The novice begins to

Discuss any questions in English. Practise your writing skills.

Модератор: zymbronia

Аватара пользователя
Beginner
Сообщения: 126
Зарегистрирован: 08 апр 2020, 21:07
Благодарил (а): 36 раз
Поблагодарили: 8 раз

#201

Сообщение Beginner »

acapnotic, I noticed the section "Practise your English" (maybe it is the mistake, we should write 'Practice') isn't so popular. One hundred and forty million people live in our country. Many people attend English language courses. Where do they practice their writing skill? Maybe they write only during the classes or they immediately write in the native speakers' forums? How do you think?
Аватара пользователя
acapnotic
Сообщения: 3912
Зарегистрирован: 02 мар 2018, 07:49
Благодарил (а): 279 раз
Поблагодарили: 922 раза

#202

Сообщение acapnotic »

Beginner пишет: 28 окт 2020, 00:07 "Practise your English" (maybe it is the mistake, we should write 'Practice')
The verb is 'practise' is British English and 'practice' in American. The noun is 'practice' in both.
Beginner пишет: 28 окт 2020, 00:07 Where do they practice their writing skill? Maybe they write only during the classes or they immediately write in the native speakers' forums?
I don't know, of course, but they may not practice at all, anywhere. Many are afraid of criticism. And even if not for that, it's rather humiliating to be unable to say even simple things when you are used to being a fluent speaker in your native language. That's a painful experience, and it's no wonder that people avoid it.

Maybe they think they don't need it, just as I think I don't need listening and speaking. They are satisfied with understanding what others say, and believe they'll be able to make themselves understood if necessary.

And that's probably true, at least for simple matters. But to express oneself freely and without effort, one needs training. Then you'll be able to think about what to say rather than how. Much less work, right? Ideally, speech should be automatic, just like walking. You once learned how to walk (and it wasn't easy!), and now you never think about it — you simply do. Or take touch typing, for example. Yes, anyone is capable of typing if necessary. But at what speed? This makes all the difference. It's one thing if your typing is almost as fast as your thinking, and another if it's much slower. In the latter case it's little fun, isn't it? So this is the purpose of practice: to make using the language fun.
Beginner пишет: 28 окт 2020, 00:07 How do you think?
No, it should be "What do you think?". 'How' means 'in what way/manner'. English is more precise here than Russian. We usually want to know the contents of someone's thinking rather than how their thinking works.
Аватара пользователя
VictorB
Сообщения: 3396
Зарегистрирован: 26 янв 2019, 15:27
Благодарил (а): 821 раз
Поблагодарили: 706 раз

#203

Сообщение VictorB »

Beginner,
acapnotic пишет: 28 окт 2020, 07:47 No, it should be "What do you think?". 'How' means 'in what way/manner'. English is more precise here than Russian. We usually want to know the contents of someone's thinking rather than how their thinking works.
Just to be taken note of:
"What do you call that ?" "What ... is called?" --по-русски такие вопросы тоже начинаются с "как")))
За это сообщение автора VictorB поблагодарил:
Beginner
Аватара пользователя
Beginner
Сообщения: 126
Зарегистрирован: 08 апр 2020, 21:07
Благодарил (а): 36 раз
Поблагодарили: 8 раз

#204

Сообщение Beginner »

acapnotic,
acapnotic пишет: 28 окт 2020, 07:47 it's rather humiliating to be unable to say even simple things when you are used to being a fluent speaker in your native language. That's a painful experience, and it's no wonder that people avoid it.
Yeah, you formulated this thought very clearly. You can do it.

I also felt some anxiety before I started writing here. But I knew that you can always find a couple of people, perhaps not too adequate :) who will sometimes write (may I use here the Future Continuous - 'who will be sometimes writing'?) comments or maybe some beginners will be on the forum and we will write to each other, without annoying more experienced participants with mistakes.

This is incredible, but my thread already has more than two hundred responses. Only paveltashkinov's thread has more responses. I couldn't even imagine that this would happen, at the very beginning. This happened not only thanks to me, of course, but also thanks to other forum participants, especially thanks to you, acapnotik (you seem to be the most patient participant here).
I have no doubts that would be better to write (a,the,to?) half less but without any mistakes. But this meaningless achievement indulges my ego a little.
I hope I will overtake paveltashkinov's thread before the New Year or early :) and during the New Year I'll drink an extra glass of champagne for this! (But maybe I shouldn't do this? I shouldn't kill a few thousand brain cells that I might need to learn English, shouldn't I?)
Аватара пользователя
Beginner
Сообщения: 126
Зарегистрирован: 08 апр 2020, 21:07
Благодарил (а): 36 раз
Поблагодарили: 8 раз

#205

Сообщение Beginner »

Beginner пишет: 22 апр 2020, 00:14 I first write the text by hand, then translate it into English, then type it in Russian in the translator.
This phrase confused Michelangelo and Victor. Apologize. It should sound(s) like this: "First I write in English myself, and then I can check my grammar using an online translator.
Аватара пользователя
VictorB
Сообщения: 3396
Зарегистрирован: 26 янв 2019, 15:27
Благодарил (а): 821 раз
Поблагодарили: 706 раз

#206

Сообщение VictorB »

Beginner пишет: 28 окт 2020, 23:46 indulges my ego
It's not the first time you use this collocation. Where did you get it? How do you say it in Russian?
https://www.freecollocation.com/search?word=ego
Аватара пользователя
acapnotic
Сообщения: 3912
Зарегистрирован: 02 мар 2018, 07:49
Благодарил (а): 279 раз
Поблагодарили: 922 раза

#207

Сообщение acapnotic »

Beginner пишет: 28 окт 2020, 23:46 who will sometimes write (may I use here the Future Continuous - 'who will be sometimes writing'?) comments
I don't think it's a good idea to use the continuous form there. Simple future works fine for what you mean. Technically speaking, yes, if someone write here sometimes, they'll be in the process of writing from time to time. But why would you want to emphasize their writing being in progress in this case?
Beginner пишет: 28 окт 2020, 23:46(a,the,to?)
None of them.
Beginner пишет: 28 окт 2020, 23:46 I hope I will overtake paveltashkinov's thread before the New Year or early :)
That's too easy a task: only 20 more replies. You can write them all by yourself without anyone else's participation. :) I think you could set a more ambitious goal, like writing at least one post every day for the rest of the year, or something like that. That way you'd leave Pavel's thread far behind and have every reason for being proud of yourself. :)
Beginner пишет: 29 окт 2020, 00:08 This phrase confused Michelangelo
'This sentence' would be better here. 'Phrase' usually means a part of sentence, something similar to 'словосочетание'.
Аватара пользователя
Michelangelo
Сообщения: 4958
Зарегистрирован: 12 апр 2018, 08:19
Благодарил (а): 32 раза
Поблагодарили: 705 раз

#208

Сообщение Michelangelo »

Beginner пишет: 22 апр 2020, 00:14 I first write the text by hand, then translate it into English, then type it in Russian in the translator
Where did I write that I had been confused by this sentence? What could have confused me in it?
I am not even sure if I participated in your thread back then. :)
Аватара пользователя
Beginner
Сообщения: 126
Зарегистрирован: 08 апр 2020, 21:07
Благодарил (а): 36 раз
Поблагодарили: 8 раз

#209

Сообщение Beginner »

Michelangelo, I was confused by myself :) Do not pay attention!
Аватара пользователя
Beginner
Сообщения: 126
Зарегистрирован: 08 апр 2020, 21:07
Благодарил (а): 36 раз
Поблагодарили: 8 раз

#210

Сообщение Beginner »

VictorB пишет: 29 окт 2020, 00:58
Beginner пишет: 28 окт 2020, 23:46 indulges my ego
It's not the first time you use this collocation. Where did you get it? How do you say it in Russian?
https://www.freecollocation.com/search?word=ego
'тешить, баловать'. 'Indulge my ego' is the wrong collocation, I guess. we should use 'flatters my ego'.
Аватара пользователя
Beginner
Сообщения: 126
Зарегистрирован: 08 апр 2020, 21:07
Благодарил (а): 36 раз
Поблагодарили: 8 раз

#211

Сообщение Beginner »

When I hear people speaking American English, it's like something round is coming. When I hear BrE speakers, it's like an old carriage is coming and squeaking.
Аватара пользователя
acapnotic
Сообщения: 3912
Зарегистрирован: 02 мар 2018, 07:49
Благодарил (а): 279 раз
Поблагодарили: 922 раза

#212

Сообщение acapnotic »

When I first heard Americans speak, I was shocked and thought, "WTF? These people talk with their throats and noses rather than mouths." I didn't like it then. However, that has changed over time, and now I find American speech more understandable and prefer it to British. Maybe partly because they have retained R's where the British have lost them, and that helps me recognize the words. My English input is primarily written, as you know. I learn new words from text.
Аватара пользователя
Michelangelo
Сообщения: 4958
Зарегистрирован: 12 апр 2018, 08:19
Благодарил (а): 32 раза
Поблагодарили: 705 раз

#213

Сообщение Michelangelo »

acapnotic пишет: 10 ноя 2020, 06:24 These people talk with their throats and noses rather than mouths.
I took it otherwise - I thought "WTF for they open their mouths so wide? Cannot they speak like we do - just by half opening the mouth?"
Anyway, the California version of the language is more understandable to me than the Londoners'. However, I don't understand the Texan version of the language at all. Therefore it depends on your habits - to which language you listen to more often, to that language you get used to better.
Аватара пользователя
acapnotic
Сообщения: 3912
Зарегистрирован: 02 мар 2018, 07:49
Благодарил (а): 279 раз
Поблагодарили: 922 раза

#214

Сообщение acapnotic »

Michelangelo, I might have thought the same if I'd seen them as well as heard, but I didn't. I listened to them on the radio. The Voice of America and the BBC World Service. The reception was poor, so it didn't last long. I wasn't that much of a masochist.

And now, when I have virtually unlimited access to English audio, I lack the motivation. It's so much easier to read clearly printed text, where every word is 100% visible, than torment myself with only partially intelligible babbling.

If people still wrote by hand, it would be something analogous, I think. Each text would be in different handwriting, and you'd often have a hard time making the words out.
За это сообщение автора acapnotic поблагодарил:
Michelangelo
Аватара пользователя
Beginner
Сообщения: 126
Зарегистрирован: 08 апр 2020, 21:07
Благодарил (а): 36 раз
Поблагодарили: 8 раз

#215

Сообщение Beginner »

Sometimes I feel as If a new area is appearing in my brain, that is responsible for the foreign language. It's a pleasure and fun feeling!
I also think that my aspiration to learn the foreign language is related, unconsciously related with the (to the) desire to escape from the identity that related with the Russian words. Russian words are associated with the deep, heavy feelings, so I'm probably gradually creating a new identity (personality).

About learning.
I noticed that I spend a lot of time preparing materials for training, so I decided to spend a week at least preparing materials so that I don't have to spend time on this in the future. Not ever English stuff has audio. I think about using text-to-speech services. There are many text-to-speech resources available on the Internet but each of these sources has the its flaws. From my point of view the optimal option will be a resource called zvukovik.com. The developers are Russian, as I realized it. There are many quite clear English voices in this site and it has some additional functions that other similar resources have not. (Often, our software developers create an extremely good product, but their product isn't widely known). They offer paid services, however, it's not very expensive.
Аватара пользователя
Beginner
Сообщения: 126
Зарегистрирован: 08 апр 2020, 21:07
Благодарил (а): 36 раз
Поблагодарили: 8 раз

#216

Сообщение Beginner »

acapnotic, Acapontic, what English or American books are you reading now?
Аватара пользователя
acapnotic
Сообщения: 3912
Зарегистрирован: 02 мар 2018, 07:49
Благодарил (а): 279 раз
Поблагодарили: 922 раза

#217

Сообщение acapnotic »

Beginner пишет: 22 ноя 2020, 18:26 what English or American books are you reading now?
The Man in the High Castle by Philip Dick, an American writer.
It’s America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some 20 years earlier the United States lost a war—and is now occupied jointly by Nazi Germany and Japan.
It has a curious epigraph, by the way:
To my wife Anne, without whose silence
This book would never have been written.
I can't say I'm enjoying the book, but it's still interesting enough for me to continue reading. Before this one, I tried the third book of The Ringworld, but it turned out to be extremely boring, so I dropped it.

What about you? Have you tried to read any book yet?
За это сообщение автора acapnotic поблагодарили (всего 2):
VictorB, Beginner
Аватара пользователя
VictorB
Сообщения: 3396
Зарегистрирован: 26 янв 2019, 15:27
Благодарил (а): 821 раз
Поблагодарили: 706 раз

#218

Сообщение VictorB »

acapnotic пишет: 22 ноя 2020, 19:30 It has a curious epigraph, by the way:
To my wife Anne, without whose silence
This book would never have been written.
LOL! +1 for the funny, ha-ha, epigraph
Аватара пользователя
Beginner
Сообщения: 126
Зарегистрирован: 08 апр 2020, 21:07
Благодарил (а): 36 раз
Поблагодарили: 8 раз

#219

Сообщение Beginner »

Beginner пишет: 22 ноя 2020, 18:23 a resource called zvukovik.com
zvukogram.com
Аватара пользователя
Beginner
Сообщения: 126
Зарегистрирован: 08 апр 2020, 21:07
Благодарил (а): 36 раз
Поблагодарили: 8 раз

#220

Сообщение Beginner »

acapnotic,
acapnotic пишет: 22 ноя 2020, 19:30 The Man in the High Castle by Philip Dick, an American writer
I thought you weren't the kind of person who could read such books. This book is something of an alternate story, as I have understood.
acapnotic пишет: 22 ноя 2020, 19:30 What about you? Have you tried to read any book yet?
I've read half book. The e-book is called 'Sink or swim', for B2 learners. Then I listened to whole this book. Well, I liked this book.
The last week I was doing that what I described in the post on 22 November.
Аватара пользователя
acapnotic
Сообщения: 3912
Зарегистрирован: 02 мар 2018, 07:49
Благодарил (а): 279 раз
Поблагодарили: 922 раза

#221

Сообщение acapnotic »

Beginner, I'm not a big fan of that genre, but I learned long ago that what really matters is the book itself and not its genre. Besides, we read English books not just for the plot but for the language too. For that purpose, any book would do, if it's not too difficult for your level.

It also makes sense to spend on the book a certain amount of time even if you don't like it from the beginning. Sometimes it pays off later. A while ago I read Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (in Russian translation, though) and its setting and characters seemed so strange at first, but gradually I got used to them and ended up enjoying the story. We shouldn't rely fully on the first impression, or at least I shouldn't. You can decide for yourself based on your own experience, of course.
Аватара пользователя
Beginner
Сообщения: 126
Зарегистрирован: 08 апр 2020, 21:07
Благодарил (а): 36 раз
Поблагодарили: 8 раз

#222

Сообщение Beginner »

acapnotic,
acapnotic пишет: 30 ноя 2020, 09:19 we read English books not just for the plot but for the language too
Do you feel pleasure when you read various style of texts or you have pleasure when you think about how the text is works? When you see an interesting expression or grammatical usage, do you try remember it immediately and repeat it in you writing or do you hope that the expression can be remembered by itself?

I want to read but I don't like reading from the display of my computer or smartphone, so I'm thinking to buy a special device - a reader. Now I'm choosing between a Kindle 10 (or Kindle Paperwhite) or a Pocket Book. I tend to choose the Kindle. What can you advice me? (Which reader) What kind of reader do you use?
Аватара пользователя
acapnotic
Сообщения: 3912
Зарегистрирован: 02 мар 2018, 07:49
Благодарил (а): 279 раз
Поблагодарили: 922 раза

#223

Сообщение acapnotic »

Beginner, yes, I pay attention to how the text is written, to interesting collocations. But I don't save them anywhere, just hope I'll be able to recall them when they are needed. Often I recognize the word I see but can't remember its meaning. So I look it up again. This may happen several times. Some of them finally stick in my memory. Not a very efficient technique, of course.

The only e-reader I've used (and still use) is GMini MagicBook G6. It's an old model and doesn't have a touch screen, nor backlight. To send a word to the dictionary, I have to drive the cursor to it with buttons. Tedious, but I've gotten used to that.

So I'm no expert in this field, obviously. If a reader can handle the popular formats, it's generally OK, I think. That's what matters to me. The books you can find on the internet are usually in FB2, EPUB and PDF files. My e-reader can also play audio, but I've never used this feature.
Аватара пользователя
Beginner
Сообщения: 126
Зарегистрирован: 08 апр 2020, 21:07
Благодарил (а): 36 раз
Поблагодарили: 8 раз

#224

Сообщение Beginner »

acapnotic, How often have you came across the words "flabbergasted" and "dumbfounded" in books you've read recently?
Аватара пользователя
Beginner
Сообщения: 126
Зарегистрирован: 08 апр 2020, 21:07
Благодарил (а): 36 раз
Поблагодарили: 8 раз

#225

Сообщение Beginner »

Third conditional.

I would have lost weight if I hadn't eaten so much.
I would have woken up in time If I had gone to bed early.
I wouldn't have lost my keys if my son hadn't distracted me.
I would have kissed her if she hadn't left so quickly.
They would have never betrayed the country if they hadn't been tortured. (3rd conditional with Passive)
The police might have caught the thief if they (it) had come earlier.
I wouldn't have escaped if I had been more brave. (I wouldn't have run away if I'd been bolder).
The house wouldn't have been fired if it had been secured better. (3rd conditional with Passive)
If she hadn't been punished she wouldn't have cried/wept ( 3rd conditional with Passive)
If I hadn't been forced to sit in front of display my vision would have deteriorated. ( 3rd conditional with Passive)
Ответить

Вернуться в «Practise Your English»