Out of - Class - Contributions

It's important to invest time in practicing English because it depends of us to maintain a good level in fluency, in vocaculary, in writing, etc and it can happen just with PRACTICE!

READING

In the last blog entry "In Class Contributions" I said I wanted to practice my "reading skills" to improve my fluency, the speed, and the pronunciation of the words. So I founded an internet page which offers readings with different difficulty levels so you can look for them, they are short and very interesting. The page is:

"Really Learn English"
 http://www.really-learn-english.com/

I read Love is in the air (click it) 

I recorded myself reading some of this stories but I couldn't upload it here  but this is a great manner to do it because you can listen yourself and PRACTICE ultil you got the best fluency. The first 3 times I recorded myself I sounded weird but I compared the first time with the fourth time and it got better :D 

STARES

BLUSHES

LISTENING TO MUSIC  

One of the easiest ways of learning vocabulary and pronunciation is listening to music! But I think that just with good subtitles we can complement this tool because we can read what the singer is singing and try to say it in the correct way. Also I have noticed that some words are pronunciated very fast so we must accustom the ears.

I really like Michael Jackson, so here is one the songs I listened 

CLICK IT          Billie Jean

Here are some of the words I was interested in because of its pronunciation in the 2:22 minute ***Listen to it!***

The same happens with the MOVIES  

I work in a Shared Service Center that gives support to different countries in all the continents. I am the Site Director's assistant so everyday is a surprise! Sometimes I have to make calls to USA and coordinate with other assistants important meetings, so I try to put in practice what I've learned in class for example different tenses:

Present Continuous:  "I'm looking at the email you sent to me and..."

Simple Present:"She doesn't have space in her agenda at that hour so..." 

In - Class - Contributions

The class is the place were we learn everything! I believe that using creativity to teach is an effective way to remember what we see in class. Fortunately, we do different things... Some of the most common ways of learning we have are reading, speaking, listening, watching videos, and making the activities from the books. 

Please follow me in this journey! I will show you what I have learned!

Reading  


With the readings we make in class I have learned to read with the right order; now I know the correct way of making pauses when there is the comma, reading fluently, and using the right tones of voice when I need it, like making emphasis for example:

"She did love him"
The emphasis in the sound should be as shown below:

 

 Writing

As in reading, now I know where to put commas, exclamation marks, and writing in an efficient and thrifty way for example:

Speaking 

Now I feel more comfortable about asking my classmates something. I feel I have learned the auxiliaries pretty well like have, had, do, did, etc. I realized I was getting better making questions when I said "Have you ever listened to that kind of music?" or "Do you know who Phill Collins is?

I used to take notes in my notebook about things I learn or understand "beyond the whiteboard", for example:

Understanding English...

" I will be eating with Jane this evening"
"I'm eating with Jane this evening"

What I learned is that both sentences are correct, but the difference is that the first one is telling a situation that will happen in the future and the second one is a plan that is "in process" to happen.

 Following up with Grammar...

I had forgotten the correct use of ON, IN and AT, but, I wrote this in my notebook to remember...

ON = (Months - Days)    IN = (Years)   AT = (Places - Hours)

 Interesting Vocabulary...

Match =         Garnment =   



Sick Leave =   






Wavelength =

I think I need to improve my "listening skills"; I want to start watching movies with English subtitles to start practicing and in the next blog entry "Out - of - class - contributions" I will show you all the things I've learned. Also, some of the things I want to improve is my "reading out loud" skills, because I consider it would be good to listen myself speaking to analyze my tone, fluency, etc.

I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU.... 

As you know, my favorite music is the 80's!!! And curiously I heard in one 80 song one of the words I've learned in this class.... The word is "eye to eye".... The song is "The Living Years" of Mike and the Mechanics, and the word is in the 2:12 minute. Listen carefully! ;)

Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agC7SoihH-o

¡THANKS FOR WATCHING!