Being a non-native English speaker who is teaching English, I always have to worry about my pronunciation and my grammar. I often find myself stopping in the middle of a sentence because I am not sure what grammatical rule to follow. In short, I am not sure how to say things the right way (grammatically speaking).
True I got this job only after a thorough interview and an intensive training. In a private school in Austria that goes to say something but I still cannot relax. I want to be better in English especially because I am teaching it so I make sure that I do something every day to further improve my English skills. Among these things is reading.
I read a lot.
As child, I learned the love of reading from my friends who would come to school and talk about the latest Nancy Drew or Sweet Valley High book. Naturally, I didn’t like to be left behind so I also borrowed their books and read them at home. Unlike my friends, I grew up in a simple working class family and although me and my sisters were encouraged to do well at school, the love of reading and writing were not really given importance. In fact I can’t remember receiving a book as a gift. We were given things we need—like school supplies and clothing but books… hmm—the only books that were lying around the house were our public school textbooks.
Now I have stacks of books to read and other than that, there are several blogs I follow. I allot at least an hour each day to read. Although the influence of reading (English texts) on my English skills is not immediately evident, I know that it helps a lot.
I also like to write.
But unlike reading, I can’t write every day because I find it difficult to do so. Sure I can express what I mean in written words but not as beautifully as I want them to be expressed. My English writing skill is very limited but I am also working to improve it.
Living in a German speaking country means that 90% of what’s shown on TV and on cinema is dubbed in German. In a way, this helps me improve my German skills (which I also need to work on) so I don’t mind but if I have the chance, I watch films in English.
And I talk in English—at home and at work.
My colleagues, although their English are really good, are also non-native English speakers like me and my husband but nonetheless, talking in English to them, understanding them and being understood by them perfectly build up a certain level of confidence.
Then of course, I am still studying English when I have the time. I check my reference books when I am in doubt. I review grammar rules and learn new ones.
I hope that someday (if not sometime soon), I’ll reach that level where I can say that my English skills are more than good enough.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I can relate to this. Being an English teacher back home, I have a certain level of confidence that sad to say I am lacking now that I am living here in the US. Back home, I was too confident in fact because I know i was good… or I was the best among my colleagues because I speak fluently with matching accent… so I thought.
When I came here, I never realized that my knowledge of the english language is very much different from what I was used to. The accent and the pronounciation are very much different. So my confidence totally went down the drain. It was indeed a struggle because I have to unlearn the old knowledge and start all over again to correct everything. And the best way to do that is to learn from my then 6 year old step-son. It was indeed a struggle.
I think you’re taking the right steps to make marked improvements in your abilities! Reading does help a lot, and this isn’t necessarily for kids only. Plus blogging too! Perhaps (this is just my hypothesis) one reason you also find yourself in doubt is because the way English is used in different countries also differs (i.e. American English vs. British English). In any case, good luck!
By the way, it seems you came across my other blog…ako rin si yapatoots of yapatoots.blogspot.com
@ ruthi… parehas tau… malakas din loob ko pagdating sa english-an sa pinas at nung nagtuturo pa ako sa china. pero nung dito na ako sa europe e mejo… hmm… malayong mas magagaling sila sa kin.. (-:
@ria.. salamat sa pagdalaw… tama ka, dito sa europe mas nirerecognize nila ang British English… kaya napipilitan akong palitan yung pronunciation ko ng “tomato” pero nadudulas dulas pa rin ako minsan. at napag-alaman ko rin na ikaw si yapatoots bago mo pa man sinabi kasi binasa ko yung ilang entries mo dun.
hello.
i can relate to all of your blogs.
im a new migrant in australia who just came from philippines.
and u know it’s really hard to speak english all the way because im not used to speaking english all the way way back in the philippines.
so yea im trying hard to get used to it, by talking in english all the time, watching english series on tv, reading books, anything to help me.
and by april i will be taking up my IELTS exam. i hope i can get the required passing grade for me to enter into a university.
uhm tanong ko lang kung pano itranslate sa english to : “kaya mo pa ba?”
sorry im having a hard time finding translations in google.
alex
@ alex, it think it is:
can you still do it?
can you still go further?
can you still last?
are you still able?
sa tingin ko e depende kung saan mo gagamitin yung “kaya mo pa ba?” hihihi… hindi rin ako expert e…