Learning English alone

[Rakkasan]

My SO is trying to learn English by herself. She took a class in Nanning but felt she got very little out of it. She has no one to practice with, she has sisters, but between work and families they do not have the time.

 

Has anyone ever used Hooked on Phonics as a method to teach or learn English? I have never seen the program, but it seemed to me that if a program is teaching you syllable by syllable how to read a word, you would also be learning how to speak the word.

 

Any thoughts, ideas?????????????

 

If you have experience with this program what version did you buy? I have seen many different levels or versions all with the Hooked on Phonics trademark.

[david_dawei]

Looking back, my wife did not like a class; she did (and recommends a private tutor to come to the house).

 

My take, based on only her experience and sharing with me what she was exposed to in her hometown... was that english is not taught phonetically.

 

This is a great oversight since this will go a far way towards bridging reading and speaking... I am constantly telling her to notice that the word has a "th" and how does a "th" sound ?? I'm thinking of using lollipops to end my sessions...

 

I had thought that if I ever went to china to teach, I would base it on phonetic approach.. I tend to think this would also help 'accent reduction'.. which is a class (reducing your accent) I see at most of the community schools here in FL...

[MikeandRong]

I second the thought of a private tutor. If she and perhaps a girlfriend hired the tutor together, they could also study together too. The price we paid was 10Yuan/2hour class, 2 class a day, 7 day a week, and the class was always longer and flexible as needed. The price of course is per person, the girlfriend paid her own way.

 

One suggestion I would make is that you get to speak to the tutor ahead of time on the phone. We tried 2, and while they could speak English, the accent and was terrible. The third was great, I could hold an easy conversation with him and knew that the words she would learn would sound correct. It made a huge difference.

 

Some English paperback books from the dollar store at Christmas time was greatly appreciated by him, and he geared the learning to what I thought was needed.

[SmilingAsia]

My SO is trying to learn English by herself.  She took a class in Nanning but felt she got very little out of it.  She has no one to practice with, she has sisters, but between work and families they do not have the time. 

Has anyone ever used Hooked on Phonics as a method to teach or learn English?  I have never seen the program, but it seemed to me that if a program is teaching you syllable by syllable how to read a word, you would also be learning how to speak the word.   

 

Any thoughts, ideas????????????? 

 

If you have experience with this program what version did you buy?  I have seen many different levels or versions all with the Hooked on Phonics trademark.

233107[/snapback]

It's probable to learn English by oneself. It's perseverance and attitude that works. In 1980s and 1990s I learnt English by myself. I had no TV in 1980s. I had no internet before 1995. I just learnt it by radio and tapes, grammar books. I read lots of fiction before. 2 years ago, I tried to find some books in a bookstore in Beijing Lu, but all the fictions I had read already!

 

Usually here Chinese women of my age don't speak or write English.

 

Right now, lots of DVD's, VCD's available in bookstore. TV, radio, lots of English teaching program.

[lostinblue]

I have been learning english by myself in last 2 year, I learn by books and electric translator,my SO keeps sending me something to read,newspapers ,emails,books,they're great help to impove my write and read,but not to my spoken english,recently we use MSN to type and talk in sound,I think it's great help,especially he plays VO asking me questions,what I want to say is you get in her study,maybe you are her best english teacher.

my two cents

[lostinblue]

I have been learning english by myself in last 2 year, I learn by books and electric translator,my SO keeps sending me something to read,newspapers ,emails,books,they're great help to impove my write and read,but not to my spoken english,recently we use MSN to type and talk in sound,I think it's great help,especially he plays VO asking me questions,what I want to say is you get in her study,maybe you are her best english teacher.

my two cents

233234[/snapback]

DW here . Yes we get on MSN video and web cam . I have a high speed connection that is really needed. Otherwise everything is a bit broken up at times.. A microphone and a speaker might be good also. We can talk for hours at no cost. It helps the relationship a great deal as it is nice to tell a joke and see the response a few seconds later. Buy a daily newspaper and send it to her maybe from your hometown so she understand what is going on there. Newspapers are good. you have advertising that would be usefull to help establish cost of living in the United States. It will help during the interview that she has a better ability to listen to english and understand what is said. So you act as the VO and ask her questions so she will ace everything.

[Dennis143]

This doesn¡¦t answer your question, Patrick. But, this is a good subject I thought this might be a good time to share. Hope you don¡¦t mind.

 

I have been helping Leiqin with her R sounds. She continues to want to start words like ¡¥really¡¦ with a W sound: weally. For some reason, she instinctively wants to shape her lips to make the W sound, in order to mimic the sound of the word. I have told her how the R sound is made with the tongue and not the lips. I tried to explain how to position her tongue, to make the R sound. And, I have even gone so far as to hold her lips, so they won¡¦t move, when she says ¡§Really¡¨. She is actually getting it down pretty good. With practice, she¡¦ll master it.

 

Another tip that I gave her that seems to help her English reading is:

 

1) There are only 3 letters in our alphabet that have a sound that is created by bringing our lips together: b, m, p

 

2) f & v use the two front teeth to come down to or come up from your bottom lip to make the f or v sound.

 

3) There only 3 letters in our alphabet that have a sound that is created by the shape of our lips: o, u & w. And, it¡¦s really just the w that has a more pronounced use of the lips to make the ¡§wa¡¨ sound.

 

4) All other sounds are made with the tongue or throat.

 

This seems to help her, when she recites what she reads.

[Dennis143]

What's the best way to say "bird"?

233464[/snapback]

try "rarely"

[Randy W]

Try saying a word like "dark" without adding an extra sound after the 'k'. It can be done, but it makes a very soft 'k'. Chinese people often hear the extra sound as an extra syllable, and say "dar-ka", especially Cantonese-speakers. If it's too soft, they don't hear it.

 

In Chinese, the only trailing consonant sounds are n, ng, and r, which tend to not have the extra sound.

 

I usually try to emphasize the trailing consonant at first, then say it softer so she'll get the pronounciation right.

[david_dawei]

What's the best way to say "bird"?

233464[/snapback]

try "rarely"

233468[/snapback]

That's worse than "bird". Thanks.

233504[/snapback]

I know one chinese girl who cannot say "casual" to save her life...

 

I find my wife leaving off "L"s alot.

[georgeandli]

IMHO, The only way to really learn is immersion. It seems like all I've heard about lessons over there didn't help all that much conversationally. Check like Mike and Rong.

[skibum]

I talked to a beggar in Suzhou who spoke the King's English. He said he learned by listening to BBC.

I also met one in Tokyo who said the same thing.

I cannot picture learning Chinese just by listening to it. These guys are sharper than I.

[Dennis143]

I talked to a beggar in Suzhou who spoke the King's English. He said he learned by listening to BBC.

I also met one in Tokyo who said the same thing.

I cannot picture learning Chinese just by listening to it. These guys are sharper than I.

233659[/snapback]

Yes, one of our friends says that she learned English in China by watching BBC TV. I watch (well, listen) to a lot of Chinese TV now and I could probably learn to speak it after, say, about 100 years.

[Lowen/Zhang]

My wife learned English by going to the public library and took a class. Bookwork mainly. She wanted to take a conversational English class but we decided against it because we talk regurlarly 2 times a day on Yahoo messenger and she uses her electronic dictionary to help. She can read English remarkably well but the meaning of the words is where I come into play as well as the dictionary. She is speaking very good English in my opinion now but in hers she says " I can not speak much English or I don't know how to translate into English" Then she will double up in laughter. We have so much fun with words. Of course she laughs a lot more at my Chinese attempts.