WWW.DEEL.IR

In the Name of Allah           

Dickinson wrote often of death and immortality (usually related to one’s soul living forever, never dying), but her poetry wasn’t always about such deep (serious) topics. Here’s one of her more inspiring (causing positive thoughts and enthusiasm) poems:

Dickinson begins by saying that “If I can stop (prevent) one heart from breaking.” To break one’s heart is to become very sad, often because someone has died or left you.  (Okay, okay, so this poem talks about death, too, but it gets happier in a minute (soon).)

Dickinson says that if she can stop someone’s heart from breaking, “I shall not live in vain.” Something done in vain is done without any good coming out of it, without being successful. But if she can prevent someone from becoming sad, then her life will not be in vain – her life will have meaning.

She continues with this theme: “If I can ease one life the aching.” To ease is to make something that is painful less painful, to help someone feel less pain. Aching here means basically pain, usually related to losing or being without someone. So if the person speaking in this poem can help ease someone’s pain, then (again) we learn that she “shall not (will not) live in vain.”

Dickinson adds two more images here: “Or cool one pain” and “Or help one fainting robin/Unto his nest again.” To cool one’s pain would be similar to ease it, to make it less painful. A robin is a small bird (see photo). To faint usually means to fall down due to some temporary illness (sickness) or, more specifically, lack of (not having enough) oxygen.

We would not normally think of robins as “fainting,” but apparently it can happen. Anyway, this robin can faint, and Dickinson says that if she can help the poor bird “Unto his nest again,” she will not have lived in vain. A nest is a bird’s home (see photo), so to help one “unto” his nest would be to help the bird back into his nest, so he is safe.

Dickinson is telling us, I think, that in helping other people who need help, we can give our own lives meaning. As we approach (get nearer to) the holiday season, that’s a good thought for all of us to keep in mind (remember).

P.S:This post is taken from www.eslpod.com.

Vocabulary learning is one of the important parts of language learning, however a lot of language learners do not clearly know how they should do it and what they should learn about a new word.I have already talked about the pieces of information which should be learned about a word (in postings90-4,90-5,90-6,90-7 ). In this posting ,I am going to talk about antonyms(words with almost opposite meanings) and synonyms(words with almost same meanings).

Most of the teachers while teaching new words bombard the students with  synonyms or antonyms of new words.Doing this, they try to improve vocabulary knowledge of students.Teachers believe that if they give synonyms and antonyms of new words they will be automatically learned beside new words.Likewise,students are interested in learning synonyms and antonyms of new words and usually insist teachers to give them antonyms ans synonyms of new words .Is this a right approach?Do learning antonyms and synonyms help?What does research say?

Research(scientific studies) on vocabulary learning shows that giving synonyms and antonyms while teaching new words makes the job more difficult for students, specially giving synonyms and antonyms which themselves are not familiar.It seems that learning antonyms and synonyms besides new words overloads students' memory.Therefore it is not a good idea to make the already difficult process of vocabulary learning more difficult by giving more new words(synonyms and antonyms).

In sum,learning synonyms and antonyms of new words do not seem very helpful.Instead, teachers and students alike should focus on learning collocations(for more information please go to posting 90-76) of new words which can improve accuracy and fluency of students much better.

What do you think?Do you think learning synonyms an antonyms is helpful?

ای وای مادرم

آهسته باز از بغل پله ها گذشت

در فكر آش و سبزی بیمار خویش بود

اما گرفته دور و برش هاله ای سیاه

او مرده است و باز پرستار حال ماست

در زندگی ما همه جا وول می خورد

هر كنج خانه صحنه ای از داستان اوست

در ختم خویش هم به سر كار خویش بود

بیچاره مادرم

هر روز می گذشت از این زیر پله ها

آهسته تا به هم نزند خواب ناز من

امروز هم گذشت

در باز و بسته شد

با پشت خم از این بغل كوچه می رود

چادر نماز فلفلی انداخته به سر

كفش چروك خورده و جوراب وصله دار

او فكر بچه هاست

هرجا شده هویج هم امروز می خرد

بیچاره پیرزن ، همه برف است كوچه ها

او از میان كلفت و نوكر ز شهر خویش

آمد به جستجوی من و سرنوشت من

آمد چهار طفل دگر هم بزرگ كرد

آمد كه پیت نفت گرفته به زیر بال

هر شب در آید از در یك خانه فقیر

روشن كند چراغ یكی عشق نیمه جان

او را گذشته ای است ، سزاوار احترام :

تبریز ما ! به دور نمای قدیم شهر

در ( باغ بیشه ) خانه مردی است باخدا

هر صحن و هر سراچه یكی دادگستری است

اینجا به داد ناله مظلوم می رسند

اینجا كفیل خرج موكل بود وكیل

مزد و درآمدش همه صرف رفاه خلق

در باز و سفره پهن

بر سفره اش چه گرسنه ها سیر می شوند

یك زن مدیر گردش این چرخ و دستگاه

او مادر من است

انصاف می دهم كه پدر رادمرد بود

با آنهمه درآمد سرشارش از حلال

روزی كه مرد ، روزی یكسال خود نداشت

اما قطارهای پر از زاد آخرت

وز پی هنوز قافله های دعای خیر

این مادر از چنان پدری یادگار بود

تنها نه مادر من و درماندگان خیل

او یك چراغ روشن ایل و قبیله بود

خاموش شد دریغ

نه ، او نمرده ، میشنوم من صدای او

با بچه ها هنوز سر و كله می زند

ناهید ، لال شو

بیژن ، برو كنار

كفگیر بی صدا

دارد برای ناخوش خود آش می پزد

او مرد و در كنار پدر زیر خاك رفت

اقوامش آمدند پی سر سلامتی

یك ختم هم گرفته شد و پر بدك نبود

بسیار تسلیت كه به ما عرضه داشتند

لطف شما زیاد

اما ندای قلب به گوشم همیشه گفت :

این حرفها برای تو مادر نمی شود .

پس این كه بود ؟

دیشب لحاف رد شده بر روی من كشید

لیوان آب از بغل من كنار زد ،

در نصفه های شب .

یك خواب سهمناك و پریدم به حال تب

نزدیك های صبح

او زیر پای من اینجا نشسته بود

آهسته با خدا ،‌

راز و نیاز داشت

نه ، او نمرده است .

نه او نمرده است كه من زنده ام هنوز

او زنده است در غم و شعر و خیال من

میراث شاعرانه من هرچه هست از اوست

كانون مهر و ماه مگر می شود خموش

آن شیرزن بمیرد ؟ او شهریار زاد

هرگز نمیرد آنكه دلش زنده شد به عشق

او با ترانه های محلی كه می سرود

با قصه های دلكش و زیبا كه یاد داشت

از عهد گاهواره كه بندش كشید و بست

اعصاب من بساز و نوا كوك كرده بود

او شعر و نغمه در دل و جانم بخنده كاشت

وانگه به اشك های خود آن كشته آب داد

لرزید و برق زد به من آن اهتزاز روح

وز اهتزاز روح گرفتم هوای ناز

تا ساختم برای خود از عشق عالمی

او پنج سال كرد پرستاری مریض

در اشك و خون نشست و پسر را نجات داد

اما پسر چه كرد برای تو ؟ هیچ ، هیچ

تنها مریض خانه ، به امید دیگران

یك روز هم خبر : كه بیا او تمام كرد .

در راه قم به هرچه گذشتم عبوس بود

پیچید كوه و فحش به من داد و دور شد

صحرا همه خطوط كج و كوله و سیاه

طومار سرنوشت و خبرهای سهمگین

دریاچه هم به حال من از دور می گریست

تنها طواف دور ضریح و یكی نماز

یك اشك هم به سوره یاسین من چكید

مادر به خاك رفت .

آنشب پدر به خواب من آمد ، صداش كرد

او هم جواب داد

یك دود هم گرفت به دور چراغ ماه

معلوم شد كه مادره از دست رفتنی است

اما پدر به غرفه باغی نشسته بود

شاید كه جان او به جهان بلند برد

آنجا كه زندگی ،‌ ستم و درد و رنج نیست

این هم پسر ، كه بدرقه اش می كند به گور

یك قطره اشك ، مزد همه زخم های او

اما خلاص می شود از سرنوشت من

مادر بخواب ، خوش

منزل مباركت .

آینده بود و قصه بی مادری من

ناگاه ضجه ای كه بهم زد سكوت مرگ

من می دویدم از وسط قبرها برون

او بود و سر به ناله برآورده از مغاك

خود را به ضعف از پی من باز می كشید

دیوانه و رمیده ، دویدم به ایستگاه

خود را بهم فشرده خزیدم میان جمع

ترسان ز پشت شیشه در آخرین نگاه

باز آن سفیدپوش و همان كوشش و تلاش

چشمان نیمه باز :

از من جدا مشو

می آمدیم و كله من گیج و منگ بود

انگار جیوه در دل من آب می كنند

پیچیده صحنه های زمین و زمان بهم

خاموش و خوفناك همه می گریختند

می گشت آسمان كه بكوبد به مغز من

دنیا به پیش چشم گنهكار من سیاه

وز هر شكاف و رخنه ماشین غریو باد

یك ناله ضعیف هم از پی دوان دوان

می آمد و به مغز من آهسته می خلید :

تنها شدی پسر .

باز آمدم به خانه چه حالی ! نگفتنی

دیدم نشسته مثل همیشه كنار حوض

پیراهن پلید مرا باز شسته بود

انگار خنده كرد ولی دلشكسته بود :

بردی مرا بخاك كردی و آمدی ؟

تنها نمی گذارمت ای بینوا پسر

می خواستم به خنده درآیم ز اشتباه

اما خیال بود

ای وای مادرم

what do you think?

Talking about different stages(age group) of a person's life can sometimes be  confusing .Like any other languages in English distinct(specific) words are used to talk about stages of a person's life in terms of age: 

1 month -3 months old=infant

 3months -18 months= baby

 18months -3 years old= toddler

 3years old- 12 years old= child

13 years old - 19 years old =teenager

18 years old and more than 18=adult

62 years old and above 62=senior citizen

Finding or creating an opportunity to speak in English is very important for language learning because it helps  learners to use their learned knowledge in real life situations ,in other words learners can use the language when they speak with somebody.Another benefit of speaking is that learners understand what they can not talk about and express in English,therefore they can work on it to improve their language in that area.However there are some problems that should be taken care of before starting speaking.

First,a good partner should be found-somebody who is willing and has the ability to help.Then, interesting topics should be chosen to discuss.In this posting some topics are listed which can be talked about in  discussions.

Recreation and leisure activities – favorite activities, sports and games, climate and seasons, seasonal activities, holiday activities, parties, abilities, cultural and artistic interests.

·     Family, friends, and daily activities – family and relatives, physical states or conditions, emotional states, daily activities, holiday and vacation activities, pets.

·  Plans, obligations, and careers – future plans, general future activities, obligations, hopes and desires, careers and professions, place of work, work activities, salaries and money.

·     Residence – place of residence, rooms of a house, furniture, activities at home, household items, amenities (desirable or useful features).

·   Narrating past experiences – immediate past events, yesterday’s activities, weekend activities, holidays and parties, trips and vacations, other experiences.

·     Health, illnesses, and emergencies – body parts, physical states or conditions, mental states and moods, health maintenance, health professions, medicine and diseases.

·       Eating – foods, drinks.

· Travel and transportation – geography, modes (kinds) of transportation, vacations, experiences on trips, languages, making reservations.

·       Shopping and buying – money and prices, fashions, gifts, products.

·    Youth – childhood experiences, primary school experiences, teen years experiences, adult expectations and activities.

·    Values – family, friendship, love, marriage, gender roles and stereotypes, goals, religious beliefs.

·   Issues and current events – environmental problems, economic issues, education, employment and careers, ethical issues, politics, crime sports, social events, cultural events, minority groups, science and health, technology.

You can also use these topics to ask questions about specific situations related to them. For example, if you’re talking about eating, you could ask questions about ordering a meal in a restaurant, shopping in a supermarket, or preparing food from recipes.

What do you think?what else can be talked about in conversations?

P.S:This posting is an extract from an article which is available on www.successfulenglish.com.

Reading (and listening) is the key to language development. More specifically, listening to or reading something which is easy to understand .What we get from reading and listening is the key(very important) to language development. Without it very little happens. 

 what you read and how you read determine most of the language benefits you receive from reading. Here are some ideas that can help you make better decisions and make your reading as effective as possible.

Effective reading is effortless reading

The best reading for language development is effortless – “easy reading that seems to be completely comprehensible(understandable) without struggle(effort).” Many students believe they need to challenge themselves(read difficult passages), to read above their comfort level to improve. The opposite is true. One researcher, for example, found that your vocabulary grows faster if you know at least 95% of the words in the text you are reading.

Effective reading involves you in the text, not the language

You acquire, or absorb, more language when you get so involved in what you’re reading that you forget that it’s in another language or contains language you haven’t acquired yet. To do this, your reading must be effortless and interesting,  so you can focus all your attention on the text and ignore the language.In other words,when you are reading something you should pay much attention to the story and its content ,not the grammar points or vocabulary in the passage.Doing so ,research shows can improve your grammar and vocabulary after a while.

Worrying about your progress makes reading less effective

Language acquisition takes place “behind the scenes.” As a result, you won’t usually be aware of the progress you’re making until sometime later, when a word you need suddenly “appears” or when someone comments about your improvement.

Many students worry too much about progress. They create stress for themselves by worrying about remembering and forgetting what they’ve read. Some manage to convince themselves that they’re not improving(they think they are not making enough progress).

If you do what you need to do , your brain will automatically and quietly do what it does well – acquire more language. And you will make progress.

Checking your comprehension makes reading less effective

When you stop reading to check your comprehension, you interfere with the language acquisition process and make it more difficult. This happens, for example, when you stop to look up a word or add it to a vocabulary list for later study.

Stopping to check a word or write it down takes your attention away from what you’re reading. It requires you to remember what you’re reading while you stop to do something else. The result? You’ll be focused on the language, you’ll be less involved in the reading . You’ll enjoy the reading less and, most importantly, significantly reduce its benefits. The more you stay involved in the text without interruption, the more language you will acquire.

Language learning happens little by little and it happens as the result of another activity – reading. Your job, as an English learner, is  to read interesting, effortless English. To enjoy what you’re reading. And to get deeply involved in it. This is the greatest contribution you can make toward your ultimate goal – better English.

A final note: it works for listening, too

You should also apply these ideas to the listening you do.

P.S:This posting is a simplified version of an scholarly article on www.successfulenglish.com.

Vocabulary learning is one of the most challenging(difficult) parts of language learning process,however it is essential(very important). Research shows that vocabulary knowledge is very important in reading comprehension ,listening comprehension ,speaking and writing.In other words,Learners with bigger vocabulary size can do much better in above-mentioned activities.Therefore, in this post ,I am going to talk about word family and its role(importance) in expanding(increasing)a learners vocabulary knowledge.

Very often you should look up(try to find) a new word in a dictionary to understand its meaning, and most of the time you may not have a look at the words which are related to the target word(the word you are looking up in the dictionary). If so,you are missing great opportunities to improve your vocabulary knowledge.The fact of the matter is that the neighboring (words above or under the target word)words are usually related to the target word and can be learned in addition to the target word ,too.Imagine you have to look up “careless” in an English-English dictionary.There are words such as”care for”,”carefree”,”careful”,"caregiver”,”carelessly”,and”carelessness” beside the target word”careless” which can be learned, too.

In summary,learning one word with its family can increase your vocabulary size very fast.

What do you think?Do you study the whole word family when looking up a word?

من، تو، او

*من به مدرسه ميرفتم تا درس بخوانم*
*تو به مدرسه ميرفتي به تو گفته بودند بايد دکتر شوي*
*او هم به مدرسه ميرفت اما نمي دانست چرا*

*من پول تو جيبي ام را هفتگي از پدرم ميگرفتم*
*تو پول تو جيبي نمي گرفتي هميشه پول در خانه ي شما دم دست بود*
*او هر روز بعد از مدزسه کنار خيابان آدامس ميفروخت*

*معلم گفته بود انشا بنويسيد*
*موضوع اين بود علم بهتر است يا ثروت*

*من نوشته بودم علم بهتر است*
*مادرم مي گفت با علم مي توان به ثروت رسيد*
*تو نوشته بودي علم بهتر است*
*شايد پدرت گفته بود تو از ثروت بي نيازي*
*او اما انشا ننوشته بود برگه ي او سفيد بود*
*خودکارش روز قبل تمام شده بود*

*معلم آن روز او را تنبيه کرد*
*بقيه بچه ها به او خنديدند*
*آن روز او براي تمام نداشته هايش گريه کرد*
*هيچ کس نفهميد که او چقدر احساس حقارت کرد*
*خوب معلم نمي دانست او پول خريد يک خودکار را نداشته*
*شايد معلم هم نمي دانست ثروت وعلم گاهي به هم گره مي خورند*
*گاهي نمي شود بي ثروت از علم چيزي نوشت*

*من در خانه اي بزرگ مي شدم که بهار  توي حياطش بوي پيچ امين الدوله مي آمد*
*تو در خانه اي بزرگ مي شدي که شب ها در آن بوي دسته گل هايي مي پيچيد که پدرت
براي مادرت مي خريد*
*او اما در خانه اي بزرگ مي شد که در و ديوارش بوي سيگار و ترياکي را مي داد
که پدرش مي کشيد*

*سال هاي آخر دبيرستان بود*
*بايد آماده مي شديم براي ساختن آينده*

*من بايد بيشتر درس مي خواندم دنبال کلاس هاي تقويتي بودم*
*تو تحصيل در دانشگا هاي خارج از کشور برايت آينده ي بهتري را رقم مي زد*
*او اما نه انگيزه داشت نه پول درس را رها کرد دنبال کار مي گشت*

*روزنا مه چاپ شده بود*
*هر کس دنبال چيزي در روزنامه مي گشت*

*من رفتم روزنامه بخرم که اسمم را در صفحه ي قبولي هاي کنکور جستجو کنم*
*تو رفتي روزنامه بخري تا دنبال آگهي اعزام دانشجو به خارج از کشور بگردي*
*او اما نامش در روزنامه بود روز قبل در يک نزاع خياباني کسي را کشته بود*

*من آن روز خوشحال تر از آن بودم که بخواهم به اين فکر کنم که کسي کسي را کشته
است*
*تو آن روز هم مثل هميشه بعد از ديدن عکس هاي روزنامه آن را به به کناري
انداختي*
*او اما آنجا بود در بين صفحات روزنامه*
*براي اولين بار بود در زندگي اش که اين همه به او توجه شده بود** !!!!*

*چند سال گذشت*
*وقت گرفتن نتايج بود*

*من منتظر گرفتن مدارک دانشگاهي ام بودم*
*تو مي خواستي با مدرک پزشکي ات برگردي همان آرزوي ديرينه ي پدرت*
*او اما هر روز منتظر شنيدن صدور حکم اعدامش بود*

*وقت قضاوت بود*
*جامعه ي ما هميشه قضاوت مي کند*

*من خوشحال بودم که که مرا تحسين مي کنند*
*تو به خود مي باليدي که جامعه ات به تو افتخار مي کند*
*او شرمسار بود که سرزنش و نفرينش مي کنند*

*زندگي ادامه دارد*
*هيچ وقت پايان نمي گيرد*

*من موفقم من ميگويم نتيجه ي تلاش خودم است**!!!*
*تو خيلي موفقي تو ميگويي نتيجه ي پشت کار خودت است**!!!*
*او اما زير مشتي خاک است مردم گفتند مقصر خودش است** !!!!*

*من , تو , او*
*هيچگاه در کنار هم نبوديم*
*هيچگاه يکديگر را نشناختيم*

*اما من و تو اگر به جاي او بوديم*
*آخر داستان چگونه بود ؟؟؟*

*هر روز از كنار مردمانی می گذريم كه يا من اند يا تو و يا او*
*و به راستی نه موفقيت های من به تمامی از آن من است و نه تقصيرهای او همگي از
آن او*

What do you think?

Call of Islam Radio station which is located in Holy city of Qom produces and broadcasts interesting religious shows(programs)which can help us not only learn more about our religion but also talk about religious topics much more easily. Different kinds of programs with various topics such as:Family in Islam,Hadis,The Qur'an,Youth,etc are aired(broadcasted) . 

Listening to the shows by this station can help us to learn the much-needed vocabulary to talk about religious topics.In other words,by listening to downloadable podcast from this radio station website, you can learn how to talk about a topic in English.

The website address is the following:

www.coiradio.com

What do you think?How did you like it?

Most of the time when speaking or writing we use some fixed sentences or phrases which we have heard or read before.Using these sentences or phrases can make us to speak faster and easier.In this posting I am going to talk about these fixed expressions(prefabricated phrases) and explain how they can aid us to speak faster.

As you know,in speaking there is not much time for thinking and preparation because the idea(message)should be expressed as quickly as possible.Besides,in conversations there are a lot of elements(points)such as grammar,choice of right word,context that should be taken care of(paid attention to) ,therefore to speak fast and more fluently memory load should be decreased. Memorizing prefabricated phrases or expressions can help to lessen(reduce,decrease) the memory load,because you already have the needed material in your mind and you do not need to think about the suitable word or grammar,etc to use .Following are some example prefabricated phrases and expressions which you may already know:

You are welcome.

Do not mention it.

To cut the long story short....

To be honest with you....

To tell you the truth....

Phrases such as these can make the conversations a lot easier,because to use them you do not think very much and they are almost used automatically.

It is a good idea to write  useful expressions and phrases in your vocabulary notebook and review them from time to time(sometimes,occasionally). Doing this after a while(short time)you can master a lot of useful expressions.

In short,memorizing prefabricated phrases which are combination of some words and using them at right time and place can make the conversations much faster and easier because to use them you do not think very much.

What do you thin?Do you pay attention to prefabricated phrases?

Pencil: I'm sorry

Eraser: For what(why) ? You didn't do anything wrong.

Pencil: I'm sorry because you get hurt because of me. Whenever I made a mistake, you're always there to erase it. But as you make my mistakes vanish(erase my mistakes), you lose a part of yourself. You get smaller and smaller each time.

Eraser: That's true. But I don't really mind.  You see, I was made to do this(this is my job). I was made to help you whenever you do something wrong. Even though one day, I know I'll be gone(I will not be here) and you'll replace me with a new one, I'm actually happy with my job. So please, stop worrying. I hate seeing you sad.

I found this conversation between the pencil and the eraser very inspirational. Parents are like the eraser whereas their children are the pencil. They're always there for their children, cleaning up their mistakes. Sometimes along the way, they get hurt, and become smaller / older, and eventually pass on(die). Though their children will eventually find someone new (spouse,a husband or wife), but parents are still happy with what they do for their children, and will always hate seeing their precious(valuable) ones worrying, or sad.

All my life, I've been the pencil. And it pains( hurts ) me to see the eraser that is my parents getting smaller and smaller each day. For(because) I know that one day, all that I'm left with would be eraser shavings(small pieces of the pencil when you sharpen a pencil) and memories of what I used to have.

19-Do not lose faith in yourself! You won't be able to improve  your spoken English overnight(very soon). Learning language is a long and difficult process. However, it is important not to give up(stop,quite) and to believe that you will get to the desired point at last. This faith and belief is the driving force that helps you to achieve your goals. After all the hardships(difficulties,problems) will come a moment when your speaking English will be on a very good level. So, remember: don't give up!

20-If you like playing computer games choose the ones that are in English, especially if there are some  dialogues in them. This way you will be able to spend your free time doing things you like and, in the same time, you may be able to improve your pronunciation a little bit by listening to the way the natives speak.

21-When you buy a new appliance(such as a TV set,a vacuum cleaner,etc)  read the instructions in English in the manual(a book which is with the appliance). It will enable you to learn new set of vocabulary that may come in handy(helpful) during everyday conversation or when you will need to  describe a problem with your machine. Of course, in order to be safe and not hurt yourself, compare the English instructions with the ones in your mother tongue.

22-Be an active member of an English-speaking message board(be involved in a group which involves writing). This way you will be less afraid when you communicate in English. Although you are writing and not speaking, every opportunity to fight  the stress connected with using English is good. When you stop worrying that you may make a mistake, your ability to speak in a foreign language will benefit from it greatly. And you will not be as nervous while speaking as you were previously.For example, by commenting on this website posts in English you can improve your writing and speaking too,because when you write you gain confidence to do more.Therefore communication in English will get a lot easier by joining a group which forces you write in English.It is worth mentioning ,at first like forming any other habits ,writing in English may seem frightening and stressful,but with more practice it can be done.

What do you think?Did you find the tips in these posts useful?Which tip is the most interesting one?

This poem is written by an African kid and was nominated(named)best poem of the year 2006.The poet in this beautiful writing questions white people's beliefs about black people.In this poem he proves that "colored" which is used by whites  to describe blacks is not a good  word, because they are always black but white people change color under different circumstances . At the end he argues that not black people but whites should be called "colored". I hope you enjoy reading this interesting poem. 

When I born, I black
When I grow up, I black
When I go in Sun, I black
When I scared, I black
When I sick, I black
And when I die, I still black
And you white fellow
When you born, you pink
When you grow up, you white
When you go in sun, you red
When you cold, you blue
When you scared, you yellow
When you sick, you green
And when you die, you grey
And you calling me colored??

What do you think?Is this poem easy to understand?

In this posting,there are six more interesting pointers which can improve your speaking:

13-Remember to practice the vocabulary you have learned. It is a well-known fact that if you don't use some part of your knowledge including vocabulary, it slowly disappears(you forget it little by little). Therefore, it is not enough to learn new words; you also need to practice them, of course in a way connected with communication(you should try to use them in conversations). You may try to use them in your daily talks with other people. But be careful and use them only in a suitable context(use them correctly).

 14-Think in English. It may be difficult at first, but with the passing time you will see that it gets easier. Try to say quietly, in your head, to yourself what you see before you, what the weather is like, how  somebody is dressed, etc. A good idea might be also to imagine a conversation with somebody and to take part in it in your head. In such situation you gain confidence in your verbal skills. As a result, you are less stressed when you speak for real.

15-Avoid grammatical errors while speaking. It may appear a bit hard at first, but it is really not that scary and difficult as it seems. Of course, you will not be able to eliminate(omit,remove) all the mistakes. Even native speakers sometimes make mistakes. The point of this is avoiding the situation when you fall into silence(stop talking) because you are not sure how to use a  grammatical structure(rule,construction). Remember, there is always a way out(there is a solution to every problem). For example, when you do not feel good using Present Prefect, you may use Past Simple with time specification. So, instead of saying "I have been to Paris", you may say "I went to Paris some time ago". And remember the most important thing: do not panic(get afraid and stressful)!

16-Reading in English is your friend. Read English newspapers (online or paper editions) and English books to acquire(learn,get) new vocabulary. You can also see the common grammatical patterns used by natives in the books and newspapers. When you will get acquainted(get familiar) with them, you will find it easier to use them automatically, without any thought, in your conversation. And, what's more important, you will use them in a correct way!

17-Try starting an English conversation session with your friends. You surely(certainly) have a group of friends who want to practice English - so why don't you try to help one another? You have much in common, so you will surely find a suitable topic and won't be bored. Another good thing is the fact that you already know each other, so you will not be as stressed out as(like) during the conversation with a stranger. Finally, remember to correct mistakes someone else made(try to correct each other), in a friendly way, so that they do not make them in the future. Such sessions are beneficial(helpful) to all participants!

18-Use every opportunity when you meet a native to talk with them. This way you will be able to experience the way they talk, which grammar rules they use and what kind of vocabulary is most useful in everyday situations. Do not panic and do not think that you won't be able to talk to them. Even if you have problems , the natives won't laugh at you. Try to be confident and see such situations as a great opportunity to improve your spoken English. After all, natives can give you some great tips about how to speak their mother tongue.

To be continued...

In my previous post(91-6),I gave you six tips which can help to improve your speaking.In this present posting,I am going to talk about Six more techniques.

7-Remember about the intonation. Every language has a different intonation and using the Indian one in the English sentences may cause many misunderstandings(problems). The intonation and accent are one of the most difficult features(qualities) to learn in every language. You need to train your ear to be able to hear the differences. You can find English speaking tips and information on intonation on many websites .

8-Train all your English skills: listening, speaking, grammar and vocabulary. Do not forget about any of them; do not train only one of them. Any single one skill cannot be developed in isolation(separately), because every language is a complex structure build from many little elements(parts). Every unit has its place and is connected with others. Therefore training only one skill and forgetting about others is not a good idea.

9-Try to find people with similar interests to yours. You will have more things to talk about and your relationship will naturally develop into friendship. The more people are  like you, the more they are willing to talk with you, give their time and help you and give you guidance.

10-Practice speaking on regular basis. Have a schedule and try to stick to(follow) it. For example, try to devote(spend) one hour a day to speaking in English. The regularity is one of the most important features of every training. You will see the first effects of your training very fast, if you stick to your schedule.

11-It would be a good idea to watch English movies and listen to English materials. Of course, it means movies in English which are suitable for you(you should at least understand 90% of the movie). By watching them or listening to the English materials you are surrounded(exposed to) by the English language and you can get accustomed to its sound, as well as see how some words are pronounced and in which context they are used. It is a great way to train your English, because you alone choose the movie that interests you, so you won't get bored quickly.

12-Decide what type of vocabulary might be most useful for you. There are words that appear quite often in every type of conversation, connected with a lot of topics in of our lives. It would be beneficial(useful) to learn them, so you can be sure that even in the most stressful situation you will be able to use them easily. It is also good to learn work-specific vocabulary, connected with your job. You will need to use such words on everyday basis and knowing them well will reduce the level of stress during your conversations with others.

To be continued...

Speaking is one of the important skills of a language beside listening,reading and writing.In a series of posts including this one,I am going to give you some tips which hopefully assist(help,aide) you to better(improve)your speaking ability.

1-Try not to translate what you hear into your native language in your head. At the early stage(beginning)students try to translate what they hear and read into their mother tongue , but it(translation) slows down the process of communication and makes concentrating on producing correct English sentences harder, because you are distracted by the rules and grammar of your own language that differ in many aspects from the English ones. It really takes too much time to give an answer if you have two languages in your head and try to use them simultaneously(at the same time). Plus, it makes you too hesitant(less sure). Of course,at the beginning of language learning process translation is natural but as time goes by( passes )you should stop translation.Not translating will increase your fluency(speak fast).

2-Remember not to speak too fast. Of course, you need to speak in the natural rhythm(speed) of the native language, but if you speak too fast your conversation partners will not be able to understand you properly. Therefore, it is better to speak a little bit slower and be sure that you will be correctly understood.

3-Try to relax when you speak. Not only try to get rid of the psychological side of your stress, but also of the physical one. When you are stressed out, all your muscles get tense, including the facial muscles and vocal chords, responsible for the correct pronunciation. That is why it may be hard for you to pronounce English words correctly during face-to-face conversation, although you were able to do it well alone at home.

5-Do not worry too much if you forget a word; it happens to everyone. In such situation just act(behave) as natives do: use so-called “fillers” of the conversation, such as er, um and carry on(continue) as if nothing happened. Try also “beating around the bush”: if you can’t remember a  word, try to describe what you have on your mind using other words or definitions.

6-Keep it short and simple. Do not overuse(use more than needed) complicated(difficult,big) vocabulary if you can say the same thing in fewer and simpler words. Also: do not build too long sentences. Firstly, they might be too difficult for your partners and secondly, you yourself can get lost in them and forget what you wanted to say. This would be quite embarrassing, so try to avoid such situations .

To be continued...