Speaking a language in 3 months?

START ENGLISH. Watch, listen, speak. Tips and tricks about English.

(www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro)

This post is not necessarily English related but about the ability of quickly acquiring a new language.

As I mentioned before, in my professional life I always get asked questions like these: “How soon will I be able to speak English?”, “When can I sustain a fluent conversation?”


I have found an interesting article here about the blog of a multilingual bloke who claims he can speak a new language in three months, provided he spends this time in that particular country.


I guess he is right, but spending the time and trying to socialize and to use the language as much as one can are the necessary conditions. I might add a new condition: not having a language of communication can improve the process. Using the new language in all real-life situations and associating concepts and situations with the new vocabulary would be very helpful in the long run.

That is why I appeal to my students not to use another language of communication in class (except for English, of course).


Nevertheless, I cannot compare the two situations; if somebody lives or works in a foreign country for 3 months, he is in constant contact with the language. But if one studies a language 3 or 4 hours a week (+ the additional time spent for homework), his contact with the language is obviously limited.


The questions which remains is: “What happens after you leave that country?” or “How much can you preserve from the knowledge acquired if you stop using that language?


Speak English for 300 lei a month!


Web: www.cursinengleza.ro I www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro
Tel: 0722.841.053
E-mail: contact@engleza-de-afaceri.ro.

 

Sample Test for ILEC

The test for the ILEC certificate includes the Test of Reading (1 hour 15 minutes), the Test of Writing (1 hour 15 minutes), the Test of Listening (approximately 40 minutes) and the Test of Speaking (approximately 16 minutes).

The complete tests are to be performed in class.

Test of Writing

Part 2

You must answer this question.

You are leaving on an extended course of study and are transferring your case load to a colleague. A client, a major supermarket, is involved in a dispute concerning the quality of fruit delivered by a long-time supplier.

Write a memorandum to your colleague to brief him on the case, and include the following points:

-some information on the client

-what the client has done to try to find a solution

-the options available to the client

-possible results of legal action.

Write your answer in 200-250 words in an appropriate style.

Test of Speaking

Part 1 (2 minutes)

For the Speaking Test, Part 1 you need to answer some questions as following:

-Where are you both from?

-Have you ever practiced law or are you a law student?

-What kind of qualities do you think a good lawyer needs?

-In your opinion, what effect is technology having on the practice of law?

-What do you think law firms look for in associates when considering forming partnerships?

-How do lawyers advertise for their services in your country?

Part 2 (7 minutes)

For the Speaking Test Part2, contestants are given a choice of two different topics. You have to select one topic and give a short talk on it for about a minute. You will have a minute to choose and prepare your topic. After you have finished your talk, your partner will ask you a question.

Task 1A

English Use in International Business Law

-the effect of the increased use of the English language in business transactions

-the level of English needed

-the importance of language in law

Task 2B

Intellectual Property law

-an example of what is copyrightable in your country

-the rights that copyright provides

-the differences between intellectual property protection from one country to another

Task 2A

Contract law

-the most important points of a contract

-what effect on oral contract has

-what it happens if a contract is broken

Task 2B

The Legal Profession

-the legal training system in your country

-the types of work opportunities for lawyers

-the functions of professional bodies governing lawyers

Web: www.cursinengleza.ro I www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro
Tel: 0722.841.053
E-mail: contact@engleza-de-afaceri.ro.

Legal English courses

I have received many requests for legal English courses, as well as many questions about the development and the syllabuses for these courses, so I would like to present some facts.

Firstly, in order to attend these courses, your level of knowledge should be at least B1, meaning pre-intermediate. If your level is pre-intermediate, you should apply for the first type of legal English courses and the textbook is Introduction to International Legal English. If your level is C1, meaning advanced, your textbook will be International Legal English , which is also suitable for the preparation for the International Legal English certificate (ILEC).

If you are not sure about your level your knowledge, we offer preliminary tests, which are for free. The tests can take place at your office, if you are a legal person, or at our office, if you are an individual person. We also organize on-line courses and testing through Skype.

About the development and structure of the courses, I should mention that one of the most difficult aspect related to the legal English courses is the new vocabulary. We all the time present the new vocabulary in context and we explain the new words through examples and case studies. For example I have introduced in my previous paragraph two items, legal person and individual person. I do trust you have understood them.

I will come up with more details about the International Legal English Certificate and the development of my courses.

Web: www.cursinengleza.ro I www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro
Tel: 0722.841.053
E-mail: contact@engleza-de-afaceri.ro.

To Do or To Make?

This article is also about common mistakes that many students make. Or should I say Do?

The correct phrase is To Make a mistake. The source of wrongly using the verbs To Do and To Make also derives from translating from a language to another and not thinking in the language you try to use. When I advise my students to think in English, they reply that they cannot change their thoughts into English. Nobody asks them to do that, but (as I said in my previous articles) to adapt the sentences you want to make, to the patterns of the English language. Should I say do a sentence? No, the correct phrase is To make a sentence.

The question is what differentiate these two verbs? When do we use To Do and when To Make? First of all, do not forget that To Do is also an auxiliary, but when it is used as an auxiliary, it is devoid of meaning, it just fills the position of an auxiliary that a question or a negation should never miss.

Unfortunately, there are no rules for using To Do and To Make, the only difference is that To Do is more abstract and To Make involves in some contexts the actual action of making or producing something. That is why on all the products we have the phrase ”made in"…or manufactured in…”

In order to use them correctly, try to use them in context. If you are not sure, all the time check the phrase in a dictionary and be careful with phrases like “to do an exercise” but “to make sentences” and “to make a mistake”.

For my advanced students I have a piece of advice, which is trying to make progress by reading, conversing, watching films being subtitled also in English. You will do a good job by doing so.

Web: www.cursinengleza.ro I www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro
Tel: 0722.841.053
E-mail: contact@engleza-de-afaceri.ro.

Improve your English (5)

Every day in class I hear many mistakes. I correct them on the spot, but I sometimes hear them again and again..

This article is dedicated to some of my most diligent and dearest students for whom especially I write this piece.

As I mentioned in my articles about my conversation courses, I always encourage my students to try and express their ideas using their own words, for the beginning. They usually manage with difficulty at first and consequently better, as time passes.

While speaking to one another, my students use some phrases in a wrong way due to some false similarities with the Romanian language.

It is not correct to say:  “You have right”, but “You are right”. This happens due to the fact that we say in Romanian: “(Tu) ai dreptate”.

Also it is not correct to say: “I am agree with you”, but ”I agree with you”. This is the result of the way we express this sentence in Romanian: “ (Eu) sunt de acord cu tine”.

Web: www.cursinengleza.ro I www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro
Tel: 0722.841.053
E-mail: contact@engleza-de-afaceri.ro.

Invata engleza/About the tenses (3)

I have mentioned in my article here that students understand the affirmative form of the tenses in general, but they are at pains ( it is very difficult for them ) when they try to use the interrogative form. The tense focus of this article will be the present tense simple, in order to enlarge upon the topics introduced in my previous articles.

Students find it difficult to use an auxiliary verb in questions because we do not use auxiliaries in questions in our language or in the French language. But when they do use an auxiliary, some mistakes are likely to appear.

They sometimes say: “Do he speaks English?” or “Does he speaks English?”. The correct question is “Does he speak English?“, because we make the concord between the subject and the first verb in a sentence. Also we do not make the concord twice as in “Does he speaks English?”. Once is enough. Again, the correct sentence is: " Does he speak English?"

I will develop this topic in my classes especially in conversation, as “practice makes perfect”.

Web: www.cursinengleza.ro I www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro
Tel: 0722.841.053
E-mail: contact@engleza-de-afaceri.ro.

 

Questions(2)

I must repeat myself and write another piece about asking questions because many students, irrespective of their level, seem not to grasp the rule(s) for questions.

The most important thing is that in English we need an auxiliary for asking a simple question. The problem is that in Romanian we make do (manage) without an auxiliary, hence the source of mistakes.  

So always say: ”Do you speak English?” and not as some of my most diligent students say: ”You speak English?”, because in Romanian we say: ”Vorbești/ Știi engleză?”.

Always say: ”Did you know him?” and never say: ”You knew/know him?” and use some kind of intonation to show that this is a question.

Web: www.cursinengleza.ro I www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro
Tel: 0722.841.053
E-mail: contact@engleza-de-afaceri.ro.

 

Introducing yourself

In many situations people have to introduce themselves. When doing so, do not forget that the age is expressed in English with the verb “to be”.

So, always say: “I am 35 years old”.

Never say: “I have 35 years old”, the same we say in Romanian: “Am 35 de ani”.

Many beginners mistake these verbs, sometimes other students, too, because they have fluency and do not mind the details.

Web: www.cursinengleza.ro I www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro
Tel: 0722.841.053
E-mail: contact@engleza-de-afaceri.ro.

 

Questions(1)

Questions are a bother for many students, no matter their level of English. While speaking, if you do not understand something, a sentence, for example, ask for help like this:” Would you repeat, please?”. Never ask like this:” What did you say?”, because you seem rather rude and your interlocutor might not understand what, in fact, is the problem.

If you do not understand a word in a sentence and you cannot get its meaning from context ask like this:” What do you mean by…?”

You can join our communicative English language courses HERE.

Web: www.cursinengleza.ro I www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro
Tel: 0722.841.053
E-mail: contact@engleza-de-afaceri.ro.

 

Invata engleza/Improve your English (10)

I have not yet written anything about nouns, even though they are one of the most used categories of words in English. As compared with the Romanian language, the French language or other Latin languages, the plural of nouns in English is easy to use as there are some rules to follow. There are also some exceptions to the rules, but nothing to worry, though.  

When discussing about nouns, one has to consider the countable and the uncountable nouns. There are not such categories in Romanian, so be careful when you use them in sentences or in conversation.

One of the most frequent mistakes concerns the use of the uncountable word bread. Because we can count bread in Romanian (o pâine-două pâini), or in French (un pain-deux pains), most beginner students apply this rule in English, too.

If you need to buy bread always say: ”Can I have a loaf of bread, please?“ or ”Can I have two loaves of bread?”

Never say: ”Can I have a bread, please?” the same as we say in Romanian: ”Aș dori o pâine, vă rog”.

Web: www.cursinengleza.ro I www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro
Tel: 0722.841.053
E-mail: contact@engleza-de-afaceri.ro.

 

Speaking a language in 3 months?

This post is not necessarily English related but about the ability of quickly acquiring a new language.

As I mentioned before, in my professional life I always get asked questions like these:  “How soon will I be able to speak English?”, “When can I sustain a fluent conversation?”.

I have found an interesting article here about the blog of a multilingual bloke who claims he can speak a new language in three months, provided he spends this time in that particular country.

I guess he is right, but spending the time and trying to socialize and to use the language as much as one can are the necessary conditions. I might add a new condition: not having a language of communication can improve the process. Using the new language in all real-life situations and associating concepts and situations with the new vocabulary would be very helpful in the long run.

That is why I appeal to my students not to use another language of communication in class (except for English, of course). It is not helpful at all.

Even thought, I cannot compare the two situations; if somebody lives or works in a foreign country for 3 months, he is in constant contact with the language. But if one studies a language 3 or 4 hours a week (+ the additional time spent for homework), his contact with the language is obviously limited.

The questions which remains is: “What happens after you leave that country?” or “How much can you preserve from the knowledge acquired if you stop using that language?”


Web: www.cursinengleza.ro I www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro
Tel: 0722.841.053
E-mail: contact@engleza-de-afaceri.ro.

About the use of tenses (5)

In my previous article here I have introduced some aspects about the use of the Present Perfect Tense.

This is a very common tense, both in dialogues and in written English, so do not be afraid to use it as much as you can. On the on the other hand, remember that this tense has a present connotation. So if you slightly suspect that the time frame of your sentence may be the present, you should use the Present Perfect Tense and not the Past Tense.

The trickiest issue about the Present Perfect Tense is that because we assimilate this tense with a past tense in Romanian, we tend to use the past instead of the present perfect. Do remember, use a past tense in English because you have a reason, meaning usually a time adverb, not because you have a past tense in Romanian.
  

Instead of saying:’’ This world was made for us.”, it is better to say:’’ This world has been made for us.”

The sentence was taken from a text, whose time frame is not the past, so it is not advisable to use a past tense. Also because we do not have in the sentence an adverb of time showing that the action took place in the past, we should not use a past tense.

• Web: www.cursinengleza.ro I  www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro
• Tel: 0722.841.053
• E-mail: contact@engleza-de-afaceri.ro

About the use of tenses (4)

I have written some articles about tenses, one of which you can find here.

I do not think that too many articles about the tenses “will kill us” because I do not believe in “enough is enough”, so I will resume today with the tips about the tenses, with a view to the Past Tense simple.

First and foremost, questions are a source of mistakes as students use also the verb of the sentence in the Past tense, which is not necessary because the auxiliary (did) is already in the Past tense. The idea is not to use the Past tense twice in the same sentence.

So do not say: “Did you went to work yesterday?”

Always say:” Did you go to work yesterday?”

Another issue refers to expressing habits in the past, for which we can use the Past Tense simple or the phrase “use to”.

So do not say: “I used to go to the beach last Saturday.”

Always say: “I went to the beach last Saturday.”, if you want to express an action that happened in the past.

Always say: “I used to work as a nurse.”, if you want to express a past habit.

• Web: www.cursinengleza.ro I  www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro
• Tel: 0722.841.053
• E-mail: contact@engleza-de-afaceri.ro

About the IELTS exam (3)

START ENGLISH. Watch, listen, speak. Tips and tricks about English.

Examenul IELTS (International English Language Testing System) este cel mai cunoscut test de limba engleza din lume.

Testul IELTS va ajuta sa folositi limba engleza intr-o tara straina in orice context si folosing toate abilitatile: reading, listening, speaking and writing.


Daca sustineti un test IELTS, puteti sa studiati, sa lucrati si sa locuiti aproape oriunde in lume, sau va ajuta sa promovati sau sa aplicati pentru un post mai bine platit care implica interactiune in limba engleza cu parteneri si clienti straini.

I have presented some facts about the Speaking and Writing papers for the IELTS here and here.


I will focus in this piece on the Listening paper. It consists of 4 sections and it has 40 questions. For the Listening section 1 there are 10 questions and this will be the topic of this article. You have to listen to a text and fill in some words.


A few tips: look at the heading of the text and read through the notes. Do that before you listen to the text.

Take time to study the gaps a little and think of possible words or kinds of words to fill in (noun, verb, adjective, pronoun, adverb, preposition). Also pay attention to tenses, phrases, etc..

For example, if there is a gap before a Past Participle (3rd form), you will definitely know that a Perfect Tense is required (to have) or a passive (to be).  

Do this carefully because you will be allowed to listen to the recording only once. Also mind the task and read it attentively, paying attention to the key words. 

Start IELTS for 300 lei a month!

• Web: www.cursinengleza.ro I  www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro
• Tel: 0722.841.053
• E-mail: contact@engleza-de-afaceri.ro

Improve your English (9)

While students converse with one another they tend to be very enthusiastic and they sometimes forget the rules or as everybody does at a certain level of knowledge, they forget to mind the details.

Many courses implicate speaking on many topics. No matter the topics, there may be mistakes involved.

While talking about personal experiences, students often mistake the prepositions.

So do not say: ”I sometimes watch TV in the night”

Always say: ”I sometimes watch TV at night”.

Also do not forget to say:”I always have a cup of coffee in the morning” or ” I always watch TV in the evening”.

More about conversation courses you can find here.

• Web: www.cursinengleza.ro I  www.engleza-de-afaceri.ro
• Tel: 0722.841.053
• E-mail: contact@engleza-de-afaceri.ro