Max, are you leaving out capital letters on purpose? The first word in a sentence starts with a capital letter. The word "I'', when referring to yourself, should be capitalized. When two words are combined such as "have not" it becomes "haven't" and you need an apostrophe to show where letters are being left out. Another example is "can not" becomes "can't", you will also see it as one word "cannot". Like I said, English is not easy.
I don't have much to tell about myself. I lived in New York City for many years, but now my husband and I own a small farm a couple of hours away from the city. We create gardens for rich people. No children by choice. I have a nice home, good friends, a lot of free time to read and paint in the winter. We do work very hard in the spring and summer, but I like that too. Overall a happy, lucky life so far.
My Japanese pen pal and I stopped writing almost 20 years ago when we were in High School. I think we just got interested in other things. I lost her address went to college. If I still knew how to find her I would write to her and find out how she is doing. She wanted to be a musician and played the piano very well.
What kind of job do you hope to get when you finish school?
Maxbright, don't lose hope. As an American who tried to learn Mandarin, I can say, with confidence, that your task will be a little bit easier than mine. There are many resources available to those who want to speak English and it is important to choose them carefully and not rely on a single source for assistance.
Forums, such as this one, can be useful, but mostly to answer specific questions. Some forum members may use grammar and vocabulary that is not standard, so it is important to expose yourself to many different voices.
Besides through a good textbook, I would recommend that you expose yourself to English through materials related to something you find enjoyable and of which you already have some knowledge. If you enjoy fishing, for example, try to purchase an English-language magazine or book about fishing. This will keep you interested and lessen the challenges of comprehension.
Also, purchase English language movies with Chinese subtitles and watch them over and over again. First, read the subtitles so you understand the essence of the movie. Then, find parts of dialogue that you like and try to say it along with the movie. Finally, try turning off the subtitles (or cover them up with tape) and see how much you can understand without them. (Don't cheat!)
Finally, and most importantly, immerse yourself in the language. Speak to anyone who speaks English as often as you can.
Green Witch,I often leave out capital letters because I used to hear of that American youths always do so and I considered it a extensive fashion,but it seems that I was wrong.
I guess that you are having a very happy life with your husband.I have been expecting that style of life since I was a little boy,green farm,clean air,beautiful sky,all these are what I really like.But I think I will be living in a big city for several years such as Shanghai before starting the life as yours because I'm going to be a software engineer after graduate that should only be offered in big corporations of big city and I think it will bring me enough money to own a house of a beautiful countryside.Maybe someday I will go to New York on my trip,and maybe I will go to see you and your farm then.
Valpower,thank you very much for your suggestions.I will never lose the hope of learning English,and I will accept your advices to read more English materials about what I'm interested in.
I will try to watch movies the way as you advised me to do and maybe it's really a good method to improve my English for me.
There are two obstacles to me that they are grammar and vocabulary.I guess that there must be many grammar mistakes in my sentences.And as you see,I just know using these simple words to express my opinion for I can't remember the complex words I have learned when I need them.It troubles me a lot.Now I am reciting vocabulary every day to enlarge my 'words warehouse'(right?).
I think I should thank you again for your good help.
maxbright wrote:Green Witch,I often leave out capital letters because I used to hear of that American youths always do so and I considered it a extensive fashion,but it seems that I was wrong.
Yes, sometimes young Americans use an abbreviated form of English when using technology. If you are learning a new language I think it is better to learn the correct form first, and later you can play with it. The problem is that some teens do not have the ability to write correctly because they rarely do it. I agree with the previous comments that a format like this is not the best way to learn a language. I know I see many mistakes and I make many mistakes in this environment. I know you are very busy with school, but maybe you could form an English speaking club with other students. You could get together once a week with the goal being that you only speak in English to each other. You will make mistakes, but you will also learn from each other.
You never know where life will lead you. When I first graduated from college I was very poor and shared an apartment with other people and we had very little space. I couldn't even afford to take the subway (about 55 cents at the time) so I walked half way through the city to work. The walking was good, it kept me thin. It took a long time to get where I am today. In 20 years you too will have a very different life from what you are doing now, I hope all your dreams come true.
