their presence and go out and talk with them whenever and wherever you can since doing so will eventually desensitize you about talking with
them. Of course, you may be quite anxious about this at first, but it is much easier than many students think to start conversations with English speaking foreigners (See the section below on initiating conversations with English speakers for more details on how to do this).
Students who suffer from extreme anxiety when talking with English teachers or other native speakers of the language should also consider having a small glass of wine (especially red wine) before going into class (do not show up drunk, though, of course). Consuming half-to-one glass of wine will not significantly impair the average student's ability to think. In fact, very nervous ESL students may find the calming effect of red wine actually makes them able to think better. Beyond this, numerous studies have shown that drinking moderate amounts of red wine confer a variety of health benefits. So, unless you are allergic or religiously opposed to alcohol, I would say go right ahead.
CHAPTER 3 Find the right teachers and the right school A great teacher can inspire you, answer all your questions correctly (or least guide you to where you can find the right answer) and show you how to learn better (both in class and on your own). Further, great teachers do not merely lecture you, they encourage you to think and learn by participation.
By contrast, teachers are not there to entertain you all the time and they should not always give you what you want. Instead, they must give you what you need. Thus, a great teacher is often one who is willing to say no to some students' requests (though he or she owes you an explanation about the reasons for such a decision).
It's amazing how many private language schools keep offering the same old tired curriculum even though a lot of them know, both from experience and from pedagogical research, that their methods don't work very well. Why do they persist in doing this? Clearly it is because they are catering too much to the desires of students (and treating them more as customers) instead of showing more integrity as educators and giving them what they really need to progress. A good example of this kind of thinking can be seen in most private English schools that offer TOEFL test preparation classes. Even though many of them know that the tired old idea of focusing on teaching test taking tactics does not usually yield high TOEFL scores, they persist. (Remember: these schools learn the results of many of their students' test scores, so they know that tactic-oriented lessons have their limitations).
Many of them must realize that it would be better to focus less on test taking tricks and more on developing fundamental ability in the usage and comprehension of academic English which tests like TOEFL actually test (besides, ETS, the company that designs the TOEFL test, is very aware of these tactical test preparation classes and they have made it essentially impossible for a student to score highly now without them having genuine academic English abilities). The reason why such such test prep schools continue to offer the same, tired old courses is that this is what most students expect to get and most school principals just give it to them for the sake of a quick buck. The profit motive trumps educational concerns in far too many schools, unfortunately. ESL students must, therefore, be careful to choose an English school that does not merely provide a curriculum that caters to the superficial desires of student customers. So, students will need to do a little research about what teaching techniques have been shown to help students make the most progress. They can then question prospective schools (and/or their education agents) about where such
techniques are offered. Further, when choosing an English school, try to select schools that offer classes with fewer students. Generally, this means that smaller schools are a better choice than the more famous brand name ESL schools. The reason is that the bigger schools necessarily have more complicated operations and they must hire more staff to deal with them all. Consequently, they have higher per-student administration costs and to stay profitable they must place more students in each class (often averaging 15 or more students at the big schools but only half that number at smaller schools).
Lastly, if you register for a school overseas never sign up for more than 3 months initially unless you are absolutely sure about that school. It is frequently the case that students will sign up for an overseas English school for 6 to 12 months (with pre-paid tuition, of course) and then when they get there they they hate the school because they realize that there are too many students in the class to get much talking time, which is key to learning English. Make sure that you ask the school and/or your education agent to guarantee in writing that there will be less than 10 students in the class.
CHAPTER 4 Find the right 'homestay' For students who plan to study abroad, choosing the so-called homestay option for accommodation is helpful for some students as a way to supplement their English lessons. It's critically important to get the right family, though, otherwise you can end up wasting money and being unhappy. Actually, poor homestay situations are a common complaint for ESL / EFL students who go abroad to study English. Many complaints are about poor food (instant, non-nutritious meals and a lack of variety); limitations
on water/shower usage; and hosts who are too busy to talk much with their homestay students.
Be careful about basic aspects like those above when selecting a homestay because these little irritants can soon combine together into one big problem. Therefore, you would probably be wiser to select a homestay (and an English school) only after you arrive in your destination country (maybe stay in a youth hostel for the first week or so). That way you can view potential houses before signing up. You might even be able to meet the host families beforehand.
Also, many cities in the West, like Toronto, London or New York have a lot of immigrants whose native languages are not English. This is great for ESL students for many reasons; however, it poses a challenge for such students seeking a homestay where they can practice speaking with people who really understand the language at a high level.
So, what should you do? If at all possible try and get into a homestay with a mature married couple (both over 40) who are native speakers of English and who were born in the country where you will be studying English. Ideally, they should both be university educated. Be sure to ask about whether they have pets and if they can accommodate some special food requests (e.g., no meat, fewer starchy foods like spaghetti and potatoes). CHAPTER 5 Simplify: don't unnecessarily complicate your English Production of excellent English, either in written or verbal form, requires that four criteria are met. Specifically, excellent English is:
1. Semantically correct (in other words, it must make sense) 2. Grammatically correct 3. Conventionally correct (it must be of the standard used by a native speaker in a given region) 4. Stylish
As an ESL student, the more complexity you add to the English you produce, the higher the chance that you will make an error in one or more of the four areas above. Strategically, therefore, it makes most sense to avoid unnecessarily over-complicating your language. On a specific tactical level there are two techniques that can be applied to the editing of your writing first, which will later help you to improve the structure of your spoken English. These methods are as follows.
i) Eu2roise your language production. Eu2roise is a mnemonic device used to help you remember the simplification advice that you should Eliminate any Unimportant, Unnecessary, Redundant, Obvious, Implied or Superfluous elements from the language you produce. In sum, you should eliminate any non-essential elements.
ii) Convert nouns into other parts of speech (which generally require less structure around them than verbs, adjectives or adverbs) or convert them into modifiers of other nouns. Essentially, you should nouns to be your enemies. The should try to minimize their numbers in your language production because it is in the words surrounding nouns that you are most likely to make errors in English as an ESL student. Indeed, every time you write a noun in a sentence you need to ask yourself five questions:
1. Does it require an article (if so, which one)? 2. Does it require a preposition (if so, which one)? 3. Does it require pluralization? 4. If the noun is a major or minor subject, does it 'agree' with its related verb? 5. Does it require a modifier (such as a determiner, like 'some')? For example, instead of writing or saying a sentence like the pretty young woman was just a girl who many men admired because she a beautiful 19-year-old., you could write the following simpler and better version of the same ideas. Many men admired the pretty 19-year-old girl. Note how the second sentence says the same thing but has no prepositions, only one article ('the') and has no unnecessary elements.
CHAPTER 6 How to improve your grammar and writing With the advancements in software that have been made in the last two decades, learning how to write better outside the classroom has become more of a reality. One great way to improve your writing on your own is to do as follows. Find an article in a suitably difficult magazine. Write a summary in Microsoft Word. If your grammar correction function is turned on, then any grammar mistakes will be underlined with a green wavy line. Rewrite those highlighted mistakes until most or all of the green lines disappear. Then, if you have a teacher, take the original article and your summary to them for further grammatical refinement and suggestions about sentence style and flow.
One more thing is worth keeping in mind when you are writing in English. Unlike many other
languages, the rhythm and pattern of good, stylish English is varied. So, when writing (or speaking for that matter), avoid repeating the same words, patterns and rhythms. One important example of this would be to make sure you don't do what most learners of English do when they write: putting all their transition words (e.g., Moreover, Consequently, To Wit) at the beginning of sentences. Actually, most transition words can be used at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of a sentence. So, it makes sense to move them around. Doing so can substantially improve the style, rhythm and sophistication of your English writing.
CHAPTER 7 Build fluency in English by initiating conversations with foreigners and classmates Set a goal for yourself that you will have 100 conversations with native speakers (not teachers) within one year, which you start. Here are a few ways to start a conversation with them:
At Any Time: Nice weather eh? I like your shirt/jacket. Where'd you get it? At the Elevator (End of Day. Going Down): so, did you have a productive day today? Waiting Next to Someone Who is Holding Some Take-Out Food: so, what's for dinner for you tonight? Mid-afternoon: So, how's your day going?
Now, you may tell yourself that you are sometimes afraid to talk in an English classroom; so, how can you talk to native speakers outside? Well, the key to reducing your fear about talking with native speakers, either outside or in a classroom, is to realize that people are not going to judge you negatively just because you make some mistakes in English. If anything, they will admire your effort. Anyway, if you don't overcome your fear of making mistakes, you will say less and, therefore, learn less. It is through making lots of mistakes that we learn best. So, be the student who initiates the most conversations, both inside and outside the classroom.
Boost fluency and verbal structure with timed 60 second speeches A really good way to boost your fluency is to practice short speeches by yourself, away from others whose opinions might concern you. Give yourself 60 seconds to answer simple questions like what is your favorite season? or describe your most memorable vacation ever?. Be sure to structure your answers with your main point coming first, followed by a few supporting points and then a conclusion.
After you finish each speaking drill, think about how you can improve next time around for example, by including transition words (like indeed, nevertheless, etc.) and vocabulary that are more sophisticated (e.g., 'item' instead of 'thing and 'create' rather than 'make').
Raise your ability to use academic words in speech Record yourself saying a big new word several times (it's best to use a digital recorder). Now listen to the recording of your own voice. Doing so is a very memorable experience as your brain will tend to remember your own voice better than someone else's. And take note: memorizing a word for future reading or listening comprehension is not the same as training yourself to actually produce the word
(either verbally or in writing); there's a big difference between knowledge and skill. To build your ability to actually use a new word you need to develop the muscle memory (mind-body connection) that comes from saying words aloud.
Next, make sure you use these newly memorized academic words the next time you have a class with a teacher. He or she can then correct your usage and pronunciation accordingly.
CHAPTER 8 Make foreign friends A huge number of English learners hope to start friendships with native English speakers, either at home or overseas, as a way to practice their English beyond the classroom.
The desire to make western friends seems particularly high among ESL students from East Asia. here in Toronto, Canada. But, they quite often experience greater challenges in making foreign friends than people from many other cultures do (Latin people seem to be best at it). I will therefore focus here on how East Asian ESL students can make foreign friends.
Most such students are surprised to here that I think the most important thing to know about making English-speaking friends (like Americans and Canadians, for example) is that cultural understanding is more important than language skill. In East Asia, it is considered rude or strange to suddenly just start talking to a stranger; however, in the western world, this is expected and welcome in most situations. Many westerners will start a conversation with at least one stranger each day (my mum is a good example). And, starting the conversation, rather than waiting for others to talk to you, is the key to
making many good friendships with native English speakers. Further, clerks at stores, though easy to talk to, are not ideal conversation partners. They are busy and usually don't have time to carry on talking for long. It is also hard to make friends with them. So, you have to be the one to **start** the conversation with others.
When you are at a bus stop or in a nightclub you might turn to someone who has just arrived and say that you like their handbag, watch, scarf or other article of clothing or jewelry. Then ask them where they got it? To keep the conversation going, ask lots of questions. Most westerners will gladly talk with you and if you find that you have something in common with them, after about 15 minutes you can give them your email address and phone number. Invite them to join a party you are having. This is normal in the West. So, when speaking English and trying to make friends, adopt Western cultural attitudes and temporarily suspend your own culture's rules.
Also, don't worry about grammar mistakes and your accent. Westerners generally understand (especially in multicultural cities like Toronto where people are very used to dealing with immigrants who are not native speakers of English). Actually, most western countries are much more culturally mixed than places like Korea, Japan and Taiwan. So, you can relax a little about using English.
The next big point I want to make for ESL learners who want to make friends with native speakers, especially with those people who are living in Asian countries (maybe teaching English there), is that we also want to make friends with you. Many students I have had from Korea and Japan initially find this hard to believe, but it's true. We want to meet you, too.
So, get out there and make some foreign friends. Just make sure that doing so is not only about you improving your English. People can usually tell when you are not being a sincere friend and when you are merely using them, rather than offering real friendship.
CHAPTER 9 Cultural considerations for East Asian students Since East Asian students constitute the largest group of ESL students worldwide, it is important to address some unique cultural traits that can affect their ability to learn English. If you are East Asian, this is for you.
You think you're being polite by not speaking up and by not interrupting; you're not. Students from East Asian countries like South Korea and Japan are too respectful and polite for their good. They (you?) generally think that being polite means not speaking up and not interrupting when an English teacher is speaking. Yet, staying quiet is actually not polite in western society. Western teachers, such as Canadians and Americans, are very uncomfortable and unfamiliar with silence.
You can't just start conversations with strangers in Asia, but in the West you can You might be somewhat surprised to learn that, although it is generally unacceptable to suddenly talk to a stranger in East Asia (they'll think you're weird there), it is perfectly acceptable to do so in The West. Knowing this can help you to practice your English more often. See chapter 7 above for more details on how to initiate conversations with Foreigners.
Abandon your arrogant East Asian English teacher for a more engaging westerner.
There are so many great aspects of East Asian cultures, but teachers expecting to be treated like demigods is not one of them. Too often, students must sit silently in class and listen to these arrogant wind bags who look down their noses at their students and don't encourage them to comment or ask questions. Happily, such student-centered learning is not too bad for teaching some subjects, but for teaching a language (English or any other one) it is a disaster. My advice to you, if you are from East Asia, is never to pay for English instruction from such an old-style teacher. Instead, seek out only native-English speaking teachers who are more likely to respect your intelligence and thus encourage your active participation in class.
CHAPTER 10
The Village Principle: how to immediately improve your accuracy with the articles A and The by 50% It's hard to use the correct article. Although you can and should memorize the basic rules of article usage, there are many exceptions to the rules in English. And, sometimes, according to those rules, it doesn't make sense that you should use 'The' instead of 'A'.
It is often useful to remember, however, that the English language was formed a long time ago, when most people lived in small villages. There was only one doctor, one store, one fire station/department, one store, etc. So, people living in such villages would only ever say things like, call the fire department!, call the police, I have to go to the doctor. So, 'the' is used more often than the textbook rules can tell you.
CHAPTER 11
How to increase your vocabulary fast with highly effective word analysis and memorization techniques (The CAP method)
There are two very effective ways to boost your vocabulary quickly. The first method requires that you think about the construction of words rather than just memorizing them as a whole. With a little practice, it will allow you to immediately boost your reading vocabulary significantly in any given situation. Indeed, you can understand about 25% more words by analyzing the roots, suffixes and prefixes of each word you see and then by considering the context within which they appear. If at first you don't know a word, analyze it as follows.
Can you see any parts of the word that are similar to (not necessarily the same as) other words that you already know? (Be sure to keep an open mind. The similar words may not necessarily have the same meaning as your target word.). Then write down all these similar words.
Here are two examples:
Perennial 'per' means each. 'Ennial' is close in sound to 'annual', which means 'yearly'. Therefore, you should think that perennial probably means something similar to annually or every year. By then looking at the context of the article or sentence within which the word perennial appears, you can have greater confidence about the meaning of the word perennial. So, don't just immediately see a new word and say you don't know what it means. Use your
brain to think; don't rely only on your knowledge/memorization of whole words.
Insatiable The prefix 'In' often means 'not'. The suffix 'able' means 'can'. 'Sati' is part of the word 'satisfied'. Therefore, 'insatiable' likely means 'not satisfied' or something similar. The context will tell you more.
The second way to increase your vocabulary is to enhance your memory of words via the use of The CAP Method: short for Creative Association & Production of Language.
Here's how to do it: Find a word you want to learn, such as 'inchoate'. Ask yourself if any parts of the word look like or sound like another word that you already know (and therefore one which is currently in your long-term memory). Then try and make a story with all the similar parts you find (the funnier or stranger the story, the more memorable it will be). Make sure the story relates somehow to the definition of the original word. Next, write out the sentence a few times and say it aloud (repetition is still important). Then imagine the story you have created, because visualization is useful, too, when memorizing words.
Through this exercise you will retain more words by activating more areas of your brain, and by linking new words to others already known (thus moving them from short-term memory into long-term memory). Contrast this method with the non-thinking, passive method that most people use to remember a word and its meaning: namely, writing down the word and its meaning multiple times on a piece of paper; that's very forgettable.
Here's an example of how to use this method based on my own knowledge of other words in English, Japanese and French. Of course, you will do it based on your own unique knowledge of words in any language.
Word: Inchoate Definition: Incompletely formed Sounds: In Ko Ate or Ink O Ate or, if said quickly it sounds similar to In Quit and somewhat similar to I ain quit (a modification of I ain't quitting). Don't worry about the correctness of your grammar here; all that's important is that you can create an association with something that's already in your brain and which relates back to the word's definition. Now choose any of the above similar sounds/words and put them into a relevant story: E.g., I ain quit till it's finished; it's still inchoate.
CHAPTER 12 How to build listening skill rapidly Find a recording on the Internet of a native English speaker and play it (you can search for various accents on YouTube). Then call your cell phone and start the voice mail recording process. Put your phone beside your computer's speaker so the lecture will be recorded on your phone's voice mail system. Play back your voice mail at various speeds using your cell phone's dial pad codes. Alternatively, you may use a digital recorder instead of voice mail.
CHAPTER 13 How to increase your motivation to study English more A. Put your goals, results and effort at studying English into proper perspective B. Eat better to study more
A. Put your goals, results and effort at studying English into proper perspective First visualize the reasons why you want to learn English e.g., to emigrate, meet English-speaking friends or future spouses.
Next, realize that the greatest benefits of English arrive only after quite a long time; therefore, focus on possible near-term benefits and your current enjoyment of each class and homework activity (indeed, your sense of the total value of short-term benefits must outweigh that of short-run costs). Remind yourself of these benefits often and you will be able to substantially increase your level of motivation.
Some Possible Short-Term Study Benefits: Study with a friend, learn in a comfortable environment (e.g., in a comfortable chair, surrounded by pleasant pictures and lovely music).
Buy some beautiful new notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers and pencil cases. You will be excited to use a new one to study each day.
If you are writing on a word processor, start your document by designing the top of the page with beautiful colors and graphics (paste in images you find on the Internet). This
will help you to be motivated to start your homework that day and getting started is the most important part.
Each time you finish studying or doing your homework, reward yourself in some way. This will make it easier to be motivated the next time. You might, for example, build a chart with 10,000 blocks. Each block represents one new aspect of English that you have learned. If you estimate that you learned 10 blocks worth of English during a homework session then you can fill in your 10,000-block chart with 10 new blocks. You will be able to see your progress in a visual way, which is a very powerful motivator.
Enjoy studying the lyrics of your favorite singer. Download the lyrics from the Internet. Then study while you listen to your idol. It's fun.
According to research, it takes about 5 weeks to form a habit. So, attend class and do your homework regularly for that period and it will subsequently become automatic and less difficult for you.
Finally, take your motivation from a dog who speaks English; if she can learn, so can you. Watch the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXo3NFqkaRM&feature=related
B. Eat better to study more ESL Students are frequently surprised to learn that what they eat can have a huge effect on their success. But here's the thing, if you want to learn English well (or even succeed in any other area of life for that matter), you will need to have the motivation to keep studying and speaking with native
speakers. So, here's a summary of what you need to know about how food can affect your energy, motivation and clarity of thought.
The invention of agriculture about 12,000 years ago was perhaps the most powerful discovery in human history. It allowed people to advance beyond mere hunter-gatherers as it provided an abundance of cultivated food which, in turn, allowed people to stop being nomads and settle into permanent locations. Consequently, language and civilizations could flourish.
Unfortunately, agriculture, and later the Industrial Revolution, have caused problems for the modern student of English as a second language. You see, the problem is that technology has rapidly changed our environment so that food has become just too abundant; however, our bodies have not adapted. Prior to the discovery of agriculture food was scarce and hungry rival tribes would do anything to get food. Further, civilizations were not developed, so there were no laws. If someone killed you, they didn't have to worry about pesky problems like going to jail. Indeed, humans had evolved genetically over the course of millions of years (through genetic selection and genetic randomness) to become efficient at surviving in an environment with little food and a lot of danger (danger posed by wild animals and hungry rivals). This explains the natural instincts of humans to be lazy, procrastinators who'd rather sit on the couch and eat junk food than study or exercise. Think about it: with great danger being present, humans would have developed brains that said to them, don't go outside unless you absolutely have to, and when you must go outside, don't spend much time out there or you might get eaten by animals or attacked by other tribes. Naturally, therefore, humans developed the instinct to seek out the highest calorie foods, namely fatty foods and those high in sugar.
So, what has all this got to do with how motivated to learn English you are? Plenty, I assure you. First, a natural craving (almost without limit) for sugar (or near sugars like the starches in rice, bread, pasta, potatoes, corn and carrots) and fatty foods means that before you come to class you have probably eaten the wrong foods (and eaten too much), which spike and then crash your blood sugar levels. You know the feeling. An hour or two after lunch, do you ever feel sleepy? Of course you have, and this is the case with most people in the modern world. And, have you ever said to yourself that after dinner you are really going to study hard and get all your homework done, only to find after eating that you'd rather just leave it to another night. So you fall asleep on the couch in front of the TV.
None of this is helping your progress in English. Low blood sugar levels can make you feel unmotivated, decrease your ability to concentrate and generally make you miserable (even depressed). How can you pay attention in English class or do your readings at night if your blood sugar is crashing all the time.
The good news is that the solution to this problem is quite simple: minimize sugars and starches and don't eat too much (Remember, all foods, whether they are carbohydrates (good ones like spinach or refined carbs like sugar and pasta), proteins or fats all eventually break down into sugar, which your body uses as immediate fuel. The only difference is the rate at which various foods break down into sugar).
CHAPTER 14 How not to talk like a robot The 4 most important pronunciation tips in American English
To make your pronunciation more natural in standard American English (also used by Canadians), then you need to realize that the English used in North America is more relaxed than that used by educated British English speakers. By North American standards, they over-pronounce many sounds, especially T's and vowels.
Other than the sound of T when it appears before an H, there are three basic sounds of the letter T when it appears in a word that is spoken naturally in a sentence. First, T can sound hard (T'), as in terrible. This hard sound happens often when T appears at the beginning of a word or at the beginning of an important syllable. Second, T can sound like a D. For example, in the word little. The third pronunciation of T is either very slight or completely absent. Examples of this include intermediate and internet. This happens when T appears after the letter N (or often after its close relative, M.
Beyond how to pronounce T, you should also learn how to say vowels like a typical American or Canadian would say them. I estimate that more than 50% of the time, the letters A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y are pronounced in the same way. Namely, they all become the so called 'schwa' sound (kind of like a relaxed Uh). So, if you are not sure whether you should pronounce the vowel of a word clearly or not (ie., like a dictionary might unnaturally suggest), then you are better off guessing that it should be a schwa.
The third most important thing to know about how to pronounce words correctly in a sentence is that high frequency words (e.g., you, is, are, to) are often pushed up into the preceding word. The reason for this seems to be that high frequency words are less important than the other main words in a sentence;
so, high frequency words are not emphasized in speech. Lastly, you may already know that the pronunciation of H is often silent in American English (most often when pronouncing personal pronouns like him, her and he (which might be considered high frequency words, hence there lack of emphasis as they are pushed into and combined with the likely more important preceding word, if one exists).
An example of how to naturally pronounce all four letter categories is shown below. First I have written down how it is actually spelled, then I have rewritten it as it should be said. What are you going to do? Whad-uhr-yuh going-duh do? ---> becomes: whadderyuh gonna do. Notice how the T in what is pronounced as a d . are and you are high frequency words, so they are squished up against the preceding word what. Also, the letter A in are and the letters ou are unstressed vowels, so they become schwa sounds. Going has a similar sound to N at the end; so, because the next word, to is a high frequency word which gets combined with the word going, then the sound of the T disappears. Intonation, emphasis and pacing You need not worry too much about using the perfect intonation, emphasis or pacing in your speech; much more important is simply not to keep them the same throughout your sentences. That's a much bigger mistake. That being said, here are a few guidelines that should help you sound more natural.
First, there are really only three main tones in English and they are relative (they may be different for each person's voice): high, neutral and low. A high tone is most often used when you speak about something that has a positive meaning and/or when you are excited (either happily excited or angrily
excited). Intonation also tends to rise toward the end of a question. By contrast, a low tone is used to signal negative feelings and details (which, if written, would be mentioned between quotation marks or brackets). Neutral tones do not tend to reflect any particularly strong positive or negative meanings or feelings.
Regarding emphasis, that is done to highlight the most important words in a phrase or sentence. These words can be emphasized by saying them more loudly than the less important words around them, and/or by pausing beforehand (to make sure that the listener is, in fact, listening) and/or by stretching out the important word(s).
Finally, changing your pace or rhythm is also important if you don't want to sound like a robot in English. You can alter your pace by remembering to pause after what would, if written, appear as punctuation marks (commas, colons, semi-colons, long dashes and periods) and after conjunctions like 'and', 'or' & 'but'. Burn your textbooks and learn how to speak natural English (The story of the ESL student who got in a car accident) Let me end with a cautionary true tale about a friend's friend, from somewhere in East Asia (I can't remember where), who came to Toronto a few years ago to study English. One day he decided to rent a car and go for a drive to Niagara Falls, I think. Anyway, he got into a car accident and, though he later fully recovered from his injuries, it was bad enough that he got trapped inside the car . So, someone called an ambulance. When the ambulance attendant arrived he walked over to the student's car, whose window was broken open, and he said, How are you?, to which the student reflexively replied, I'm fine thank you, and you? ... just as he had studied for years out of an English language
text book.
This is the problem with text books: they don't, in fact they can't, teach you how to think. In fact, I would strongly argue, that they do exactly the opposite. So, you should get away from studying English with textbooks as soon as possible and start learning more natural English by talking with people, both inside and outside the classroom.

How To Learn English Faster

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How To Learn English Faster

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HOW TO LEARN ENGLISH FASTER By Robbie McMullan, copyright 2010. Table of Contents I. About the Author II.

Learn, unlearn and relearn Break all the rules!

With this is mind, then, why don't we begin.

Here are two examples:

brain to think; don't rely only on your knowledge/memorization of whole words.

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