英语学习者的七个坏习惯 （原创）

竹声

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  Seven bad habits of English learners
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4 H) j6 ~& }8 P% }( l9 ZHow long have you lived in Canada or any other English-speaking countries? If you have lived  abroad for a rather long time,  people would  think you should have pretty good English. But, is it the case that the longer you have lived overseas, the better your English is? However, the assumption is often false. Many of us can feel or observe this counterintuitive phenomenon – our English level is not always proportional to the number of years we have lived overseas. But why is that?

Over the last 10 years in Canada, as both a learner of English and a freelance teacher of this language, I have discovered from the students I have taught, people I have worked with, and especially from myself the following seven habits that are truly holding us back.

雲吞

坐等下篇。

竹声

谢谢云侠鼓励，让我有了在短期内写完这七个坏习惯的冲动。
想说的是，有这七个坏习惯人不少，我自己也不例外。总结一下，算是和大家交流，也算是一个对我自己的分析与反省。

竹声

顺便想说一下，我之所以用英语来写此反省，主要出于两个原因。一是，这样可以用用大脑，久不写英语，就更加迟钝了。二是，更是想利用一下语音输入的方便与快感。我是用目前常用的语音输入软件 Dragon Dictate 来完成的。我本人非常喜欢此软件，觉得这点投资是值得的。当然以后，还可以与大家另题交流。

竹声

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Bad habit #1 Wait for English to improve automatically because "the longer one lives in an English speaking country, the better their English is."
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I'm sorry that this is a bit of a repetition of my initial post. But, this is absolutely a critical aspect for us to think about before we can really do something about the other habits. You may then ask "what does this have to do with a bad habit?" Well, this is the mindset, which dictates people's attitude when it comes to learning a language. And we know that attitude determines behavior, that is, wait to see our English skills to improve as time goes by, without putting enough effort. Looking back on the path I have gone through over the last 10 years, do I feel proud of my "success" in conquering this arduous but extremely useful language? No, I feel frustrated and even angry at this ridiculous language, which has imposed torture on countless souls. I don't think I have any success to show off, neither do I think I'm an expert in this language.
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Two years ago, it was a summer night. I woke up perhaps due to the thunder or just because I couldn't sleep well anyway. I walked to the bonus room in front of the window. Looking outside into the darkness with beams with rain, I felt more terrified than sad at the fact that I have lived in this foreign country, which I call home, for so many years.  With the hope to return to China someday with perfect English, I have to say the result is still quite ironic. My English is far from perfect, not even close.

* a. S( A* ]4 p4 h6 eWe have inadvertently made a mistake by falsely assuming our English will naturally improve without the correct way of learning or putting enough effort. When I met an ESL teacher a few years ago, I couldn't understand her comment: language learning can be fossilized after a few years. But now, look around, how many souls are still struggling after living in a place with an incredible English environment for years or even decades.

cliffxu

Thanks.

It is very good topical to me. I learn from this.

billzhao

Great!
7 ~; K1 b5 q: x" G2 F1 G' DGo ahead!
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cliffxu

英语学习者的七个坏习惯
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Good, waiting for next one

smart007

竹声 发表于 2013-11-22 21:01
Bad habit #1 Wait for English to improve automatically because "the longer one lives in an English s ...

9 |" d9 {3 Q5 Y# i' v& X7 sYour English is perfect!!!

propeller

好文！ 期待下一篇！

闻见学行

说的太好了，谢谢！

人行明镜中

Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.

AK46

very good

linazhang

江南雨

写得很好，分析得当。等待下文。

冥顽脑袋

个人觉得不少初学者过分强调发音和单词，其实句子表达的内容符合习惯还有逻辑性更重要。不知算不算坏习惯被提及。
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billzhao

竹声 发表于 2013-11-22 21:01
Bad habit #1 Wait for English to improve automatically because "the longer one lives in an English s ...

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3 Q; k" ?/ }' I3 y$ e% X4 kI cannot agree with you more.
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Staying in a country where people speak a language is definitely different from using the language personally. I guess the most important thing for anything to be very good is just to use it or practice it a lot. Easy said than done, and it is so true for learning English. Sometimes it is just too hard to practice it a lot. This being said, many people did not feel it hard at all to master the language and they speak it perfectly. Why can they? The reason is obvious. They either go to school and communicate a lot with their classmates in English, or they work with people who speak English all the time. Thus for these people, they do not feel the urge to practice, because it is so natural for them to practice it a lot.  

8 v* _0 L; f; e! |$ rI met people who did not have the above optimal environments, and they speak English almost the same well. I guess these people are either very talented or very diligent, and very probably the latter. Nowadays we have TV, radio, internet, tapes and so on, there should be enough materials  for us to work on, if we want to.
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billzhao

The next?

竹声

Bill, thanks for your comments, which add insightful analysis about why some learners can do better than others.
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As I've been preparing for my final exams over the last couple weeks, I have delayed posting the second habit. But I will do that soon.

竹声

冥顽脑袋 发表于 2013-12-9 12:27
9 u- K4 B6 H9 J! I$ j7 A9 i个人觉得不少初学者过分强调发音和单词，其实句子表达的内容符合习惯还有逻辑性更重要。不知算不算坏习惯被 ...

4 b; b0 r* N' z你说提及的，的确也是我们很多学习者存在的问题, 也就是讲英语时, 基本的逻辑或者表达方式还没有把握。当然,这说起来容易,真正要灵活把握基本的表达方式, 也要花相当长的时间。
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对于大多数人来说, 英语学习的第一阶段还是挣扎着说出完整的句子,已达到基本的沟通，而花时间改进发音则是后来的事。有些人花少许功夫,有些人花了大量的功夫。当然,也有些人对发音问题毫不在意。我个人的看法是, 在具备了基本表达能力之后, 要想让说出的语言更流畅易懂，而使口语能出类拔萃, 语音则是一个不可不攻克的堡垒。