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Many adults across the world already speak English; however, there are many adults out there who would like to learn or who should learn. No matter what you plan to do with the language skills, learning English as an adult can be a very important step in your life. Sure, it will take a bit of work on your part, but in the end you will find that the work was well worth it. So, let’s take a closer look at why you should learn English as an adult and then why online learning is so beneficial to adults who want to learn the English language.

Reasons to Learn English as an Adult

First of all, it is important that you take a look at all the great reasons to learn English as an adult. You may not actually realize how important learning English can be for you. The following are just a few of the reasons that you should consider learning English as an adult.

• Reason #1 – Travel Opportunities – One excellent reason for adults to learn English is because of travel opportunities. Many people decide to take vacations in countries that speak English and it can be difficult to get around in a foreign country if you don’t know the language of the country. Learning English is an excellent idea if you plan on doing any traveling at all in English speaking countries. You’ll find

Learning English can be a challenging and daunting task. Fortunately, technological advancements have now made learning the English language much more easy, fun, and convenient. One technologically advanced method that has improved the way people learn English is the Internet. This modern form of communication has opened the world to a whole new way of learning the English language. The vast resources on the web makes learning English a less intimidating undertaking.When one embarks on the process of learning English, they require a number of learning materials such as text books, videos, and audio tapes. Traditionally, it was difficult to locate all of the appropriate educational materials. It took a lot of time an effort to find the most appropriate learning tools. Now, with a simple click of the mouse, one has a world full of materials that they can access. For instance, sites such as YouTube contain many video lessons on learning to speak English.They are also English language learning sites where you can find every resource needed to learn the language. These special English languages learning sites are designed so that one can learn the language online in the comfort of their own home. These sites provide learning material in such areas as pronunciation and vocabulary, fun learning games, quizzes, English books, articles, magazines to read online, English chat forums that provide a place where one can meet other learners and practice conversational English, lessons for beginners, as well as… [Read More...]

Because universities want to make sure you have the English language skills necessary to study at their school, almost all institutes of higher learning require you to take a test of English. And TOEFL and IELTS are the two biggest standardized tests of the English language. One of the most frequent questions I hear is which test is easier or which test is better. The answer depends on what kinds of tests you excel at, as well as where you plan to apply. This article breaks down the differences between the two tests so that you can make your own decision.AdmissionsThe IELTS test is administrated by the British Councils, the University of Cambridge, and IELTS Australia. That is to say, it is associated with the British government and traditionally was used by British universities, as well as New Zealand and Australian universities to determine the language capability of foreign students. TOEFL is administered by ETS, a US-based non-profit and is used widely by American and Canadian universities. However, these days, in order to make it easy on international students, universities all over the world take both TOEFL and IELTS. While you should check with the specific university you want to apply to, in general any school in the US, the UK, Australia or New Zealand will take either test score. So that’s one worry off your mind. Pick the test you think will be easier for you to complete. To do that… [Read More...]

While the lure of “learning English or another foreign language while you sleep” may be highly provocative and tempting for all of us in this not-enough-time-to-do-everything world, there’s still no “easy out”. Learning a foreign language can be a life-long pursuit or a summer project. In this second installment of our quest, we’ll briefly examine some theoretical approaches to English language or foreign language learning.

Theoretical Approaches

English Language Teaching and Learning theories support a number of useful, valid approaches for foreign language or second language acquisition. Considering the major language learning theories previously or currently prevalent, let’s briefly examine any basis for “sleep learning”. The following language learning theories have all been popular or prevalent during our current or recent decades:

• Grammar / Translation method (F. Boas and O. Jespersen)
• Direct Methods
• Audio-Lingual (Darian, 1972 et al.)
• Computer-Aided Language Learning
• TPR – Total Physical Response (J. Asher, 1965)
• The Silent Way (Gattegno, 1972)
• The Communicative Approach
• Suggestopedia (Lozanov, 1978)
• The Natural Approach (Krashen-Terrell, 1983)
• Neuro-linguistic Programming (Bandler and Grindler, 1982)
• The Lexical Approach (Willis, 1990 et al.)
• Community Language Learning ( C. Curran et al., 1972)

Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, (H. Gardner, 1983) while not strictly a language-learning theory, nonetheless, has had considerable application to language learning and acquisition. Of these, the following have aspects which seemingly might promote or support the concept… [Read More...]

A writer is sitting at his desk trying to work on an article that is due tomorrow. He knows what he wants to say, but he just can not seem to put it into words. He decides to pull out his trusty thesaurus to try to find the right words to convey his message. The writer finds some words that he thinks will fit perfectly into his article, but he is not sure, because they are outside his vocabulary. The writer consults his dictionary to make sure that the words he has found actually describe the meaning he is trying to convey. After consulting his most important tools, the writer completes his article, and is very happy with his finished product, and so is his editor.A dictionary is a great tool for any writer’s arsenal that can expand your vocabulary, and help you find the words that you need when you are writing. You definitely want to pull out your dictionary when you think that a word will fit in your writing, but you are not quite sure about the word’s meaning. Also the dictionary can help you see different ways to use a word, or different meanings for the same word. You have to be careful sometimes, because many words have multiple meanings, and readers might be confused about the meaning of the word the writer was trying to use.A thesaurus is another very important tool for every writer to have… [Read More...]

Basically, this is just another expression for sms dictionary, or sms shortcut. These abbreviations are simply the text messaging shortcuts that people use each and every day to make sending sms text messages so much quicker and easier. Some of the shortcuts below are only used for instant messenger messages, or at the end of a text message to convey the mood of the person sending the text message. Some of the txt msg shortcuts are good examples of how people shorten words when they send text messages.So let’s take a look at some common text message abbreviations, then.SMS Text Messaging Abbreviations: Anything – NTHING Are you OK – RUOK? Are – R Ate – 8 Be – B Before – B4 Be seeing you – BCNU Cutie – QT Date – D8 Dinner – DNR Easy – EZ Eh? – A? Excellent – XLNT Fate – F8 For – 4 For your information – FYI Great – GR8 Late – L8 Later – L8R Lots of love/laughs – Lol Love – LUV Mate – M8 Please – PLS Please call me – PCM Queue/cue – Q Rate – R8 See/sea – C See you later – CU L8R Speak – SPK Tea – T Thanks – THX Thank you – THNQ To/too – 2 To be – 2B Today – 2DAY Tomorrow – 2MORO Want to – WAN2 What – WOT Work – WRK Why – Y You – U ————… [Read More...]

Go to the language learning section of any large bookstore and you will find Spanish dictionaries galore, along with dozens if not hundreds of Spanish instructional books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, flash cards and more. The choice is almost overwhelming.Among dictionaries for people who are trying to learn Spanish, a handful rise to the top. One of the best is Barron’s Spanish Bilingual Dictionary; A Beginner’s Guide in Words and Pictures by Gladys C. Lipton and Olivia Muñoz.This is a two-way dictionary (English to Spanish and Spanish to English) focusing on approximately 1,400 words in each language. It is said that the casual traveler can get along quite well knowing around a thousand words in a host country’s language, if they’re the right words and if he knows how to assemble them to express basic thoughts. Barron’s Spanish Bilingual Dictionary might be all one needs, in addition to a phrase book, for negotiating the streets of Mexico City or Buenos Aires.Each entry in this dictionary not only gives the word’s translation in the opposite language, but also uses it in a sentence – which is presented in both English and Spanish. Many of the words are also illustrated with simple line drawings.A couple of years ago, my wife, then-9-year-old daughter and I traveled to Guatemala on a family vacation that included several hours of Spanish language learning each morning. Before the trip we picked out dictionaries for taking to class. We bought this… [Read More...]