learning

Well, Viv, you've come to the right site. Even after a lifetime in the field of journ, my own responses to the esl are continually left in the cold by one a2k participant or another

You should start reading, listening and watching. These three ways will help you to learn English. Read some English magazines or papers and use a dictionary to understand the difficult words. Watch some videos to catch the correct accent of the language and try to communicate with the person who knows English and don't hesitate be confident.

Vivian wants to learn English and then you come up with four shortenings.
A not very polite behavior towards a learner.
Rule one in teaching beginners. Always use correct language.

Saab, disagree. An esl should appreciate exposure to the occasional slang, argot, lingo

Before you start with slang you have to know the language well.
If you do not know all the nuances in a language you can really run into troubles.

By the way schortenings are not slang.

Clever'n

Rule 2: Well, not always

Indeed. Problem is, I can't easily access Synonyms.com because Mac/Apple keeps asking for a password

Hope none fatal

Abbreviation and slang are not the same. Most foreigners do not know all kinds of abbreviations
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase, as N.Y. for New York, Mr. for Mister, lb for pound
There are millions of common abbreviations used every day.

Slang is a colloquial variety of language that is used in highly informal situations. It is always used with people who share similar social backgrounds and age groups. This is not used in the written language.

You do not know if you what age or social background the person asking is or comes from.
A special feature of slang is that slang words do not stay in the language for a long time.