British vs American accent Since I was a kid, I've always though that I could better understand the British accent. All I've been remembering was a very proper pronunciation, very tight. That was before I came across a TV Show called "sherlock" where the actors have a British accent and are speaking at a natural (and fast) speed. Not only I was not able to understand what they were saying, but I was wondering "how is that even possible to understand what he (sherlock) is saying ?" At this time, I decided to postpone my training with the British accent to "later". After all, I had so many things to work on that I didn't fell the urge of working on this understanding chasm that exists between my comprehension of the American and British accent. This was before last Monday, when I told to myself "hey, let's try this oopt test on italki, maybe I'll find something to work on after the test". And my wishes came true, this was a shock.... I had terrible difficulties understanding the "listening part" of the test (OK, that and the fact that my kids were running around in the living room, shouting at each others). Anyway, from now on, I guess I know that I need to work on that. British and American accent are different. They both have their own way of "eating words"... and I guess I got used to the fast food way ^^

Of the correction of notebook entries... I'm kind of new to this whole Italki community. So far, I'm trying my best to participate in the different activities the site has to offer. One that I find really useful is the notebook redaction. It's an opportunity to be helped by native speakers without the burden of trying to find someone sharing the same agenda as yours for the conversation exchange. You write a small piece of text, you get a correction.... isn't that cool ? But I wondered how, as a native french speaker, I should correct other people's text. Should I just correct grammar & vocabulary, or should I go a step further and try to give the sentence a "natural feeling" ? For example, sometimes I read corrections that are "correct". The words are OK, the grammar is OK, but the whole text feels awkward, like "I'm going to lift the flower to your office". I guess this is understandable, but it doesn't really feel natural to say that. Or, sometimes, I encounter Yoda's disciples corrections "to your office, the flower will be lifted". OK, that's correct, but you won't normally say that. So I've chosen, as of today, to try to translate the whole text and not only the grammar and vocabulary. Of course, this won't fit every students... maybe sometimes, especially for beginners, it's best to stay simple. Anyway, hope this will help.

Practice like a freak Improving one's language skills is definitely not an easy task. The most important key factor everyone seem to agree on is that you have to practice everyday : "Be consistent". It's better to work half an hour a day than practicing 4 hours on Wednesday. So, you have to take the time needed to practice. But if you don't live in the target-language-speaking-country, well, it's not an easy task. Also, what is not an easy task is that we all have very busy schedules. We did not wait the decision of learning a new language to fill our free time with (too many) activities. We're left with a one-hour-a-day new task (to be successful), and no time for it. So let's find free time in an already full filled schedule. 1) Think in your target language OK, when I'm doing this, I feel quite dumb. "Oh, this *stuff I don't know its name* is so *stuff adjective I don't know*...." But anyway, even if it takes twice the time to think of a sentence, it makes me practice my fluency. I do am trying to use the words I've learned. Moreover, it enables me to identify the words I should know because I'm founded stuck without them. 2) Read aloud / speak When you're alone, in the shower, in your car, in an elevator... and yes, even in the street (take your phone and pretend to have a conversation if it helps). Sometimes you'll feel like an idiot (OK, you'll often fell like a freak in the beginning), but who really care ? 3) Configure your devices in your target language Your phone, your TV, your computer, your watch, ... everything should be speaking in your target language. Don't get disturbed by your native language there :-) Bonus : Nobody will ever borrow your stuff again. 4) Read magazines You read books ? magazines ? find equivalents in your target language. There are lots of eBooks / eMagazines out there, just read them instead ! 5) Watch TV This is probably the easiest and at the same time the hardest thing to do. Everybody like to kick back in front of the TV. But not everybody's wife / husband like to learn a new language. If you're lucky, you'll be able to sell a 1 episode a day with subtitles. If you're not, try the "synchronized watching" (press play at the same time on different devices configured in different languages). That way you'll watch at the same thing together and you'll keep practicing without bothering your family. Well, those are some random tips I'm using. So yes, I look like a freak in the street, but I'm practicing :-)

Becoming fluent So I've decided to jump into the "seriously learning a new language" game. I had studied english back when I was a student.... 20 years ago, and I have to admit I had always found the learning process abstract and boring. Never had I the opportunity to understand where english would be usefull in my everyday's life. At best, my only usage of english back then was to fill gramar exercices books (what a thrill). Serveral years later, I discovered that english could be fun and usefull : watching at TV Shows, reading books not available in my native langage (or reading books that are not butchered by a terrible translation), reading articles on my field of interest that just don't exist in my native langage, etc... This came along with a terrible discovery : I was not able to understand easily what I had access to. I've fought that alone and I've gone through this issue thanks to a lot of material available online or by reading books. Today, I'd like to go a step further, I want to be able to take part in a conversation, a debate, without being stuck with a lack of vocabulary, lack of spontaneity, without using words that don't really fit together. To go through this step, well, I have to find a way to use english more often, and to discuss with other people, to have feedback... So I'm here, and this is my first attempt in making progress :-)