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I spent my last winter holidays in village. This year I did not go anywhere. First I thought it would be
dull to stay at home. But how it seems to me they have been one of the finest holidays in my life.
Our winter holidays began on the 27th of December. On that day we had a New Year party at
school. We had prepared an amateur performance with Father Frost and Snow-Maiden..
Then we had a dance party. That day we had a lot of fun.
I like winter for a number of holidays we celebrate at the beginning of a new year. First of all this is
New Year Day. On the eve of New Year Day my father and I usually decorate a new year tree and
mother cooks a lot of tasty things. We like to celebrate this holiday at home.
My Granny and Grandpa come to our place. At 11 o'clock we sit at the table to see Old Year off. At
12 o'clock with the last stroke of the clock we raise our glasses to New Year.
On the 7th of January our family celebrates Christmas. I like this holiday very much, too. This year
all my friends came to our place. The girls helped my mother to set the table. According to the ancient
tradition there were 12 dishes on the table.
The period of the winter holidays is rich in different shows and performances. This year we chose
the show in the circus. We are already not children to go to the theatre to see some childish
performance with a bad wolf who has stolen a new year tree. But a circus show is another pair of
shoes. I think there is nobody in the world who can be tired of the circus. I liked the clowns most of all.
Their tricks were so funny. And, of course, I liked the performing animals. They are so clever and
beautiful and sometimes they behave themselves exactly like people.
But the time during the holidays flies so quickly. Certainly, I didn't get up early. In the evenings I
could afford myself to watch TV as long as I wanted. I read some books which I dreamt to read but 1
didn't have free time for this.
I like fantastic stories. It s a pity that at our Literature lessons we don't speak much about the books
which are popular with the young generation. At school we are to read and discuss the books which
are in the curriculum.
This year the weather was really New Year's one. The temperature was not simply low, it was very
low, about 20 degrees below zero. But the weather was rather snowy, and one day we set off to the
park to ski. We had a nice day there. We ski, played snowballs and even made a snow man.
I like my last winter holidays very much. I think I'll memorize them for ever.
Set goals
If you know why you want to study, setting goals is easy. For example, maybe you want to travel
to an English-speaking country. Great. Your goal might be to learn "Survival English". Perhaps
you already know many useful phrases, but you want to improve your listening skills and
pronunciation. Whatever your goals are, write them down.
Make an agenda
How long do you need to study to achieve your goals? This answer is different for every student.
The important thing is to be realistic. If you work 60 hours per week, don't plan on spending
another 40 hours a week studying English. Start off slow, but study regularly. Use material that is
challenging, but not too difficult. Find out what works for you. After you have studied for a few
weeks, adjust your study schedule accordingly. Do you study best at night, or on the bus on your
way to work? Do you like to study alone in a quiet place, or with friends and background music?
Click here for a sample 4 week agenda.
Make a commitment
Learning English requires a lot of motivation. Nobody is going to take your attendance when you
aren't in class. If you are sure you are ready to begin studying, make a commitment. Click here to
sign a contract with yourself.
Most students want to communicate better in English. If this is one of your goals, it is important
to study a balance of the four major skills. Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing are the
main (macro) skills you need to communicate in any language. Being very good at only one of
these skills will not help you to communicate. For example you need to be able to read well
before you can write well. You also need to be able to listen before you can speak. It helps to
think of these communicative skills in two groups.
* INput <<<
o Listening (in through your ears)
o Reading (in through your eyes)
* OUTput >>>
It's simple. Think of it this way. First you have input. Next you have output. First you listen to
someone ask you a question. Second you speak and give them your answer. First you read a
letter from someone. After that you write back to them. These are examples of communicating.
Input and output don't necessarily go in a specific order. Sometimes you speak first and then you
listen. Sometimes you write about something you hear. During communication, the person you
are communicating with uses one of the opposite skills. Therefore, in order to understand each
other, everyone must be skillful in all four areas.
Some students want to know which skill is the most important. Since all of the skills rely on each
other, they are all important. However, to communicate we do use some skills more often than
others. For example, about 40% of the time that we spend communicating we are simply
listening. We speak for about 35% of the time. Approximately 16% of communication comes
from reading, and about 9% from writing. These statistics are for an average communicator in
English. Depending on someone's job or situation, these numbers may vary.
Each of these main skills have micro skills within them. For example, pronunciation is a type of
speaking skill that must be practised in order to improve communication. Spelling is a skill that
makes understanding the written word easier. Grammar and vocabulary are other micro skills.
Micro doesn't mean they are unimportant. Macro skills such as listening are very general, while
micro skills are more specific. (More about input and output)
For the best results, create an agenda that combines all four areas of study. Allow one type of
studying to lead into another. For example, read a story and then talk about it with a friend.
Watch a movie and then write about it. This is what teachers in an English class would have you
do, right? EnglishClub.com has lessons in all 4 key skills (and all minor skills), as well as many
outside links to help you study further. (ESL Internet resources)
1. How to learn LISTENING
* Watch English TV
Children's programming is very useful for ESL learners.
Choose programs that you would enjoy in your own language.
Remember that much of what you hear on TV is slang.
* Watch movies
Choose ones with subtitles, or one from ESLNotes.com (provides useful notes on popular
movies).
* Talk to yourself
Talk about anything and everything. Do it in the privacy of your own home. If you can't do
this at first, try reading out loud until you feel comfortable hearing your own voice in English.
* Participate in class
Children's books, simplified readers (Penguin), newspapers, magazines, Internet sites, novels,
and much much more...
* Review Who, What, Where, When, Why for each story you read
You can do this for almost any type of reading. Who is it about? What happened? Why did it
happen? Where did it take place? When did it take place? This is very useful when you have no
comprehension questions to answer. You can write or speak your answers.
* Keep a diary/journal
Don't always pay attention to grammar. Free-writing can be very useful. It can show you that
writing is fun. Have fun with the language.
* Stay organized. Keep separate notebooks for exercises, writing, and vocabulary.
* Use a pen that you love.
* Study in short, regular periods.
* Useful links:
Language Holidays
Homestay
English Schools Guide
* Useful links:
ESL Exams
TOEFL Tips and Practice
TOEIC Tips and Practice
Official Cambridge site
Official TOEFL site
Official TOEIC site
* Have an English-only evening once a week. Cook in English (rewrite your recipe in English)
or watch English movies.
* Write an English love letter. (If your loved one doesn't understand English that's even
better!)
* Write English limericks. (These are excellent and simple for writing, pronunciation and
rhythm practice.)