Before Start

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, MOST GRACIOUS, MOST MERCIFUL

IMPORTANT FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING TO LEARN ENGLISH

OR ANY OTHER FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Introduction:
Please, note that by bringing you this article, we hope you gain a better understanding of the principles on which these mentioned facts, are based upon, and of the techniques associated with each one.

It is neither our intention nor our purpose to convince you of the superiority of any of these facts; indeed, the information you gain at the end, should not be thought of as an endorsement of these methods.

Our next objective is not only to encourage you, but also to give you some ideas for examining your own methods and come up with your own techniques on learning.

Create a Relaxing Atmosphere:
Try creating a relaxed atmosphere, in addition to RELAXING your mind, before practicing or studying any foreign language.

Listening to some light music can help you relax and temporarily forget the unwanted, stressful thoughts that can prevent you on concentrating and absorbing new materials.
Light music is a good method to use, however, it may not work for everyone, and of course, it is not the only way to relax. So, if you have your own method to relax before studying, use it.

REMEMBER, the important object here, is to be able to concentrate. Therefore, try to BE RELAXED

Do Not Worry About Learning:
Learning is a natural process. Never ask yourself how much you have learned. The more you practice, the more you learn, but sadly enough, one of the greatest obstacles for people, (especially adults), who really want to learn a foreign language, but cannot, is FEAR.

Most language learners have fears of making mistakes, thinking, other people or students, may find them dump or stupid, having slow or even a retarded mind. They fear of even asking a single question, thinking their question might be funny or childish, etc. All of these thoughts and beliefs are WRONG and VERY OLD FASHIONED.
Keep in mind that we all started from the very beginning and are still in the process of learning; therefore, there is no need to worry or have any FEARS, when learning a foreign language.

Student / Instructor Trust:
It is very important that both the student and the Instructor have mutual TRUST in each other.

If the Instructor should ask the student to do some English-Related Activities, or practice some English-Related Techniques, the student should obey them. Otherwise, the student has betrayed the Instructor’s trust in him.

The student, on the other hand, should trust that the Instructor is qualified enough, and has all the necessary abilities to help the student reach his/her language goals.

LET US POINT OUT SOME OF THE MAJOR QUALITIES AND ABILITIES THAT AN INSTRUCTOR SHOULD HAVE

A- Knowledge of Cultural Views:
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE ARE INTEGRATED TOGETHER, UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURE, HELPS YOU TO UNDERSTAND THE LANGUAGE BETTER. IMAGINE A BIRD WITH TWO WINGS. ONE WING BEING THE LANGUAGE, THE OTHER WING BEING THE CULTURE. OBVIOUSLY, A BIRD CANNOT FLY WITH ONLY ONE WING!!!

B- Knowledge of Perfect Pronunciation:
PLEASE, BE AWARE. TO PRONOUNCE A WORD, IS TO SAY THE WORD RIGHT. NOT BY CHANGING YOUR ACCENT. TO BE ABLE TO SAY THE WORD CORRECTLY, YOU NEED TO LEARN A TECHNIQUE, CALLED ENUNCIATION,

C- Knowledge of Enunciation:
TECHNIQUE OF PRONUNCIATION. SOME WORDS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARE HARD TO PRONOUNCE, THEREFORE, YOU NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW TO SAY THEM,

[Let us show you how]

Try to say this word:
“World”

IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE TECHNIQUE,
YOU PROBABLY SAID :
“VORD”

INSTEAD OF
“WORLD”

Please, be informed that the pronunciation you are going to learn here is the American System and not the British,

Before you try to say this word, you should know the sound difference between “V” AND “W”,

the letter “V” sounds like VVV, and the letter “W” sounds like OOO, in the beginning of a word,
Now, to pronounce,
“World”
Start by making the sound
OOO (for “W”) + O+ ROLLED

Then

WO+ ROLLED
Audio pronunciation for
” WORLD”
Start slowly and eventually say it faster, until you pronounce the word correctly.

D- Knowledge of different Idioms and Proverbs.
E- Knowledge of different Techniques to improve different Abilities.
F- Knowledge of Grammar:
IF YOU ONLY CHOOSE TO LEARN HOW TO COMMUNICATE, KEEP IN MIND THAT YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY LEARN THE GRAMMATICAL RULES OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE THROUGH REGULAR CONVERSATION, THEREFORE, DO NOT LET GRAMMATICAL MATTERS TAKE TOO MUCH OF YOUR TIME AND ENERGY,

G- At last but not least, the ability to convey these and much more Language-Related Information.

Think, In the Foreign Language of Your Choice

Well, you are probably telling yourself that if I could think in the foreign language of my choice, then I would not have the need to learn that language any more. Nevertheless, here is where you are wrong. Even if you start thinking only one word in that particular language, you have already made a start. For instance, if you look at an object, any object at all, its name automatically appears in your mind and it naturally appears in your native language. In other words, when you look at a book, KETAAB appears in your mind. Now, if the language of your choice is English, you have the ability from right now to practice on changing that habit and start thinking BOOK.

Use this technique gradually, and eventually build up on it, meaning, try converting one or two words a day and after mastering those words, add one or two more words to them. Before long, you will notice that you are thinking in the language of your choice.

It is that simple to start Thinking in English

Be Creative :

If you are a CREATIVE Person, this is the time to show it, and if you are not, it is a great time to start practicing it. One major problem for those people trying to learn a Second Language, aside from fear, is that they do not live in the environment. Well, with a little imagination, we can create that environment ourselves.

ATTENTION
If you want to benefit 100% from the guidelines written bellow, not only, you should actively engage yourself in exploring the language, but also, you should GET PSYCHOLOGICALLY INVOLVED Remember, these are Psychological Techniques. The objective is to help you imagine living in the desired environment.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU SPEND AT LEAST ONE HOUR, (ASIDE FROM YOUR REGULAR CLASS SCHEDULES), WORKING ON ENGLISH EVERYDAY.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO HELP YOU
1- Hang some posters of English-Speaking countries on your bedroom walls, Posters of cities or symbolic statues, are the best,

2- Buy some newspapers, magazines or books, written in English. Try reading them even if at first, you find them hard to understand. Always leave them visible in your room, after you are through reading them.

3- Listen to English-Speaking programs, like (b. b. c.), (c. n. n.), American movies, without the Farsi translation, etc.
The objective is to become more familiar with the pronunciation and normal speed of the language.

NOTE
Please, be aware of the foreign movies that have the Farsi Translations at the bottom of the screen. If you are trying to learn that language, you should not relay on them in the first place. Since a software program is translating most of these movies in addition, it is clear that a software program cannot translate or understand expressions, idioms, etc., therefore, making the whole translation, invalid. Moreover, it is even more surprising that most English typing at the bottom of the screen, are not exactly what is being said!!!

When watching such movies, always relay on your own knowledge, techniques, methods and the instructions regarding that particular language.

4- If you do not have access to foreign radios, listen to some English tapes. It does not matter if the tapes are musical or educational. This will help improve your listening ability,

5- Try to write short scenarios, and then act them out as if they were really happening to you. For instance, by using your imagination, try seeing yourself, in different situations, in some English-Speaking Country and do your best to deal with the problems that you create, or might occur naturally, using your Knowledge, Techniques, Instructions and most important, your Intuition. Ask yourself, “What would I do if I was in one of these countries and needed to go out and buy something? Where would I go? From whom would I ask the questions? How would I ask for directions? How should I explain what my needs are?” Etc.

YOU CAN CREATE MANY SUCH SCENARIOS. THIS IS A VERY GOOD WAY TO TEST YOURSELF, TO SEE HOW WELL YOU DO, OR HOW MUCH YOU NEED TO PRACTICE.

THERE ARE MORE WAYS TO CREATE AN ENGLISH-SPEAKING ENVIRONMENT. YOU JUST HAVE TO BE A LITTLE CREATIVE.

BRITISH SYSTEM, IS DIFFERENT WITH AMERICAN SYSTEM

ATTENTION
If you choose English as your Second Language, be aware that American and British are two different Systems, as we have mentioned this before. They may seem the same; nonetheless, there are some major differences between the two languages such as pronunciations, expressions, idioms, proverbs, cultural views, etc.

Therefore, when you feel ready to start learning English, first, decide which system you want to learn, second, stay with that system until you master it. Otherwise, you will come up with some serious, confusing problems at the middle of the process.

Here, you see five examples of words, used differently in each country,

American Word / Britons Say
Apartment / Flat
Boy / Lad
Appointment Book / Diary
Bathroom / Water closet
Backpack / Rucksack

We definitely encourage you to look and check some of the Web Sights available on this subject.

To start, please check this Web Sight,
www.englishclub.8m.com

THREE MOST IMPORTANT STEPS TO LEARN ENGLISH CONVERSATION.

ATTENTION
ALWAYS REMEMBER THESE TWO FACTS.

1- The ability to communicate with other people happens automatically after you master UNDERSTANDING and WRITING.

2- It is through communication that you will learn grammatical rules. The best example to prove this claim is the fact that nobody ever teaches a child to learn grammar, however, he is aware of enough grammatical rules to have a perfect conversation, just like the way we learned our native language, Farsi.

I- UNDERSTANDING:
Try To Understand What You Hear

Never, try to translate what you hear, word by word. You will loose grasp of the conversation.
Always, try to figure out or guess the meaning from the text, sentence, or the statement, using your knowledge. To check your work, always use the dictionary.
Let us say, for instance, the sentence/statement you have just heard, is made out of ten words, and you only know the meaning of six words. Do not panic. Try to Figure out or guess the meaning of the other four words. Remember, if you are aware and have personal knowledge of the subject you are discussing and with a little bit of your own intuition, your guess will be 99% right.

II- WRITING:

Try to write down what you hear even if you are not sure of the spelling.

After you have mastered the first step, (Understanding), you are ready for the second step, (Writing). On this step, it is very important, that you write down every word that you hear.

Since this technique is rather difficult, most students avoid it by bringing up excuses. Here are some of the excuses we have heard from different students,

“I could not understand that word”, “It sounded like a buzzing of a bee or a fly”, “they talk too fast, and I could not understand it at all”.

Remember, people speaking in their Native Language, never talk fast. In fact, they too, like us, speak at a normal speed. I am sure that if an English-Speaking person happens to be standing next to us while we are talking, he too, will have the same feeling towards us.

Now then, if you follow your Instructors teachings, and do not give up practicing, eventually you will find it easier, as you move on, to understand the words you hear. In addition, if you show your writings to your Instructor, he can explain to you that the buzzing noise you have heard was simply a blending of two words, “DOES” and “HE”, which can sound like [dəziy].

So you see, you cannot solve these simple problems, if you do not write exactly what you hear. I repeat, write exactly what you here.

I certainly hope that you have a better understanding of the writing techniques, than you did before.

III- CONVERSATION:

When you understand what you hear and you are able to write that down, then you are ready to speak with other people. Remember, learning is a natural process. So, do not worry about it. Just relax and practice as much as you can.

If you have any questions or criticisms regarding this ARTICLE,
please get in touch with us.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU.