Globish or English?

Do you sepak Globish http://bit.ly/b2SfcB or English? If you do speak Globish, is that good enough for you, or do you want to speak more correctly?

 "Globish" is an approximate English, not correct English. Is it good enough? If you can communicate most of the time in "Globish" is that sufficient for you?

How Google Works

Amazing stuff, and a little scary:

Infographic by PPC Blog

Real English Receives 2 Awards

Real English® has received awards from Enjoy Learning English and Online Degrees. I was quite surprised to get a blog award because I concentrate on my site, and only occasionally write on this blog.

I want to thank these 2 sites for having a look. I imagine they were thinking more about the Real English learning site when they decided to include me.

The first award,  "Vale a pena ficar de olho nesse blog" or "It's worth keeping an eye on this blog" has a unique approach. The chosen blog has to copy the picture - at the top of this post - with a link to the blog from which it has received the award. Then the receiver (myself in this case) must write ten more links to the esl / efl or educational blogs which he or she likes best. These are my choices, which were rather difficult to make. There are so many good blogs out there!

1 - EFL 2.0
2 - Virtual = Real
3 - adVancEducation
4 - Library Webhead
5 - Webheads make the world flat
6-  Larry Ferlazzo’s Web Sites of the Day
7 - Nik's Learning Technology Blog
8 - Collablogatorium
9 - I hope it works
10 - blog-efl

Real English Receives 2 Awards

Real English® has received awards from Enjoy Learning English and Online Degrees. I was surprised to get a blog award because I concentrate on my site, and only occasionally write on my blog.

The first award is from a blog I really enjoy reading (Enjoy Learning English and not only because this blog is a Real English fan!).

for list

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the day 

This award is part of an initiative called "Vale a pena ficar de olho nesse blog", which means "It's worth keeping an eye on this blog". The chosen blog has to copy the picture, with a link to the blog from which it has received the award . Then write ten more links to the blogs which are well worth a visit.It's difficult to limit the list to ten blogs but I'll do my best

The Secrets to Learning English

I see sites that speak about the "secrets" to learning English. There are also stupid sites which speak about these secrets as if magic will help you.

Other sites say that you can learn English without making any efforts. This is FALSE. These people are Snake Oil Salesmen. THERE ARE NO SECRETS to learning English.

All learners must make some effort to get started. Obviously, sites that speak of "effortless English" are simply ridiculous. They are an insult to our common sense. On the other hand, here is some good advice for every learner:

1 - You must be REALLY interested in learning (motivation comes first!). Why do you want to learn English? Identify your motivation. Is it for school, for your job or for understanding another subject in English?

2 - Practice EVERY DAY. **Practice makes perfect.** Use the free online learning sites. There are MANY free sites! My site is only one of many good sites.

3 - Try to meet people who speak English fluently, especially native speakers of English. Try to speak with them. Offer to teach them your language in exchange for English conversation or more formal lessons.

4 - Don't get discouraged. EVERYBODY learns little by little.

5 - Watch movies in English. Read books with a dictionary (online dictionary or a good old book dictionary). Learn the words to your favorite songs in English.

6 - It is MUCH better to spend 15 to 20 minutes EVERY DAY instead of 3 hours once a week.

7 - Write to your friends in English. Write on Facebook or Twitter, etc., in English. Don't worry about your mistakes. Ask for corrections.

8 - Learn new vocabulary. The Real English site always explains vocabulary with text, pictures, and audio. This is the best combination. Reading is also very good for learning new vocabulary.

9 - Never be afraid to speak. And speak out loud when you are learning. This helps you assimilate new sounds. This is why the Real English lessons always include the "Record yourself" button.

10 - Have fun. Learning English is a challenge, but it's exciting. Real English was made to HELP you have fun, but it is not a "magic bullet".

Please Help Me Help a Deserving Deaf Student

This is Zachariah Ngechu on the right, with his friend Joseph who is also deaf. 

Born in 1983, Zachariah lives in a small village called Karagita, Naivasha, north of Nairobi in Kenya. He has access to an internet connection, and wrote me a message on my previous blog where there is a discussion about the special problems which the Deaf encounter when learning English as a second language.

We began exchanging email. He has been accepted by Gallaudet University, a world leader in liberal education and career development for deaf undergraduate students in the USA.

Zachariah, from a poor background, has no financial resources, and his acceptance to attend is conditional upon coming up with $27,000 (USD) for a school year.

Being naturally and justifiably suspicious of requests for money originating on  the internet, I emailed his contact person, Mr. Ali Sanjabi, at Gallaudet University, who did indeed confirm that he has been conditionally accepted and that his application will remain active until he finds the necessary funds.

I haven't done much for the poor during my life, so I decided it was time to act.

My first and still my best idea, I think, is to launch a fund-raising campaign using PayPal. PayPal has become ubiquitous, and allows contributors to make a donations in very small or very large amounts, and everything in between, using any of the major credit cards. The PayPal module would be at the bottom of a blog or web page similar to this one, without the following questions  about logistics, but with excerpts from the many emails we have exchanged. And since Zachariah can communicate by internet, he could also answer your questions in his own words.

I asked Mr. Ali Sanjabi if Gallaudet could possibly create this PayPal account for Zachariah so as to avoid intermediaries. Mr Sanjabi suggested that I contact Mr Matthew Sickon, the Donor Relations Specialist at Gallaudet, who replied, in turn, that as a non-profit, Gallaudet is able to accept gifts to the University for student scholarships but that money given for a particular student's tuition cannot be accepted as a gift by the University.

In other words, "the federal laws in the United States are strict" to quote Mr. Sickon. American tax regulations block my simple idea. It certainly isn't Gallaudet's fault, it's just the way things are. Who would have imagined?

I personally would prefer not to create the Pay Pal account in my own name, but I will do such if it becomes impossible to find a reputable charitable organization which could do the job without having to appropriate a percentage of the contributions. All suggestions most welcome!

This is his conditional acceptance letter from Gallaudet University:

 

I really hope that some of you will give me a hand to ensure that this fundraising campaign is a success. I have never done this type of work before. I could definitely use a bit of guidance, and a lot of support to attain the goal!

Zachariah has provided me with other documents, including a letter from a Nairobi-based Association of the Deaf, of which he is a member, which outlines his education, "up to STD8 and then proceeded to Bible College in Uganda".

Finally, in his own words, a very small portion of our ongoing discussion: "My hope after graduate,I promise.to be serious with my studies in improving good English and after improving good English.I will be promoted to the first degree in international development after graduate  from Gallaudet University I will representation deaf peoples in local and international to advocate for deaf Constitution right through economic,social and political". He also intends on returning to his village to help other Deaf people thanks to the knowledge and experience we will have acquired at Gallaudet.

Vietnamese Instructions for Beginners added by Vũ Đức Tiệp

Please see all 23 languages here. Many thanks to Vũ Đức Tiệp for the Vietnamese translation!

Hướng dẫn học Real English®
1 - Bạn truy cập vào trang http://www.real-english.com/new-lessons.asp và chọn một bài học.
2 - Xem đoạn phim ở đầu trang, và không có phụ đề.
3 - Nhấn chuột vào "Exercise 1". Và làm theo hướng dẫn. Nhớ là làm hết các bài tập nhé.
4 - Bây giờ bạn hãy xem đoạn phim cùng với phụ đề.


Also: Danish instructions by Anne Fox and her daughter. Please see all 24 languages here.