Seven Ways To Improve You ESL Business Vocabulary

Improving your business vocabulary is very important. A recent survey pointed out that the average size of top business executives is much larger than the average employees. Now, that doesn't mean to say that you will automatically receive a promotion this week if you learn a hundred new words.But if you want to improve your speaking skills to become a more fluent and proficient English speaker, than you will definitely need to increase your vocabulary and learn how to use it. And you just may be surprised at the changes in store for you. Just think of all the benefits you will receive even if you don't get your desired promotion or raise this month. You will definitely be a better speaker.This is especially true if you are learning English as a second language. Your native co-workers have a head start on you, and you will need to develop your skills to compete with them. But it really isn't that difficult because the average native speaker only learns an approximately fifty new words a year. By just learning two new words a day, you can learn more than that in a single month. That means you can learn about ten times more than the average native speaker in a year. So, let's get the show on the road. I want to share seven, easy ways to begin improving your speaking skills today.

Number One: Read A LotYes, I can hear you groaning. But this is one really simple way to increase your vocabulary and improve your skills. Not only will you learn new words and what they mean, but you will also learn exactly how they are used within the context. You will learn how phrases are structured in the language and how to use them correctly.So, read! Read a lot. Read everything you can get your hands on. Start off reading easy material, like children's book and short magazine articles. Work your way up to increasingly difficult levels of vocabulary. You will eventually find that you are able to comprehend material you never would have thought possible. You may even discover you enjoy reading technical manuals, as well as understanding them. Okay, maybe you won't go that far, but you will definitely see your word power increase.

Number Two: Watch Movies And VideosHey, why not have fun increasing your vocabulary and honing your skills. Sit down with a good movie and relax as the new words sink in. You will be learning new words without even noticing that this is part of your study time. Make sure to put the subtitles in English so that you can see how the words are written. If you have trouble with the meaning, just go back and put the subtitles in your mother-tongue. Then go back and watch it again in English. Not only will you be seeing the words as they are written, but you will also hear them being spoken by natives. You will learn to pronounce the words correctly. Take a short section of the dialogue and mimic the actor's speech. Pause each sentence as you go. Go over it a few times until you learn the words and can repeat the phrases without stumbling.

Number Three: Use Your DictionaryYes, I know this is a rather boring exercises, but go get your dusty, old dictionary off that shelf in the dark corner. Clean it up a bit and get to work. You can also find some good, online dictionaries to use when you are surfing the web. You can double-check the meanings of new words you see while reading or watching T.V.If the text is fairly simple and you understand eighty to ninety percent of it, simply try to figure out what the word means within the context. If it is an important part of the vocabulary it will reappear in the text. Just take note of them, and then double-check your comprehension once you finish reading the text. If the text is more complex, however, you will have to slow down and learn the words as you go. When you come across a new word, pause to see how it is being used. Look it up right away in your dictionary. Then, move on a little and learn a new word. After learning several new words, you will begin to discover what the writer is trying to say. You will quickly begin to recognize words when you see them later.

Number Four: Keep A Vocabulary Book Of Words And ExpressionsThis a very useful tool that every English student needs to have. You need to keep a small notebook handy to write your new words down. That way you can review them often and really integrate them into your active vocabulary so that you don't forget them. Another useful thing to do, is highlight the words in your dictionary that you have already learned. This way you will find them easier if you want to review them from time to time. You will be able to track your progression on daily basis by simply doing these two things. If you do learn new words faithfully, you will look back and be amazed at how your vocabulary is rapidly expanding and increasing.

Number Five: Sign Up For 'Word Of The Day Lists'You can find several websites that will send you a new word each day. They normally include the meaning of the word, as well as some sample sentences. All you have to do is sign up by giving them your name and e-mail address. This is a quick and easy way to learn at least one new word each day.

Number Six: Play Word GamesYes, it is true. You can learn English and have fun while doing it. You can improve your vocabulary by playing any of the several word games available. Some options are Boggle or Scrabble. You can pick them up in a good retail store to play with your friends and family. You can also find many these games online, as well as many others that are readily available. Just do a quick search in your favorite engine like Google or Yahoo. Hey, and don't forget about crossword puzzles or the like, which can be great fun as well.

Number Seven: Find People You Can Talk English WithSo, once you learn all this new vocabulary, you will need to begin using it. Find people you can talk with, like other English students or your co-workers. You can make friends with native speakers online and practice with them too. They will also teach you many new words as well.

Now you have seven new ways to begin developing your skills and increasing your English vocabulary. Soon, you will be talking like a native, or maybe even better. Just keep on studying and little by little you will progress to the point of fluency and proficiency that you are hoping to achieve. And who knows, maybe even get that new promotion or raise you were looking for?
By: davidbailey

Why Pay Tuition When You Can Learn English Free

With an online site for learning a second language, you now have the opportunity to learn English and not have to pay a dime for the course. This is welcome news for those who are trying to meet the language qualification to be able to live and work in an English-speaking country and for those who want to learn English to help them advance in their careers. It means that you won't have to take time off work to attend classes or leave the country to enroll in a language school in another country. When you learn English free from an online site, you can set your own class schedule and study at home at your own pace.Taking an online course in English gives you all the tools and resources that you need to succeed. The only thing you need is a computer with an Internet connection and speakers so that you can hear the audio components of the program. You can also have your own notebook so that you can take notes on the lessons and if you wish to print off any of the lessons or practice exercises, you will need to have a printer.That being said, you do have to take your time when learning English. Look through the list of lessons and set small goals for yourself. It would be too overwhelming to try to take on too much at once. It takes years for even native speakers to learn all the rules of grammar, so you shouldn't expect to accomplish this overnight. Even adults have to start at the beginning with simple words and phrases and will really benefit from playing the children's games, such as Memory games with Flash cards, that the site offers.All the lessons and audio components are completely free. Even if you already have some language skills, it is best to start at the beginning with the Starter course. Then you can run through the lessons and the exercises quite quickly as a refresher. This will also help boost your confidence when you realize how much you do know. As you complete one lesson and achieve the score on the exercises you wish to attain, you can move on to the next one and so on. If you do find one lesson difficult and not get as many questions correct as you would like, you can repeat the lesson as often as you wish. If you do run into difficulty and require the aid of a tutor, you can have a personal tutor, but this is a paid part of the program. It is not expensive, though, as one hour of personal tutoring geared to your problem area will only cost you $35. You don't have to make any commitment for a further number of hours once your hour is up, but there are several choices in the numbers of hours. The more hours you choose the cheaper the rate charged per hour becomes.
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What's Involved In Taking An English Course?

When you take an English course to help you learn the language, no matter how old you are, you have to start at the beginning. As an adult, you may think that it is silly to learn rhymes and songs in English, but this is a very effective way of learning the language. If you look at what taking a free online course entails, you will see that there are flash cards, practice sheets for grammar and quizzes, word games and more. These techniques will help you improve your grasp of the language.Listening is one of the most important ways of learning the language because it is not enough just to be able to read and write the language. Through listening exercises you can learn the correct pronunciation of the words, how accents on different parts of the words change the meaning and how to string words and phrases together to make sentences. Then you can practice saying these words so that you improve your pronunciation and be able to speak the language more fluently.On language learning sites, there are resources for people of many different languages to help them learn English. For example, there may be a section devoted to Chinese people learning the language, online activities for native Korean speakers and an American audio course. Through the online dictionary, you can translate words from your own language into English so that you have specific words and phrases that you want to learn.While it is essential for language learners to start at the beginning, they also need instruction in other areas so that they do not become bored with the course. For this reason, there are news articles that you can listen to in English that use simple words and phrases that will help you to understand the meaning of the articles much better. By reading these articles on your own and listening to them being read by a native speaker, you will be able to recognize the different forms of punctuation. For example, many languages place a question mark at the beginning of the sentence, while in English this comes at the end. Knowing the use of quotation marks is also important so that you will know when an article is quoting the exact words of a speaker.A course should take you through all the basic rules of grammar. This involves using short conversations you will use when speaking. The conversations are printed on the screen and you can listen to them as well. Then you can read the phrases out loud and try repeating them without looking at the screen. Each lesson has a key objective, such as learning the use of subject pronouns: I, you, me, we, as well as other important words. Then there is instruction regarding the various components of the topic under study, just as if you were attending a live class. Finally there are exercise you complete on the lesson where you type in the correct answer and the site corrects it for you telling you how well you scored.
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The Dutch Language - A Languages of the World Primer

Dutch began to develop in the fifth century AD from old Frankish, a Germanic tribal language. At around that time, the southern dialects of old Frankish (including the forerunner of modern German) underwent significant phonetic changes (known as the High German shift) whereas the northern dialects (including the forerunner of modern Dutch) did not. As a result, Dutch has more in common in this regard with English and the Scandinavian languages than it does with German. That said, it is grammatically similar to German in terms of syntax and verb usage although its vocabulary is particularly rich and contains an enormous amount of loanwords from the Romance languages, in particular French.There is a common misconception that the Dutch spoken in Belgium, known locally as Vlaams or Flemish, is either a dialect of Dutch or somehow inferior. To start with, Algemeen Nederlands (Common Dutch, abbreviated to AN) is the standard language taught in schools across the Netherlands and Belgian Dutch-speaking areas. Indeed, both countries share the same language regulator, the Nederlandse Taalunie (Dutch Language Union), together with Suriname. In point of fact, there is no officially recognised Flemish language. That is not to say that there are no differences between the various variants spoken in Belgium and AN, but the same is true of the various dialects found in the Netherlands.As regards the dialect argument, it is interesting to note that Dutch underwent a process of standardisation in the middle ages, under the influence of the Court of the Duke of Burgundy which was located in Brussels from the late 15th century. During this phase, the "Belgian" dialects of Flanders and Brabant were the most influential. The "Belgian" influence increased after 1585 when Antwerp fell to the Spanish and many inhabitants fled to the Netherlands bringing their local dialect with them.Related languagesDutch is closely related to other West Germanic languages such as English, West Frisian and German although it is by no means a dialect of German as is sometimes wrongly believed. Its closest relative, however, is Afrikaans, an official language in South Africa, of which it is the parent language. Dutch and Afrikaans are highly mutually intelligible, although the ease of understanding depends on the speaker's local dialect. Indeed it was only in 1925 that the Dutch colonists in South Africa decided to break away from Dutch spelling and thus written texts can generally be readily understood.Status todayDutch is an official language of the European Union and the Union of South American Nations. In addition to the Netherlands and Belgium, Dutch is an official language in Suriname, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles. It is also spoken by small minorities along the French-Belgian border and in northwest Germany. In total, and excluding Afrikaans speakers who are sometimes included in Dutch statistics, there are around 23 million Dutch speakers worldwide with an additional 4 to 5 million non-native speakers.
By: TJ Leary

Are We There Yet? 3 Easy Things To Keep You Motivated To Learn German Fluently

Move me momma! Just to jump right in and say it like it is. We all know that there are many different types of motivation, but the type that we are concerned with is intrinsic verses extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation refers to the desire to do something that pleases you and makes you pat yourself on the back. Most studies have shown it to be much more effective in long-term language learning than extrinsic motivation (for an external reward such as impressing the boss or your peers). Unfortunately, most of us are not lucky enough to hire a personal pep squad or self-improvement coach to keep us motivated. Yup, you are going to have to find the power within yourself. It seems that to become fluent in German will take time and perseverance, so how can you stay motivated?1. Fraternal Twins Separated At BirthYes, the process of learning German can be very stressful but keep in mind the cool thing about German is that modern German and modern English both originated from the common Germanic ancestor language and despite their distinct differences, the two languages share many similarities in both vocabulary and grammar. Also, German is spelled phonetically. This means that once you learn the system of sounds, it is easy to predict how the spoken word is written and how the written word is pronounced. Know your German ABCs.2. Oktoberfest Anyone?If your ultimate goal is to learn to speak German fluently, then it is important to know that you will become more fluent quickly if you maximize your language exposure. You can start by simply practicing the language with a classmate outside of class. You can befriend native speakers in your community or attend a local foreign language conversation hour, if one exists. Rent a German DVD, or listen to authentic German audio or video online.3. The Gift Of The GabWhenever possible, speak German aloud rather than reciting it silently to yourself. Say vocabulary words out loud, read passages in the text aloud, and do pronunciation activities orally. Transferring language from your mind to your mouth is a skill that requires a great deal of practice. And you should practice German actively frequently.The process of learning German can be very stressful, and the impact of your own positive or negative attitudes can be critical to your learning. Self-motivation is the key to staying on track and achieving fluency. Because German and English have similarities, you have a head start when learning German. Ultimately, to learn to speak German online or otherwise is all about you. Therefore, you must play an active role in your learning by jumping at the opportunities to speak, listen and comprehend German. You'll meet new people, make new friends and most importantly, learn German fluently.
By: Paul W. Brown

Tips And Benefits Of Learning A Second Language

Knowing a second language provides a lot of benefits. This elevates your power in communications by expanding the number of individuals you can proficiently converse. But how can you effectively learn a second language? Here are some tips:* Give enough time to study. Promise yourself you will study for a specific amount of time per day. If you are a student, or if you work, do not put too much pressure on yourself by thinking you will be able to study more than you actually find comfortable. This will be counter productive because you will not enjoy it and you will become stressed * See to it you enjoy it. Have fun on it. It will make the learning process simpler for your brain.* Learn with someone. It will be easier if you have a buddy because you can be monitored and helped in the learning process.* Take control of your studies. Wanting to learn a new language makes you more receptive to learning and remembering. Immerse yourself in your selected new language. Try to learn a little of the culture, the country and how the language have grown.*Try and work out how you would say each day occurrences in the new language. For instance, you have to phone and ask for an appointment at the doctors. When finished, try and work out how you would have said it in the second language you are studying. Find out, write it down, then teach your practice buddy. Teaching is the best way to absorb learnings*Do not get stressed out if you cannot remember words or phrases. Slowly it will all begin to fall into place.* Listen to your lessons each day without fail. It will keep everything firmly in your memory. If you do have an MP3 player, utilize it to assist. Listening just before you fall asleep is a powerful technique.Some More Benefits Of Learning New LanguageIn studying a new language, you will gain new horizons, but at the same time you reinforce your own identity, and, therefore, your confidence. Foreign language does contribute for you to become a stronger person.It is an undeniable truth that define a culture through the language. Foreign language provides you access to different culture. This gives you an great chances to communicate and share ideas with people all over the world that you would otherwise not have the chance to know.Study of a foreign language brings a whole new dimension. It has a positive effect on intellectual development, and it enriches and enhances personal development.
By: Stephen Campbell