How many times?

hertsgirl

Delfino hat geschrieben:

andy55 hat geschrieben:

Thank you for your suggestions.
I already do some of those things every day, for example: (You can't practise suggestions and the passive "...are practised by me" is inappropriate here

- watching BBC programmes, especially BBC News, Al Jazeera, BBC entertainment

I printed out a transcript of a ministerial (I don't think this is right. But without knowing exactly what Delfino is referring to I cannot be completely sure) debate and I recorded the programme. (Simple past here with "recorded" and "show" is very rarely used to describe more serious broadcasting such as political debates.)

In response to your second point:
- Speaking with English native speakers, who want to learn German. (This sentence makes little sense on its own, would need to add something like "..., would be a solution / a helpful thing to do etc etc.)
- I agree with you there but I haven't found anybody/anyone yet who would want ("wants" instead of "would want" also makes sense, depends on exact situation and level of formality) to speak English with me.
- I would prefer to talk with a native speaker.
- I would prefer to talk with native speakers.

("the same big problem" makes no sense, "oral communication" is far too pretentious-sounding for this context.)
Therefore speaking is also a big problem.
Nobody in my family can speak English. (Omit clause about wife etc, unnecessary.)
I could talk to myself but would that be right or wrong? (Do not understand what Delfino means by "right or wrong?" Helpful/beneficial I think would make much more sense)
It is difficult to make real progress without an English speaking counterpart. (Not sure if use of "counterpart" is correct here, would need extra explanation to determine if it is or not."

I would like to thank all of you for your suggestions, your hints and your tips.

Sorry I hate to be so pernickety but had to correct this. When you're correcting someone in a way that gives the impression that you are absolutely sure that your corrections are right, you must really make sure that they are!

hertsgirl

It's not so much the number of hours you spend that it is important, rather how productive these hours are.

Having spent 5 years learning French at secondary school in Britain (where the teaching of languages is not to a very high standard), and then having got to a higher standard than that in German after 4 months in Germany, I know from experience that immersion and contact with native speakers and native speakers' writing are the most important things. Obviously, not everyone is able to go to Britain or the USA for a year to improve their English, but if you have the opportunity, go! If you can't do that yet or can't do it at all, then you need to simulate that experience as best as you can. My suggestions would be:

- Continue reading BBC News reports, but also add many more examples of writing which are going to be in different styles - from property for sale adverts to Wikipedia to tourist board websites to anything you like. Don't look up every word you don't know, otherwise it becomes very boring.
- Go to the biggest library in your area and borrow literature (children's/teenage/adult, depending on your level).
- Watch films with simple dialogue which follow fairly standard English e.g. James Bond.
- Look up SprachDuo in your nearest city and try to get a native-speaking (or at the very least a German with a degree in English - my SprachDuo partner is an LMU English graduate and her English is faultless) partner.
- Keep writing in English e.g. in a diary.
- Combine all this with a good quality text book and grammar book (which I think you must already have if you're following a course).

hertsgirl

And sorry Delfino, when my first post says "Delfino" I meant "Andy55." It was very late in the night!

Delfino

@hertsgirl
Welcome to the forum. :freu:

Thank you very much for taking the time to correct the mistakes I wasn't able to notice earlier.

I guess, Andy55 meant to say that he printed a transcript of a debate in a governmental parliament
and recorded the discussion(s) shown as part of the tv programme.

hertsgirl Bilingual Newbie Registriert: 14. Jan 2012 01:48 Beiträge: 7 Muttersprache: English (British)	And sorry Delfino, when my first post says "Delfino" I meant "Andy55." It was very late in the night! _________________ Annoyingly passionate about my mother tongue. English language and German undergraduate.

Delfino English Superhero Registriert: 3. Jul 2008 14:35 Beiträge: 1120 Wohnort: Southampton, UK Muttersprache: German	@hertsgirl Welcome to the forum. Thank you very much for taking the time to correct the mistakes I wasn't able to notice earlier. I guess, Andy55 meant to say that he printed a transcript of a debate in a governmental parliament and recorded the discussion(s) shown as part of the tv programme. _________________ ...is supplied without liability. IELTS 7 Good user: operational command, occasional inaccuracies

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