answer to #1
I don’t have any American friends
This is a very common “complaint”. One thing that may
help is
to think about your own country and moving to a new city
and
a new school. How would you make friends?
Being in a college gives you a great advantage for meeting
people
and making friends. The challenge is breaking the ice.
Waiting outside
the classroom – you can put your head in your
book and look busy or you can smile and say hello. This is a good
start, but you can go further. Start a conversation by asking a question – here
are some examples:
About the class
How are you enjoying the class?
I really like this class. Do you know if he/she teaches any other
classes?
I have a question about …. – can you help me?
When the professor talked about…, I got really confused. Did
you understand?
General
I’m taking Algebra next semester – whose class would
be good
to take?
I just moved here, what is there to do on a Friday night?
I really miss Japanese/Chinese/Mexican food – can you
recommend
anywhere?
[back]
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have any other good advice for students?
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answer to #2
I
never get the chance to speak English
Chances often come to us but more often we can create
opportunities
to speak English. On a functional level, make
yourself say hello
to classmates every day and every time you
are in a store or the
cafeteria or at the coffee stand, make
yourself ask a question. It
could be – how much are the
muffins? – or it could be – did
I ask for that correctly/
was my English okay? - it could even be – aren’t
you in my
Economics class?
Making yourself speak a little every day improves your
confidence
and makes it a habit. If you force yourself to
speak a little more
than you need to in every situation, you
will speed up your progress.
When it comes to conversations, it is more difficult but there
are
still many opportunities for you. The biggest is with your classmates.
You already have something in common and every time
you have class,
you have the opportunity to speak. One thing
that is very common
in America is to form study groups. Often
in class, a professor will
assign a group project and that
means you have a ready-made group.
However, sometimes there is
no group project and that means it is
up to you to form the
study group. Let others in your class know
that you are going
to meet once a week in the cafeteria at a certain
time. Do not be afraid to be in the cafeteria at that time and do
not be unhappy
if no-one comes at first. If you have a test coming
up in class, suggest the time as a test study time or review. This
is usually
a good motivator.
The other way to create opportunities to speak English is to
join
a club. There are several clubs on campus – go to the student
center and get a list. You don’t have to be 150% interested
to
join a club; you can be a little interested and go along to find
out if you like it. Remember, the more you do and the more you
appear
in different places, the more likely it is that you
will start recognizing
people on campus and they will start
recognizing you. Familiarity
leads to friendliness.
Take a class that doesn’t focus on language. Try a dance class,
a music class, or a sports class. This doesn’t have to be at
COC. It could be in the community at an adult school or fitness
club.
It could be through Community Extension. It is good to put yourself
in a relaxed low-pressure environment where you are not focusing
on language the whole time. Also, getting off the
campus opens the
community to you.
[back]
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post to the
ESL wiki here, so
that students can learn from your experiences. Just click Edit the page
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answer to #3
My roommates are all from my country
It is very common to find yourself living with people who speak your
language. It is difficult to speak English with your countrypeople
because it sounds and feels strange. However, if you are strong enough,
it can be done. One hour a day is a great start. If you eat together,
make that English time. If you can’t think of anything to say,
talk about the food you eat or name everything in the kitchen! Breakfast
would be the perfect mealtime for this because it will start you
off in English for the day. One day a week is more challenging but
very rewarding.
The reason this doesn’t always work is because it is difficult
to keep up English when you know you can go right back to your own
language very easily. When one roommate breaks down, the others usually
follow. Be strong. If your roommate turns back to your native language,
keep responding in English. Be the motivation. [back]
Please
post to the
ESL wiki here, so
that students can learn from your experiences. Just click Edit the page
and you are in. Save it and you are done. It's that easy.
Answer to #4
When I speak with my friends, they all understand
me, but
when I speak to my teachers they don’t.
This is a
tricky one. Your friends may understand you because they know your
accent. Your instructor is likely to be pushier and require you to speak
formally and more clearly. Practice is the key here. In what situations
does a teacher not understand you? This is an important question because
it could make you realize that it is only when you try and answer in
class in front of people (when you may be nervous) that this happens and
not when you are talking with an instructor one-on-one.
Please
post to the
ESL wiki here, so
that students can learn from your experiences. Just click Edit the page
and you are in. Save it and you are done. It's that easy.
a) I
hate reading
There is no magic that will make you love reading. You are
in college and
education requires reading. It is something you
must do. Reading something
that interests you is one way to try
and get yourself more motivated. [back]
Please
post to the
ESL wiki here, so
that students can learn from your experiences. Just click Edit the page
and you are in. Save it and you are done. It's that easy.
b) I
hate speaking
Some people are naturally quiet and there is no reason to
change your whole personality just because you are in America.
You
do, however, need to learn the language and that means your
speaking skills. Some people hate speaking because they are
shy
and maybe don’t say much in their own language
either. Some
people hate speaking because they don’t
like to make mistakes
and are uncomfortable using another
language. The most basic
advice is practice. The most you
speak, the better you get and
the more comfortable and confident
you get. Confidence leads to success. [back]
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post to the
ESL wiki here, so
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answer to #5
I am concentrating so hard on getting the grammar
right that
by the time I am ready to say something, the conversation
has moved on to something new and I missed my chance
Fluency or accuracy. You may be surprised to know that many
linguists
believe that fluency comes before accuracy. When you
are concentrating
so hard on getting the grammar correct, your
fluency suffers. This
means that you have to put accuracy
second for a little while. Do
not be afraid to do this. Many
students think that if they do this,
they will forget the
grammar they have learned and been studying
for so long but
this is not true. You will not forget all that grammatical
accuracy. You are simply changing focus to help your language.
[back]
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answer to #6
My friends don’t correct me
Friends need training. Don’t expect them to correct you without
your help. Encourage them to correct you. Ask them if what you
said
was correct. Don’t do this with every sentence, but do it regularly.
If you want to see if your friends are correcting you,
say something
incorrect and see what happens. If nothing happens,
ask them if what
you said was correct. Whenever your friends
correct you, smile and
say thank you. The more you thank them,
the more willing they will
be to correct you. You need to get
your friends into the habit of
correcting you instead of the habit
of understanding you. [back]
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post to the
ESL wiki here, so
that students can learn from your experiences. Just click Edit the page
and you are in. Save it and you are done. It's that easy.
answer to #7
I attended every class but I still
didn’t
pass.
That’s not fair
Welcome to America. Attendance is not a prerequisite for passing.
It is an essential part of passing but you must also do the work
and attain the standard set by the professor. If you do not meet
the standard, you will not pass. [back]
answer to #8
I don’t have time to do all
my homework. The teacher
expects too much
You need to rethink this idea. Maybe you expect too little!
If you
don’t have time to do all the homework, you have choices.
You
can reorganize your schedule and manage your time better.
You can
decide if your class is too difficult for you and if it
is, you must
decide if you want to keep going and work really
hard or if you need
to take it slower and drop the class. You can
see if there is another
class the same and transfer to another professor. This is a risk
because there is a chance that the new professor is the same as the
one you already have, but sometimes
the way a professor teaches is
different and the difference may
help you. Remember that changing
classes and dropping classes
must be done within the pre-set college
dates and cannot be done
at any time. [back]
Please
post to the
ESL wiki here, so
that students can learn from your experiences. Just click Edit the page
and you are in. Save it and you are done. It's that easy. answer to #9
I used the Internet and a book to help me write
my essay
but the teacher said I copied. What is the difference?
Plagiarism is a very serious offense in the American education
system,
for it is considered stealing. When English is not your
first language,
it is difficult to express yourself in the way
that you want. Then,
you read something on the Internet and the
writers express it so
well, that it seems the best thing to do
is just to take their words.
If you do this without acknowledging
the original writers, you are
stealing their words and ideas
and this is plagiarism. It is best
to paraphrase and summarize
and your English instructors should help
you learn to do this.
You can also use quotations. For more help
on this skill, go to
the following websites. [back]
Please
post to the
ESL wiki here, so
that students can learn from your experiences. Just click Edit the page
and you are in. Save it and you are done. It's that easy.
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