I have been studying in English at REW for six months. I had very few problems in that time but they have increased significant when I was studying in E7. I am completely surprised about it because it has proved more difficult and more complex than previous levels I have studied.
This level requires ability to learn independently, a variety of complicated vocabulary and the most important is a deeper understanding of English. I have already set up a particular plan for my English. It will comprise of my goals and strategies for each skills that I will be able to speak English fluently after 12 months. I will also write down some reflections on how I am feeling about this level every week
Well, lets have a look in my plan :
1 Listening : The area of English causes me the most problems listening. So listening will be my priority for the rest my time at REW.
My goals for listening are able to understand my lecturer or tutor when I study Sustainable Energy at Masters level at RMIT, also develop my take-notes skill and catch up the whole main idea of lectures quickly
The first strategy that I will use to achieve my goal of improved listening skill is to practice using my software that I have bought, called Face2Face. It is published by Cambridge Press. In fact, it can be used for any skills to become fluent in English. However, I like the way it presents a video or images and at the same time it has an audio track that either has the imagines or is a conversation. This software allows me to test my understand of what I am hearing.
The second strategy I will use is to only watch television with subtitles on. This way I can learn more quickly. I have found that this way is good when I want to learn Australian expression. For example, the expression “ she’s pretty good" made no sense when I saw it. The man was referring to a car. But then I came to understand the word ‘ pretty ‘ meant quality.
The third strategy I will use to improving listening is to try and paraphrase things that I hear that I find a bit difficult. I can then ask my friends, my teacher or my uncle if I have understood what was said.
2 Speaking is also a problem for me. I find that local Australian speakers talk too fast and I am struggling to understand them. This slow my answers because I am trying to interpret what has been said. However, if my strategy to develop my listening is successful, it will help my speaking I believe because I will understand the conversation more quickly.
My first approach to advance my speaking skill is to practice, practice and practice. I have a heavy Hanoi accent that can make me hard to understand. I practice a lot with my friends and my uncle. This way I can see how the word is formed by watching their mouths. Then once they have told me that I have said the word correctly, I repeat it many times until I am comfortable with it.
My second strategy is to use my Face2Face software. It allow me to hear a word, pause the sound and repeat it until I have said correctly. This way I can practice at my own pace. I have a pair of headphones that allow me to block out distractions so I can concentrate.
My third strategy is to be brave and practice speaking with strangers. For example when I buy a ticket on the train, or when I buy lunch at Melbourne central. Each time I gain more confidence and I am able to do something new.
3 Writing
The third area of concern for me to learn English is writing. I am lucky because I have found this to be the easiest for me so far and this makes it easy to enjoy. My goals in this skill are to be able to write a varieties of academic essay without a fews mistakes, extending of vocabulary, an ability of manage time and write much more than before.
The first strategy I have to advance my writing is to constantly ask my friends, teacher and my uncle to read my book. My uncle has a good way to help me improve. My uncle will read my work and then ask me to read it aloud if he knows it is wrong. When I do this he will say to me “ Does that sound correct to you “. I know when he says this that it is wrong and it makes me think about it. But hearing myself say the words helps me improving writing because I can hear it is correct.
The second strategy I use is to rewrite work and compare my writing with the original to understand if the meaning is the same. When we are speaking this method is called paraphrasing, and so this is a writing form of paraphrasing.
The third approach I will use is to read English books to see how the author has written his work. If his work is interesting, I will try to understand how he did it. I also have to use a dictionary when I read English book because there are many words I have not seen before or I have forgotten.
When I look for a new word in a dictionary I underline it. If I have to look for that word a gain I can see that I have looked for it before it has a pencil line under it.
4 Reading
Finally, I will need to improve my reading skills for English if I am to be successful at the Masters level. I also have understanding deeply any kind of academic books and journal and using reading skill effectively to find out what really necessary is as via research on internet
My first strategy is to read English books. I can not read hard books yet. When I read an English book I have to use the dictionary a lot. But it is getting easier with more reading.
My second strategy is to use my Face2Face software. Because it has many tests I am able to check my understanding. The program will tell a story either by audio or by video. Then the program tests my understanding with a written test and I have to read the answers and select the correct one. This way of learning to read is more fun and makes the task easier because I am allowed to do the test until I have gotten the correct answers.
My third strategy is to read the newspaper. I read the Herald Sun, MX and sometimes The Age. I find that it is harder to read the newspaper than English books or Face2Face because it uses more difficult words. However my strategy is to continue reading a small part of the newspaper every day until I can understand it and start to read more and more of it.
