ENGLISH COMMUNICATION

6 Ways to Immediately Improve Your English Communication Skills

’Words don’t come easy.’
You may have memorized endless lists of vocabulary, you may know all the grammar needed to hold any conversation and still find yourself at a loss when wanting to express yourself.
There are various reasons behind this phenomenon – some of them more obvious than others.

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In this article, I would like to give you a few tips to help overcome the difficulties you might be experiencing, using some of the simplest methods to improve your English communication skills.

1. Slow Down Your Speaking Speed

You might be an eloquent speaker when it comes to your mother tongue, but expecting the same standards from yourself when speaking in a foreign language may not be very realistic.
Especially, if you’re at the early stages of learning. Learners are often told not to worry about the mistakes they’re making, however, it is easy to understand why you would like to make a good impression on your audience.
To overcome this difficulty, you may try slowing down your speaking speed.
Nobody will hold it against you if you speak more slowly and clearly. Great speakers do the same to get their message across. Selecting your words carefully may also be seen as a sign of respect towards your audience. It shows that you want to give them the best possible answer.

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2. Give Yourself Time to Think

You may be worried that the people you’re talking to are impatient and would like you to say what you want as quickly as possible.
First of all, it may not be true – people often prefer a well-thought-out answer to a rushed one.
So just relax.
Another practical thing you can do is equipping yourself with fixed phrases you can use when remaining silent doesn’t seem to be an option. Here’s an example:

• Why is there so much violence on TV? That’s a good question. Let me think for a moment, I haven’t really thought about it before. Well, I suppose…
  

Here the speaker gains considerable amount of time to reflect just by repeating the question and adding a few sentences. If you do the same, you’ll sound more fluent and won’t feel the pressure of having to say something before you’re ready.
Fixed or set phrases are phrases whose words are usually fixed in a certain order. They can be verb patterns, idioms, collocations – basically anything we always say in one particular way. For example,

• during the day
• in the meantime
• It’s been a long time since
• Sorry to bother/trouble you, but…
• Would you mind if…?
• Oh, come on!
• I’m just kidding!
• For what it’s worth,…
• To be right/wrong about
• Tit for tat/an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth

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3. Learn Sentences, Not Only Words 

In a way, this will take the pressure off too. When you learn a new word, try to memorize a couple of sentences that contain it.
There might come a time when you can use one particular sentence with little, or no alteration at all. Unfortunately, many people learn words by heart, but have no idea how to use them in a sentence.
It will be such a relief not having to worry about whether the sentence is correct grammatically or not. Let’s look at an example:
to appreciate = to recognize the value of something/somebody

• I think it’s necessary to feel appreciated in a relationship/ at work.
• I appreciate all your hard work.

Isn’t it much more useful to memorize ’appreciate’ this way?

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4. Learn to Listen

When speaking in a foreign language, you might be so focused on what you are saying and whether it’s correct or not, that you forget to listen to what others are saying.
This is a big mistake as they might be using the exact words or grammar you’ll be needing later on. So pay attention to what’s being said around you, it’s your most important resource at the time of speaking to someone.

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5. Practise Your Interrogatives

We also need to keep in mind the fact that communication is a two-way process. Not only does it make you seem uninterested – even rude – if you don’t ask questions, you might also end up being the one who has to do all the talking. So, when you’ve run out of ideas about what to say next, remember: others might have something to add.

• What are your views on that?
• How about you? What do you think?
• Why do you think there’s so much violence on TV?

Questions like this will keep the conversation going and will show your interest in other people’s opinion. They will also give you time to relax a little and start enjoying yourself.
Interrogatives can be quite tricky, so make sure you spend enough time learning the correct ways of asking questions.

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6. Produce, Produce, Produce

As I said at the beginning of this article, you might know a lot about the language, but this is passive knowledge that must be activated somehow. Your aim is to be able to produce correct English; practice is undeniably the best way to learn and improve.
Writing is one way of producing language; it may help you get used to and reflect on the ways English operates, which, in turn, might prove to be useful when speaking.
Speaking, on the other hand, is a much more spontaneous process and nothing prepares you for it better than actually doing it. So, find people you can practise with – either on Skype, or on language exchange sites, or here on MyEnglishTeacher.eu with the help of our native teachers – I have a feeling that it will be a great experience.
http://www.myenglishteacher.eu/blog/ways-to-improve-your-english-communication-skills/

HISTORY

What is English?

History of the English Language

A short history of the origins and development of English
The history of the English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers were pushed west and north by the invaders - mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Angles came from "Englaland" [sic] and their language was called "Englisc" - from which the words "England" and "English" are derived.

Germanic invaders entered Britain on the east and south coasts in the 5th century

Old English (450-1100 AD)

The invading Germanic tribes spoke similar languages, which in Britain developed into what we now call Old English. Old English did not sound or look like English today. Native English speakers now would have great difficulty understanding Old English. Nevertheless, about half of the most commonly used words in Modern English have Old English roots. The words be, strong and water, for example, derive from Old English. Old English was spoken until around 1100.

Part of Beowulf, a poem written in Old English

Middle English (1100-1500)

In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy (part of modern France), invaded and conquered England. The new conquerors (called the Normans) brought with them a kind of French, which became the language of the Royal Court, and the ruling and business classes. For a period there was a kind of linguistic class division, where the lower classes spoke English and the upper classes spoke French. In the 14th century English became dominant in Britain again, but with many French words added. This language is called Middle English. It was the language of the great poet Chaucer (c1340-1400), but it would still be difficult for native English speakers to understand today.

An example of Middle English by Chaucer

Modern English

Early Modern English (1500-1800)

Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation (the Great Vowel Shift) started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact with many peoples from around the world.
This, and the Renaissance of Classical learning, meant that many new words and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Printing also brought standardization to English. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of London, where most publishing houses were, became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary was published.

Hamlet's famous "To be, or not to be" lines, written in Early Modern English by Shakespeare

Late Modern English (1800-Present)

The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary. Late Modern English has many more words, arising from two principal factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution and technology created a need for new words; secondly, the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the earth's surface, and the English language adopted foreign words from many countries.

Varieties of English

From around 1600, the English colonization of North America resulted in the creation of a distinct American variety of English. Some English pronunciations and words "froze" when they reached America. In some ways, American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English is. Some expressions that the British call "Americanisms" are in fact original British expressions that were preserved in the colonies while lost for a time in Britain (for example trash for rubbish, loan as a verb instead of lend, and fall for autumn; another example, frame-up, was re-imported into Britain through Hollywood gangster movies). Spanish also had an influence on American English (and subsequently British English), with words like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante being examples of Spanish words that entered English through the settlement of the American West. French words (through Louisiana) and West African words (through the slave trade) also influenced American English (and so, to an extent, British English).
Today, American English is particularly influential, due to the USA's dominance of cinema, television, popular music, trade and technology (including the Internet). But there are many other varieties of English around the world, including for example Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian English, South African English, Indian English and Caribbean English.
The Germanic Family of Languages

English is a member of the Germanic family of languages. Germanic is a branch of the Indo-European language family.

A brief chronology of English
55 BC	Roman invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar	Local inhabitants speak Celtish
AD 43	Roman invasion and occupation. Beginning of Roman rule of Britain
436	Roman withdrawal from Britain complete
449	Settlement of Britain by Germanic invaders begins
450-480	Earliest known Old English inscriptions	Old English
1066	William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invades and conquers England
c1150	Earliest surviving manuscripts in Middle English	Middle English
1348	English replaces Latin as the language of instruction in most schools
1362	English replaces French as the language of law. English is used in Parliament for the first time
c1388	Chaucer starts writing The Canterbury Tales
c1400	The Great Vowel Shift begins
1476	William Caxton establishes the first English printing press	Early Modern English
1564	Shakespeare is born
1604	Table Alphabeticall, the first English dictionary, is published
1607	The first permanent English settlement in the New World (Jamestown) is established
1616	Shakespeare dies
1623	Shakespeare's First Folio is published
1702	The first daily English-language newspaper, The Daily Courant, is published in London
1755	Samuel Johnson publishes his English dictionary
1776	Thomas Jefferson writes the American Declaration of Independence
1782	Britain abandons its colonies in what is later to become the USA
1828	Webster publishes his American English dictionary	Late Modern English
1922	The British Broadcasting Corporation is founded
1928	The Oxford English Dictionary is published

https://www.englishclub.com/english-language-history.htm

TEKNIK BELAJAR

10 Tehnik Belajar bahasa Inggris

Bahasa inggris adalah bahasa dunia. Secara sadar atau tidak sadar, jaman akan menuntut kita untuk mengetahui bahasa inggris. Banyak juga kita ingin belajar bahasa inggris. Bahasa inggris adalah bekal kita untuk membuka jendela dunia bagi kita yang ingin meraih kesuksesan, baik dalam pendidikan, pekerjaan, pergaulan, dll. Baik itu Guide, Pramugara/i, dan sebagai pengunjung ke negara lain mereka di haruskan oleh pekerjaannya sendiri mengetahui bahasa inggris. Jangan takut belajar bahasa inggris, bahasa inggris itu mudah.....

Berikut ini 10 Cara Terbaik Untuk Belajar Bahasa Inggris untuk kita yang ingin belajar berbicara bahasa Inggris :

1. Tulis Arti Kata (Vocabulary)
Jika Anda mendengar kata dan Anda tidak tahu apa artinya, carilah artinya, lalu tulis dan ingat-ingat, kalau terlupa, buat di kertas kecil, bawa kemana-mana sampai kamu tidak dapat melupakannya lagi..

2. Dengar Lagu Berbahasa Inggris
Lagu apa yang kamu suka? Jazz, rock, pop, nostalgia, kamu bisa pilih lagu yang berbahasa inggris, nikmati lagunya, dan ikuti liriknya sampai kamu bisa menyanyikannya. Waktu mau tidur putar, baru bangun putar, demikian saat melakukan kegiatan lainnya, lakukan sambil dengar lagu.

3. Lihat Film Berbahasa Inggris
Kita dapat membeli film dvd/cd/vcd yang bahasanya inggris, supaya dapat melatih pendengaran, dan membuat subtitle english, sehingga dengan berulang-ulang kita dapat mengerti ungkapan dan tulisannya, kemudian mencari arti dari ungkapan tersebut

4. Buka Internet
Internet adalah dunia yang luas, yang memiliki berbagai macam fungsi. Ini adalah jejaringan se jagat raya, sehingga seluruh negara bisa berjumpa di sini. Maka mayoritasnya berbahasa inggris. Disini

kita bisa belajar dengan buka video listening, dan kalimat yang bertulisan bahasa ingggris, juga ditambah google translate. Jadi, bisa bermain sambil belajar...

5. Pergi ke Perpustakaan
Banyak buku bahasa inggris di perpustakaan, bacalah buku yang kamu sukai, dan bila perlu yang bergambar, sehingga menarik perhatian dan mudah diingat. Perhatikan grammar atau tata letak katanya.

6. Membaca Tulisan-Tulisan
Bacalah setiap tulisan yang berbaur bahasa inggris, cerpen bahasa inggris, tempelkan di depan pintu lemari kamar mu, baca sebelum dan desudah tidur sampai kamu mengerti ceritanya.

7. Rekaman
Buat satu rekaman, sambil berlatih didepan cermin, jangan malu dan jangan takut salah, lakukan berulang-ulang dengan senang. Setelah itu periksa kosakata yang telah kamu ungkapkan, jika ada yang kurang tepat, perbaiki dan lakukan berulang-ulang hingga lancar.

8 Berlatihlah dengan Teman
Bahasaa inggris itu akhirnya harus di praktekkan, ajak teman mu,  bahkan yang lebih pintar dari kita, untuk berlatih bicara bahasa inggris. Awalnya sih malu, tapi buang rasa malu itu dan percaya diri. Berbicaralah dengan teman setiap hari.

9. Diary Buat dalam Bentuk Bahasa Inggris
Kamu memiliki pengalaman atau kegiatan setiap hari. Buatlah satu diary, tulislah pengalaman mu sehari-hari dalam bahasa inggris. Sesuaikan dengann 16 tenses tersebut.

10. Les Privat
Dan yang paling penting dalam belajar bahasa Inggris adalah mempertimbangkan pemanfaatan kursus bahasa Inggris secara pribadi. Mintakan sama orangtua, saya mau les bahasa inggis, dan saya harus bisa berbahasa inggris.

#Sumber http://gudangiptekku.blogspot.co.id/