How can we learn English?

How to learn English via Blogger?

           Language learning is a hard-won skill and it takes so many times. However, today we have many tools to teach or learn English by enjoying via CALL. In this blog of me, I will mention advantages of Blogger for language learning.

          Firstly, you can create your own blog or visit your friends' after you get a blogger account. You can write whatever you want and delete some mistakes or edit your blog. 

          Secondly, you can add many visual aids like videos from the net, pictures, gif and so on to make your blog much more effective for your readers. Thus, you address all kind of learning styles for language learning. They read, write, watch, listen and make comment on your blog.

           Now, let's make a blog including all things mentioned above.

10 Tips And Tricks To Learn Any Language

1. KNOW WHY YOU’RE DOING IT

This might sound obvious, but if you don’t have a good reason to learn a language, you are less likely to stay motivated over the long-run. Wanting to impress English-speakers with your French is not a very good reason; wanting to get to know a French person in his or her own language is another matter entirely. No matter your reason, once you’ve decided on a language, it’s crucial to commit:

“OK, I want to learn this and I’m therefore going to do as much as I can in this language, with this language and for this language.”

2. FIND A PARTNER

Matthew learned several languages together with his twin brother Michael (they tackled their first foreign language, Greek, when they were only eight years old!). Matthew and Michael, or the Super Polyglot Bros. as I’d like to now refer to them, gained their superpowers from good-ol’, healthy sibling rivalry:

“We were very motivated, and we still are. We push each other to really go for it. So if he realizes that I’m doing more than he is he’ll get a bit jealous and then try and outdo me (maybe because he’s my twin) – and the other way round.”

Even if you can’t get a sibling to join you on your language adventure, having any kind of partner will push both of you to always try just a little bit harder and stay with it:

“I think it’s a really great way of actually going about it. You have someone with whom you can speak, and that’s the idea behind learning a language.”

3. TALK TO YOURSELF

When you have no one else to speak to, there’s nothing wrong with talking to yourself:

“It might sound really weird, but actually speaking to yourself in a language is a great way to practice if you’re not able to use it all the time.”

This can keep new words and phrases fresh in your mind and build up your confidence for the next time you speak with someone.

4. KEEP IT RELEVANT

If you make conversation a goal from the beginning, you are less likely to get lost in textbooks. Talking to people will keep the learning process relevant to you:

“You’re learning a language to be able to use it. You’re not going to speak it to yourself. The creative side is really being able to put the language that you’re learning into a more useful, general, everyday setting – be that through writing songs, generally wanting to speak to people, or using it when you go abroad. You don’t necessarily have to go abroad; you can go to the Greek restaurant down the road and order in Greek.”

5. HAVE FUN WITH IT

Using your new language in any way is a creative act. The Super Polyglot Bros. practiced their Greek by writing and recording songs. Think of some fun ways to practice your new language: make a radio play with a friend, draw a comic strip, write a poem, or simply talk to whomever you can. If you can’t find a way to have fun with the new language, chances are you aren’t following step four.

6. ACT LIKE A CHILD

This is not to say you should throw a tantrum or get food in your hair when you go out to a restaurant, but try learning the way kids do. The idea that children are inherently better learners than adults is proving to be a myth. New research cannot find a direct link between age and the ability to learn. The key to learning as quickly as a child may be to simply take on certain childlike attitudes: for instance, lack of self-consciousness, a desire to play in the language and willingness to make mistakes.

We learn by making mistakes. As kids, we are expected to make mistakes, but as adults mistakes become taboo. Think how an adult is more likely to say, “I can’t”, rather than, “I haven’t learned that yet” (I can’t swim, I can’t drive, I can’t speak Spanish). To be seen failing (or merely struggling) is a social taboo that doesn’t burden children. When it comes to learning a language, admitting that you don’t know everything (and being okay with that) is the key to growth and freedom. Let go of your grown-up inhibitions!

7. LEAVE YOUR COMFORT ZONE

Willingness to make mistakes means being ready to put yourself in potentially embarrassing situations. This can be scary, but it’s the only way to develop and improve. No matter how much you learn, you won’t ever speak a language without putting yourself out there: talk to strangers in the language, ask for directions, order food, try to tell a joke. The more often you do this, the bigger your comfort zone becomes and the more at ease you can be in new situations:

“At the beginning you’re going to encounter difficulties: maybe the pronunciation, maybe the grammar, the syntax, or you don’t really get the sayings. But I think the most important thing is to always develop this feel. Every native speaker has a feel for his or her own language, and that’s basically what makes a native-speaker – whether you can make the language your own.”

8. LISTEN

You must learn to listen before you can speak. Every language sounds strange the first time you hear it, but the more you expose yourself to it the more familiar it becomes, and the easier it is to speak it properly:

“We’re able to pronounce anything, it’s just we’re not used to doing it. For example the rolled r doesn’t exist in my form of English. When I was learning Spanish there were words with the hard r in them like perro and reunión. For me, the best way to go about mastering that is actually to hear it constantly, to listen to it and to kind of visualize or imagine how that is supposed to be pronounced, because for every sound there is a specific part of the mouth or throat that we use in order to achieve that sound.”

9. WATCH PEOPLE TALK

Different languages make different demands on your tongue, lips and throat. Pronunciation is just as much physical as it is mental:

“One way – it might sound a bit strange – is to really look at someone while they’re saying words that use that sound, and then to try to imitate that sound as much as possible. Believe me, it might be difficult at the beginning, but you will. It’s something that is actually quite easily done; you just need to practice it.”

If you can’t watch and imitate a native-speaker in person, watching foreign-language films and TV is a good substitute.

10. DIVE IN

So you’ve made the pledge. How to proceed? Is there a proper way to go about learning? Matthew recommends the 360° maximalist approach: no matter which learning tools you use, it’s crucial to practice your new language every single day:

“I tend to want to absorb as much as possible right from the start. So if I learn something I really, really go for it and try to use it throughout the day. As the week progresses I try to think in it, try to write in it, try to speak to myself even in that language. For me it’s about actually putting what you’re learning into practice – be that writing an email, speaking to yourself, listening to music, listening to the radio. Surrounding yourself, submerging yourself in the new language culture is extremely important.”

Remember, the best possible outcome of speaking a language is for people to speak back to you. Being able to have a simple conversation is a huge reward in itself. Reaching milestones like that early on will make it easier to stay motivated and keep practicing. And don’t worry, you won’t annoy people by speaking their language poorly. If you preface any interaction with, “I’m learning and I’d like to practice…” most people will be patient, encouraging and happy to oblige. Even though there are approximately a billion non-native English-speakers around the world, most of them would rather speak their own language if given a choice. Taking the initiative to step into someone else’s language world can also put them at ease and promote good feelings all around:

“Sure, you can travel abroad speaking your own language, but you’ll get so much more out of it being able to actually feel at ease in the place you are – being able to communicate, to understand, to interact in every situation you could possibly imagine.”

Now, let's watch this video:

Read the text and write a paragraph like a given model for you at the end of the page. Use new bold words in your writing.

Color Symbolism

Why is pink often thought to be a colour for girls and blue a colour for boys? The answer depends mainly on personal experiences and cultural background because colour means different things to different people around the world.

The meaning of a certain colour may change depending on your culture. Green is one of these colours. It is an important colour for Muslims and represents paradise. To the Egyptians, green is a holy colour and represents the hope and joy of spring. Meanwhile in Japan, green means long life. It is said that green relaxes the mind and body, relieves pain and has a great healing power. In fact, people who work in green environments have been found to have fewer health problems. The colour green also helps depression. When a bridge in London was painted green, the number of people jumping of the bridge and killing themselves, dropped by 34 percent!

For many people red is a favourite colour. It is a colour of love, energy, fire, blood, and war. In many cultures red is connected with money and good luck. In Hindu, Islamic and Chinese cultures red is a traditional colour that brides wear. In China it is also the colour of the Chinese New Year, when houses are decorated in red and children are given money in red envelopes. In addition, many restaurant decorators believe that red makes people feel hungry and customers eat more if red is included in the restaurant décor. Red also catches a person’s eye quickly and is often used in commercial websites to encourage people to make a purchase¹.

Like red and green, blue is another universal colour of water and the sky. In Greece, people believe that wearing blue gives you protection against evil. People who believe this wear a blue necklace or bracelet. Blue like green is another calming² colour and it has been found that people sleep better in blue rooms. However, some people suggest that unlike red, blue makes people eat less. So, if you are thinking of losing weight blue plates can help you to do this as we seem to eat less when eating from them.

The next time you are deciding on what to wear or what colour to decorate your room, think about the colour carefully. Not only may your colour choice mean something different in different cultures, it may also make you or someone nearby³, think, feel and react differently.

1: purchase: to buy something

2: calm: to make someone feel more relaxed and less emotional

3: nearby: close place, not far away.

Writing:

Make a search to get detailed information about colors meaning and write a short paragraph. Try to use target vocabulary as much as you can do also.

Example:

Colors often have different meanings in various cultures. Black is the color of authority and power. It is popular in fashion because it makes people appear thinner. Brides wear white to symbolize innocence and purity. Meanwhile doctors and nurses wear white to imply sterility. The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love. There are also commercial aims of red. Restaurants cover the walls with red to make customer hungry.  Peaceful, tranquil blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals, so it is often used in bedrooms. People are more productive in blue rooms. Green symbolizes nature. Hospitals often use green because it relieves patients with its healing power.

By Esra UZEL

Hi, friends. This a tutorial video for Blogger.
After you get an gmail account, you can easily create your blogs.

2. ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY--SECOND DRAFT--ESRA UZEL--09.05.2014

                           IS COMPETITION GOOD FOR CHILDREN?

    Competition is defined as a contest for some prize, honor or advantage. Competition comes out when teachers want to motivate students. Also, parents create a competitive environment for their children by comparing them with others. Even though the perception of competition makes children motivate in the short-term, it has many harmful effects on children in the long-term. Because a competition which is seen as a good thing prevents personal development, creates a feeling of insignificance and makes life difficult, it should not be used neither by parents nor by teachers.

    Firstly, because competition prevents children’s personal developments, it is not good and it should not be used to enhance success. According to one research on children, children are presented games with different degrees of difficulty and they are wanted to choose one of them which they want. Most of the children choose games which are one or two upper units in terms of difficulty level of their skill. As you can see, a child can determine his/her development standard. However, when a child is involved in a competition, this development standard is determined by the most hardworking students, so a child is taken with a feeling of despair.

    Secondly, because competition creates a sense of insignificance, it is not good and it should not be used to enhance success. Since the value of a child is determined according to his/her success and other children in a competitive environment, it makes a child have a feeling of insignificance. Nevertheless, the value of a child should be determined considering his/her own values and identity. In a competitive environment, while the same children always become successful, the others always feel insignificant. As a result of this, children who are always successful become stressful to keep their statue.

    Finally, because competition makes life difficult to live, it is not good and it should not be used to enhance success. Any child who is a competitive environment sees the others as a rival, so she/he has a difficulty to build trust based relationship and perceives life as an unreliable environment. Because a child gives attention to what she/he will gain, she/ he cannot learn the things which benefit for the future. A child cannot live life freely for fear of losing the success or with effort of capturing success in a competitive environment. Because a child wants to be remembered with his/her success due to a competition, this child cannot spare time for social activities.

    In sum, a competition which is preferred to enhance success among children is not a good thing and it should not be used. As I mentioned above, competition prevents children’s personal development, engenders a sense of insignificance in children and makes life difficult for them. Therefore, ıf parents and teachers want children to be accomplished and prosperous, they should apply to competition. However, ıf they want children to be happy and also successful, they should not compare them with others. They should accept them as they are.

2. argumentative essay-first draft ESRA UZEL

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            ESRA UZEL

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY 2

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               07.05.2014

                          

                      IS COMPETITION GOOD FOR CHILDREN?

    Competition is defined as a contest for some prize, honor or advantage. Competition comes out when teachers want to motivate students. Also, parents create a competitive environment for their children by comparing them with others. Even though the perception of competition makes children motivate in the short-term, it has many harmful effects on children in the long-term. A competition which is seen as a good thing prevents personal development, creates a feeling of insignificance and makes life difficult.

    Firstly, because competition prevents children’s personal developments, it is not good and it should not be used to enhance success. According to one research on children, children are presented games with different degree of difficulty and they are wanted to choose one of them which they want. Most of the children choose games which are one or two upper units in terms of difficulty level of their skill. As you can see, a child can determine his/her development standard. However, when a child is involved in a competition, this development standard is determined by the most hardworking students, so a child is taken with a feeling of despair.

    Secondly, because competition creates a sense of insignificance, it is not good and it should not be used to enhance success. Since the value of a child is determined according to his/her success and other children in a competitive environment, it makes a child have a feeling of insignificance. Nevertheless, the value of a child should be determined considering his/her own values and identity. In a competitive environment, while the same children always become successful, the others always feel insignificant. As a result of this, children who are always successful become stressful to keep their statue.

    Finally, because competition makes life difficult to live, it is not good and it should not be used to enhance success. Any child who is a competitive environment sees the others as a rival, so she/he has a difficulty to build trust based relationship and perceives life as an unreliable environment. Because a child gives attention to what she/he will gain, she/ he cannot learn the things which benefit for the future. A child cannot live life freely for fear of losing the success or with effort of capturing success in a competitive environment. Because a child wants to be remembered with his/her success due to a competition, this child cannot spare time for social activities.

    In sum, a competition which is preferred to enhance success among children is not a good thing and it should not be used. As I mentioned above, competition prevents children’s personal development, engenders a sense of insignificance in children and makes life difficult for them. Therefore, ıf parents and teachers want children to be accomplished and prosperous, they should apply to competition. However, ıf they want children to be happy and also successful, they should not compare them with others. They should accept them as they are.

1. ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY---FIRST DARFT----ESRA UZEL

Should the Parents of Students Who Misbehave in School Be Required to Do Unpaid Work for Their Children School?

     Although some people think that parents should be responsible for doing unpaid work at the school where their children misbehave, it does not make sense when the children’s behaviors handle. Indeed, parents of course should be responsible for their children’s behaviors, but not like that. If parents become responsible for their children’ every misbehavior, then how will children learn the right from their faults. Instead of unpaid work, parents should pay the provision of damage which their children did, should search why their children behave like that and give them punishment not to repeat the same fault and also parents should courage their children to correct their faults as best they can.

     Because it is not true to load all bad results which are resulted in by children’s behaviors to parents, parents should only pay the provision of damage which their children did unlike unpaid work. Every child makes mistakes in his/ her school time. Not only children but parents also have responsibility for children’s faults. Some schools demand parents doing unpaid work for their schools because of their children’s bad behavior. Indeed, this demand may make sense when children make mistakes unwillingly and give harm school equipment. For example, children may break the school’s window while they are playing with a ball. However, this demand does not make sense when children have psychological problems in their mind.

     Because it is not true to load all bad results which are resulted in by children’s behaviors to parents, parent should search why their children behave like that and give them punishment not to repeat the same mistake unlike unpaid work. Children sometimes behave badly and intentionally, but sometimes make mistakes unwillingly. In a situation like that, parents should know what the underlying reasons for children’s behavior are and if behavior is made intentionally, then it should be given punishment to decrease frequency of bad behavior.

     Because it is not true to load all bad results which are resulted in by children’s behaviors to parents, parent should courage their children to correct their faults as best they can unlike unpaid work. Some people think that parents should do unpaid work in exchange of their children’s bad behavior at school. Indeed, it can be valid for bad behaviors which damage school equipment. However, this idea cannot be valid when children behave like that due to a reason. In a situation like that, parents should give an opportunity to their children to correct their faults, so children learn the true thing from their faults and avoid making the same mistake next time.

     In sum, it does not make sense for parents only doing unpaid work in exchange for their children’s misbehaviors if they want their children to learn good behavior.  Parents should pay the provision of damage which their children did, should search the underlying reasons of their children’s bad behavior and give them punishment not to repeat the same fault and also parents should courage their children to correct their faults. Inasmuch as parents give opportunity to their children to take a lesson from their mistakes, children grow by supervising others’ right and become moral individuals.

2. cause effect essay 2. draft Esra UZEL

                                                                25.04.2014       2. cause effect essay 2. draft  Esra UZEL

                                            

                                                  WHY DO PEOPLE LIE?

      Lying is an attitude that people apply to when they do not want to explain the truth or they want to hush up any events. The moment human beings come across any situation threatening them, they might lie to defend themselves. Fear and pressure are main reasons to lie for people. There are many factors affecting people to lie. These are familial, environmental and social factors.

     The familial factors are the first reasons to apply lie for people. As long as one of the family members lies, the others also emulate his or her and lie. As the family is the first ambiance where people have been, it has important role on people’s characters. People learn what is true and wrong thanks to their families. The moment individuals realize their family’s member lies, they think they can also tell a lie. Unless they are warned about lying by their parents, they get used to lying and it becomes late to efface this behavior. At the same time, people tell lie not to disappoint their family. For example, when a child cannot pass his exams, he might not tell the truth to his family for fear of disappointing his family.

     The environmental factors are the second reasons to apply lie for people. When people do not want their special lives to be known by others, they conceal the reality or tell lie not to be excluded. For example, they conceal their poverty or their any deficiency from people who are surrounding. People lie to reach their goals. For example, a mother who is far away from their children wants to see them. She knows that they are busy and they will not come without urgent situation so that she says to them she is ill.

     The social factors are the third reasons to apply lie for people. Because people want to be respected and admired by society, they apply to lying. They want to be seen trustful. On the other hand, people are affected social point of view. They also try to adjust to this outlook. When they do not have enough features for it, they lie to be recognized. At the same time, people tell lie to get power over other people. For example, a political candidate makes promises which are not generally kept about some regulations so as to be elected and get power.

     For all you see, people can tell a lie for many reasons. They apply to lying to avoid punishment, get a reward, protect themselves, get out of awkward situation, maintain privacy, get power over others and so on. Being different from these reasons, people lie with good intention like a lie in order to make surprise. If it is necessary to classify the reason of lying, we can mention familial, environmental and social factors.