Dear Cafetalk Community,

Robin Williams said as Professor John Keating in the film "Dead Poet's Society," avoid using the word "very." It's a lazy person's way of expressing themselves as it says in the quote above. Learn and use a variety of English vocabularies to express what you want to communicate. There are countless English adjectives and synonyms that you can look up in the Thesaurus instead of using the word "very" to say what you want.

For instance, instead of saying "very angry," why not say "furious?" As another example, instead of saying "very careful," try saying "cautious" instead. There are so many brilliant, fascinating, and intriguing words in the English language! It's quite apparent that the more vocabulary words you know, the more you will be able to speak the language fluently.

[Learn new vocabulary words daily:]

Keep studying new vocabulary words every day. I think doing nothing but explaining vocabulary words during a Skype lesson is not necessarily the most productive or useful way to use the one-on-one lesson time. So instead, I periodically send my students a new set of 6 vocabulary words after the lesson for them to learn and memorize. I believe you have to study on your own time apart from and in between the actual, in-person, Skype lessons. One of the most efficient things you can do to improve your English is to learn new vocabulary words every day.

Even if you only learn 6 words a day for 5 days a week, for example, you'll have learned 30 new vocabulary words per week! See how it adds up quickly? That's why I think it's important to work on your listening skills, reading, writing, grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary on your own time as well. I'm sure the Skype person-to-person lessons with a native English-speaker always helps to improve your English-speaking skills, and you should definitely continue taking lessons as often as possible. At the same time, I believe it is also important to study in between the lessons on your own time as well. 

[Podcasts:]

For example, for English-learners, it is helpful and useful to listen to podcasts daily to develop your listening skills. The more you listen to English spoken by native speakers at natural speed, the more your ear will get used to understanding what you've heard, even though it may sound impossibly fast at first. Below are some recommendations of respectable and informative podcasts to learn English.

[Hapa Eikaiwa:]

https://hapaeikaiwa.com/category/podcast-column/

[CNN Podcasts:]

https://www.cnn.com/specials/podcasts

[BBC Podcast:] English learning podcasts (6-minute English)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts?q=english

[11 English Podcasts Every English Learner Should Listen To:]

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/esl-english-podcasts/

[TED Radio Hour:]

https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510298/ted-radio-hour/

[Learning English Broadcast:]

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/z/1689

----------------------------

[Audiobooks:]

Another practical way to improve your listening skills is to listen to English audiobooks. I love audiobooks because they keep my hands free to do other things, while I listen to professional actors eloquently narrate fascinating stories!

Many students tell me that they don't understand native English speakers because they're either too fast, include difficult vocabularies, and/or use American idioms and expressions. In all honesty, you have to spend hours training your ear to understand English spoken at regular and natural speed. So, watching an American movie, TV show, or the news over and over again will help you understand, that is if you understand all the vocabulary words that are included. So, we've come full circle back to using a variety of vocabulary words in order to sound like a native English-speaker.

[Self-promotion:] --> "ha-ha" ;)

Why not try taking one of my lessons just get to know each other through "free-talk" conversation? I will not only teach you important things during the lesson, but I will teach you how to study English in between the lessons. I appreciate your time and consideration for reading my blog about self-teaching techniques and how you can improve your English in the long run by memorizing new vocabulary words each day, as well as, techniques to improve your listening skills. 

It takes hard work like everything else. "Practice, practice, practice," as they say. If you feel as though you are weak in certain areas of mastering the English language, please let me know by taking one of my lessons. I always customize my lessons based on the student's individual level of English proficiency. I look forward to meeting you! Have a wonderful day!

Warmest regards,

Lady Ayame
(Patricia Ayame Thomson)