Helping Malaysians Improve their English
The subject of this post is “The words we say to ourselves” because so many of our students write to us saying they have low confidence in speaking English. And I know for a fact that low confidence has a lot to do with what we say to ourselves – whether out loud or in our heads.
We lost our father last week, on Wednesday, 8th August at 9:30 a.m. Papa had been ill for 21 years but the news still came to us as a shock. Nothing really prepares you for losing a parent.
I had been mulling over what to write this week. I wasn’t sure whether to share the news, or to just write another post with English tips and lessons. But in respect of our father’s passing, I believe that a mention of him would be best. But I’ll keep this brief.
Since today is Thursday, it means it’s another English lesson from us! Today, I’m going to be sharing with you some words and phrases you might find helpful to improve your vocabulary.
In most cases, we don’t really need to use a lot of big words in our everyday speaking situation. What’s important is that we are fluent and able to get our message across clearly. But the more vocabulary we know, the better we can be in expressing ourselves and understanding what we listen to. What’s more, enriching our vocabulary can be a fun way to improve our English listening and speaking skills.
Continue reading “What does “espionage” mean? (and a few new words to learn)…”
There’s one thing that many of our subscribers have shared with us – you struggle to speak English because of your surroundings. This is because you live in an environment where English is rarely (or, if ever) used. You also may not have any friends or family members to speak English with.
Continue reading “Do you have no one to speak English with?”
It’s Thursday already! The week has flown by so fast. This week, I’m writing about using the apostrophe with “s” because we received a question about this through email.
There are many rules for using the apostrophe but I’m just going to focus on its use in showing possession (when something belongs to someone/something).
We recently received an email from one of our email subscribers about “has been”, “have been” and “had been”. As I’ve learned that many people can get confused about how these three phrases are used, I thought I’d briefly explain the main difference between them in this short post.
Continue reading “What’s the difference between “has been”, “have been” and “had been”?”
It’s Aisya here! I’m writing to answer a question we received from one of our students about pronunciation. She asked us how she could sound more like a native English speaker.
While it’s not important to sound like a native—as English is a colourful language comprised of many different accents and dialects that can reflect an individual’s unique background— clear pronunciation plays an important role in effective communication.
Fortunately, pronunciation is a skill, and like every other skill, it can be learned. Here are just a few tips to help you!
First of all, you’ll need to get to know the sounds used in the language you want to speak more fluently in. Learning to spot the different sounds in the English language will make it easier for you to utter them. In order to familiarise yourself with these sounds, you’ll need to listen closely.
Whenever possible, watch interesting English movies (animated movies are good for this, as they usually use simpler language targeted to younger audiences), listen to your favourite English songs and pay attention to the lyrics, or put on a podcast about whatever interests you (YouTube is your friend!). Try to imitate the sounds you hear, even if you’re not sure what they mean!
Learning how to pronounce sounds and words correctly is a lot like training in sports. The more you practice, the better you get at it. This is because your mouth has something called muscle memory. It will take some time, but if you practice consistently, your muscle memory will eventually make you utter the right sounds automatically.
To create muscle memory for speaking English, record your voice as you read out loud, and listen for pronunciation mistakes. Focus on practicing one difficult sound a day. For example, if you have trouble pronouncing ‘th’, like in the word ‘three’, focus on getting that sound right on its own first. Then, practice saying out loud words that contain that sound, like ‘path’, ‘thanks’ and ‘through’, for example. Take things slowly. You can check whether you’re pronouncing the words correctly by going to https://en.oxforddictionaries.com. Click on the speaker icon next to the word you’re practicing to hear the correct pronunciation. Once you feel like you’ve mastered the sound, you can move on to the next one.
If you’ve been listening closely, you’d have noticed that the English language is quite melodic. Sentences have rhythm and melody, much like songs do! This comes from intonation and stress, both of which can affect the meaning of the words you’re saying.
Depending on which part of a word is stressed and its position in a sentence, it can either be a noun or a verb. Take the words present and present, for instance. If it’s pronounced ‘pri-ZENT’, it’s a verb that means to give something to somebody, especially formally at a ceremony. However, if it’s heard as ‘PRE-znt’, then it’s a noun that refers to an object given to someone as a gift.
Sentences have stresses too. Words that are more important are uttered with more clarity and strength than the rest of the sentence. Try reading this sentence out loud: “I drank some green tea this morning.” To sound more fluent, make sure you stress the words that are in bold by saying them more slowly than the rest of the sentence.
Now, all this might sound a bit too complicated, but don’t worry! The most effective way to learn is through listening and practicing. Most native speakers don’t even know these rules either, and just say what ‘sounds right’ to them. If you practice enough, you’ll soon be able to automatically determine what sounds right, too.
Let your family, friends and colleagues know that you’re on this journey! Don’t be shy about telling them that you’re trying to improve! That way, they won’t be so surprised when you start speaking to them in English, and you might even inspire them to join you!
I hope you find my tips useful. We’ll talk to you in our next email!
Have you ever heard the technique of storytelling in becoming a more confident speaker? I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but we are all storytellers. We remember stories better than facts and we connect best when we share stories.
Telling a story when you communicate, in English or in any other language, is a great way for you get your message across to your listener. It can also help build confidence in speaking as you practice telling stories and see your listeners engaged with you.
Here are a few ways that you can start telling stories when you speak to be a better communicator.
Continue reading “How to be a better communicator through storytelling”
A couple of days ago, Azimah, Aisya and I went to go for a venue recce for our upcoming workshop.
Anyway, as I was writing the phrase “venue recce”, I wondered where “recce” was derived from. I was actually unaware of the word until some of my colleagues in my previous company used it. They used it to refer to visiting an event venue before the event day itself.
Out of my own curiosity, I Googled for the definition of “recce” and here’s what I found in the Collins online dictionary:
It’s an informal term for reconnaissance, which means a military observation of a region to locate an enemy or ascertain strategic features. Reconnaissance is also used to refer to a preliminary surveying or research.
So the next time you hear the word “recce” (pronounced “reki”) in the office or even in movies, just remember this blog post. 🙂
If you’re a Malaysian, it’s likely that you’ve heard or read the word “revert” to mean “reply”. It’s widely used in verbal and email communication here in our country.
