Холиварофорум

Анон

English thread

Let's chat in English, dear anonymous! You can write about everything here, regardless of your level.

Your English level is…

1. A1(голосов 7 [3.78%])

   3.78%

2. A2(голосов 10 [5.41%])

   5.41%

3. B1(голосов 25 [13.51%])

   13.51%

4. B2(голосов 56 [30.27%])

   30.27%

5. C1(голосов 59 [31.89%])

   31.89%

6. C2(голосов 28 [15.14%])

   15.14%

Всего голосов: 185

Гости не могут голосовать

Анон

Re: English thread

I have a friend with whom I speak only English. Out of necessity, rather than desire, as she is Chinese and doesn't speak Russian. It's a comfortable thing, what we have; I'd rather not lose it.
On a separate note, my spelling has become abysmal. I'm worse than a third grader. Not to mention my punctuation (forgive the bad rhyme). I'm properly ashamed, and yet what can I do?
Well, perhaps I might order some high school English grammar books, just to brush up. If any of you have any suggestions, I'm ready to hear them. I would prefer a British textbook to an American one, but it's not a big deal.

Анон

Re: English thread

When I started talking with native speakers my English level grew up. 11 years at school at 5 years at university gave me Pre-Intermediate. That is all that you need know about our government education system.

Отредактировано (2023-11-13 01:03:33)

Анон

Re: English thread

When I finished school (OK, last two years I studied at a kinda experimental place that were in vouge in the 90-s and we had 6 hours English a week) I was at Upper Intermediate. After 4 years at University with English once a week as a third language I improved to Advanced C1. Now I feel I'm not as good but yeah that's what the lack of practice does for you.
That's all you need to know about... my personal experience with our educational system.

Анон

Re: English thread

Well, the lack of practice is on the person who doesn't practice. But yeah. The problem is, in our schools and universities they teach languages just like one more theoretical course. Here is your biology lesson, let me tell you about mitochondria, here is your literature lesson, let me tell you about famous books and writers, here is your English lesson, let me tell you about articles and tenses. But a language is not a theoretical knowledge, it's a skill. It should be taught as music or sports, not as math and biology.

No one expects you to become an athlete after listening to a lecture on proper running or swimming, or a musician after studying Mozart's biography. But somehow they think that drilling tenses will teach you to read, listen, speak and write. And, well, the main secret nobody tells you - that one hour a week, two hours a week or even three hours a week are absolutely not enough. Two hours a day, every day, that's what you really need (and five on weekends). But also, you don't have to drill tenses all that time, just engage with the language in any way you find pleasurable. Fuck the textbooks, plop into the middle of the media ocean and dabble there to your heart's content. Have fun. That's the main factor of the successful language learning. Fun.

Анон

Re: English thread

Modern textbooks are far from perfect, but they no longer rely on the old-fashioned teaching methods, like Grammar-Translation, which used to be ubiquitous in post-Soviet countries. The real issue, at least here in Russian state schools, is the lack of good teachers. School salaries are at an all-time low. Combine paltry salaries with an extremely toxic work environment, and you'll understand why so many competent teachers are quitting and going private. Who in their right mind would work for 20k roubles when they speak fluent English?

As for the language exposure, it's always beneficial. Even private teachers who otherwise possess a strong command of the language sometimes fail to engage meaningfully with students during class and resort to L1, in our case, Russian. I second the previous poster: you must want to engage with native media content; otherwise, no amount of exposure to the language in the classroom is going to make you fluent.

Анон

Re: English thread

How's your New Year's Resolutions, nonnies?

Any plans about self upgrading and starting a whole new life from scratch? Let's talk about all this level up stuff.