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 that your trip is more exciting and fun if you are able to speak the language of the country. So, if you want to enjoy travel opportunities to countries that speak English, consider learning English before you go.
• Reason #2 – Enhance Your Career – Not only is learning English as an adult a great idea that will help you as your travel, but it is also a great way to enhance your career. There are many companies that are always looking for employees that can speak English. So, being able to speak the English language is a great selling point when you are applying for a job. As the job market becomes more globalized, it will continue to become more important to be able to speak English, so start working on learning the language now.
• Reason #3 – Teach Your Children – If you cannot speak English yourself, it will be hard to teach your children the language and even harder to teach them why it is so important that they learn. Once you are able to learn English you’ll have the ability to pass on your knowledge of they language to your children so they can learn while they are still young.
• Reason #4 – Keep Your Mind Working – Keeping your mind healthy is important and you should always be learning to keep your mind active. Learning English as an adult can help you keep your mind in good shape and it has actually been proven that engaging in activities such as learning a language can actually reduce your risk of having problems like Alzheimer’s disease.

Benefits of Online Learning

Many adults today that want to learn English are turning to online learning for their English educational needs. If you take a look at the benefits of learning English online it is not hard to see why so many people are using this method. So, if you are an adult who wants to learn English, take a close look at some of the great benefits you can enjoy when learning English online.

- Benefit #1 – Easy to Use – First of all, learning English online as an adult is easy. More than likely you already know how to use the internet, so you are well on your way. Most of the online programs are very easy to use so learning English will be as easy as possible for you.

- Benefit #2 – Learn in Your Own Time – Learning English online as an adult also gives you the ability to learn in your own time. No doubt you lead a very busy life and it can be difficult to fit learning English into your hectic schedule; however, if you learn online you’ll be able to work on learning anytime you want to.

- Benefit #3 – Learning Made Fun – When you learn English online, you’ll find that the learning process is made fun. There are many exciting sites that offer excellent activities and games that will hold your attention so you can enjoy yourself while you are learning the English language.

- Benefit #4 – Both Free and Pay Sites Available – There are many great resources available for learning English online. You’ll find that there are a variety of free sites that can help you learn English and there are many pay sites available as well that can offer lessons in English.

So, as you can see, it is important that you learn English as an adult. Also, with modern technology and the internet, it is easier for adults than every before to learn the English language. So, consider getting started today and opening brand new doors with your English skills.

By: Maysaa Bazbouz

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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 a place to share English stories and poetry. Instead of buying piles of newspaper, books, and magazines and then sifting through information that does not interest you, you can find anything that interests you. The Internet has just about every medium that uses English. This includes English newspapers, magazines, journals, video, music, e-books, online news networks, and radio. You can find just about any topic online. It is much more fun to learn English with a topic that is interesting.

There are also online English learning sites that provide teachers who give lesson plans that includes tests, converse live with students, or correspond with them through email. Lessons can be obtained any time and any where. All that one requires is access to a computer and the Internet. For those with a busy life, students have the ability to learn at their own pace. These programs are designed to meet the students’ needs and have top native-English speaking teachers.

The Internet also contains sites where learners can utilize internet voice communication tools to practice their language speaking skills. People can speak with others in order to practice and even make some great friends. It is always beneficial to have good support system that will help motivate you to keep learning. There are also discussion boards, chat rooms, and email, where people can practice how to write and speak English properly. Sites like Facebook and Twitter are a great way to meet and interact with English speakers.

Learning the English language will improve job opportunities and open up the doors to career advancement. Because the Internet has become a big part of most people’s lives, the wealth of information posted from all over the world makes it a valuable tool when learning to speak and write the English language.

By: Amy Nutt

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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.

Admissions

The 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, you probably need to know the structure of each exam.

Structure of the TOEFL

As of last year, official TOEFL is almost universally given in the iBT (Internet Based Testing) format. It consists of four sections:

Reading

The TOEFL Reading section asks you to read 4-6 passages of university level and to answer multiple-choice questions about them (multiple-choice means you choose the answer from provided options). Questions test you on comprehension of the text, main ideas, important details, vocabulary, inferring, rhetorical devices and style.

Listening

The Listening Section presents long 2-3 conversations and 4-6 lectures. The situations are always related to university life i.e. a conversation between a student and a librarian about finding research materials or a lecture from a history class. The questions are multiple choice and ask you about important details, inferences, tone, and vocabulary. The conversations and lectures are very natural and include informal English, interruptions, filler noises like “uh” or “Uhm.”

Speaking

The Speaking section is recorded. You will speak into a microphone and a grader will listen to your answers at a later date and grade you. Two questions will be on familiar topics and ask you to give your opinion and/or describe something familiar to you, like your town or your favorite teacher. Two questions will ask you to summarize information from a text and a conversation–and may ask your opinion as well. Two questions will ask you to summarize information from a short conversation. Again, the topics of the conversations are always university-related.

Writing

Finally, there are two short essays on the TOEFL. One will ask you to write your opinion on a broad topic, such as whether it is better to live in the country or the city. One will ask you to summarize information from a text and a lecture–often the two will disagree with each other and you will need to either compare and contrast, or synthesize conflicting information.

IELTS Structure

The IELTS contains the same 4 sections, Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing, but the format is very different.

Reading

The reading section of the IELTS gives you 3 texts, which may be from academic textbooks or from a newspaper or magazine–but all at the level of a university student. One will always be an opinion piece–i.e. a text arguing for one point of view. The variety of questions on the IELTS is quite broad, and not every text will have every question type. One question type asks you to match headings to paragraphs in the text. You may be asked to complete a summary of the passage using words from the text. Or you may have to fill in a table or chart or picture with words from the text. There may be multiple-choice questions that ask you about key details. One of the hardest question types presents statements and asks you whether these statements are true, false or not included in the text. You may also be asked to match words and ideas. Finally, some questions are short-answer but the answers will be taken directly from the text itself.

Some questions come before the text and may not require careful reading to answer. Others come after the text and may expect you to have read the text thoroughly.

Listening

The IELTS has four listening sections. The first is a “transactional conversation” in which someone may be applying for something (a driver’s license, a library card) or asking for information (say calling for more details about an advertisement or a hotel). The second section is an informational lecture of some kind, possibly a dean explaining the rules of the university. Third is a conversation in an academic context and the final section will be an academic lecture. For all sections you may be asked to fill out a summary, fill in a table, answer multiple-choice questions, label a diagram or picture, or classify information into different categories. You will be expected to fill out answers as you listen.

Writing

There are two writing tasks on the academic IELTS. The first asks you to summarize a table or chart in about 300 words. You will have to identify important information, compare and contrast different figures or maybe describe a process. The second task asks you to present your opinion on a statement about a fairly open topic such as: “Women should look after children and not work” or “Too many people are moving to cities and rural areas are suffering.”

Speaking

Finally, the speaking section will be held on a different day from the rest of the test and in the presence of a trained interviewer. The questions are the same for all examinees but some parts may be more in the form of a conversation than a monologue. The first part of the test will be a brief introductory conversation followed by some short questions about familiar topics. The interviewer may ask your name, your job, what kinds of sports you like, what your daily routine is, and so on. In the second part, you will be given a card with a topic and a few specific questions to address. You will have to speak for two minutes on this topic, which may be about your daily routine, the last time you went to the movies, your favorite part of the world or a similar familiar topic. In the last section, the interviewer will ask you to discuss a more abstract side of the topic in part 2–why do people prefer daily routines? Why do people like the movies? How does travel affect local life?

Which is Better for Me?

So now you have some understanding of what each test involves, but you might be wondering which is better for you. Maybe in reading about the structure, you thought, “Wow TOEFL sounds so easy,” or, “Oh the IELTS sounds like it’s kind of fun!” That might be a good sign that one test will be easier for you than the other. More concretely, there are a couple of key differences between the tests.

British versus American English

While both the UK and the US accept both tests, and while British English and American English are not as different as some think, the fact of the matter is the IELTS tends to use British English and the TOEFL uses exclusively American English. On the IELTS, this difference will have a larger effect because spelling counts, and that is one area where Britain and the US do not always see eye-to-eye. Obviously if you have problems with the British accent (and the test may include a wide variety of accents, including Australian, New Zealand, Irish and Scottish). On the other hand, American accents may throw you off. Certain terms are also different and you don’t want to waste time in your speaking test asking what a flat or a lorry is. So whether you are used to British or American English is certainly a factor. If you are more comfortable with US English, the TOEFL is a good bet but if you are used to British English and accents, you’ll do better on the IELTS.

Multiple choice versus Copying Down

For the reading and listening sections, TOEFL gives you multiple-choice questions, whereas IELTS generally expects you to copy down words from the text or the conversation word-for-word. Multiple-choice questions will tend to be require slightly better abstract thinking, but the IELTS favors people who have good memories and think more concretely. The good thing about multiple-choice is that it is easy to pick out wrong answers, whereas the good thing about copying down is that the answer is sitting there in the text. You just have to find it and repeat it. So, concrete thinkers will tend to do better on the IELTS and abstract thinkers will tend to excel on the TOEFL.

Predictable or Different Every Time

Of course, the TOEFL is also more predictable than the IELTS. The IELTS throws lots of different question types at you, and the instructions are often slightly different every time. That makes it harder to prepare for. The TOEFL, on the other hand, is pretty much the same test every time–pick A, B, C, D, or E. On the other hand, the IELTS certainly keeps you on your toes and that can keep you more alert.

Speaking to a Person or a Computer?

Another large difference is in how the speaking section is carried out. For some people, it’s very relaxing to just record your answers into a computer because it feels like no one is listening. You just try your best and forget about it until you get your grades. Because the IELTS test is done in an interview format with a native speaker present, you might get nervous or feel you are being judged. And they take notes: Oh God, did he write down something good or something bad? On the other hand, you might feel more relaxed in a conversation, with a person there to explain if you don’t understand a question, or simply having a face to look at, instead of a computer screen. Getting feedback from a native speaker can be helpful too, in order to correct mistakes and improve during the test. So it depends on what you are more comfortable with. If you like talking to people, the IELTS is a better bet. If you just want to be alone and not feel judged, the TOEFL will be more comfortable for you.

Holistic versus Criteria

Finally, the speaking and writing sections of the TOEFL are graded holistically. The grader gives you a score based on the overall quality of the essay, including vocabulary, logic, style, and grammar. The IELTS by contrast is marked by individual criteria and you are scored individually for grammar, word choice, fluency, logic, cohesion, and a dozen other criteria. In other words, if you write well but have a lot of small grammar mistakes, your TOEFL score might be quite good because graders will ignore small mistakes if the overall essay is logical and detailed. The IELTS will not overlook bad grammar. On the other hand, if your grammar and vocabulary are strong but you have trouble expressing your opinion or organizing an essay, you could end up with a low TOEFL score but the IELTS will give you good marks for language use. So while it may sound like the IELTS is much tougher since it grades you on everything, in fact you can get quite a good score if you are strong in a number of areas. The TOEFL emphasizes the ability to put together a logical and detailed argument (or summary) and looks at clarity, word choice, and style above all. If you don’t feel comfortable writing essays but you think you have excellent grammar and vocabulary and overall are a decent writer, the IELTS will probably be easier for you.

I hope this essay was helpful in making your choice. In any case, I recommend you go to the websites of IELTS and TOEFL and get some more detail on each test, and also try out some practice problems on your own.

By: Walton Burns

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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 of “sleep learning”. They are: The Silent Way (Gattegno, 1972), Suggestopedia (Lozanov, 1978), and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (Bandler and Grindler, 1982). Let’s briefly examine each of these.

The Silent Way

The Silent Way (ref. Richards and Rodgers, 2004) was developed by Caleb Gattegno (Gattegno, 1972) and is a method based on the premise that the English, or foreign language teacher, should be “silent” as much as possible and the language learner encouraged to produce as much language as possible. But while the method requires minimal external input on the part of the language teacher, it does provide for problem-solving, “discovery learning” and creation of memorable images to facilitate learner recall. Problem-solving and discovery learning certainly can not occur during the noted stages of sleep. Creation of “memorable imagery” is possible, especially during the dream state, but how many learners remember these images with any frequency?

Suggestopedia

Suggestopedia, also known as Desuggestopedia, developed by Georgi Lozanov (Lozanov, 1978) is based on a “science concerned with the systematic study of non-rational or non-conscious influences”. Music and musical rhythm to place the learner in a relaxed state, called Psuedo-Passiveness, (also ref. Krashen-Terrell, 1983; the Affective Filter Hypothesis) and to pace or structure the linguistic material also figure heavily in this approach. But using this method, learners must still “visualize” a context for the material to aid in its memorization. Materials are dramatized through varying tone and rhythm of audio readings the learner listens to. Cognitive skills such as context visualization and memorization are not actively applied to learning during stages of sleep.

Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP)

Neuro-linguistic Programming or NLP is a collection of techniques, patterns and strategies for assisting effective communication, personal growth, change and learning based on a series of underlying assumptions about how the mind works and how people act and interact. (Revell and Norman, 1997) In the mid-1970s, John Grindler (Bandler and Grindler, 1982) and Richard Bandler (Bandler, 1985) developed NLP as an alternate form of psychological therapy. A series of step-by-step procedures that would enable people to improve their lives, therapist could use these techniques in building rapport with clients, gather information about their views and help them to achieve goals and bring about personal change. (ref. Richards and Rodgers, 2004)

A behaviorist approach though, requires conscious effort and application of cognitive, meta-cognitive, communicative and social strategies. (Rubin, 1987) As such, this does not take place in full during stages of sleep. Conscious, active effort and application are genuinely required over an extended period of time for full benefit. For an even more detailed look at implicit and explicit approaches to teaching and learning grammar, see the article: “Grammar Teaching: Implicit or Explicit” available online at:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Grammar-Teaching:-Implicit-or-Explicit?&id=89342

Apart from theory, methodology and didactics, language is a communicative tool. It allows us, as humans, to share our knowledge, thoughts and ideas in a way and at a level that none of the other animal species ever can. But what actually constitutes good practice in English or foreign language learning? How can we identify or become a good language learner? In the third installment of the article series, “Can you really learn English or another foreign language while you sleep?”, we’ll examine some of the many aspects of good language learners.

By: Larry M. Lynch

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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 on hand when writing. A thesaurus gives synonyms for words, which means that it gives you a choice of multiple different words that have a very similar meaning to the word you looked up. This can be very helpful when you are trying to spice up your writing. Every writer can get stuck in a rut by using the same words in many of their pieces. A thesaurus will combat this by giving you a plethora of different words to use. Without using a thesaurus your writing will become very dull and redundant. With a dictionary and a thesaurus by your side, you should be able to accomplish any task.

By: Gabriel J. Adams

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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
————
Happy/Smiley –
Angry – |
Very happy – )
Confused – %-)
Tongue tied – :-&
Sad –
Saintly – O:-)
Laughing –
Crying – :’-(
Surprised/shocked – :-O
Screaming – :-@
Kiss – :-*
Pig – :@)
Clown – *:-)
Wink –


There are more sms shortcuts that could make up a so-called sms dictionary, but the more words you use the less effective the shortcuts are as people stop understanding what you’re actually saying.

In this case, a short ‘vocabulary’ is best so everyone knows what is being said.


Okay. Now it’s test time. Let’s see if you can understand this sentence made up of some of the text message abbreviations above, then:

By: Steve Nash

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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 one for our daughter because it most resembled a children’s dictionary. After a couple of days of instruction, though, I began envying her and wished I had a copy of my own. Whenever I had a chance to refer to it, I often found that I preferred its definitions and illustrative sentences to those in my “grown-up,” more comprehensive Spanish dictionary.

The strength of Barron’s Spanish Bilingual Dictionary – its limited word list — is also its weakness, though. If you travel much in Spanish-speaking countries, especially if you take language instruction, you will inevitably encounter words that are not to be found here. My advice is to pack this dictionary along with a more complete one, and you will be all set for whatever language adventures await you.

Barron’s Spanish Bilingual Dictionary is published by Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.; ISBN # 0-7641-0281-8.

By: H. Tim Sevets

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