HOW DO I IMPROVE MY ENGLISH?

A lot of people are always asking, "How do I improve my English?" There are many possible
answers, but here are just a few pieces of advice.

Be responsible for your own learning

Sure you have teachers, reading materials, and websites to help you with your English, but who
is really responsible for making sure you learn English well? Nobody but you. Make sure you are
the one who is taking charge of your own learning.

Immerse yourself in English as much as possible

Immerse means to be surrounded by something. If you are immersed in English, it is all around
you. Of course this isn't always possible, but you can do some things to surround yourself in
English from time to time.

Listen to the radio in English. If there are no English radio stations where you live, listen to
one on the internet.

Watch TV and movies in English. If you have English channels on your TV, watch them. If
they have subtitles (the words written in your language) underneath the picture, see if they can
be turned off. Some people even tape paper across the bottom of the screen so they can't see
the words. Most DVD's are great because you can choose the language you want to hear.

Speak English to your friends. Get a conversation buddy (friend) and speak in English as
much as possible. If it is a person whose native language is the same as your own, you may feel
silly speaking in English at first. But don't worry. Continue to do it and it will become more
natural to you. Finding friends whose native language is English is even better. Ask your friend
to correct you when needed.

Study or travel to an English-speaking country. Of course the best way to immerse yourself
in the English language is to live in an all English environment. You'll find yourself surrounded
with the language everywhere you turn. It can be a more difficult and expensive choice, but you
may find it to be a very valuable and helpful experience.

Other ideas. Take an English class, join an English group, find a tutor, read English magazines.
Do whatever you can to immerse yourself in the language.

Monitor yourself

This means to pay attention to how you use English. Think (a little) about how you are going to
say something before it comes out of your mouth. But don't think about all of the problems you
have in English at the same time. Just choose something your know you are having difficulty
with and work on using it correctly. For example, if you know that you have problems
remembering to use a, an, and the, spend a few days trying to put them into sentences as you
speak. Don't worry about anything else. Concentrate on that. When you feel that you are
improving, choose something else to work on. Just keep trying and little by little, your English
will get better everyday.
Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns are these words:

myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves*

Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and the object in a sentence are the same person.

For example:

I hit myself with a hammer.

John hit himself with a hammer.

These sentences are not correct:

X I hit me with a hammer.

X John hit him with a hammer. (If John hit John.)

But remember, when the subject and object are different people, use the regular object
pronouns (me, you, he, she, it, us, and them**.)

I hit her (Susan) with a hammer.

John hit him (Jack) with a hammer.

Check Your Understanding

Use the the object to use a *reflexive pronoun or **object pronoun.

Examples:

A. Mary loves John. Mary loves him.

B. Tony and Faye saw Tony and Faye in the mirror. Tony and Faye saw themselves in the mirror.

1. Jim asked Carrie about the dance.

Jim asked about the dance.

2. The animal cleaned the animal with its tongue.

The animal cleaned with its tongue.

3. David and Alex asked Mr. Jones for advice.

David and Alex asked for advice.

4. You three kids will cut you three kids if you play with knives.

You three kids will cut if you play with knives.

5. Lisa and I gave Lisa and I a present from the mall.

Lisa and I gave a present from the mall.

6. Did Mrs. Nichols talk to you after class?

Did Mr. Nichols talk to after class?

7. Mr. Nichols talked to Mr. Nichols after class.

Mr. Nichols talked to after class.

Pronouncing -ed at the ends of words

There are 3 ways to pronounce the final -ed in a word.

1. -ed = /id/

2. -ed = /d/

3. -ed = /t/

How do you know which sound goes with which word? Look at these verbs:

kissed
hoped
learned
played
wanted
sounded

Which sound goes with which word?

Listen

Here are the rules...

If the last sound of the word is unvoiced* (uses no only air to make the sound) except t, the -
edwill sound like /t/.

Look at the words kiss and hope. The last sound of kiss is /s/. It doesn't use the voice to make
the sound. So the -ed will not use a voice to make a sound either. The word sounds like /kist/.
The word hope ends with /p/. It doesn't use the voice so /t/ is at the end. It sounds like /hopt/.

If the last sound of the word is voiced* (uses some noise to make the sound) except d, the -
edwill sound like /d/.
Look at the words learned and played. The last sound of learn is /n/. It uses the voice. The -ed
will also have a voice sound like /d/. So learned sounds like /lernd/. Play also has a voiced sound
at the end. Played is pronounced /pleid/.

If the last sound to the word is /d/ or /t/, the -ed will sound like /id/.

Look at the words wanted and mended. They end with a /t/ or /d/. Wanted sounds like /wantid/
and mended sounds like /mendid/.

Note: Don't think about the spelling, only think about the final sound. For example, cough
sounds like /kaf/. /f/ is unvoiced. Coughed is /kaft/.

*If you are not sure if a sound is voiced or unvoiced, put your hand on your throat when you say
the sound. If it is voiced, you will feel a vibration, or movement, in your throat. If it is unvoiced,
you will feel nothing in your throat.

/d/

Loved

Played

Rubbed

Combed

Begged

Travelled

/t/

Worked

Stopped

Talked

Laughed

Fixed

Finished

/id/

Accepted
Invited

Decided

Attempted

Pretended

Succeeded