Tag: Grammar

How to be a good language learner

Two students reading at a library

I have been teaching English for fifteen years now. Over the years, I have noticed some positive traits and approaches of good language learners. What we will cover is based on my experience teaching English, but these points would be relevant when learning other languages as well.

4 points to keep in mind when learning a language

1. Have a positive attitude

Learning a new language is rewarding in itself. You learn new sounds. You learn new words and idioms. You learn new grammatical forms. In short, you learn a new way to express yourself. A new horizon opens up.

I remember a student telling me that she didn’t enjoy learning English, and that she was learning the language only because she had no choice. As you could guess, learning English is a chore for this person. This internal resistance will work against her learning the language well.

If you are learning a language, do not view it as a burden. Relish the sounds of the new words. Enjoy the process. It’s always a pleasure to be a student, whatever your age may be.

2. Be persistent and patient

If there is a word that you find difficult to remember, write it down. Keep practising it during the week. If there is a grammar point that is tricky, take your time. Slow down. Spend a minute or two to better understand it. Make a sentence with it. If you make a mistake, no worries. Try again. The more persistent you are are, the more your mind becomes familiar with what you are learning. Give your mind time to absorb the new information.

I have met students who are impatient when it comes to learning English. At times, they overestimate their level of English. They are in a hurry to become advanced-level speakers. Don’t be. Being impatient is not going to make you learn the language any faster. In fact, you may get demotivated when you find that you are not improving as much as you thought you would.

Persistence is the path that will get you there.

3. Celebrate small wins

After many attempts, you use the present perfect tense correctly when speaking. Celebrate the win! After repeated mistakes, you use a preposition correctly. You say, ‘I’m in the car’, instead of ‘I’m on the car’. Celebrate the win! I’m not saying you have to eat a slice of cake. But, just recognize that you have achieved something, however small it may be.

If you have been learning a language for some time, your errors may be fossilized. When you finally get a word or grammar point right, pat yourself on the back.

4. Immerse yourself

Immersion is the secret to learning any language. Imagine you are in a country where people only speak a foreign language. Your learning curve will be steep.

All of us may not have the opportunity to live in a foreign country. But, we do have access to the internet. Watch YouTube videos. This would include: the news, short clips, songs, documentaries, comedy series, and yes, even cartoons.

When listening, be an active listener. If you are a beginner in the language, see if you can identify any words. Listen to the sounds of the language.

If you are at the pre-intermediate, intermediate level, or upper-intermediate level, you could keep your ears tuned for new words. You can try to guess their meaning from the context. Don’t worry if you are not sure of the meaning of the new word or phrase. By using your mind to guess the meaning, you are already on your way to expanding your vocabulary. You can always check a dictionary. My go-to dictionary is Cambridge Dictionary.

Apart from words, pay attention to how words are pronounced. Pay attention to the key words that are stressed in a sentence. Pay attention to how intonation is used.

Notice how grammar is used. In the beginning, try to recognize the grammar that you have already covered. Doing this will help you consolidate your learning. Later, focus on unfamiliar grammar points.

Phew! As you can see, when it comes to language immersion there are a lot of things to do.

I recommend that you take a pro-active role when learning a language. Become an independent learner. Isn’t that the best way?

The takeaway

Enjoy learning a language. Don’t worry if it seems endless. Eventually, with persistence and patience, you will attain your language goals.

Learning a new language can be fun and rewarding or it can be boring and dreary. The choice, dear reader, is yours!

Parents: Your child needs to be good at grammar

If are a parent of a school-going child, this post is for you.

My name is Amal Fabian, an English teacher with fifteen years of experience. An author of two books on English language learning: Q in the Garden of Grammar and Common Indian Errors in Business English. I’ve taught at British Council, Chennai. I’ve been a British Council corporate trainer in Delhi, where I’ve conducted sessions at MNCs, Indian companies, NGOs, and colleges. I’ve been an IELTS examiner in Punjab for many years. And I’ve been teaching students online from South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Can you guess what the main issue that all learners struggle with when it comes to learning English? Not vocabulary. Not pronunciation. The main issue is: grammar. Why? Because if your foundation in grammar is weak, it is difficult to improve your speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills. Your errors become fossilized. Whenever you communicate, grammar pulls you down.

The best time to learn grammar is when you are young. Your mind is fresh. And you are a student by profession. Parents, please remember this. Later on in life, as an adult it is very difficult to improve your grammar. You have lots of responsibilities. You are no longer a student.

Many people overestimate their English skills. People who are at the intermediate level feel that they are upper-intermediate speakers. Parents, keep this in mind: just because your child speaks fluent English, it does not mean that she is not making grammatical errors. These errors get recognized only when she takes an English-proficiency exam such as IELTS. Make sure that these errors are corrected before she takes any of these exams.

Whatever profession your child takes, it is highly likely that she will need to use English for the rest of her life. Focusing on grammar right now will be an investment that reaps benefits throughout her life. Your child needs to have a good knowledge of English to:

  1. Do well in exams such IELTS, TOEFL, SAT, GMAT, and GRE
  2. Make presentations and write essays at college
  3. Communicate with colleagues and clients at the workplace
  4. Travel abroad for work or leisure

To succeed in this age of AI, your child must have excellent communication skills and teamworking skills. This means that she needs to have very good language skills. And that means a solid foundation in grammar.

AI can be used to generate ideas and for routine messages. But beware. If your child is wholly dependent on AI, then her English skills will not develop. They will be stunted. There will come a time in the future when she needs to express her own thoughts using her own words. If her foundation in English is weak, she will find it challenging to express complex ideas and nuances. This may negatively affect her career prospects.

Dear parents, I hope I’ve made my case to you. Grammar is foundational when it comes to communicating in English. Make sure that your child strengthens her grammar. Here are some free websites you can access. When visiting the British Council website, you can check out the section for teens.

The takeaway from this post is this: learn grammar as a child. Do not struggle with it as an adult.

If you have any questions or comments, let me know!

Are you using the verb ‘enjoy’ correctly?

Enjoy

Which sentence is correct:

  1. The racoon enjoys to watch sci-fi movies.
  2. The racoon enjoys watching sci-fi movies.

The correct answer is sentence no. 2.

The verb enjoy is followed by a verb in the -ing form.

For example:

I enjoy swimming in lake.

We use the verb enjoy a lot when we speak. So, I want you to remember this:

enjoy + -ing form of the verb.

To consolidate what we have just learned, correct the sentences that need correcting.

  1. They enjoy paragliding.
  2. She enjoys to work in adverstising.
  3. I enjoy playing tennis.

Yes, sentence no. 2 needs to be changed to ‘working’.

Suggest

Now that we know about enjoy, how about suggest?

Which one is correct:

  1. I suggest to read the document more carefully.
  2. I suggest reading the document more carefully.

It’s just the same as enjoy. So, sentence no. 2 is correct.

The form is: suggest + -ing form of the verb.

Time to consolidate what you have learned. Correct where needed:

  1. I suggest to call the client tomorrow morning.
  2. They suggested visiting the warehouse next month.
  3. He suggests postponing the meeting.

Yes, sentence no.1 needs to be altered. I suggest calling ….

Verbs that use both

There are some verbs that go with both the infinitive and the – ing form of the verb.

For example:

I love going for a jog in the morning.

I love to go for a jog in the morning.

Both these sentences are correct. The same goes for ‘prefer’.

For example:

I prefer taking the train.

I prefer to take the train.

You can click away now–if you want to

If that is enough grammar for one day, I understand. After reading this paragraph, click away. Be sure to listen to yourself when using such verbs as enjoy, love, and prefer. Make sure to use the correct form. Bye.

When to use infinitives and -ing forms

If you are interested to learn more, stay for a bit. Roll up your sleaves. We are covering some nuances now.

With verbs such as like, love, prefer, and hate we use both the infinitive form and the ing form. But, there are differences in meaning. You could drink some virtual coffee to stay focused.

Are you feeling (virtually) refreshed? Good.

Let’s get back to talking about when to use the infinitive form and when to use the -ing form.

Read these two sentences:

  1. I like drinking black coffee.

This means that I enjoy drinking black coffee.

2. I like to drink two cups of coffee in the morning.

We use the infinitive form here because we want to talk about habits and choices.

Here’s another example:

  1. Do you like walking in the park?

The question is whether you enjoy walking in the park.

2. Would you like to walk in the park?

You are being offered a choice. Walk in the park, or not.

The end

I hope that last part was not grammar overdose.

Remember ‘enjoy’ is followed by the -ing form. The racoon enjoys watching sci-fi movies.

Remember that some verbs use both the infinitive and the ing forms. It depends what you want to express.

And just like that, your grammar improves!

If you like learning grammar, you could read this post on the state verbs.

Are you lovin’ it?

I’m sure you’ve seen this line below the golden arches before. McDonald’s has even trademarked it. Why is so catchy? Love is a state verb. That’s the short answer.

Let’s find out more about state verbs. These verbs fall into four categories.

The four categories of state verbs

  1. Mental states. This includes verbs such as know, think, and believe. For example: She knows a lot about astronomy.
  2. Emotional states, such as like, love, prefer, and hate. For example, I like to wake up early in the morning.
  3. The senses–see, hear, smell, and taste. For instance, this pizza margerita tastes delicious.
  4. Possession. Verbs such as: own, have, and possess. For example: I own a bicycle.

What you need to know

Here is your takeaway from this post. We do not add an ‘ing’ at the end of a state verb.

So, we say: I prefer speaking French. Not: I am preferring speaking French.

We say: Yoko has a degree in chemistry. Not: Yoko is having a degree in chemistry.

But, wait a second. Can’t I say: I’m having a snack? Yes, you can.

In this case, ‘having’ is not a state verb–it’s an action verb. Action verbs are verbs such as walk, talk, and sleep. With action verbs, we can add an ‘ing’ to show an action over a period of time. For example: He is walking in the garden.

I’m having a snack = I am eating a snack.

‘Having’ here is an action verb. It is not a state verb. Does that make sense?

Now, what about I’m loving it? Is ‘love’ a state verb or an action verb? Yes, it is a state verb. Usually, if we were to follow the rules of grammar, we would not add an ‘ing’. It should be: I love it.

Yawn. That sounds so ordinary.

The line–I’m loving it–bursts into your mind. Why? Because it sounds fun. It sounds different. By breaking the rules of grammar, this line becomes memorable.

The next time you see ‘I’m lovin it’, think about state verbs. Recollect the rule about not using ‘ing’. You’ll appreciate why that grammatically incorrect sentence deserves to be trademarked.

By the way, the use of love in the ‘ing’ form has become more common. You may here the sentence, ‘I’m loving your work’. So, using ‘loving’ may not raise eyebrows from English teachers, as it would have in the past.

As that well-known philosopher, Bob Dylan, once sang: The times, they are a-changin’.

Image credit: World Vector Logo

The magic of the second conditional

Two people on Mars looking up at the sky thinking of Earth.

If you lived on Mars, would you miss earth?

If. That one-syllable word opens the door to a world of imagination.

Whenever we read a novel or watch a Netflix series, we slip into the unreal world defined by if.

The second conditional is about imaginary or unreal situations. Just like the image above of the two people on Mars gazing up in the direction of earth.

The form of the second conditional is:

if + past tense, would + bare infinitive

If you lived on Mars, would you miss earth?

If you enjoy stories, plays, and films, then the second conditional is for you.

But, the second conditional can multi-task. In fact, there are many occasions where you can use this conditional at work.

Three ways to use the second conditional at work

Giving advice or making a suggestion

If you want to give advice in a tactful way, you could say:

If I were you, I would send the data to HQ by this afternoon.

Doesn’t that sound better than saying:

You should send the data to HQ by this afternoon.

You could use the second conditional with colleagues and with people who report to you. When you say, if I were you, you are putting yourself in their shoes. In a sense, you are nudging them to do something. Nudging is good, right?

Brainstorming

If we opened pop-up restaurants in all major cities, would people try the food?

If we offered a discount for the festive season, would we liquadate all our stock?

If the ad campaign focused only on Instagram, would we reach our target audience?

What do you think of these three second conditional sentences?

To my mind, these sentences invite thoughtful discussion. They ask the people in the room to consider other possibilities. The space for interaction and ideas expands. Thinking caps are put on.

Can you picture yourself using a second conditional sentence in your next meeting?

Proposing a solution

If we added two more associates to the team, would the client agree?

If the factory increased capacity utilization by 10%, would they deliver the shirts by Christmas?

Perhaps you wish to make a proposal. Using the second conditional is an indirect way of doing so. Just like in the case of brainstorming, it promotes meaningful discussion.

If you want to reach a consensus in the team, use the second conditional. It is an inclusive way of arriving at a decision.

Takeaway

Using the second conditional makes you sound more professional. By asking these tentative questions, you soften your language. You become more inclusive. You encourage meaningful conversations.

If that is the kind of person or leader you wish to be, then use the second conditional at least once today.

You can scroll up to review how to make a second conditional sentence–go to the form.

Since you’ve read till the end, I have a bonus for you.

The next time you hear the song, If I were a boy, you’ll be able to identify which conditional it is in. Wouldn’t that feel satisfying?

Thanks for singing the second conditional, Beyonce!

In this post, we have looked at the second conditional. Here are posts on two other conditionals — the zero conditional and the first conditional. If I were you, I would….

What is the zero conditional?

The photo is of a shop promotion.

This photo is from a local neighborhood shop. To read the offer fully, it would be–if you buy 3 shirts, you get five shirts. Presto! And just like that, we have a sentence in the zero conditional.

The zero conditional is used to convey 100% certainty.

For instance, these sentences are in the zero conditional:

Condition, result

If you freeze water, it becomes ice.

When you melt ice, it becomes water.

The first part of the sentence is the condition. If that condition is met, the result is guaranteed.

In case you are itching to make more sentences in the zero conditional, use this form:

If + present simple, present simple

If you heat pure gold to 1064oCelsius, it melts.

As can be seen from these sentences above, the zero conditional is used for scientific facts.

I can hear you thinking…. This post is about melting ice and gold. What does this have to do with me?

As you now know, we use the zero conditional when talking about a result that we are a 100% sure of. So, we can use it for rules, policies, laws, and procedures. Has anyone told you this zero conditional sentence?

‘If you don’t update your password, you can’t access your account.’

Now, doesn’t that sound all too familiar? And I’m sure we have all read something along these lines–

If you wish to cancel your subscription, click the button below.

Yes, you have been reading zero conditional sentences for quite a while. And, the next time you spot an irresistible offer such as buy 1,get 1 free— you’ll know which conditional it is!

If you wish to know about the first conditional, click here.

Do you do a lot of brainstorming at work? If yes, then the second conditional is what you could use.

Do you use the first conditional?

Sign that is an example of the first conditional

If car is parked here, tyres will be deflated.

Gulp… These people mean business. That is a no-nonsense message. Nobody would dare park their car near that sign.

You may have noticed that there are some grammatical and spelling errors in this memorable line. Let’s clean it up.

If you park your car here, its tires will be deflated.

Luckily for us, this sentence is in the first conditional, providing a teaching moment.

The first conditional is about things that are likely to happen in the future.

There are two components in the first conditional.

The first is the condition–if clause. And the second is the result–will clause.

condition / result

If you park your car here, its tires will be deflated.

The form is: if + present simple, will + infinitive

Could we use the first conditional in our daily lives? The answer is: yes.

Here are some examples:

If the client asks for a further discount, we’ll have to walk away.

If that movie comes to town, I’ll watch it.

You can switch the clauses around as well.

We’ll have to walk away if the client asks for a further discount.

Note that here, we do not need to use a comma to divide the two clauses.

As you can see, there are many instances when we can use the first conditional–at work and outside.

When do you use the first conditional?

Now that you know about the first conditional, you’re all set to find out about the zero conditional. It’s all about facts.

If on the other hand, you wish to enter the world of speculation, consider using the second conditional.

Best website for learning English

Best website for learning English

Students frequently ask me which website they can visit to learn English.

Of course, there are so many out there. In my experience as a trainer, the best one is BBC Learning English. Their material is relevant and engaging.

This is a disclaimer: BBC is not paying me. I’m writing this post so that you could get the most out of the website.

Wait!

Before you google BBC Learning English, let me give you an overview.

The website has a lot to offer. Let’s start:

Vocabulary

The more words you know, the more precisely you can express yourself. When a person has a limited vocabulary, he tends to repeat words and phrases.

Whatever our English levels may be, we all need to expand our range of vocabulary.

It takes time to learn new words. My suggestion to you is this: go slow. Don’t just learn the meaning of words. Practice using them. Become familiar with them. Use them correctly.

I’ve noticed that students at times struggle with phrasal verbs. Do you freak out when you hear the phrase phrasal verbs? Help is at hand. Here’s the definition. If you are working, then you need phrasal verbs, for well, for work. And we all need phrasal verbs for technology.

Vocabulary is not limited to learning phrasal verbs. You also need to learn more words and phrases.

Visit this page to learn words from the news. I liked this episode on fake news.

If you have six minutes to spare, go to 6 minute English. I’ve just listened to the episode Call centres: Are you talking to AI?

English in a minute is a great way to improve your vocabulary. You can hit the nail on the head by learning new phrases within sixty seconds.

Remember, it’s not just about learning new phrases. It’s about using new phrases appropriately. I suggest you select phrases you like and try to use them during the week. Over time, you will be on fire!

Grammar

Are you comfortable with all the tenses that are there? You can confide in me. Be honest.

Tenses with Georgie is a good, fun way to revise tenses.

Prepositions can be confusing. Are you in a train or on a train? Mmm…. Not sure? Check out Prepositions with Georgie and find out.

If you like the idea of learning grammar by watching The Grammar Gameshow , go for it.

There is so much more when it comes to grammar. I know, it seems endless. Visit the main grammar page to find out more.

Pronunciation

Whatever your accent may be, that’s okay. What’s important is that you speak clearly and fluently.

The sounds of English are the building blocks of words. Are you keen to learn these sounds? Do you want to know the difference between voiced and voiceless consonants? You are at the right place.

Check out The Sounds of English on the pronunciation main page. I watched those short videos years ago, and I found them helpful. I hope you do too.

Tim’s Pronunciation Workshop is an effective way to learn about different aspects of pronunciation, such as elision and assimilation. Not familiar with those last two words? No worries. You’re probably doing some it already, in a natural way.

It’s more fun learning pronunciation than it is learning grammar. Do you agree?

Is there anything ‘more’ to do on the website?

On the right hand side of the menu bar, there is an option: More. Click on it with confidence. Don’t hesitate.

I have noticed that students often do not know their level. Do you know yours? Are you at the intermediate level? Upper-intermediate? Advanced?

Here’s the thing. Many students are generous when it comes to deciding which level they are at.

I’ve seen this happen lots of times: a person who is at the intermediate level believes that he is an upper-intermediate student! And the same goes for other levels as well. Many students are bumping themselves up a level.

I’m not a 100% convinced when it comes to online level tests. Having said that, try the level test at BBC learning English. See what you get.

If you enjoy listening to podcasts, try this out. You can listen while travelling.

Do you enjoy drama? I’ve just started listening to The Importance of Being Earnest.

There are many things to do in the ‘more’ section. Find out what works for you.

Before you go…

As you can tell, I’m pretty impressed with this website. It has a depth and breath that I’ve not seen anywhere else.

What do you do now? It’s up to you. If you want to improve your vocabulary, then click on the related links. The same goes for the other topics.

When learning English, be consistent. Consistency is the magic sauce that will help you improve your English.

Apart from BBC Learning English, here are two other websites I recommend.

Happy learning!