Non-native English speakers... what about our English?

[nekoo3372]

I am a baywatch so i work on a beach and i always talk in English with foreign people! I was afraid of pronouncing "b!tch" instead of "beach"!!

I remember talking to my "fasion" friend about clothes ... I had to tell him it´s "beatchy" not "bitchy" clothes ...
another example was when he said "accounter lady" ... I had to tell him to pronounce "A" as well

[JimJim]

When I send a paper in the reviewer always tells me that the English language should be improved, but I don't see my mistakes and don't have the money for professional correction. I feel bad about my English.

If it helps, here's a correction of that paragraph:

"When I send a paper into the reviewer, they always tell me that my English should be improved, but I don't see my mistakes and don't have the money for professional correction. I feel bad about my English skills."

I am a baywatch so i work on a beach and i always talk in English with foreign people! I was afraid of pronouncing "b!tch" instead of "beach"!!

I remember talking to my "fasion" friend about clothes ... I had to tell him it´s "beatchy" not "bitchy" clothes ...

This seems like the perfect opportunity to once again post this classic youtube video...

The Italian Man Who Went to Malta

[ANH]

All of you guys who can't speak English, write it perfectly well.
You guys could probably speak it very well too!

The only one who needs work is Alex, IMO.
But I remember some of his first posts/threads and people were ragging on him because it was soo hard to understand.
His English has improved a lot though. While the syntax (I believe that's the right term) still needs work, the message he gives is much clearer than before.
Good job Alex.

Oh, and as for you guys not being able to translate your thoughts into words, I think it's one of those things that happen to everyone.

[ThomyX]

I'm quite embarrassed of my English, because I usually overlook all the grammar mistakes I make and I also find it hard to form my thoughts into words. And my vocabulary isn't perfect either, I have a very narrow selection of words when it comes to writing/speaking in English. I'm trying to improve it though, mostly because I must take a language exam this year!

[irishguy28]

another example was when he said "accounter lady" ... I had to tell him to pronounce "A" as well

You've lost me there! What's "accounter lady"? A lady accountant?

[jio]

I think my writing skills and my listening skills are pretty decent, not perfect but decent. My accent is another matter lol. I have this heavy greek accent when I speak english, I thought after a year in London it would improve but, thanks to the people I met there, it now became a weird mix of greek and indian accents lol

[nekoo3372]

another example was when he said "accounter lady" ... I had to tell him to pronounce "A" as well

You've lost me there! What's "accounter lady"? A lady accountant?

too rude to post, check your PMs

[ThomyX]

I have this heavy greek accent when I speak english, I thought after a year in London it would improve but, thanks to the people I met there, it now became a weird mix of greek and indian accents lol

That is the same with me too, I tend to act like a sponge and learn the pronunciation of some words from different sources - interviews, TV shows, songs, etc. The worst thing is that I often learn the accent of non-english speakers in the case of some words (Björk is an example, lol ), if that's what I hear the most.

[nekoo3372]

I noticed that all of the native english speakers (posters) are very nice and polite to those who had to learn english and they have no problem to correct some mistakes ... thanks to all of you

[abi]

I'm quite embarrassed of my English, because I usually overlook all the grammar mistakes I make and I also find it hard to form my thoughts into words. And my vocabulary isn't perfect either, I have a very narrow selection of words when it comes to writing/speaking in English. I'm trying to improve it though

Same here.

I don't know how well my English is, I used to think it was quite good but everytime I saw an article with a 'complex' English, I was like 'OK what are they talking about? '.

Sometimes I'm still a little bit confused with the use of 'at', 'in' or 'on'.

Oh and 'was' or 'is', for example if I want to say "B'Day is my favorite album from Beyonce" but then I see some posters say "B'Day was my favorite album from Beyonce". So does it mean that they don't like the album anymore or because the album is 'old' so they use 'was'?

Any help? Oh and please correct my grammar in this post just like what JimJim did above

[ThomyX]

Oh and 'was' or 'is', for example if I want to say "B'Day is my favorite album from Beyonce" but then I see some posters say "B'Day was my favorite album from Beyonce". So does it mean that they don't like the album anymore or because the album is 'old' so they use 'was'?

I'm pretty sure that if it's still their favourite from Beyoncé, they must use 'is'. If it's no longer their favourite, then you can use 'was', though 'B'day used to be my favourite album from Bey' might sound a little better, but I'm not sure.

[jio]

I am a baywatch so i work on a beach and i always talk in English with foreign people! I was afraid of pronouncing "b!tch" instead of "beach"!!

I remember talking to my "fasion" friend about clothes ... I had to tell him it´s "beatchy" not "bitchy" clothes ...
another example was when he said "accounter lady" ... I had to tell him to pronounce "A" as well

Talking about stuff like this, I have noticed that communicating in english with people from wherever is far easier than communicating in english with native english-speakers. I mean you can say "I'll go to the bitch" and only the native English speakers will assume that you are on your way to paid sex wearing a swimming suit and holding a towel.

[PosziMC2]

I think my English is not so good, but atleast I can improve here.

[BLover]

I never took any English lessons, I learnt it by myself through music, movies and reading... I don't know but if I had to rate my English knowledge I'd rate it at 75 % perhaps ! maybe I'm wrong...

Your English is amazing considering the circumstances.
But you're learning it the best way.

I've learnt since the 5th grade but in school they basically only teach you the rules, tenses and other grammatical stuff. Which is a great thing but it's absolutely not enough.
You would be surprise to know that 90% of my classmates have a FAR worse English than you, yet they have been learning it for over 6 or 7 years (and most have extra classes).
Exposing yourself to the English-speaking world is the best way of getting great English skills.

Music + Movies + UKMIX = perfection

And @irishguy, thanks for clarifying that rule above!

[skapunk]

I think I am okay. My vocabulary pool may not be too big, but I think I am fine with most of the grammar.

The language used here for teaching is English, right from when you are 3 years old.

[ThomyX]

I've been to England (Devon) once and I recall being so scared to speak in English that I spoke only when I really had to (to ask where the toilet was and things like that). I'm much more confident nowadays, because lots of people on English websites and forums (like on UKMix, too) encouraged me to write down everything in English regardless of grammatical/spelling errors so that they could correct my mistakes. I'm very grateful to them.

[jio]

The language used here for teaching is English, right from when you are 3 years old.

Is that everywhere in India? Because I noticed that Indians can either speak English extremely well using all kinds of complicated words and expressions or they can't say even the basic things that any kid listening to random English music would be able to say

[skapunk]

The language used here for teaching is English, right from when you are 3 years old.

Is that everywhere in India? Because I noticed that Indians can either speak English extremely well using all kinds of complicated words and expressions or they can't say even the basic things that any kid listening to random English music would be able to say

Those who opt for English medium, are taught in English throughout. Those who opt for local language, are taught in that language, they either drop out, or ultimately have to learn English to pursue under-grad and beyond.

But its difficult to avoid English here, if you want to get a decent job. Most of urban India knows how to speak and understand basic English (India has the second highest no. of English speakers in the world, behind US). The problem comes with the accent. Indians pronounce words as they are written, while UK/US English is highly accented, so is the music. Give us the lyrics, and we can understand every bit, but sing it with a Cockney accent, we might not even know what language it is.

I am pretty used to now, so are all of my friends. I understand what Adele, Chezza and even Nuhdeen say, word to word!

[jio]

Yeap all the Indians I met in uni are fab english speakers and all the Indian migrants I met here (who are mostly doing manual labour) are really poor in English. Thanks for the explanation.

PS:I love the Indian accent. It is so expressive. I also love the head-shaking that my friend used to make when I was pissing her off

[hello]

If you combine lots of reading + movies + music + babies, ye' shall be fine in 5-10 years.

[Wmosi]

All of you guys who can't speak English, write it perfectly well.
You guys could probably speak it very well too!

The only one who needs work is Alex, IMO.
But I remember some of his first posts/threads and people were ragging on him because it was soo hard to understand.
His English has improved a lot though. While the syntax (I believe that's the right term) still needs work, the message he gives is much clearer than before.
Good job Alex.

Oh, and as for you guys not being able to translate your thoughts into words, I think it's one of those things that happen to everyone.

This is so true.

It's even more impressive to hear people like Jpguy & Leo92 taught themselves the language... they're so proficient you can hardly tell.

Anyway, at the end of the day, it's all syntax & semantics.If you're able to get your message across, that's all that matters.

And it's great to hear Ukmix has helped people learn it further.I had no idea to be honest.

[stevyy]

i try to improve my english by wachting all tv shows i like in english.. + my courses at university should also help me. But I still make too many mistakes when i write texts.. i still have to take 1 more written expression course.. maybe next year i like how i can express myself (or not)

back in 2005 when i was still in school, i noticed that reading so many posts in english and writing in this language myself, i was already ahead of many of my classmates. teachers should really force their english-students to become active in internet forums instead of handing out stupid grammar sheets..

[jpguy]

Another thing, I CAN'T READ AN ENGLISH BOOK IN ITS ENTIRETY AT ALL...
I tried 2 or 3 times to read a book, and it was so difficult... the grammar, the vocabulary was so hard and bast that I always found myself looking for 2, 3 word per page... Harry Potte, Water for Elephants, it was absolutely impossible to me, I had to sell the book to someone cause I just couldn't... specially when I was at the bus trying to read it, it was so hard for me to just skip the word , it's not convenient, what if I'm missing an important point in the plot...

[jio]

Another thing, I CAN'T READ AN ENGLISH BOOK IN ITS ENTIRETY AT ALL...
I tried 2 or 3 times to read a book, and it was so difficult... the grammar, the vocabulary was so hard and bast that I always found myself looking for 2, 3 word per page... Harry Potte, Water for Elephants, it was absolutely impossible to me, I had to sell the book to someone cause I just couldn't... specially when I was at the bus trying to read it, it was so hard for me to just skip the word , it's not convenient, what if I'm missing an important point in the plot...

But if you are just missing 2-3 words per page then you can definitely read a book. And you can understand the meaning of those 2-3 words by their context, especially if you come across them multiple times. Sure you won't always guess correct but you'll be correct more times than not

[abi]

I'm pretty sure that if it's still their favourite from Beyoncé, they must use 'is'. If it's no longer their favourite, then you can use 'was', though 'B'day used to be my favourite album from Bey' might sound a little better, but I'm not sure.

Thank you so much for the answer. And yes, UKMIX helps my English skills a lot.

Listening to songs also helps to improve English a lot. Kind of shame that I'm not a big fan of watching movies, otherwise it could help me a lot to improve my English speaking. Sometimes I wish I could get rid off my Indonesian accent in my English speaking.

@jpguy Yes reading a novel full in English is so not my type lol. But sometimes I read encyclopedias in English and even when it has any of those words that I don't get, as long as I can get the main points of the text, I'm good. And thanks for making this thread by the way, it's very helpful to me and the other posters.