Hello Mr. Torsten,
I want to improve my English. Yes, I am afraid of «making mistakes». So I run away to write about something on the forum. I am attending a course to learn English in my country. I know that learning will take time. But, I sometimes feel desperate. I am asking to myself ‘If I can not learn to speak English very well…’ On the other hand, I am trying to do my best.
One day, if I speak English very well, I’d like to see you and to talk face to face. It is as a dream for me now. But it is just a wish. No one knows what the future holds for us.
All the best.
Ayla
Good morning Torsten,
In your yesterday’s email, you asked me "Why do you want to improve your English? "
Actually, it’s an very old question for me, you know in China, english language is a compulsory course since middle school to
university, even for a PhD. condidate. Now, I am a tescher in a university, and i have some chance to communicate with european
or american universities, so I have to improve my english skill. By the way, for most chinese students, reading comprehension is not
a big problem, but listenning and oral english is very poor, I really want to find a efficient way to improve it, and I hope to achieve it
via your and your team’s support.
thank you!
haike
2009-12-19
Hello Torsten
Hadeel wrote in his message: “I need someone to amend my messages, to correct my repeated mistakes, to evaluate my level.” You answered him: “It’s important for you to find ways how you can check and evaluate your English yourself rather than having a tutor correcting your sentences”.
A lot of members on this forum wish to be corrected by you / a member of your staff or a native English speaker. But since you are only a small team you cannot possibly write back to everyone and mend all those small mistakes that we do because we haven’t yet stored those thousands of «lexical items” you mentioned a native speaker disposes of.
When I read through messages on the forum I can find of course such “minor errors”. My own language is not that far away from English so in this respect I have got an advantage over people who’s mother tongue sounds more different and has got really different grammatic and vocabulary. And so I asked myself wheather I should return a post with corrections and after a while started to do so. I first thought that there would be nothing to it, but I later found out that it’s not that easy at all! There are some traps!
For a start I’m not sure about my own sentences They can be wrong as well of course. Second: It’s quite a challenge to find the right words for such corrections. One should answer politely, not point out too much that it’s about mistakes in the first place, because that always hurts a bit. Then I personally tend to write “long stories” instead of telling things in a nutshell, and therefore my corrections may sound as if I made a fuss about every tiny little thing…. But my worst fear is that I even could discourage a new member from writing on the forum by pointing out such mistakes too frankly. So it happened to me that I even regreted to have posted such corrections two or three days later after writing them.
I could avoid the risk of hurting someones feeling by publishing corrections on the forum when I would answer directly by email to that member. But this is not what you wish, Torsten, on should really publish as much as possible on the forum so that other members can read it as well. So that cannot be the solution.
So should I be desperate about it and stop doing it at all? No I think not, because there is a light at the end of the tunnel. First of all I’m more aware of the problem now. I started to look for good examples and ideas on the forum how to avoyd the difficulties. And there they are: very cool short statements giving advice on one thing for example. Or wise explanations given by members of the same mother tongue to help beginners with their first attempts. And last but not least I found out in your posts, Torsten, how you cope with the task: You often don’t put your finger on a mistake directly, but reply in a sentence meaning the same thing but is written in proper Egnglish of course. So I will try to improve my skills in that field as well as to improve my English!
I would like to finish my “essay” with a hint. I always start up my Cambridge Adwanced Learners dictionary which I have installed on my computer whenever I switch to the forum. It’s a dictionary which gives the explanations to the words not in my mother tongue but only in English sentences. It has got some other tools like “smart Thesaurus” which gives you synonyms and related expressions to the word you type in. Often we know the word we want to use next, but we don’t know the rigt preposition to it for example or how it’s properly used in a sentence. So that’s where you can find it out in a few seconds!
So, there I am again, I have written a really long story again, and so I will stop right now! Urs
hello!!! I want to improve my English because this language is very significant for me as I want to connect with it my future profession. to my mind it’s my cup of tea but i must work very hard in order to be a specialist.
HI i want to improve my English because i want to continue my graduate studies
Any college asks for a valid toefl or equivelent test for the admition,and i am working on this especially writing skills so that is my motivation for learning English language
Hi,Torsten,
I would like to improve my English. Why do I want this? I have more reasons.
I studied English when I was pupil at the school; but I studied it for my pleasure. It was in the communist period of my country, Romania. The foreign languages were not too important in that period. I have never dreamed that I will use English or another foreign language or I will travel abroad. But, look: the life, the destiny has surprizes for us. I have met my husband two years and half ago and English it was the language which has helped us, has united us. He is italian, he lives in SUA, and I am roumanian. And we speak English. I will go to USA as soon as it will be possible ( when I will get the visa). So, I need to improve my English for my next new life with my husband in a country where English is the first language.
Also, I use my English a little in my job for the legal aid petitions.
I notice English is useful when I travel, when I use the internet, for getting a better job.
English helps you to be in contact with many people of around of world, to make them friends.
I didn’t use English many years, I’ve started to use it again since I met my husband. I learn English with pleasure, I like it.
I would like to pass the Toefl test . This is my goal.
I like very much your lessons, I already learnt many things from you. I read on the forum too. It helps much because I don’t use/ speak English in my country. But I am sure I will learn more English when I will live in a place where English is spoken, when I will use it in my job. Till then, you help very much.
I apreciate and thank you very much.
Regards,
Ileana Mihaela
I personally want to improve my English because of this: I work in a company where English is crucial. I would like to learn and to know more and more different things but at a high level.
I would like more infos about that and if you can help me please let me know.
Have a great day!
Hello Torsten I want improve my English because when someone speak me in English I dont understen in this moment and I can’t answer after two or three minutes I understen what that person told me so I want improve my English I am thankfull for your classes.
I want to improve my English because its my dream to become a CEO 
And I believe that a CEO should be good in his communication and I think I will have to deal with many people not only from my country but also people from different countries and the only language I will be able to communicate with is English. I want my English to be flawless to achieve my dream and without improving my English I may not dare to take any step to fulfill my dream. Of course improving my English is the first step and I have taken it
Hi Torsten,
Why I want to improve my English is to get a better chance in my life. As you know if we can speak English fluently, we can get a good job.In fact we do not use English in our work. So I am not intouch in English everyday. But I am interested in English. I want to be an expert in English langauge. By the way, there is an English competation in our work for any topic and we have to present four skills. So could you please tell me how to present the best way for that.
I am looking forward your respond as soon as possible.
Regards,
win.
I am a lawyer , my mother tongue is Arabic . English language for a lawyer is so important no lawyer can do without .
Learning English helps a lawyer improve in his work and update his legal knowlege by accessing free english law materials
in the Net .
I DON´T WANT TO FORGET WHAT I KNOW au contraire I WANNA TALK MORE TECHNICAL, O , I WANT TO CONGRATULATE THEE FOR YOUR PATIENCE IN TEACHING US I KNOW IT IS THE MOST HONORABLE OCCUPATION. HAVE A GOOD ONE.
In my opinion improve English is to enlarge your vocabulary, than practice reading.
Saturday, December 26th 2009. Eleven am.
Hi coach.
I am trying to learn english as a challenge. Until my forties I know nothing about this language, then I began reading with the dictionary beside. At the beginning I spent hours to translate only one page. I have a pocket dictionary that is very old because I have consulted it too much. I do not want to travel abroad, mainly because I have a strong fear of flying. I do not have anyone to talk about. I do not intend to teach English to anyone. I only have the texts to read. I think I do this like a hobby. Well, I improve my reading a lot and I am trying to write. Sometimes I help someone that needs to translate a paper. Now, I know the importance of learning a second language. My sons know a lot of English.
For today is this.
Best regards,
Nauro.
Hi, Torsten
I wish, one day I can use english well. that’s why I am (join) here.
Hello Mr Torsten,
Of course anybody who registered in this topic, always desired to get progress in English. And I am not an exception. However, I have some troubles about my work at present, thus, I rarely appear in this forum. I am very sorry for my absence. I need a little time to finish all my works. Thus, I will appear here in the next month. I am sure that.
Bye bye,
Minh Hung
Hi mr torsten,my dear teacher:
I am very sorry that answer to your question this much late.I am a 72 years old man and very amorous to know something about everything spesial about people in around the world.
I know this is imposible unless knowing english language,because thing that i am looking for it, are in english books.Thats why i am learning english.Thank you for your help.
Good morning Nauro, for a self-taught person I think you have a remarkable knowledge of our language.
You are to be congratulated, and you reinforce my oft-stated opinion that reading is the best way to learn any new language.
Your sentence structure and manner of explaining yourself speaks volumes for your ability.
Also your age proves the fact that age should never been seen as a barrier to learning.
You have my greatest admiration and respect.
Kitos.
Dear Sir,
As I am a civil engineer and i am living in afghanistan, so i would like to learn english to talke with forigen engineers and learn from them somethings, also when we are going to some meetings we would like to talk but unfortunately i can’t talk in english, this is my big problem and also if i learn english then i will be albe to read International Building Codes and learn many things.
Thank You very much from your course,
i will be glad to if you send me your lessons by daily basis
Dear Torsten,
I always receipt your topic weekly, but sometimes I am lazy and didn’t follow your lesson.
Today this topic makes me surprise and help me how important English is. I have been working in foreign company, but we use my mother tongue all most of working time.
Now my english is down and I feel sad so much. When I read Maika’s messages as well as other message, I realize I dont concentrate on my study. I alway told myself I dont have enough time to study, I am so busy
Thank you for your notion and your forum. I hope I set my goal in new year.
Happy new year!!!