Irene Said:

How to develop fluentzy english speaking & writing skills ?

We Answered:

Read aloud. It's impossible to develop fluency without hearing the language. If you can get a native English speaker to work with you, take turns reading so that you get practice speaking and also practice hearing how it should sound. From my experience teaching English to non-English speakers, nearly every ESL student needs to work on the endings of words. In English, the consonant sounds on the ends of words are almost always emphasized. All my students had the habit of not sounding the final consonant sounds. The "S" sound is extremely important as most plurals are made with an s, but very few ESL students sound the "S" properly. Other end sounds that are a problem are the "hard" consonants--D, T, G, K, etc. It is very common for English learners to slur over the hard consonant sounds. For instance, saying "don" instead of "don't". That final "T" is important. Practice saying "won't, can't, haven't, shouldn't, couldn't, wouldn't". You should hear every "N", "D" and "T" clearly.

You can get books on tape at the library. Try getting one of these along with the book that's being read, then read along silently while you listen to the tape.

Deanna Said:

Aussie Friends, What do you think is the smartest way to improve writing and speaking English?

We Answered:

I was always a bad writer as English is not my first language and always asked for help from friends and family but recently a friend of mine suggested me to try out this amazing writing software called “Ginger Soft” that helps me write on topics well and also avoid mistakes. This is really a must have tool for every student studying English and needs help with writing.

Marvin Said:

How can I improve my English speaking and writing power ?

We Answered:

hello there..
well, not all things we want to acquire wouldn't be that easy. of course you must put an effort for that. So here are some of my techniques:

1. At first, you must learn the Subject-Verb agreement:
-In order for you to construct sentences correctly.

2. Read english books:
-read it out loud, so that you practice your self to pronunce words at the same time.
-have your dictionary/thesaurus along with you while reading, so that you discover some word-meanings that you don't know.
(but you know what? I'm done reading my webster dictionary! haha!!)

3. Watch english movies.

4. Convince your friends to speak english! (even just for fun, but you, as yourself who is trying to learn english, must be somehow serious for doing this!)
-by practicing this, you will be able to speak words clearly, communicate with other people nicely without shyness.

5. join some activities like this (Yahoo! Answers)
-Because you are about to answer questions, you will able to practice on written output.

-hope these techniques will help you.

Goodluck!

Cathy Said:

I would like to know about name of some english books which will enhance my english speaking/writing skills?

We Answered:

Actually, broadening/improving one's language skills is a very broad concept, it should be done in more than one ways at the same time which is highly recommended. One can NOT become better ONLY in one area e.g. chatting or speaking, one MUST improve skills in ALL dimensions of the language!

Learning language well requires being as active as possible and making the learning as FUN for oneself as possible. Taking lessons is always important, but equally important are these:

1) Listen/watch: Keep listening to internet radio stations like BBC, watch TV shows in English (use only subtitles, NOT voice dubbing in case you are not a native English speaker!), etc.

2) Write/communicate: Try to find discussion forums from the web about things that you find interesting and FUN (music/various artists, hobbies, etc.) and start communicating there with other people using only English. Start using instant messaging systems in case you find some new friends or start emailing them.

3) Buy yourself a proper dictionary, and each time when you see a strange word that you do not understand, look it up. Putting words into their CONTEXT is one of the best ways to broaden one's vocabulary and grammar knowledge, the more you read and write the better. Memorising is NOT the best way to go with learning vocabulary, grammar or any other language areas!

The main point in ANY language learning is to make it as fun as possible for yourself. Try to find topics that INTEREST you, read online newspapers (Times, Guardian, Independent...), listen to BBC/NBC and other radio stations online, if you find a discussion forum for e.g. your favourite hobby or your idols in music do participate there, etc. The key word here is CONTEXT, which means that it is easier to learn new words and their usage as well as grammar when you use/see them in their real CONTEXT. The more you see and hear the new words in their context and the more you use them in your speech & writing, the easier it becomes to remember their meanings and correct spelling.

I'm sorry there is no easy way out with this, one really must develop language skills in ALL these language "levels" or dimensions in order to reach better language skills!!

Last but not least: NEVER EVER use ANY online translators, they are nothing but utter rubbish!! English is practically EVERYWHERE in the online world these days, you just have to use your imagination to find it! Learning pace is always personal, it takes the time it takes so there is no reason to hurry it up too much. If you do, you will not learn so well. Also, please learn the basics of the standard English first before advancing to finer details like dialects/accents.

Good luck!