The Market Coalition

Be sure you visit this excellent web site for Pimsleur Arabic (Eastern) II - Complete by Dr. Paul Pimsleur pointers…

An active life can make it difficult to get around to reading every title you want to. Frequently we do not notice that long commutes and many other activities may take up sizable chunks of our precious time. Working, dealing with children or looking after your family all cut back the free-time you have for your interests. If you’re an avid book lover who is finding it troublesome to fit it in, journeys to work may provide the ideal opportunity for catching up. Thanks to downloads, it’s easy to relish Rich Dad’s Advisors: Own Your Own Corporation by Garret Sutton for sale from Download Audio Book Online, or audio-books recounted by Bill Bonanna when you are busy doing other things. Making the best of your day has become an essential these days. Audio books like Pimsleur Spanish II Complete Course by Dr. Paul Pimsleur for sale from Download Audio Book Online make better use of of the dead hours everyday, whether it is waiting time at the dental surgery or driving the children to soccer practise. Audible books are now in stock to download as media data files suitable for computers, laptop computers and ipods for example Canterbury Tales - Volume I by Geoffrey Chaucer, so if you’ve got an iPod or another mp3 player and get ready to discover the latest bestseller, such as audio-books by Paulo Coelho without dragging cumbersome books around. An added benefit of audiobooks is hiring or buying the book of your choice then listening to it at your own pace. Want to study Russian? Try an audio-book! It’s easy to review progressive business practises, or you can enjoy mulling over the most original opinions in religious belief. A vast selection of literary genres and titles exist. Whether you are a wine buff, mad about biographies or even interested in personal development, many can be downloaded right away. Choices are wide open; it’s simple to take a subscription to a rental program or alternatively make a purchase.

Reading will always be an essential skill, even so audiobooks offer a wonderful option for busy individuals. Numerous chronicles, such as audiobooks narrated by Blair Singer, can be more gratifying when recounted by the author or a celebrated actor. Reading a book isn’t quite the same as listening to an audio book told by Stephen Pierce, including subtleties of an actual performance. Listening to audiobooks narrated by John Hagee can bring more meaning to the title and frequently will mean much more to you than the words on a page.

So next time whenever you consider purchasing the hard copy of a book that could easily gather dust on your bookshelves, do not forget about an audio book as a better choice.

So, you have always been fascinated by Asian culture have you? Maybe you are someone who loves the martial arts; kung fu, tae-kwon-do, or karate. Perhaps you are interested in the cool oriental stores and like to buy many things from them to decorate your house. Maybe you like the peaceful society you see depicted in some Asian films. Or maybe you are just incredibly in love with the Asian languages such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

Whatever your interest is in Asia and its society, it could never hurt to know a little bit about the culture. In fact, learning about something more than is shown in action movies and your Korean dramas can be quite beneficial.

My experience is with Korean culture and Korean language, but the culture is similar in most Asian countries.

Language Families

One of the main things you may have noticed is how incredibly different the Asian languages are from English. You come across languages such as Italian, Spanish, and French, and you can at least find some similarities in those languages and English. Yet there seem to be none between English and Asian languages! The fact is they just come from different language families. Most European languages will fall in the same language family as English. Many of these are in the Indo-European language families. Words will be similar between all of the languages that come from the same family.

Asian languages such as Japanese and Korean are in the same language family, the Altaic family. You will find many similarites in these two languages. Mandarin Chinese comes from the Sino-Tibetan family.

Altaic Family

The Altaic family is named after the Alti Mountains. They are located in Central Asia. The Altaic Family consists of Turkish, Mongolian, Korean, and Japanese. Out of these, Turkish is the most western of the languages, while Korean and Japanese are more eastern.

Sino-Tibetan Family

The Sino-Tibetan Family consists of Mandarin Chinese. Languages in this language family are made up of one syllable words, but there are MANY. There is no simple alphabet to form these words, which causes the vast number of Chinese characters, making it one of the hardest languages to learn. You also must learn to speak, read, and write all separately. There is no reading a word and being able to speak it, nor can you hear one and guess on how it is spelled. Writing is still completely on it’s own even if you can read, because you have to use proper stroke orders! Very time consuming to learn.

There are also several tones in these languages. A change in pitch while saying a word could change the meaning of the word completely. It makes the language sound very pretty when spoken, but is incredibly difficult to learn!

Sentence Structure

As with many Asian languages, a common fact you will notice is many of the languages follow an SOV sentence structure. That is, Subject, Object, Verb. English tends to place the verb after the subject of the sentence. Asian languages place the verb at the very end of the sentence. The most important part of the sentence is saved for last Don’t we all save the best for last?

Although much of the culture evolves around the language, there is plenty more to culture. Korean culture is amazing in every way. Look forward to future articles covering Korean culture!

http://www.learnkoreanlanguage.com is a site based on teaching the Korean language. It also provides details on Korean culture, Korean foods, Korean recipes, Korean music, everything Korean!

More and more software programs, electronic devices, and websites devoted to foreign languages are being developed daily. Why all the excitement? Why would YOU want to learn a foreign language?

Job Advancement - Get the Competitive Edge

Many large corporations and government agencies have positions requiring a second language. In a country like Canada, which is officially bilingual, someone who knows both French and English will have better employment prospects.

Travel

Travel to a foreign country can be exciting - and also very exasperating if you can’t understand the local speech. Many North Americans are somewhat egocentric in this regard, expecting to find English spoken no matter where they are. Although this is sometimes true in larger cities, don’t expect to find English-speakers in small communities.

Relatives

The world is a melting pot of cultures and languages. You probably have living relatives in other countries with whom you could communicate more effectively if you took the effort to learn at least a few words.

Genealogy Research

Some of your ancestors probably spoke a different language. If you plan to search old genealogical records, you will be more successful with at least a basic understanding of your ancestors’ language(s).

Understanding Your Own Language

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, ‘Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, wei nichts von seiner eigenen.’ or ‘Those who don’t know foreign languages know nothing of their own.’ Learning a foreign language will give you a much better understanding of English. Your knowledge of English grammar, vocabulary, verb tenses, and sentence construction will improve when you tackle another language.

Self-Actualization and Challenge

If you’ve already been everywhere and done everything - perhaps it’s time to tackle something new. What could be more challenging and rewarding than immersing yourself in another language?

Opera, Poetry, and Prose Appreciation

Artistic works written in a different language often cannot be fully appreciated when translated into English. This is especially obvious when listening to poetry. If poetry is translated into English with a preserved rhyming scheme, the meaning of the poetry is almost always altered. Being able to listen to the original language - with its subtle tones and nuances - will lend to a greater appreciation of the artist.

Culture Appreciation

One can only truly comprehend a foreign culture if the language is also understood. Exactly what is ‘Bratwurst’ or ‘Calvados’? And what about foreign films? Wouldn’t you like to be able to watch something with subtitles - and skip reading them?

Invigorate the Brain

Adults benefit from the brain stimulation produced by language training. Seniors who tackle a foreign language show improved brain function over a period of time. Students who learn foreign languages as children score better on academic tests. There is also evidence to suggest that they may be more creative and resourceful when faced with solving complex tasks.

Learning Teaches You How to Learn

The self discipline and study habits acquired through successful acquisition of a foreign language can be applied to many other aspects of your life.

Studying Abroad

What better way to learn about a country’s culture than to study there? This requires an excellent command of the local language.

Communicate With Someone Secretly in Public

Imagine chatting in public with a friend about something private, knowing that only your friend understands!

Make Online Penpals and Friends

The internet is transforming our world into an intimate global village where you can chat via e-mail, forums, live chat sessions, and audio/video feeds.

Impress a Date?

In closing - male or female - you will make points with your bilingual date by learning a few important words. If your date doesn’t speak a foreign language, he or she will be impressed by the enchanting allure of intimate expressions in one of the ‘romance’ languages.

So - what are you waiting for? Get learning!

Kathy Steinemann is a webmaster who writes for:

* 111 Travel Directory

* 1000 Tips 4 Trips

* A-Language-Guide

A frantic agenda makes it challenging to get around to reading all the books you would like to. Often we do not see how long commutes and many other chores may take up large chunks of our time. Working, caring for kids or even housework all cut back the time available to persue your interests. You can make utilize of the hours you spend commuting to get up to date on novels you can’t get around to reading. Thanks to downloads, it’s easy to relish Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell available from Download Audio Book Online, or audiobooks narrated beautifully by E. H. Gombrich when you are driving.

Today multi-tasking fast becoming a must. Audible books like Pimsleur Hindi I - Complete by Dr. Paul Pimsleur available from Download Audio Book Online fill the dead moments in life, whether it is waiting in a doctor’s office or perhaps buying groceries. Audiobooks are obtainable to download as mp3 files these include Persuasion by Jane Austen, so if you’ve got an iPod or other mp3 player and earphones and use the chance to hear a best seller or a fantastic novel, such as audiobooks penned by Leo Tolstoy without dragging a heavy book with you. The various benefits of audiobooks include the opportunity to rent or buy instructional books and listen to them at your leisure. Interested in studying French? Why not give audio books a shot? Perhaps the latest sales techniques interest you, or you can enjoy mulling over current opinions in religious belief. Audio books exist in a myriad of titles and genres. Whether you’re a history fan, mad about biographies even if your interests lie in self help, you can access many audio books now. Options are wide open; you can subscribe to a rental program or alternatively make a purchase.

Reading will always be a requisite skill, however audiobooks offer a great alternative. Some chronicles, such as audio-books narrated by Chip Kidd, can be more pleasurable when performed by the author or an illustrious actor. Simply reading a title isn’t quite the same experience as enjoying an audio title performed by Bob Colacello, including the all the nuances established during a rendidtion. Hearing audio books performed by Maeve Binchy can add something extra to the story and mean more than words on a page. So next time in future should you consider buying the hard copy of a book you might never get around to reading, remember an audio book as a different choice.

How long have you been studying Spanish? Between high school and college classes and you own efforts you could easily have a couple years already under your belt. During that time you have likely built up a good Spanish vocabulary along with a basic understanding of Spanish verb conjugation, but can you actually speak Spanish?

Why is speaking Spanish so hard?
Can you go up to one of your Spanish speaking neighbors and start a conversation? Can you help a Spanish speaking customer who comes into your store? Why not? Why is it so hard to learn to speak Spanish even after years of study?

Learning Spanish the hard way
Beginning high school and college Spanish classes, as well as most self study Spanish courses start off by teaching vocabulary and verb conjugation. You practice speaking, but the focus is on the individual word or conjugation. Lists of words are memorized and tests are given on verb conjugation. So when it comes time to speak, the words and phrases are separate in your mind. It becomes a matter of trying to pull all the pieces together and form them all into a sensible sentence, which can be hard to do when you are on the spot.

How to learn to speak Spanish
The key to becoming more comfortable in speaking situations and learning to actually speak in Spanish is to practice and learn the sentences as a whole, not in separate words or pieces. Spend your time studying sentence construction. Don’t be satisfied just learning how to say a word properly, go the extra mile and learn how to properly pronounce and construct the complete sentence. For example, rather than just looking up the word “help” in the dictionary, research how to say the complete phrase, “Can I help you?” This way you spend your time practicing and memorizing useful phrases that you can use word for word.

Learning in this manner will build your confidence in speaking and allow you to quickly remember the phrases needed to have a useful conversation with someone. During your conversation when you try to remember what to say, complete Spanish sentences and phrases will pop into your mind, not just separate Spanish words. You will speak Spanish more correctly, more fluently and more confidently than ever before.

Brock Hadley manages the website http://www.spanishprograms.com where visitors can take Spanish lessons online and learn Spanish for free.

When I needed some fresh material for working in the past tense with my EFL, English as a Foreign Language, students in Barcelona, Spain I opted to create a short story. This three-paragraph narrative I wrote using only the past tense of regular verbs served not only for reading, but for grammar practice, spelling and pronunciation practice as well. For even more diversity and mileage, I later added comprehension questions and a verb chart for added practice activities.

It has worked quite well for me. To adjust for shorter practice time or other lesson planning constraints use only one paragraph for your activities and practice. It was considerably more difficult than I’d imagined to write such a highly-focused, structured piece but it continually serves to aid students even in its “artificial” language form. Writing it also flexed my creative writing muscles. Here’s the narrative text:

OUR ENCHANTED ANNIVERSARY EVENING

It happened to be our anniversary when we traveled to Barcelona, so my wife Doris and I planned a special evening out. I purchased a beautiful bouquet of red roses that smelled wonderful and a black pearl necklace that sparkled in the moonlight. I beamed as I presented them to Doris. She pinned a rose to her sequined lapel. Her auburn hair shimmered in the sunset’s bronzed glow. I called a checkered taxi and we passed many highlighted sights before we arrived in front of the restaurant. The waiter seated us as soon as we walked into the neon-signed restaurant. I noticed a secluded table. (22 verbs)

We positioned ourselves near an opened window and prepared to eat. My wife Doris looked at the selections listed on the menu and decided to have an appetizer. I picked the mushroom soup. A few minutes later the waiter returned. “What would you like to have?”, he asked. Doris ordered some steamed shrimp and broiled trout. I requested a tossed Cesar salad with a grilled steak and a baked potato. While we dined, we chatted and sipped a glass of white wine. Doris wolfed down her food but I savored the meal and chewed my steak slowly. When she finished, she munched on some pretzels. She soon gobbled up all the pretzels in the small bowl placed on the table. Later, we nibbled on a slice of decorated cheesecake as we talked. I wanted some coffee with my dessert. Doris preferred to drink iced tea. After the salted pretzels, Doris needed to drink some water. The waiter finally handed me the bill and I offered him a tip. We tipped him 15% of the totaled charges. He thanked us and smiled as we exited the restaurant. (40 verbs)

Outside the now closed restaurant, we strolled along the cobble-stoned street, stopped and laughed when we spotted a trained puppy that jumped and played with its owner. We then relaxed and watched the sunset from a padded park bench as the boats in the harbor rocked, pitched and bobbed on the water. Next, we watched a romantic movie at a new cinema that interested us. The aged couple in the movie argued and chased each other as they sailed down an unnamed river that tumbled and surged through rapids which boiled around jagged rocks. Frequently they were trapped and scared. When the colorized movie ended the two discovered that they really loved each other. Finally, at the disco, we danced, swayed to the music and hugged each other often. Whenever I kissed Doris she blushed and giggled. Both of us enjoyed our enchanted evening out together. We hope you liked our story. (41 verbs)

Try using this narrative, past-tense-of-regular-verbs-only text, wholly or in part to help your EFL or ESL, English as a Second Language, students with this all-important grammatical context. You can bold face or underline the targeted verb forms or remove them to create a “fill-in-the-blanks exercise. Add addition reading, writing or pronunciation-based activities for getting even more usefulness form this narrative. Your results may be even better than mine.

If you haven’t read “Six Quick Tricks for Learning a Language”, or another to the point piece entitled “Learning a Language: 6 Effective Ways to Use the Internet”, drop me an e-mail request at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com and I’ll send you a copy by return e-mail.

Prof Larry M. Lynch is a bi-lingual copywriter, expert author and photographer specializing in business, travel, food and education-related writing in South America. His work has appeared in Transitions Abroad, South American Explorer, Escape From America, Mexico News and Brazil magazines. He teaches at a university in Cali, Colombia. To get original, exclusive articles and content for your newsletter, blog or website contact him for a no-obligation quote and current rates. For free information on the 5-week online course “Develop a Specialty and Get Published on the Web for Fun, Fame or Fortune”, e-mail your request to: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

The voiced and unvoiced sounds of “s” at the end of a word.

We will look at two special cases where the letter “s” appears at the end of a word:

1. at the end of a verb,

2. at the end of a noun.

In these two cases the pronunciation of the “s”, whether it is voiced or unvoiced depends on the surrounding consonants.

Let’s see…

1. The letter “s” at the end of a verb:

There always is an “s” at the end of a verb in the third person singular of the present tense of the English verb.

Wait a minute! Don’t throw the book out the window!

We’ll explain the grammar in a “user friendly” way…

You know that the present tense of the verb describes what is going on right now. I eat; He walks etc. These forms of the verb communicate something very different from the forms that say I ate or He walked.

The verb also tells us something about the persons involved in the issue the sentence is informing about. The following table shows the persons of the verb.

The Persons of the Verb

Singular First Person
I eat fish.
Second Person
You (one person) eat fish.
Third Person
He eats fish.
She eats fish.
The cat eats fish.

Plural First Person
We eat fish.
Second Person
You (several persons) eat fish.
Third Person
They eat fish.

The person that is speaking is the first person (I do it.). The person that is being spoken to is the second person (You are doing it.).

And that which interests us is the third person singular, the person about whom the sentence is giving some information. In other words, the third person is the person that we are talking about. For example, John is writing a book. We are talking about John. The verb is has a third person form.

That’s all! No more grammar!

We reviewed the grammar of the person of the verb in order to reach the point that we can say that in English, there always is the letter “s” at the end of the third person singular of the present tense of the English verb.

Many immigrants learn English from their neighbors who say “My son do it” or “My father say it”. Unfortunately, not all native speakers of English speak correctly. The correct form of these sentences needs the letter “s” at the end of the verb. My son does it. and My father says it. The third person singular of the present tense of English verbs always ends with the letter “s”.

But this is grammar. What we want to concentrate on is the pronunciation. Remember this! Sometimes the letter “s” of one word has a different sound from the letter “s” of another word. Sometimes the sound is voiced and sometimes the sound is voiceless. The influence on the pronunciation of the “s” is that of the surrounding consonants.

First let’s look at some examples and then let’s see if there is a “rule” you can learn to know how to pronounce the “s” in these cases.

In our book you can listen to the recordings to be able to appreciate that the third person singular of the present tense of the English verb always ends in some kind of a sibilant or buzzing sound.

You should be able to notice how there is a different sound to the final “s” of the verbs says, walks, does, talks. It can be pronounced in two ways. You should hear the difference?

In the plural of the verb, there is no ending. The same basic or root form of the verb is used in all the persons. We walk, they walk; we find, they find, etc.,p.

The difference in the ending of verbs in the third person singular is that the final sound ofwalks and wants is voiceless or unvoiced and the final sound of uses, teaches, does, finds, and says is voiced.

Practice hearing and producing the voiced consonant with the words does, says, goes, bends, loses. Also listen to the sssssssssssssssss of the voiceless sound (like the air coming out of a flat tire) and the zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (the sound of an angry bumblebee) of the voiced sound.

The letter “s” in the word does and in the word says is pronounced like the letter “z” of the English alphabet. It is a voiced sound.

Think of the animal we see in the zoo that looks like a horse in its pijamas. The same striped animal is called a zebra in English (with a voiced “z”) and is called a cebra in other languages (with a voiceless “c”). This example will help you to realize that you must concentrate on the pronunciation without depending on the spelling. The two letters “z” and “c” in the sentences of above are formed in the same part of the mouth. As sounds, they differ only in that one is voiced and the other is voiceless. As spelling, they differ for many historical reasons.

Another example is the word zoo . Compare this word to the woman’s name, Sue. The “z” is voiced and the “s” is unvoiced. Again, the spelling is a totally different issue. We are worrying about pronunciation here.

2. The”s” at the end of a noun:

We just saw how the “s” changes at the end of a verb. The same thing happens when the “s” sound forms the plural of nouns (the names of persons, places, and things).

There is a different sound to the “s” in the following plural words: cats, tops, locks and the words: does, boys, cars, bells, etc.

OK, we just looked at the 2 cases where the letter “s” appears at the end of a word: at the end of a verb, and at the end of a noun. Now we learn more about the pronunciation of the letter “s” in these two cases.

A three part “rule”:
You’re probably asking, “How do I know when to pronounce the letter “s” one way or the other?

You are lucky! Nature itself helps you out. The difference between the sounds is not the result of the whim of some ancestor of the English; it is the result of how the human mouth works. There are “rules” that describe the relation between the voiced and the unvoiced consonants in most of the cases.

Certain combinations of consonant sounds require the voiced “s” of the word bins, and the voiceless sound of the word bats.

Algo parecido sucede en otros idiomas aunque con diferentes consonantes. El Castellano exige que el sonido representado por la “v” de invitar sea diferente de la “v” de ave. Te das cuenta de la diferencia?

If you still can’t feel the difference between the voiced “s” and the voiceless “s”, maybe this “rule” will help you. But you still have to listen to English spoken by a native speaker as much as you can. You must repeat what you hear and you must exaggerate the difference between the two sounds until it is easy for you to catch the difference and to imitate it.

As you see, we always use the word “rule” in quotes because it is not engraved in stone. Nevertheless it still has great value. It it helps you 9 times out of 10 to master certain points of English, you are not going to complain about the times it fails!

Here is the simple “rule” that covers the pronunciation of the “s”. It tells us why the “s” is voiceless in the word bits and why it is voiced in the word bins. Generally the “s” of the plural of the noun is voiceless when the singular noun ends in one of the other voiceless consonants and the final “s” is voiced when it follows a voiced consonant. It is the same for the third person singular of the verb.

Generally the “s” is unvoiced when the basic form of the verb ends in an unvoiced consonant and it is voiced when it follows an unvoiced consonant. Let’s look at what we just said in more detail. The “rule” has three parts: 1. the voiceless “s”, 2. the voiced “s”, and 3. the added syllable.

1. The voiceless “s”:

For example, the letter “s” of the plural of the noun and of the third person singular of some verbs is pronounced like the voiceless “s” in Sam, sandwich, silly, soup, talks, hits etc. when the noun or verb ends in a voiceless consonant sound.

The following voiceless consonant sounds are usually represented by the letters: p as in the word tops, t as in the word tots, k as in the word socks, f as in the word cuffs, th as in the words lengths and baths (la “zeta castellana” - como en la palabra taza y caza). The voiceless sound of the letters “th” has the IPA symbol (.

Listen to some words with the voiceless S sound

This “rule” is not difficult. We write it here so you can understand the language better. When you speak, you will have to follow the “rule”. Your mouth won’t let you put a voiced sound after a voiceless consonant sound.

…

2. The voiced “s”:

The letter “s” of the plural of a noun and of the third person singular of some verbs is voiced (sounds like the “z” of zoo) when the noun ends in one of the voiced consonant sounds usually represented by the letters: b as in the word robes, d as in the word beds, g as in the word logs, l as in the word walls, n as in the word pans, ( as in the word ring, r as in the word cars, v as in the word stoves, m in the word farms, th as in the word lathes. The voiced sound of the letters “th” has the IPA symbol ). (algo como la d castellana de “helado”)

The “s” is also voiced when it follows a vowel sound such as in the following cases: mamas, bays, teas, logos, boos.

Also, the “strange” English vowels are followed by a voiced “s” such as in the words: furs, papers, paws.

And the plural of nouns ending in a diphthong sound (a sound made up of two vowels) also end in a voiced “s” sound, for example in the words: plows, days, boys .

Just like the “rule” of the voiceless “s”, this one also is not difficult. When you speak, your mouth won’t let you put a voiceless sound after a voiced consonant sound or a vowel.

We are talking about the consonant sounds and the vowel sounds in these “rules”, not of the letters that sometimes represent them. This is because English spelling does not always help us with the pronunciation.

What does help is the IPA. This is the moment we begin to present the symbols of the IPA, the International Phonetic Alpabet. We have started with the symbols (, (, and . They will help you to have a clear idea of the pronunciation of a word that you look up in a good dictionary that uses these signs.

Why do we say that the spelling doesn’t help? The two words think and this both begin with the letters “th”. But the beginning sound is different in the two words . If we use the IPA symbols there is no problem. The word this starts with the symbol for the voiced sound . And the word think starts with the symbol for the voiceless sound.

Sure, it is always better to listen to a native speaker but sometimes you don’t have one around. For example, when you look up a word in the dictionary you will know how to pronounce it if the dictionary has the IPA symbols.

3. The added syllable:

When the word, whether it be a noun or a verb, ends in an “s” sound, or any “sibiilant” or “buzzing” sound, an extra syllable (the letters “es”) is added to the verb. The extra syllable has the sound of the “short i” that you saw above in the section on the vowels. This is the sound of the words bit, fix, his, Miss etc.

For example the singular nouns: face, kiss, ash, lunch, rose, judge, add “es” in the plural and turn out as faces, kisses, ashes, lunches, roses, judges.

Be alert in your listening to the radio, TV, and native speakers. Listen to all the words given above and other similar words until you can distinguish them and say them yourself.

Review the “rule”
The first part of the “rule”: the voiceless “s”

The second part of the “rule”: the voiced “s”

The third part of the “rule”: the added syllable

Frank Gerace Ph.D has worked in Latin America in UN and national Educational and Communication Projects, and has taught in Bolivian and Peruvian Universities. He currently teaches English in New York City at La Guardia College/CUNY. He provides resources on accent reduction and the proper American English accent at http://www.GoodAccent.com He also maintains resources for Spanish Speaking learners of English at http://www.LeerEsPoder.com/TuLibro.htm

If you want to become a great speaker of a foreign language, the
first thing you will want to do is lose your inhibitions. Allow
yourself to make mistakes, and allow yourself to make a lot of
them. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to watch a toddler
acquire language, you know that most of what they say in the
beginning are mistakes. Babies and toddlers verbalize
constantly, experimenting to see what combination of sounds will
get them what they want.

You’ve probably heard the quote, ‘Feedback is the breakfast of
champions.’ In my book, Master Plan to Master Exams: How to
Discover Your Hidden Abilities to Create the Success You Desire,
I teach that, ‘Feedback is the GPS Navigation System to Your
Goals.’

Feedback is an essential tool for perfecting your craft — and
you can’t get any unless you allow yourself to speak. You say
something in the language you are learning, you notice how the
other person responds, and you adjust and learn. It is through
these millions of adjustments that you learn how to perfect your
speaking and become truly fluent in the foreign language.

If you have friends who are native speakers of the target language, and they care enough about you to give you feedback
and correct your foreign language, consider yourself very lucky
and consider these friends among the best, most valuable friends
you’ll ever meet.

So allow yourself to speak the target language, to let the words
flow, and to learn, and gain mastery. You can become a brilliant
speaker of any foreign language you want to when you allow
yourself to let mistakes be okay!

Here’s to Your Success!
Teresa Bolen

Copyright © 2006 by Teresa Bolen. All rights reserved.

Teresa Bolen is a teacher at Todaiji Academy, one of the top 5
schools in Japan, and the author of Master Plan to Master Exams:
How to Discover Your Hidden Abilities to Create the Success You
Desire. You can get her ‘Academic Excellence Report’ at
http://www.MasterPlanToMasterExams.com.

‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life
you have imagined.’
— Henry David Thoreau –

There are many aspects in IELTS that people find surprising, usually when it hits them hard. It is quite a paradox - the information is right there, available to everyone, yet people are still in the dark. Allow me to draw your attention to several facts you don’t want to be surprised about.

Usually extensive answer is considered a very good one, but not in IELTS. When instructions say “give one answer” or “answer in 3 words”, it means “give us two answers or 4 words and we’ll fail you”. The reason for this limit is quite simple and obvious - there is not enough room for more than 3 words on Answer Sheet. By the way, articles “a” and “the” count as one word, while common assumption is that they don’t.

People tend to forget that they are graded by Answer Sheet and not by what they wrote in IELTS booklet. Any correct answer not copied to Answer Sheet will result in exactly 0 points. There is an option of submitting appeal and requesting to read your answers from the booklet, but it takes time and costs money.

Not many people think about what they are going to write with, pen or pencil. Yet there are rules: the Listening and Reading answers are to be written in pencil and Writing - in pen. This is another example of how small details can be very significant in IELTS.

Writing and Speaking are graded differently from Listening and Reading. There is no half band grade, which means it is impossible to get 6.5 in either Writing or Speaking. The reason is the way examiners are currently trained, but hopefully it will change in the future (according to official IELTS site maybe even in 2007).

In Reading and Listening tests the spelling is important, meaning one can loose points for misspelled words. The best way to overcome the spelling problem is to copy words. In case of Reading, copying words from text is a very easy and natural thing to do. In Listening test, as simple as it may sound, it is best to write what you hear and not to rephrase. It is acceptable to skip words - after all there is 3 words limit, as long as the important words are not substituted by their synonyms.

And at last some good news: starting from May 2006 candidates don’t need to wait 90 days to retake the test. The 90-day waiting period has been canceled to the joy of those who have no time to waste.

Simone Braverman is the author of “ACE The IELTS” e-Book. She once had to take the IELTS test to open a door to a dream. Her curiosity pushed her quite a bit further into extensive research on differnt aspects of IELTS test. More information at www.IELTS-blog.com
View their website at: www.ielts-blog.com/