Improving already advanced English skills

[theag]

 

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[Amail]

Your writing is fantastic. I'd have never guessed you weren't a native English speaker based on your writing. Unless it takes a long time to write your posts I'd say you're there.

My problem is my spoken French sounds near perfect. This gives the listener the impression I can actually converse in French, which is far from true. I spend 15 seconds figuring out how to phrase what I want to ask, then ask it, then am completely lost when I hear the answer.

"Plus lentement, s'il vous plait" is my go-to phrase.

 

[theag]

 

[Amail]

Get an English girlfriend. You'll be completely fluent in a week.

 

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[theag]

 

[Amail]

Sheesh, what do you want, a relationship or mad English skillz? Priorities, my man, priorities.

 

[socaldude]

The best way to improve your English is to READ(magazines, books etc). And to immerse yourself in day to day conversation. Also studying Greek and Latin roots will help you tremendously.

English is my second language, Spanish was my first. And having knowledge of Latin roots has helped me know the definition of some very esoteric and advanced words.

The only way you can "discover" new words and phrases is to go out and explore books and magazines and sometimes movies.

 

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[tincho1492]

I think that on Fiverr you can pay $5 to someone native to talk on Skype.

 

[tincho1492]

The only way you can "discover" new words and phrases is to go out and explore books and magazines and sometimes movies.

Agreed. I would emphasize that watching movies (or TED talks, or Shark Tank) can add a lot. Although I'm far from being fluent (but can communicate very well with my current US employer) I've been in situations where I know what to say, but not HOW to say it. Both are important.

Immerse yourself daily and practice as much as you can. Try thinking in English, writing your TO-Do lists in English. This has helped me a lot.

 

[Runum]

Come on over to my neighborhood and I'll learn you some of that there English. Problem is, no one else outside of Texas will understand you.

 

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[Amail]

I can understand y'all.

 

[Kak]

Theag, I totally figured you were 100% fluent. I myself am actually going to try to learn to be fluent in spanish.

London would be cool brotha!

 

[Kak]

Come on over to my neighborhood and I'll learn you some of that there English. Problem is, no one else outside of Texas will understand you.

Ye hardy, howeryou doin up der in dat der dallas? Teacherin som chillins?

 

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[Big Daddyhoo]

I think I understand your situation, though it's reverse for me.

I probably spend 3 hours thinking, reading, writing, talking and listening to English for every 1 hour of my native language, Finnish.

So I learn all kinds of cool ideas in English and have no idea what they are called in Finnish. Words particularly hard to explain are acronyms (OCR, PPC) and nominalisation (monetization). It's the jargon.

How do I deal with this?

1. Use metaphors and analogues to explain ideas.
2. Use simple words. You can probably replace 100s of words with "good" and "bad" alone.
3. Use simple this-does-that sentence structures.
4. Body language. A certain kind of noise or face or hand movement often says all that is needed.

Not only do these ease communication, but I think they also make it better. No need for exact words and boring details.

Your English is better than what is needed to do business. Don't go learn general language. For industry specific language, only you can decide if you need it. The pros can communicate without jargon.

Hope it helps.

 

[splok]

From your posts, you seem fluent enough that I doubt that formal materials will really help you progress unless you're working on a specific problem. I would guess that you just need to constantly be putting yourself into situations that make you use your skills in a non-superficial manner (even when living in a foreign country, most of the communication is very superficial). Toastmasters and blogging sound like great ideas, though I would also suggest getting involved with something that forces you to have significant and in-depth conversation or debate to help you think quickly.

 

[theag]

 

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[Astute]

Don't move to London. There are hardly any native English speakers here.

 

[theag]

 

[Astute]

I don't want to move to London to learn English. I want to move there because its an amazing international city with a lot of opportunity. I'm not one of the "lifestyle entrepreneur" guys that want to live on a tropical island and enjoy passive income. There's nothing wrong with that, but I want to be where the action is.

And the fact that there is a lot of diversity is great in my opinion. I hate living in Switzerland (as a foreigner) because there's a high level of racism here. So after I saved up some money and secured a new position in London (or enough income from a business), I'll be gone.

Yes, it really is. Part of the reason I came here myself was seeing so many mid 20 / 30 year olds driving around in Ferraris and Aston Martins. I couldn't believe it. There are such high concentrations of (astronomic) wealth here you can get yourself really juiced up and motivated.

Going back to your original post... Have a look at the 'broadsheets' online. The Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian, Independent: these websites have fairly well educated readers and their English is better than most. Use the forums / comments boxes instead of just reading the articles.

Strictly English by Simon Heffer is a good book and fairly simple to understand / use as a reference. Would definitely recommend getting it.

 

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[theag]