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I like java,how to imporve my English?

 
Greenhorn
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I'm a Chinese,I like programming,I like java.but my English is poor,yon know,lots of good books and papers are written by English.Now,English has became the resistance to me.
How can I improve my English?please give me some suggestions,i need your helps.
 
Ranch Hand
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Well I guess you should start off buying a Wren and Martin guide for English . Your passion for java shouldnt be hampered by a language barrier .
Cheers,
 
Sheriff
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Hmm, I'd never heard of Wren and Martin, but apparently it was a grammar book targeting families of British officers stationed in India. There's nothing wrong with studying grammar of course, but I don't think it's the best way for a beginner to get up to speed in a new language. Concentrate on communication. Find people you can practice English with, preferably in real life, but also online. Try finding things you enjoy that also let you learn English, like watching movies, TV shows, or reading comic books. Speak English to yourself during down time. For example, "Now I'm driving to school. There's a big truck in front of me. That building is painted red." Using a language is the key to learning it.
 
T'R Dai
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Vic Hood wrote:Well I guess you should start off buying a Wren and Martin guide for English . Your passion for java shouldnt be hampered by a language barrier .
Cheers,


Thank you for your suggestion.but I'd never heard of the book either,if it just like Greg Charles said,i think the book isnot the best for me.
I have passion to java,but i dont hava passion to English,i think learning English is a Painful thing.
 
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Are you using any translator s/w to post here? Because your English is not that bad.
 
T'R Dai
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Greg Charles wrote:Hmm, I'd never heard of Wren and Martin, but apparently it was a grammar book targeting families of British officers stationed in India. There's nothing wrong with studying grammar of course, but I don't think it's the best way for a beginner to get up to speed in a new language. Concentrate on communication. Find people you can practice English with, preferably in real life, but also online. Try finding things you enjoy that also let you learn English, like watching movies, TV shows, or reading comic books. Speak English to yourself during down time. For example, "Now I'm driving to school. There's a big truck in front of me. That building is painted red." Using a language is the key to learning it.



your give me lots of good suggestion,some of them i have already used.such as watching movies, TV shows, or reading,maybe what i do is not enough.when i read a english book i will be stopped by the new words.
I never communicated with my friends in English,i feel that is difficult for me also for my friends.
 
T'R Dai
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Saurabh Pillai wrote:Are you using any translator s/w to post here? Because your English is not that bad.


yeah,i used.And maybe my English is better than your point of view.
but it's still difficult to reading an English book for me.
 
Bartender
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I feel the best way to learn a new language is to start thinking in that language. The natural tendency is to think in one's mother tongue or whatever language one is comfortable with and then translate.
 
T'R Dai
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Maneesh Godbole wrote:I feel the best way to learn a new language is to start thinking in that language. The natural tendency is to think in one's mother tongue or whatever language one is comfortable with and then translate.


There is a large differece between chinese culture and western.
If I follow your way to do that,it will become Chinese English.
 
T'R Dai
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Where are you from,Are you a native speaker of English?
 
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Dai ,

Stop liking Java and start liking English. Automatically your English Proficiency will improve.. all the best
 
T'R Dai
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Muse Ran wrote:Dai ,

Stop liking Java and start liking English. Automatically your English Proficiency will improve.. all the best



Thank you,your means that I should concentrate on learning English first?It is not a feasible way for me.
I just want find some ways to improve my english effectively such as the Greg Charles's gives me.
Maybe my english is so poor that I can not express it accurately.
 
Sheriff
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Maneesh Godbole wrote:I feel the best way to learn a new language is to start thinking in that language.


+1
 
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Ah, yes. This reminds me of something that is a side discussion may-be. Why do writers sometimes use that unnecessary difficult English in technical books? I am not bad in English. But a lot of times I am reading a book in English and I think that exactly the same thing could have been explained using more commonly used words. Some writers seem to want to show off using difficult synonyms that nobody is waiting for. Ok, then you ask, why dont your read in your native language. For me that is Dutch. Well, then you have these non technical translators that are going to translate words for which the English 'loan' is used by technical workers all the time. For example once some translator translated compiler into 'bouwer'. Which in literal Dutch means 'construction worker', and which (Dutch) programmers never ever use.
 
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Jan de Boer wrote: Why do writers sometimes use that unnecessary difficult English in technical books?



"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull." -attributed to W.C. Fields
 
Jan de Boer
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Joe Ess wrote:"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull." -attributed to W.C. Fields



Ah, I probably say nothing new: Really brilliant is to explain something difficult in simple plain language. If your colleague for example does not understand you, do not think your coworker is stupid, first think: 'I am explaining it, myself, correctly'.

 
Rancher
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Jan de Boer wrote: Why do writers sometimes use that unnecessary difficult English in technical books?


I think a lot of folks writing technical books don't really understand the topic. Its hard to write crisp, precise technical works. I'm a pretty decent slinger of English, from all my years in the consulting racket, but sometimes I look at what I wrote and go "what was I thinking?"

To the OP, I think the best way to learn is simply to read a lot. Read fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi, whatever you like. Read enough and it will seep into your brain.

Someone upthread said to think in the foreign language. I'm not sure one can do that until you have a better than average knowledge of the language. I know that at the end of my college study of French, I was thinking in French. But this was after 3 years of French in high school and a two year study in college. I don't think I started thinking in French until very late in the last semester. I do agree that thinking in one language and then translating so you can talk in another is both slow and hard work.
 
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More power to you that you want to do this.
Multiply the sources for your English learning. Read, write, speak, listen, solve puzzles (like crosswords and cryptograms).

For example,

  • get some recordings of things that interest you. If you like comedy, get some Eddie Murphy tapes. A great friend of mine showed up on campus after learning English from Eddie Murphy tapes. If you like science fiction, get some audio books.
  • memorize some English songs and sing them
  • find an English speaker to either speak directly to or correspond with.
  • This forum is a great practice as it combines your two interests: Java and English. Ask and answer a lot of questions. If you are unsure about correct English in your post, look it up before your post.
  • You like Java, make a quiz in Java to test English spelling and grammar.
  • Here is an article about cryptograms for English learning: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1751076/brain_teasers_deciphering_cryptograms.html?cat=2





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    author and iconoclast
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    Tim McGuire wrote: A great friend of mine showed up on campus after learning English from Eddie Murphy tapes.



    I imagine there was a short period of adjustment at first.
     
    Ranch Hand
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    i must agree with tim mcguire. i find that my english has improved very much since i started to combine my interests for java and english by reading a lot of articles on the web, watching movies and series in english without any subtitles enabled, there is also googles langage tool and then we have the ranch where you can combine your interests in java and english which i try to do my goal is to express myself better thorugh my english writing and i can do this thanks to my interest in java. the ranch is my favourite website.
     
    Rancher
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    Jan de Boer wrote:Why do writers sometimes use that unnecessary difficult English in technical books?



    It's not only non-native English speakers who complain about this. In Britain, we have an organisation dedicated to stamping it out.
     
    Vic Hood
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    Devaka Cooray wrote:

    Maneesh Godbole wrote:I feel the best way to learn a new language is to start thinking in that language.


    +1


    ++1
     
    T'R Dai
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    Tim McGuire wrote:More power to you that you want to do this.
    Multiply the sources for your English learning. Read, write, speak, listen, solve puzzles (like crosswords and cryptograms).

    For example,

  • get some recordings of things that interest you. If you like comedy, get some Eddie Murphy tapes. A great friend of mine showed up on campus after learning English from Eddie Murphy tapes. If you like science fiction, get some audio books.
  • memorize some English songs and sing them
  • find an English speaker to either speak directly to or correspond with.
  • This forum is a great practice as it combines your two interests: Java and English. Ask and answer a lot of questions. If you are unsure about correct English in your post, look it up before your post.
  • You like Java, make a quiz in Java to test English spelling and grammar.
  • Here is an article about cryptograms for English learning: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1751076/brain_teasers_deciphering_cryptograms.html?cat=2




  • thank you very much! good suggestion s!
     
    T'R Dai
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    I haven't been here for some time. Thanks for all answers. I hava tried some methods you tells me, it has a good effect. Thanks for this forum, thanks all of you. I think we can be friends, I can learn English with you, if you want to learn Chinese, I also can teach you chinese,let's learn /java together.
     
    Master Rancher
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    Vic Hood wrote:

    Devaka Cooray wrote:

    Maneesh Godbole wrote:I feel the best way to learn a new language is to start thinking in that language.


    +1


    ++1


    Well, sure. But how do you do that? It's not easy. If you can immerse yourself among speakers of that language, and be forced to use that language all the time - it will eventually happen. If you can travel back in time to when you were a kid, it's much easier. Young minds are more malleable and are wired to absorb new languages, much more than older minds. Start very early, if you can. But since most of us can't do that, it would be useful to have concrete advice as to how, specifically, to achieve the goal of thinking in a language. I don't have any particular advice here, beyond immerse yourself and practice. But if anyone does have specific, useful advice, it would be appreciated.
     
    T'R Dai
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    Mike Simmons wrote:

    Vic Hood wrote:

    Devaka Cooray wrote:

    Maneesh Godbole wrote:I feel the best way to learn a new language is to start thinking in that language.


    +1


    ++1


    Well, sure. But how do you do that? It's not easy. If you can immerse yourself among speakers of that language, and be forced to use that language all the time - it will eventually happen. If you can travel back in time to when you were a kid, it's much easier. Young minds are more malleable and are wired to absorb new languages, much more than older minds. Start very early, if you can. But since most of us can't do that, it would be useful to have concrete advice as to how, specifically, to achieve the goal of thinking in a language. I don't have any particular advice here, beyond immerse yourself and practice. But if anyone does have specific, useful advice, it would be appreciated.



    Thinking in another language is really not easy! I completely agree with you.
     
    Saloon Keeper
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    The only way is through exposure. You may have a good vocabulary, know the grammar rules, but you're never going to fully understand a language until you hear how it's used on a daily basis.
    Though my German isn't flawless or even good, I've learned a lot of manners of speach through video games and music.

    A good way of telling you have a decent grasp on a language is when you can identify puns.
     
    Tim McGuire
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    Stephan van Hulst wrote:A good way of telling you have a decent grasp on a language is when you can identify puns.



    which is useful for avoiding those who use them
     
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