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Ask HN: How did you become fluent in English?

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Re: Ask HN: How did you become fluent in English?

#151

Post by stordoff »

chrstphrknwtn wrote: post #3
jjude wrote: post #2

I studied in Tamil medium. When I entered college, I could not speak a sentence in English. Here are the things that helped me. 1. Read Bible cover to cover many time with a Tamil Bible side-by-side. I didn't understand many of the words / phrases. Still I kept reading as long as I understood the meaning. 2. In college we met every evening for prayer. I started sharing messages for few minutes. I made lot (a lot) of…

Reading the bible to learn English does not seem like a good idea. The English of the bible is not common everyday English that will be most useful for communicating with others today. Watching films or television in English, with subtitles in your native language is good advice.

Even if you learn old English from that (rather than using a modern English translation), it'd still give you a good base (grammar etc.) for then understanding modern English. It might lead to learning a slightly odd/old variation of English, and might not be the most efficient route, but I can see it being effective for being able to understand English.

Re: Ask HN: How did you become fluent in English?

#153

Post by ukpa »

bayindirh wrote: post #18

First of all read a lot. Read local communities like Reddit, HN (here), slashdot, etc. This will make you familiar with the daily language. Second, listen a lot. Watch movies with original sound and English subtitles. Try to understand, try to make sense of it. If you listen English songs, try to listen a little more attentive. Then write a lot. Try to take your notes in English. Comment your code in English. Try to…

Adding more to @bayindirh's comment. I am currently the active user of this app called 'memrise'. This app will help beginners improve their vocabulary. Also talk to yourself in the language you are learning, that will help you eliminate the translation lag.

Re: Ask HN: How did you become fluent in English?

#154

Post by Natsu »

stordoff wrote: post #151
chrstphrknwtn wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reading the bible to learn English does not seem like a good idea. The English of the bible is not common everyday English that will be most useful for communicating with others today. Watching films or television in English, with subtitles in your native language is good advice.

Even if you learn old English from that (rather than using a modern English translation), it'd still give you a good base (grammar etc.) for then understanding modern English. It might lead to learning a slightly odd/old variation of English, and might not be the most efficient route, but I can see it being effective for being able to understand English.

For someone not from a Western culture, it will also help them understand a lot of cultural references that won't make much sense otherwise, like "seeing the handwriting on the wall."

Re: Ask HN: How did you become fluent in English?

#156

Post by stordoff »

zawerf wrote: post #102
bayindirh wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually my language skills, regardless of language, varies according to my mood and energy, and it's late here. However, this is not to dismiss your comment as moot or anything, I'll keep this in mind. Thanks for the heads up.

I am a non-native speaker so I tried combing through a few of your comments to see how a native speaker might be able to pick you out as a non-native. > listen a little more attentive attentively > will sharpen you in daily English "sharpen" should be applied to the skill, not the person? ("sharpen your daily English") > Becoming fluent becomes after becoming familiar. "becomes after" sounds weird. Maybe "follows" or…

> "sharpen" should be applied to the skill, not the person? ("sharpen your daily English")

Possibly depends on the dialect. "Sharpen your skills" is probably more common, but applying it to the person (e.g. "This will sharpen you up") sounds fine to me as a British English speaker (though if specifying a specific skill in the same sentence you probably wouldn't use that form).

> But I think the most glaring issue is the way you use commas (lots of unnecessary commas, comma splices, and parallel structure violations).

Definitely true, but that can also be a trait of some native speakers, FWIW. Some of my sentences have a ton of unneeded commas and "loose" clauses when I first write them, until I refactor them to make them more correct. It's certainly not exclusive to non-native speakers.

Re: Ask HN: How did you become fluent in English?

#157

Post by aviaro »

I've been trying to become fluent for over 12 months, having been passively exposed to this language for over 9 years. I'd say that mastering English beyond intermediate level is extremely difficult.

You have to be constantly aware of what you are saying. Also, you need this kind of loopback that allows you to detect your mistakes and learn from them. This is a difficult skill which requires practicing.

You also need to have a social and communicative personality, so if you are introvert than you are less likely to master a language. I am focusing on speaking, because it is the most important aspect of any language.

As others said, when encoutering a new word you should check the pronunciation and commit it to your memory. This in turn allows you to practice your inner voice while reading. If you don't do that, then after some time you will reinforce your accent.

Re: Ask HN: How did you become fluent in English?

#158

Post by Baeocystin »

fenomas wrote: post #150
Baeocystin wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No it isn't, and you are not doing him any favors by saying otherwise. His usage is at a level I would consider intermediate at best. FearNotDaniel's assessment is accurate. There is no shame in not being 100% fluent. I'm multi-semi-lingual, in that I can read a newspaper, shop at a store, etc. in several languages. But I am only fluent in English. When I speak something else, my friends will frequently correct me. I…

> His usage is at a level I would consider intermediate at best. ... There is no shame in not being 100% fluent. Your notions about language proficiency are wildly out of whack. The speaker you're talking about is clearly articulating their ideas, coherently and without (one presumes) halting or grasping. That's fluency.

You don't have to agree with me, and that is OK. But my opinion is based off of experience.

You might be interested in http://www.govtilr.org/Skills/ILRscale5.htm as an example of the scales used when defining levels of competency.

Re: Ask HN: How did you become fluent in English?

#159

Post by [deleted] »

Baeocystin wrote: post #158
fenomas wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> His usage is at a level I would consider intermediate at best. ... There is no shame in not being 100% fluent. Your notions about language proficiency are wildly out of whack. The speaker you're talking about is clearly articulating their ideas, coherently and without (one presumes) halting or grasping. That's fluency.

You don't have to agree with me, and that is OK. But my opinion is based off of experience. You might be interested in http://www.govtilr.org/Skills/ILRscale5.htm as an example of the scales used when defining levels of competency.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: How did you become fluent in English?

#160

Post by techsin101 »

bayindirh wrote: post #18

First of all read a lot. Read local communities like Reddit, HN (here), slashdot, etc. This will make you familiar with the daily language. Second, listen a lot. Watch movies with original sound and English subtitles. Try to understand, try to make sense of it. If you listen English songs, try to listen a little more attentive. Then write a lot. Try to take your notes in English. Comment your code in English. Try to…

I've to completely disagree. Only way to learn to "speak" is to be in environment where you can only speak the new language and you have to speak.

You can read 10 years and won't be fluent. You can watch for 10 years and won't learn a thing. I've been watching Japanese animes before high school. Do I speak Japanese, no! Only 10 or so words.

One thing that cements this the fact grammar is something that's not absolute.

Again from experience, very important, you can take 5 semester of esl courses and still sound like you came over here last month.

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