I really enjoy an atmosphere at this ESL Forum!

[Tamara]

Hi everybody

I have been reading this ESL Forum for a couple of weeks and really enjoy its atmosphere that is very warm and highly intellectual at the same time
But I feel that just reading doesn’t improve my English skills… and I suppose that such a great website would be able to endure one more member... with rusty, 'far from perfect' and rather passive English...

My mother tongue is Russian.
I had [had?] English-as-a-second-language at school (for four years) and also, years after, and ago)), - a university ‘technical English’ course.

Now I am trying to live in the UK (because my husband has a long-term work contract here) and strongly need to refresh my ‘school English’ and put it in practice.
Of course, I use my spoken and writing skill in everyday life, as is, but it is not really getting better, because, in fact, I have no one to correct my mistakes and polish up my English: people around are very polite and my own children (both are teenagers) are too busy...

My great hope is that you will be friendly to help me with it by correcting my mistakes, making my English more colloquial and less formal, and saying me, from time to time, something like ‘your English is still awful /improper’

Thanks in advance,
Tamara
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It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…

[Alan]

Hi Tamara,

A very warm welcome to you and many thanks for the positive and encouraging remarks that you have made about the site. Never fear no-one would dream of using words like improper and awful about a contributor's English. From what you have written I can't see that's going to happen in your case anyway. As you can see, there are a number of different forums on the site apart from the tests. Please feel free to comment on what others say or indeed to start a new topic.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Phrasal Verbs/go

[Tamara]

Hi, Alan. Thank you very much for your warm welcome.

At present, I have no definite plans about using the Forum. I just like it... and am going to settle here (if you don’t mind it ), enjoying communicating with Forum people and getting familiar with other facilities of the site.
(I have already done more than a half of your Intermediate and Advanced level tests. Just done, hmm… )

To make my situation slightly clearer: at the end of June I am going to take ESOL exams (aiming Level 1 at speaking, listening & writing and Level 2 at reading), because I strongly need to have a nationally (UK) recognised certificate to validate my language skills.

My main troubles are: prepositions, limited vocabulary, tending to put 'formal' words and phrases in informal conversations (as I said above, my English is still passive and rather 'bookish'),
and, of course, permanent confusing with phrasal verbs

And I will be very grateful indeed to everyone who would point out my mistakes…

Regards,
Tamara
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It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…

[Fan of Arabian horses]

Hi Tamara!

I had liked to wellcome you much earlier but I think wellcoming every new member is the privilege of the administrators and moderators of this wonderful site. So I?m happy that Alan did that because now I can do so too.

As I?m an English learner too and also use a rather formal English -particular with phrasal verbs I?m not proficient- and my own range of English is limited, I?m excited what progress you?ll make. Please don?t understand that as a request but more as an interest because, for me, your posts sound quite understandible. Although there might be some difference between written and spoken language. Please follow Alan?s request to use the forums. I think you?ll find it interesting and also improving your skills.

Liked to read from you soon!

Michael

[Alan]

Hi Tamara,

If I may, I'll make some publicity and refer you to a considerable amount of material I've written for the site. There you can find notes/material on prepositions and phrasal verbs as well as many other topics: ESL lessons.

Alan
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English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story A day in the life of a policeman

[Tamara]

Hi, Alan,

Thank you very much for the link (especially for phrasal verb topics).
Certainly, I’ll get down to it

One (fresh) example of my difficulties with phrasal verbs:

Her mother knew a fashionable young dressmaker. Felicity sketched a design, and as the dressmaker gradually put it together, Felicity became carried along by it all.

hmmm...

My Longman Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs (12.000+) tells me:
carry along
1. to carry something with one (syn. carry about)
2. to cause (someone) to share one’s feelings, opinions, etc.
3. to encourage (someone), as to keep trying.

Having this explanation, I guess the meaning of the quoted phrase (supposing Case (1)), but I won’t dare to use the verb, when speaking or writing... of course, not...
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It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…

[Tamara]

Hi, Michael and Fan of Arabian horses
Nice to read (meet!) you and thanks a lot for your kind post.

[Alan]

Hi Tamara,

Part of your sentences:

[Fan of Arabian horses]

Hi Tamara!

Your full-right-member, the Great Dane, is a dog, isn?t it? It seems to belong to the same kind like my Arabian mare does. She is also grey like a donkey she only sometimes is as self-willed as a donkey.

By the way, as you told us in your introduction do you have children which are teenagers. So they go still to school yet,don?t they? So I?d like to ask you whether you have ever heard a sentence like Amy suggested to find out its meaning:

John while James had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher!

This sentence is possible if you set the correct punctuation-marks at the right point. I only wonder whether such a sentence would ever be said!

Michael

[Yankee]

[Tamara]

Hi Michael

[Fan of Arabian horses]

[Tamara]

Hi Fan of Arabian horses

[Torsten]

[Fan of Arabian horses]

Hi Fan of the best-in-the-world-Great Dane Greta!

I hope you don?t mind if Torsten corrected my English at your introduction,do you?

Hi Torsten!