Have you ever…?

Ever means from the time you were born until now.  Except for rare exceptions, it can only be used in questions and to answers with a no.

It is used with have or had + a past participle.

Example:

• Have you ever eaten a frog?
• Has she ever gone to Australia?

When you answer the question, a yes answer will use have/has + past participle.

• Have you ever seen a whale?

Answer:

• Yes, I have seen a whale.  or  Yes, I have.

If you answer the question with a no, you will need to use

• haven’t /hasn’t + ever + past participle or
• have /has + never + past participle

(both of these have the same meaning)

Example:

• Have you ever seen a whale?

Answer:

• No, I haven’t ever seen a whale.  or
• No, I’ve never seen a whale.  or
• No, I haven’t.

A seasoned Speech Coach in Silicon Valley, CA shares insights to help non-native speakers of American English improve their ability to speak clearly and effectively in as little as 10 minutes a day. Learn to direct air flow to improve delivery, use vibration and exaggerated mouth movements, and apply the “rubberband technique” to hold content words longer than function words.

Learning a new language is not easy!  That being said, it can be a very enjoyable and fulfilling journey, if you have the right kind of attitude.  here are a few things you can do to work on your English to make it better every day:

• read a book in English for an hour every day, analyzing the grammar in sentences and looking up words in an English dictionary

• listen to an audiobook or other recording in English, stopping it frequently, trying to understand what is being said, and trying to imitate the speaker’s pronunciation

• spend your afternoon practicing the pronunciation of the English “r” sound

• carefully write an e-mail message in English, using a dictionary or a Web search every 20 seconds to make sure every word is correct, and taking 5 minutes to write one sentence

• think about an English sentence you’ve read, wondering if it could say “a” instead of “the” in the sentence, and trying to find similar sentences on the Web to find out the answer

• walk down the street and build simple English sentences in your head (talking to yourself in English about the things you see around you)

What kind of person would do all these crazy things? Only one kind. The kind of person who enjoys doing them. If you want to learn to speak English well, you’re going to have to become that person. You cannot hate doing these things. Have you ever heard of a person who became successful by doing something he hated?

It is up to you, your motivation, and your courage to improve your English a little bit every day.  You can do it!

Proofreading is primarily about searching your writing for errors, both grammatical and typographical, before submitting your paper for an audience (a teacher, a publisher, etc.). Use this resource to help you find and fix common errors.

Where do I begin?
Though everyone has a unique proofreading process, there are some general strategies that can be helpful to most writers. Begin improving your proofreading skills by trying out the guidelines listed below.
General Strategies

• Take a break! Allow yourself some time between writing and proofing. Even a five-minute break is productive because it will help you get some distance from what you have written. The goal is to return with a fresh eye and mind.

• Leave yourself enough time. Since many errors are made and overlooked by speeding through writing and proofreading, taking the time to carefully look over your writing will help you to catch errors you might otherwise miss. Always read through your writing slowly. If you read at a normal speed, you won’t give your eyes sufficient time to spot errors.

• Read aloud. Reading a paper aloud encourages you to read every little word.

• Role-play. While reading, put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Playing the role of the reader encourages you to see the paper as your audience might.

• Get others involved. Asking a friend or a Writing Lab tutor to read your paper will let you get another perspective on your writing and a fresh reader will be able to help you catch mistakes that you might have overlooked.

Personalizing Proofreading
In addition to following the general guidelines above, individualizing your proofreading process to your needs will help you proofread more efficiently and effectively. You won’t be able to check for everything (and you don’t have to), so you should find out what your typical problem areas are and look for each type of error individually. Here’s how:

• Find out what errors you typically make. Review instructors’ comments about your writing and/or review your paper with a Writing Lab tutor.

• Learn how to fix those errors. Talk with your instructor and/or with a Writing Lab tutor. The instructor and the tutor can help you understand why you make the errors you do so that you can learn to avoid them.

• Use specific strategies. Use the strategies detailed on the following pages to find and correct your particular errors in usage, sentence structure, and spelling and punctuation.

I hope these pointers help you out!  Please share your own ideas on proofreading as well!

Eighty-five percent of college work requires reading. How good are your reading skills? Here are six  steps to help you improve your reading skills:

1.  Evaluate your reading habits to find out where you need improvement. Do you “say” the words you’re reading? Do strange words slow your speed and comprehension? Do you read every word? Do you re-read sentences? Do you vary your speed to suit the material?

2.  Provide the best conditions for reading. Choose a place where you’ll have few interruptions, have good lighting, can sit in a good chair, and won’t be distracted by radio, TV or other noises. Hold the book about fifteen inches away (about the distance from your elbow to your wrist).

3.  Use your eyes efficiently. If words are blurry, get your eyes checked by a professional. Don’t “say” what you read, and don’t re-read unnecessarily. Read phrases, not every single word.

4.  Increase your vocabulary by keeping a dictionary handy, maintaining a list of new words, and knowing the origin of words.

5.  Match your speed to the material you are reading. Know what and why you’re reading. Preview the material, especially when studying. Study reading requires closer, slower reading. For leisure reading you can go faster. Be sure you get the information in graphic aids and illustrations.

6.  To improve your reading speed, practice for about 15 to 30 minutes each day, checking your rate in words-per-minute. Check your comprehension by summarizing what you read. Ideally, you want to read faster while maintaining your understanding. Therefore, use the same type of materials each time you practice to provide the consistency needed for meaningful practice.

Hello all and welcome back to ESL Learning Pod Blog.

Many people ask me about pointers for learning English.  My most important piece of advice is: “Do something (anything). If you don’t do anything, you won’t get anywhere. Make it your hobby, not a chore, but above all have fun!”

Don’t be in too much of a hurry. You’re setting off on a long journey and there’ll be delays and frustrations along the way. Sometimes you’ll be in the fast lane and other times you’ll be stuck in traffic, but there will also be lots of interesting things and interesting people along the way. Take your time to really enjoy the experience.

There are many ways to improve your level of English, but only you can find the right way for you. Here are a few tips that might help:-

Improve your Learning Skills
Learning is a skill and it can be improved.
Your path to learning effectively is through knowing

• yourself
• your capacity to learn
• processes you have successfully used in the past
• your interest, and knowledge of what you wish to learn

Motivate yourself
If you are not motivated to learn English you will become frustrated and give up. Ask yourself the following questions, and be honest:-

• Why do you need to learn/improve English?
• Where will you need to use English? * What skills do you need to  learn or  improve? (Reading/Writing/Listening  /Speaking)
• How soon do you need to see results?
• How much time can you afford to devote to learning English.
• How much money can you afford to devote to learning English.
• Do you have a plan or learning strategy?

Set yourself achievable goals

You know how much time you can dedicate to learning English, but a short time each day will produce better, longer-term results than a full day on the weekend and then nothing for two weeks.

Joining a short intensive course could produce better results than joining a course that takes place once a week for six months.

Here are some goals you could set yourself:-

• Join an English course (and attend regularly).
• Do your homework.
• Read a book a month.
• Learn a new word every day.
• Visit an English speaking forum every day.
• Read a news article on the net every day.
• Do 10 minutes listening practice every day.
• Watch an English film at least once a month.
• Follow a soap, comedy or radio or TV drama.

This is a just a start for you on you voyage of learning!  Stay tuned for more hints and tips to improving your English language abilities.