Illustrted Funny Short Stories

ENJOY & LEARN 

SHRT FUNNY STORIES

SET 1  

SET 2

Developing English Communicative Fluency and Spontaneity

 FOUR MAGICAL STEPS TO

Developing English Communicative Fluency and Spontaneity

STEP 1:  Active Listening:

Listen to short conversations with script

•  1st listening:   listen and read silently.
• ·2nd listening: listen and read with low voice. Pay attention to stress and intonation.
•  3rd listening : In normal voice, try to follow the speakers in pronunciation, stress, intonation and tempo (speed).

       Do this last step two or three times . Don’t over-do , or you’ll either get bored or disappointed because you feel you can’t do it as perfectly as you wish. Of course, you can’t do it perfectly now. Perfection comes with practice.

      

 This activity should be done on a regular basis. 10 or 15 minutes a day for at least two weeks before you go to step 2.

Here is a list of great website :

       LINK1        LINK 2       LINK 3        LINK 4

STEP 2:  Active Speaking:

OXFORD INTERACTIVE CDS

Guidelines:

• There are Three files : Basic – Intermediate- Advanced. Begin with the Basic.

• Click on the link below. You’ll get a winrar/winziped file.

BASIC

INTERMEDIATE

ADVANCED

• Download the file and unzip it on your desktop.

• Open the file and click on 'Start'.

•  Click 'Accept'.

• ·Write a login name.

• ·In menu , choose conversations.

• ·Click on a number.

• ·Fill in the blanks in the conversation. (No need to break your head . Write anything).

• ·Click on show answers. Listen to the conversation.

• ·Then click record. You'll need a headphone with a mic.

• · Record your part of the conversation and listen to the 'recorded conversation'.

• · If you're not satisfied with your performance do it again and again. Don't over-do it and get bored. There are 19 other ones . When you finish the elementary conversations  go to Intermediate and advanced. Do the same as above

STEP 3:  Developing Spontaneity:

  It may seem to you as a ‘crazy’ idea, but trust me, it’s crucial to your fluency.

  Record yourself  speaking English (computer or phone + headphone with mic.

• Speak, speak. Just speak about anything, anything. Don’t limit yourself to a specific subject. Your speech doesn’t need to be coherent 
• Don’t think much about what you should say. Just say whatever comes to your mind the way it comes to your tongue. Make it joyful and fun. Play the ‘crazy’ speaking to himself.
• Listen to yourself speaking English. Laugh about it.
•  Listen again. Try to spot what you did wrong. Especially  in pronunciation and stress. But don’t take it as a problem. There is no one to blame you or criticize you. If you discover your mistakes, you’ll avoid them the next time.
• Do it again and again (every time play it on a different tone or mixture of tones: funny, serious, angry, , concerned, surprised, mocking, polite,, etc) until you feel it’s no longer fun, then stop.

                     Step 1 and Step 3 should go on regularly as long as you enjoy them.

In a maximum of 3 months you’ll discover you have achieved a miracle.

But rememeber that it is still on virtual basis. You haven’t yet had a real conversation with real English speakers. That’s our next step.

STEP 4 : ‘Real Life’ Communication:

    I’m still trying to find the best sites for e-pals. I don’t want to get you involved in any confusing websites.

    But if you think you can’t wait and can do it for yourself, search the net for an English language native speaker "e-pal/ pen-pal"   to chat with (audio and/or video) using skype or any other reliable app.

  

    This type of contact is normally done under the supervision of your teacher. But here you’ll have to do your own monitoring. Be careful who you’re contacting.

     Make your communication simple. Try to avoid difficult, risky topics such as: political or religious issues.

   Just as you’re seeking some benefits from your contact, your chat partner will also seek some kind of benefit. For example they would like to know about your country culture, learn your native language or any other language you know. There is no harm in it as long as it’s mutual benefit. Don’t give too much personal information. Keep it general and light.

                                                   Good luck on your journey to FLUENCY

Learn English in Four Simple Steps!

• Choose a video ( Taking into consideration your level)

    click ‘hide ‘

• View the video  

     click ‘Video Quiz’

• Test your comprehension

    Click ‘Show script’

• Review the text

http://www.elllo.org/video/index.htm

ENGLISH FUNCTIONS & EVERDAY IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS

ENGLISH FUNCTIONS

IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS 

English Listening & Reading Online Lessons

English Listening Online Lessons with Audio or Video and comprehension exercises

http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topicsmenu/listening.html

English Reading Online Lessons with comprehension exercises

http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topicsmenu/reading.html

Check your Listening Skill

Here is a link to some audio with script conversations.

• Scroll down to find the list of conversations.
• Click on a conversation you like.

• Play the audio, Listen and choose the correct option.
• When you finish , click on 'grade me'. You'll get your results.
• If you haven't done well , click on 'take the quiz again' . Listen again in order to correct your faulty answers.
• After that, click on script .Then listen and read.

http://www.1-language.com/audiocourse/index.htm