Hello all ESL Members,
I’m Yen from KL, Malaysia. I’m here with the aim to improve my English. English is not my mother tongue, so I find difficulties in expressing my views sometimes and it became a stumbling block in my career. I hope we can all share tips about how to master English as a second language. I look forward to sharing and networking with all of you here. Cheers. :lol:
Hi Yen,
Your written English seems to be pretty good – I take it you learned at English at school and university? What is your native language and what do you do for a living? I think improving your English is a bit like doing a sport. As long as you practice it constantly, your skills improve.
Let me know what you think and many thanks for sharing your ideas and experiences with me.
Regards,
Torsten[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC short conversations: An employee asks a colleague to help with getting the new printer to work[YSaerTTEW443543]
Hi Torsten,
Thanks for the reply and compliment. My mother tongue is Mandarin/ Cantonese. Yes, I first picked up English which was only taught about 3 - 4 hours a week while I was in the high school whereby Bahasa Malaysia is used as the medium of teaching till date. English is not widely used in Malaysia except in the big city like KL. Those who stay in the city outskirts and rural areas have very minimal exposures to English - I was one of them. I only came to KL when I was 20 to further my tertiary education and many of the college mates are not good at English either. We spoke in Mandarin/ Cantonese among ourselves, English was only used when we were in the lectures. I started to realise the importance of English when I joined the work force. I’m now working as an Executive Search Consultant with an international Australian HR Consulting firm. My job requires me to speak and use English regardless im writing an email, conducting an interview for candidates or meeting a client for businesses. It is just so hard and embarassing for me for not being able to communicate effectively with them. :oops:
Generally, I think I’m better in writen English compare to my spoken English. Pronounciation is another killer in which I find problems in pronouncing words with “L” and “R”. For instance particuLaRy. 
Regards,
Yen
Hi Yen,
Welcome to English-test.net 
I am Nina from Kuching. I bet you are from the from the Peninsula. Most Chinese (in Kuching) that I know are very fluent. Accept for the accent. But hey, guess what, everybody has it. I think it’s our habit of speaking Malaysian English back in Malaysia. BTW,‘accents’ is also a hot topic on this forum. You can check it under “What do you want to talk about”.
And may I know which part of Malaysia are you from?
Talk to you later,
Nina
Hi Nina, it’s a pleasant surprise to see a home friend here. 
Yes, I’m from the Peninsula, to be precise I’m from Seremban whereby English is not widely used there. You are so right, my chinese accent and my pronounciation that annoyed me a lot. I wonder if there’s any effective method/ program that can help me to get rid of these problems. BTW, you have moved out from M’sia? You are in Japan currently for work or for study?
Nice to see you here!!
Cheers,
Yen
Oh…Seremban, let me guess, Negeri Sembilan? I always confused it with Melaka. My close friends still tease me about mixing up the states with one another. They usually blame it on my “Sarawakness”. Every time ‘Seremban’ comes up in any conversation, one of them will definitely say, “Okay Nina, where’s Seremban?” I hope I get it right this time…(wow, it feels so good to talk about our country)
Well, I think we should strive for clear pronunciation but personally, I think as long as our speech is intelligible, I think a tiny bit of accent won’t hurt anybody. I have it too, everybody does. But that doesn’t mean you cannot be free of it. And I also hate to think that it is unachievable. I believe, if you put your mind to it, you can do anything your heart desires.
I’m sure our professionals here on the forum can give you better advice. But personally, I rely a lot on listening. I notice that our pronunciation is influenced by the things that we listen to. When I first learned animal sounds in Japanese, I notice that they hear animals sound differently. For example, in Japanese dogs make “wang wang” sound but in English, it’s “woof woof”, and “nyia nyia” for cats intead of “miaw…”. We even fought with our Japanese language teacher and told her that dogs do not make “wang wang” sound. But now I know, it’s only that they listen to it differently. I bet in other languages, the animal sounds are different too.
So, if we want to sound like, say, an American, I suppose we should listen a lot to American. Don’t you think? It is one of my infamous theories. So take it at your own risk :lol: .
No I have not moved out from Malaysia. I miss Malaysia terribly. I call home every possible day. But I work quite late (for my standard, for the Japanese going home at 8 p.m. is not considered late. My boss stays until morning many times a week and everytime I visit the office on weekends he is always there. And many times too he stayed back for two days, then took just a half day off, then came back to work again. Japanese are crazy I tell you! Crazy!)
I am also excited to have a fellow Malaysian on board. And Yen, I don’t mean to be rude, but…you are er, a girl, right? For the first time I can’t tell the gender from a Chinese name. And I suppose Chin, and not Shiau is your surname, right?
Talk later,
Nina
I work in media industry (hard disk) as an engineer. I just started, so I can’t really call myself an engineer (it’s an engineer’s thingy, you’d be surprised at how many engineers would be reluctant to tell you their working history unless they had 5 or more years on hand)
Nope. I assumed yours was a girl’s name because of your nickname. But when put together as ShiauYen, something is just off. So I’m just going to go with my gut feeling, I think you’re a guy.
Come on Yen, just tell.
Wow, that’s something I really do not know of. I have not dealt with engineers before as I do a lot of banking & financial services. I guess life must be kinda though for you in Japan as their patriotism is very much high. Nevertheless, it must be fun too to explore to their cultures and their fashion sense! I have not been to Japan before, it’s too pricey to pay a visit regardless I admire the fashion cutting edge in Japan. :?
Im a girl Nina. (let me PM you my fb/ friendster address) ShiauYen Chin is not my nick name - that’s my real full name though! 
Lucky girl. Your job sounds awesome. You actually deal with real people and learn knowledge that are useful in life. Unlike me, I sometimes or most of the times have to deal with stupid machines. If you ask why, machines cannot fix themselves whenever there is trouble (you have to excuse my language, I am just living up to my boss’ reputation) :?
My father is trying to push me into learning finance, though. I am still unsure about jumping into a field I know nothing about. But I know for sure that knowing the subject will give me great advantages. Maybe you know some tips on how to begin? Will really appreciate it.
That is so not true. At least for the young generation. You’d be surprised at how some universities students do not even know their Prime Minister’s name. And generally people or even men do not find politics interesting at all. Though I am not sure whether knowing or liking politics can be seen the same as being patriotic. All I know is they hold steadfastly to their culture and certain way of thinking which I think will hold them back in competing with the Westerners.
Well, it can be overwhelming. You’d see girls wearing gothic costumes or dress like dolls like it is the most natural thing to do in the world. But only in the big cities. I’m not too crazy about it. But hey, you can wear anything and people will not say a thing. I admire that openness they have.
I’m so sorry. How can I not see that? ShiauYen is definitely a girly girl’s name. And I was referring to ‘Yen’ when I mentioned about your nickname. And I’m checking your PM as soon as I finish this post.
Later,
Nin (my other nickname )
Well, it depends on what you like. If you like to communicate with people, I guess Engineer job may not be a right fit for you as it can be very dull and boring. In fact, in the finance industry some people like it and some people don’t again it depends on their personalities. One thing that I’m pretty sure of is the remuneration package, it’s competitive compare to other industries. Analysts, Corporate Finance Professionals, Private Bankers, Actuarials are in good demand here. What did you study last time? Engineering?
Haha… Not to that extend. I like to see the Jap girls in moderate dressing up and make up. Especially the perming technology at the saloons there. Lots of hair care/ hair styling products in our home soil are from Japan which makes me have the impression that it must be cool to at least do my hair once in Japan! :lol:
It’s ok Nina. I just realized many forumers are using nicknames instead of their real names. I’m just too blunt to register using my real name. Sigh… I was trying to change my name here but there’s no way to change it!! Any idea on how to change the user name? :oops:
I studied mechanical engineering, and it is not boring. It is everything but boring. 
But my father is right then, about the demands you mentioned. Actually, 5 years ago, he suggested for me to study statistics or if I really have a taste for science, to just study pure physics then come back and work with him. What he didn’t know is that, working with him is the last thing on earth I wanted to do. Now I don’t think the idea is that bad. He was against me taking up engineering. If I remember the word he chose to describe my profession now was, “coolie” only that we are professional coolies. He was not an engineer, but he have dealt a lot with engineers. He was a QS (Quantity surveyor) before but now he and his friends (most of them were engineers) own their own businesses.
Now I wonder if there is a grain of truth in his words. But no matter how hard or stressful I get, I chop my right hand off before I let him know! :lol:
Really? You mean those big hair and all. Well, it is kinda nice. But I don’t think I’ll ever pull them off. But it is true about them being very good at make-ups and stuffs like that. Actually, most women here will never be seen without make-ups on their face. I used to have that attitude but now I can’t afford to have that attitude. I always tell myself when I see girls in my office who can wear girly clothes and dress up prettily every day that here (at my company) I am not paid to be pretty 
. But truthfully, I miss being a girl.
As far as I know, you cannot do that. Maybe you should PM Torsten or Slava. Ok, I got to go. My lunch break is almost over.
Talk later,
Nina
Oh yes, I have some questions that I want to ask later about this banking and finance matter. I’ll email you.
It’s great that you do enjoy it!! I’m just totally a dumb when facing machines!! Haha…
Your father is foresighted!! Seriously, I regretted that I didnt take up statistic/ economic or accounting course after high school!! I always think, how nice if someone was there to provide me the prospect of each course!! How great is that if I’m now end up as an Actuary!! :lol: You dad is humorous though! “coolie” - I have not heard that word for long!! 8)
I’m sure your dad gave you the best opinion possible!! Nevertheless, there are many successful engineers who has succeeded in climbing the corporate ladder. (Probably my statements/ views are a bit bias to the banking & financial services sector since I’m in that industry)
Not really the big hair!! I admire the big curls, the girly perms, coloring skills and the hair styles done by the Jap hair stylist. There’s one Jap hair saloon in KL here too, they are really good at transforming boring hairstyle. But, the price they are charging is a premium in Malaysia. Not many people could afford/ willing to pay for it though! (I’m one of them, haha)
I have already PM Torsten. Hope I can get rid of my real name here!! :lol:
Please feel free to ask anything you think I could advise/ assist. I’ll be happy to assist any possible I can!
Please mind that the noun “stuff” is uncountable so the phrase “stuffs like that” is incorrect.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC short conversations: At the conference registration table[YSaerTTEW443543]
Thanks for the reminder, Torsten.
Please don’t say that. Nobody can be totally dumb at anything. Thing with women, from my observation is, other than they enjoy playing the role of a damsel in distress, is that they just stop thinking when faced with technical problems. If they only take the time to think they are as good as men. Maybe it is true that this talent is not innate (in women), but the knowledge can be learned. Seriously, we give too much credit to men.
But hey, why take the trouble when you can just bat your eyelashes, smile prettily and make men do all the work. As much as I want to play the “damsel”, sometimes, I can’t, I have a reputation. :lol:
Well, he is always measuring things. I think it’s just his personality. Maybe I should listen to him once in a while :?
D`oh! :lol:
It’s quite expensive here. Even if you go to a simple, not really famous salons, the fee is around 3000 to 5000 yen (RM90 to RM150) just for a simple cut, or just trimming your bangs. The customer service is world class though.
I never tried perming in salons. I don’t trust people with that kind of risk. I have my own hot iron and hot curlers which I use for special occasions.
Sometimes, you just have to be a practical girl
Oh by the way, avoid using “Jap”. Some people think it’s offensive. I don’t know why. Never used it anyway.
Hi Nina and Yen, I’ve just browsed your conversation which is very interesting because it shows how too ESL speakers can share their experiences using English as a second language. Just one thing that caught my eye: the expression is use is ‘it’s anything but boring’ rather than ‘it’s everything but boring’. Hope it’s OK with you if I point out some of these things.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC short conversations: A customer wants to cancel her newspaper subscription[YSaerTTEW443543]
I realized that mistake as soon as I put it up. But I wanted to see whether you’d point that out because if it sounds too absurd I was quite sure you’d point it out.
I don’t mind you pointing my mistakes at all. I wish you’d do it more often.
Oh sorry dear, really do not know about it!! Many people are using the short form - Jap here to refer to Japanese!! Thanks for the info!!
HI Torsten and Nina, I wonder in what circumstances we can use “it’s anything but boring”? Does it mean it can be anything but it’s still not so interesting/ boring?
I have not used this phrase before!! I can add this to my personal note book!!