ENGLISH TIPS

[SJ1819 2]

Just want to share what i learned from my Standard American English: Diction, Intonation and Enunciation Training from all the call centers i worked for. NCO (XBOX 360 Tech Support), DELL (Tech Support), Convergys (AT&T Tech Support) and the recent was KGB formerly INFONXX (Directory Assistance.. yeah we are those agents from the directory service 411). The recent job was fun cause i get to check the latest movies showing in the US. Got to know all business listings in the US, from different coffee shops to different telecom companies. Anyway, back to the purpose of posting this on board, 2 basic tips i learned from my previous trainings .

1. Listen to English songs and/or watch English movies/tv shows.

This will help you on your listening skills. Most people, who are not native English speakers, have hard time to comprehend English words/sentences they just heard because for them the words are pronounced exaggeratedly aka "slang". The fact is, it isn't. Sooner or later you will get use to hear & understand English conversations and would definitely know how to pronounce the words the right way as well. In my case, i do open my tv in the morning and just listen to CNN. I do that to be familiarized how the "slang" words sound when they are pronounced.

2. Read.

Try to read out paragraphs or phrases on your free time and apply proper pronunciation of words. It will practice you on your American English pronunciation and intonation. Americans mostly connect words (liaisons) that is why sometimes we can't understand the set of words they say and/or we hear from them and we tend to ask to repeat. They liaise words to sound more conversational and won't sound like a robot, speaking word by word.

Oh, and when i am not sure if i pronounced the word correctly, i go to Merriam Webster Site and click the small speaker icon beside the word and listen how it is pronounced. Others may find it sound like "maarte" to read/say an English word but hey you are just saying it in a proper way and the best part of it you wouldn't get misunderstood. .

I know at first it will feel and sound awkward cause you aren't an English native speaker. I definitely absolutely been there... done that stage, i sounded awful at first, but i pushed myself to practice and now i got confidence to speak English around people. It will not hurt to try .

Ahh.. ok, i am just friggin' bored. Now i feel to see a movie. Thanks for reading anyway

[Rocky_nBullwinkle 6]

Just want to share what i learned from my Standard American English: Diction, Intonation and Enunciation Training from all the call centers i worked for. NCO (XBOX 360 Tech Support), DELL (Tech Support), Convergys (AT&T Tech Support) and the recent was KGB formerly INFONXX (Directory Assistance.. yeah we are those agents from the directory service 411). The recent job was fun cause i get to check the latest movies showing in the US. Got to know all business listings in the US, from different coffee shops to different telecom companies. Anyway, back to the purpose of posting this on board, 2 basic tips i learned from my previous trainings .

1. Listen to English songs and/or watch English movies/tv shows.

This will help you on your listening skills. Most people, who are not native English speakers, have hard time to comprehend English words/sentences they just heard because for them the words are pronounced exaggeratedly aka "slang". The fact is, it isn't. Sooner or later you will get use to hear & understand English conversations and would definitely know how to pronounce the words the right way as well. In my case, i do open my tv in the morning and just listen to CNN. I do that to be familiarized how the "slang" words sound when they are pronounced.

2. Read.

Try to read out paragraphs or phrases on your free time and apply proper pronunciation of words. It will practice you on your American English pronunciation and intonation. Americans mostly connect words (liaisons) that is why sometimes we can't understand the set of words they say and/or we hear from them and we tend to ask to repeat. They liaise words to sound more conversational and won't sound like a robot, speaking word by word.

Oh, and when i am not sure if i pronounced the word correctly, i go to Merriam Webster Site and click the small speaker icon beside the word and listen how it is pronounced. Others may find it sound like "maarte" to read/say an English word but hey you are just saying it in a proper way and the best part of it you wouldn't get misunderstood. .

I know at first it will feel and sound awkward cause you aren't an English native speaker. I definitely absolutely been there... done that stage, i sounded awful at first, but i pushed myself to practice and now i got confidence to speak English around people. It will not hurt to try .

Ahh.. ok, i am just friggin' bored. Now i feel to see a movie. Thanks for reading anyway

Been there, done that, wore the shirt I finally got the accent from my husband. I do find it funny when you speak the King's english and you are in the Philippines. I wouldn't be surprised at all if you get a lot of weird looks and raised eyebrows. But not here. LOL.

Edited March 25, 2009 by Rocky_nBullwinkle

[SJ1819 2]

Just want to share what i learned from my Standard American English: Diction, Intonation and Enunciation Training from all the call centers i worked for. NCO (XBOX 360 Tech Support), DELL (Tech Support), Convergys (AT&T Tech Support) and the recent was KGB formerly INFONXX (Directory Assistance.. yeah we are those agents from the directory service 411). The recent job was fun cause i get to check the latest movies showing in the US. Got to know all business listings in the US, from different coffee shops to different telecom companies. Anyway, back to the purpose of posting this on board, 2 basic tips i learned from my previous trainings .

1. Listen to English songs and/or watch English movies/tv shows.

This will help you on your listening skills. Most people, who are not native English speakers, have hard time to comprehend English words/sentences they just heard because for them the words are pronounced exaggeratedly aka "slang". The fact is, it isn't. Sooner or later you will get use to hear & understand English conversations and would definitely know how to pronounce the words the right way as well. In my case, i do open my tv in the morning and just listen to CNN. I do that to be familiarized how the "slang" words sound when they are pronounced.

2. Read.

Try to read out paragraphs or phrases on your free time and apply proper pronunciation of words. It will practice you on your American English pronunciation and intonation. Americans mostly connect words (liaisons) that is why sometimes we can't understand the set of words they say and/or we hear from them and we tend to ask to repeat. They liaise words to sound more conversational and won't sound like a robot, speaking word by word.

Oh, and when i am not sure if i pronounced the word correctly, i go to Merriam Webster Site and click the small speaker icon beside the word and listen how it is pronounced. Others may find it sound like "maarte" to read/say an English word but hey you are just saying it in a proper way and the best part of it you wouldn't get misunderstood. .

I know at first it will feel and sound awkward cause you aren't an English native speaker. I definitely absolutely been there... done that stage, i sounded awful at first, but i pushed myself to practice and now i got confidence to speak English around people. It will not hurt to try .

Ahh.. ok, i am just friggin' bored. Now i feel to see a movie. Thanks for reading anyway

Been there, done that, wore the shirt I finally got the accent from my husband. I do find it funny when you speak the King's english and you are in the Philippines. I wouldn't be surprised at all if you get a lot of weird looks and raised eyebrows. But not here. LOL.

LOL

[maliciant 7]

Just hilighting a few common mistakes... in american english we don't open or close tv's, lightswitches, radio's, etc, we turn them on, or off, opening would imply physically opening the container they are in (and even that still would be an odd way to phrase it, we'd probably say take apart or something like that).

The other thing that I see a lot is he/she... are often used incorrectly by filipino's, I understand why but it's a very common mistake to use she instead of he or he instead of she (and some other words that in english are specific to one gender but the most similar filipino word is non-gender specific).

And finally, the order of verbs/adjectives in english matters more, I'd really recommend reading books or newspapers, it's more grammar than anything and when it comes down to it, experience is probably the most practical teacher, I don't know all the various english grammar rules that govern how we speak, but I do know that if you spend enough time reading books you'll pick it up subconciously.

Not being critical, just hopefully adding some of the things I see on a regular basis here and from my wife.

[SJ1819 2]

Just hilighting a few common mistakes... in american english we don't open or close tv's, lightswitches, radio's, etc, we turn them on, or off, opening would imply physically opening the container they are in (and even that still would be an odd way to phrase it, we'd probably say take apart or something like that).

The other thing that I see a lot is he/she... are often used incorrectly by filipino's, I understand why but it's a very common mistake to use she instead of he or he instead of she (and some other words that in english are specific to one gender but the most similar filipino word is non-gender specific).

And finally, the order of verbs/adjectives in english matters more, I'd really recommend reading books or newspapers, it's more grammar than anything and when it comes down to it, experience is probably the most practical teacher, I don't know all the various english grammar rules that govern how we speak, but I do know that if you spend enough time reading books you'll pick it up subconciously.

Not being critical, just hopefully adding some of the things I see on a regular basis here and from my wife.

THANKS! hhaha... yeah... got mistakes again. whew!!! boredom gets my asian a$$! hahahaha!

thanks again.

[RonMay 1]

Just want to share what i learned from my Standard American English: Diction, Intonation and Enunciation Training from all the call centers i worked for. NCO (XBOX 360 Tech Support), DELL (Tech Support), Convergys (AT&T Tech Support) and the recent was KGB formerly INFONXX (Directory Assistance.. yeah we are those agents from the directory service 411). The recent job was fun cause i get to check the latest movies showing in the US. Got to know all business listings in the US, from different coffee shops to different telecom companies. Anyway, back to the purpose of posting this on board, 2 basic tips i learned from my previous trainings .

funny thing is, most of the customer service i talk to were either from phil (80%) and or from india (15%) then the rest are US base... im not one of those irate customer. there's just one time incident were i know she's a filipina and i was so mad at her and i get so frustrated coz she wants something that i cannot provide, so instead of yelling or cursing, i just hang up on her. lol... and it was AT&T tech support hahah hope it wasnt you... lol... it was 2 yrs ago... i even ask one customer rep if she's a filipina and she hesitated and admitted that she is and we just laugh... im always surprised when i talk to some people here and for them to say whether if i went to school to learn english or how did i learn my english knowing i can understand and communicate with them i was like ammm i started learning english since i was a fetus? lol... no, i just tell them its our 2nd language blah blah and its all good.

[Loolie 56]

there are people who try to learn speaking,talking or learning english still find it a hard time to do it...speak english fluently...lumalabas pa rin ang matigas na mga pronunciation of words..kahit nga mga pinoy na matagal na dito sa usa di pa rin masyadong marunong magsalita ng english..

di naman kasi masyadong important na maging fluent ka sa english and it depends on your job too...ang importante nakakapagsalita ka ng english at naiintindihan ka ng ibang tao...maraming taong fluent sa english pero nonsense naman ang sinasabi kaya useless din.

di naman lahat ng amerikano fluent sa english ah..minsan nga wrong grammar at spelling and minsan wrong pronunciation pa...di lang naman pinoy ang nagkakamali sa english pati rin yung countries na first language ay english...ehehhehe...

ang daming rules of english grammar ang pronunciation...best way to learn it is to study linguistics...hehehhehehe.. pero mas maganda talaga if you communicate to an english speaking person kung gusto mo maging slang speaking ka.hehehhehehe.

[AngelSaint 0]

It's good to have the basic english grammar. It needs to have a good and correct foundation if you want to learn english better. Wrong usage of grammar leads to confusions and arguments especially in marriage life. Aside from studying it for your own good, you will be teaching your future kids too. Learning english is not hard. Just Read and read, and read... talk and talk and talk... listen and listen and listen...

[eros_EX_Plumber 0]

It's good to have the basic english grammar. It needs to have a good and correct foundation if you want to learn english better. Wrong usage of grammar leads to confusions and arguments especially in marriage life. Aside from studying it for your own good, you will be teaching your future kids too. Learning english is not hard. Just Read and read, and read... talk and talk and talk... listen and listen and listen...

The truth regarding the English spoken language.......

The drunker you are... the better you speak....forget about the writing part....you really need few extra drinks to excel at that.

But that is simply an opinion....

[Raeka 0]

It's good to have the basic english grammar. It needs to have a good and correct foundation if you want to learn english better. Wrong usage of grammar leads to confusions and arguments especially in marriage life. Aside from studying it for your own good, you will be teaching your future kids too. Learning english is not hard. Just Read and read, and read... talk and talk and talk... listen and listen and listen...

The truth regarding the English spoken language.......

The drunker you are... the better you speak....forget about the writing part....you really need few extra drinks to excel at that.

But that is simply an opinion....

hahaha!!.. yep! this is true..

[SJ1819 2]

It's good to have the basic english grammar. It needs to have a good and correct foundation if you want to learn english better. Wrong usage of grammar leads to confusions and arguments especially in marriage life. Aside from studying it for your own good, you will be teaching your future kids too. Learning english is not hard. Just Read and read, and read... talk and talk and talk... listen and listen and listen...

The truth regarding the English spoken language.......

The drunker you are... the better you speak....forget about the writing part....you really need few extra drinks to excel at that.

But that is simply an opinion....

more beer please.... i agree. beer helps a lot. LMAO!!!

[maritoni 3]

Been there, done that, wore the shirt I finally got the accent from my husband. I do find it funny when you speak the King's english and you are in the Philippines. I wouldn't be surprised at all if you get a lot of weird looks and raised eyebrows. But not here. LOL.

LOLS

[SJ1819 2]

Been there, done that, wore the shirt I finally got the accent from my husband. I do find it funny when you speak the King's english and you are in the Philippines. I wouldn't be surprised at all if you get a lot of weird looks and raised eyebrows. But not here. LOL.

LOLS

LOL!!

[jamster0105 7]

This topic reminds me of my brother-in-law in Bohol....he is really shy to speak english around me because he is afraid to make mistakes...until he broke out that bottle of Tanduay Rum....his english was better than mine, after a few rounds...or at least he thought it was hahaha

[one...two...tree 2,762]

My wife pronounces any word with a short 'i' as a long 'e'.

Slippers become sleeeepers. Dinner becomes deener.

And the he, she, him, her switch...my God - somebody really got those mixed up a long time ago in the Philippines. I don't think she'll ever be cured of that one.

This topic reminds me of my brother-in-law in Bohol....he is really shy to speak english around me because he is afraid to make mistakes...until he broke out that bottle of Tanduay Rum....his english was better than mine, after a few rounds...or at least he thought it was hahaha