How to improve English?

[ElansarGelmir]

Originally Posted by KobeBryant

well, it is very fortunate for those who speak english at home and at the same time don't forget mandarin

those start speaking early will definitely have great advantages over others who dun............sigh

if only my parents are english-educated..........

Hmm... Speaking English depends on you, not your parents . . . Perhaps they did not realize the importance of teaching you English while you were struggling with some new words besides papa and mama. I have many friends whose parents spoke to them in Mandarin everyday, but he speaks English to me and everyone... In fact, the only people he speaks mandarin with is his dad and mom . . .

[ElansarGelmir]

Originally Posted by Randomphantom

GP=General Paper. Its not like Pengajian Am, in fact you need to put on your 'critical thinking' hat to write up factual essays on popular issues and topics. Think 2 essays in 2 hours. The singapore version is easier i believe, as it has a comprehension section.
Fortunately I got through with a B... :D

Fortunately, I got JPA to flee from GP in Singapore . . . Easy as it may seem, but not to someone who knows nothing like me with lousy command of English . . . However, surprisingly, i passed my mid term GP right on the dot :P :P :P

[chenchow]

Perhaps something to share.

GP from Singapore is not recognized by Cornell University as a valid course to be counted as credit for freshman writing here.

However, writing and advanced writing courses in UiTM is considered and students are given 3 credit hours for that.

Guess that's something we could look positively at.

[trishotiwuth]

Originally Posted by KobeBryant

those start speaking early will definitely have great advantages over others who dun............sigh

Yeah, it's true but you can outdo them with the proper guidance and practise. Those whose first language is English may have the fluency but that itself does not make your English good. Don't pick on your upbringing too much...try to improve your english with your own effort! :)

[widagdo]

Originally Posted by ElansarGelmir

Hmm... Speaking English depends on you, not your parents . . . Perhaps they did not realize the importance of teaching you English while you were struggling with some new words besides papa and mama. I have many friends whose parents spoke to them in Mandarin everyday, but he speaks English to me and everyone... In fact, the only people he speaks mandarin with is his dad and mom . . .

True, the parents can't be blamed. But sometimes have you ever wondered about those kids in kampung area? They speak Malay/Chinese/Tamil all the while, but never English. Who will can practice public speaking with them?

I am sorry to tell, but the fact is most teachers(including English teachers) there don't speak (good) English.

[budakkerek]

i went to a kampung school during my primary school years. But thank God, my English teachers were really good. All graduated from the States, and their English was the best. i was indeed lucky to be in such a sitch, although i know not all schools in rural areas are that lucky.

But, don't forget, even schools in urban areas don't possess that good a teacher.

*lilet: not just speaking english in public, speaking in public scares everyone i think. Even a very very talkative person like me is scared of talking in public hehehe LOl

[lilet]

Originally Posted by ElansarGelmir

Hmm... Speaking English depends on you, not your parents . . . Perhaps they did not realize the importance of teaching you English while you were struggling with some new words besides papa and mama.

Yeah, sure, speaking English really comes from your own efforts but still, it can't be denied that parents have a great deal of influence on the language you speak since that will be your main and first language. It's only normal that if you come from an English speaking family, you tend to speak English and same goes for Mandarin or other language speaking families.

Originally Posted by KobeBryant

if only my parents are english-educated..........

Huh? I thought that in the 'old ages', education is mainly conducted in English. But then, even if they are not English educated, still they definitely will be able to speak English, since it is so global right now, am I correct? Anyway, if they don't speak English that often, maybe you can suggest to them to speak English at home~! :-) IMHO, that is quite effective. Take for example, my cousin and cousin in law in Singapore speaks Mandarin everyday to their kids just because their kids refuse to speak in Mandarin... =) They really feel that Mandarin is very important so that's why they did it... Dunno about the exact results of that 'tactic' but it's worth a try~!

On GP, hehehe... GP Common Test is coming soon... Doomsday is on the doorstep... ~sigh~ I still haven't got accustomed to the requirements yet, really very demanding, and no thanks to the fact that I like to have flowers in my essays... =) (meaning: ayat yang berbunga-bunga)

[budakkerek]

Originally Posted by lilet

and no thanks to the fact that I like to have flowers in my essays... =) (meaning: ayat yang berbunga-bunga)

direct translation nih! hehe...

mm..lilet, does that mean you like to draw flowers in your GP essays? hihihi JK!

[chenchow]

On parents being educated in English, it is only a small generation of those within that 15 years or so of time frame.

Anyway, I think practice makes perfect. There is nothing wrong in trying to speak English in the public, even though our english is not fluent. We will improve gradually. Just try to use it as much as possible. I think that is the same case with any language. We should not be ashamed of ourselves, but take it as a learning opportunities.

[gal_flower]

oddly enuf, only when i came to intec did my writing skills improve.
probably coz the sporeans expect their students to write well wif good command of english so they don really teach at my kind of level...
now, if i read back my essays for GP, i'd laugh myself to bits. it was so ridiculous. even my classmate from spore who is in ALM now say tad my writing has improve tremendulously. do u know thanks to who? MRS RANEE from intec! woo hoo! i haf come a long way in terms of writing.

for someone as talkative as i am (juz ask my frens), talking in public is still a scary affair. i tremble n shake. quite badly. it is odd since i use to talk in public in primary school without fear but i guess wif age comes thinner skin. i use to think i had it fine until i went for a poem-reciting comp in school back in form 1 n man, did i tremble! but surprisingly enuf, i won smtg....whew! since then, speaking was never easy....i remember my public-speaking comp when i represented my school...i think i was real lousy....