Alan's English language guides

how to talk with native speakers

Alan Palmer — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:35:51 GMT

Nimen zenme yang wode pengyoumen Today I would like to talk about how better to get conversations started. Often, you have few chances to speak with native speakers. You practice in class, at home, with friends. Unless you live in an English speaking country or can visit it, then the chances to speaking English with native speakers can be quite rare. So, what can you do that gives you more confidence to speak with native speakers when you have the chance? So here are some ideas for helping any conversations you have with native speakers to be as pleasant as possible: 1. Be prepared to talk about simple things like the weather…a few useful phrases can be good: “ Oh, isn’t it cold today?” “What a beautiful sunny day!” “Oh, it’s very windy today isn’t it?” These sort of friendly phrases are called “icebreakers” 2. Remember that many, many people love to talk about themselves and what they are doing, So, maybe a conversation would go like this: (you) “Hello, how is it going?” (other person )“Oh, very well thanks. I’ve been busy and many things are happening at the moment, I have a new job, a new house. My kids are enjoying school and very soon we will be going on holiday…..” (you)“oh, that’s nice, where will you be going to?” (other person)“we will go to Spain this year, we’ve never been there and we are really looking forward to it” Even though you have not said much yourself and you may wish that you were speaking more, accept that you may need to do this at the beginning of the conversation. 3. Always use polite words, even if the person you are speaking with doesn’t. This will mean everyone will always consider you as a polite, friendly person. 4. Always accept a compliment in a matter of fact way. “Oh, your English is great!” You should accept it, only a short “thanks, I keep trying my best to learn more” will be enough. 5. Give yourself time by starting to speak in short sentences at first. “How’s it going?” “what’s new?” “I’m doing fine myself” These sort of well known phrases are fantastic at giving you chance to say something quickly. So, see how you find it when you next have the chance to speak with a native speaker. See if my advice works for you as it has for me. See you next time Zaijian

My country (Simplified version)

Alan Palmer — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:21:54 GMT

Nimen hao wo de peng you I am glad to be here again. Today I want to talk about my country. My country is called England Great Britain is the name of the big island. Eire is the name of the smaller island. There are also many smaller islands and together these islands are called “The British Isles (Isles also means islands) United Kingdom means England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The capital of the United Kingdom is London. Most people here speak English. English is the most common language. There are other languages in the British Isles. These are: Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic, Manx (Isle of Mann) There are many different people living in Great Britain. People who were born here are called “British” There are 50,000,000 British people living in the United Kingdom There are around 247,000 Chinese people in the United Kingdom . Most of these Chinese people are from Guangdong or Hong Kong. So, when I say “I am English” I mean that I live in one country of the United Kingdom of Great Britain This country is called England Bye for now Zai jian

My country

Alan Palmer — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:13:26 GMT

Nimen hao wo de peng you I am glad to be here again. Today I want to talk about my country. Did you know that I live in 4 different places? Well, I mean that my country has four different names. My country is called England Great Britain is the name of the largest island. Eire is the name of the next biggest island. There are many other smaller islands. Together these islands are called “The British Isles (Isles also means islands) United Kingdom means England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is the political union of the country. The capital of the United Kingdom is London. The United Kingdom does not have an official language – but of course, most people here speak English. Although English is the most common language, there are other languages in the British Isles. These are: Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic, Manx (Isle of Mann) There was also a language that used to be called Cornish –this was spoken by people in the south-west part of England which is now called Cornwall. There are many different people living in Great Britain. Those people who are born here are called “British” This is true even when their parents come from other countries There are 50,000,000 British people living in the United Kingdom There are around 247,000 Chinese people in the United Kingdom . Most of these Chinese people are from Guangdong or Hong Kong. The flag of the United Kingdom is very well know and is a red cross (for England) a blue cross for Scotland and “St Patrick’s cross” for Northern Ireland. There is no part of the flag to represent Wales – which is something that some people would like to see changed. So, when I say “I am English” I mean that I live in one country of the United Kingdom of Great Britain which is called England Bye for now Zai jian

Speaking English with more confidence

Alan Palmer — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:19:24 GMT

Hello everybody Nimen hao! Today I will talk about talking English better Here are some friendly tips and advice that you can use to improve and develop your English 1. When you want to say something in English, first make sure you are relaxed and try not to think whether you will speak English words well or not. Think first, "I want to speak and I feel good about speaking". 2. Do not try too hard to speak very well. It is fine to make some mistakes when you speak with native speakers. Of course in a classroom or exam, you may have to try very hard. But when you are speaking (or writing in text chat) with English speakers, then just try to enjoy the opportunity. 3. If you say something that is not all correct. For example, if you pronounce a word not very well, then usually an English speaker will be able to guess what you mean. Often, the person you are speaking with will "play back" the words you have used. For example if you said: "I am go to school today" - "Oh you are GOING to school today" and then you know that the word you needed is "GOING" 4. Always take a little bit longer to think how you are to say something before you say it. This will feel a long time to you, but it will not really be long and the person you are speaking with will usually wait for you. If the other person says a word first - then let them do it! You can learn more this way. 5. When you speak, make sure you smile and look happy - even if you feel worried inside your head. This will give you confidence to keep speaking. 6. Do not be worried to ask the person you are speaking with to slow down or repeat what they said if you do not understand everything. 7. Ask short questions rather than make the questions long.."are you well" is better to start will than "hello, how are you, are you feeling well?" Just ask short questions at first to get a conversation going. 8. Answer questions in the best way you can and don't be afraid to ask what the correct word might be if you can't remember "I want to buy a thing you write with, what is that please?" is better than saying " sorry, I can't remember the word.?" You will probably get a reply back "you mean a pen?" 9. If you cannot find a native speaker to speak with, then find anyone who can speak with you at your level and enjoy the chance to speak English. 10. I believe that chatting in text is also valuable and I call it "silent speaking" - don't be afraid to try this even if you dare not speak at first. I wish you all the best of luck with your English Zaijian

English houses

Alan Palmer — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:20:58 GMT

Nimen hao Hello everyone, Today I will talk about English houses. There are many different types of houses in England. The main types are: Detached houses. These are two or three-storey houses that do not join to other houses and maybe have a garden all the way around them Semi-detached houses. These are two or three storey houses that join to one other house. From the front it may look like one house, but there are two doors and the middle wall is joined. Terraced houses. These are two or three storey houses that join together maybe to make 10 or 20 houses in a row. Bungalows. These are single storey houses that sometimes are joined together with another bungalow – but are often “detached”. These can then be called a “detached bungalow” or a “semi-detached bungalow” Flat (or sometimes called “an apartment”) These are buildings that contain many houses together. Multi-storey, these are seen more in cities than in towns. You very rarely see flats in villages. Here is a website to look at English houses. See if you can decide which type of house is the ones I talk about.. http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&s

Nimen hao! Wo jiao Alan

Alan Palmer — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:43:17 GMT

Hello everybody, Nimen hao, Wo jiao Alan. Wo hui shuo yi dian pu tong hua. Wo xi huan nimen shuo ying wen This is my new English language guide website for my Chinese friends. In this website I will make podcasts (MP3) for beginners and intermediate learners of English from China. I was in China in 2006. I went to Taiwan, Hong Kong and also to Great China. When we say Mainland China in English we mean Great China. I enjoyed my visit to China. I enjoy learning Chinese. I am learning very slowly, but I will keep learning it. I am 51 years old, which means that I am not so young, but maybe not so old either. I am married with two grown-up sons. My sons are 28 years old and 26 years old. Here in my new website I will talk about my country and my region. I live in the North of England near Manchester. England is a nice country to live in. The weather is sometimes quite wet. We do have quite a lot of rain. But also, the countryside is very pleasant and we do not have extremes of weather. In summer, a hot summer’s day around 28 degrees celcius. In winter nowadays we do not have much snow. When I was young, there was much more snow in winter. I am not a professional teacher – so I prefer to say I am a language guide. To guide you today. I suggest that: You listen to this recording a few times as you read the text. Try to speak some of the words out loud to compare with my pronunication If you feel like it, then read all the words out loud Don’t try to read or speak too quickly – take some time Use a dictionary to make sure that you understand the text Listen to the little “push” or “stress” on each word. An example is the word China. It is CHIna not chiNA. This will help you with pronunciation. I hope you like my new website Zai jian Alan