Without any topic to talk about Hi there! Actually I wanted to write something, but I didn't know what write about, so I decided to talk about having nothing to say. I have already written a few texts, and always I take ages to get an idea. In fact, what I want is only anyone to correct this short text and, if find necessary, give me some advice about learning English. Well, I think that's it. Thanks in advance!

Where Will You Spend Your Christmas?

I'm gonna spend it with my family, and after midnight I'll meet some friends of mine. And you?

How long does it take to become fluent in English? (sincerely)

Hello. I know this is something pretty subjective and there are lots of sites on the net talking about this, but each one has a different opinion. Some people tell you have to study at least 1200 hours, others think that's possible speaking fluentely in about 6 months, 1 year, 5 years and so on (I just have already heard even in 10 (TEN) years). The coordinator of my English course told me that are needed from 4 to 6 years to speak fluentely, but I have only two classes a week, one and a half hour each one. I think he didn't take into account the fact that I study more than 3 hours a day on my own, on all the days of the week.

I think they want to keep them pupils caught up into the school paying monthly as long as they can, after all, an English school is above all a for-profit company.

 

Anyway, I'd like to know the opinion whose is studying or just can speak English fluentely (and isn't owner in an English school), I've planned taking an interchange on my vacations after I'm able to speak with some confidence, however, as I have no idea of when it's supposed to happen, I can't even set a deadline to do it.

 

If someone could give me a light, It'd be great, because to me, doing anything without a settled deadline looks a bit weird.

Thanks in advance.

Ashamed citizen When I knew the Fifa 2014 World Cup and The 2016 Olympics Games were going to happen in Brazil, a few years ago, at first I got pretty glad and proud for my country is going to host the two most important sport events in the world. Well, nowadays I think I'm not that sure. Everyday I see each time worse pieces of news involving violence and wild behaviors on TV (especially in Rio and other Brazilian "touristic" cities). The last one was about the riot that happened in a soccer stadium. Seeing those images I couldn't find out whether those beings was really humans or wild animals... No, I thought, wild animals don't try to kill each other for stupid reasons. Some other countries had already gone through problems like this, for example, the Hooligans in England, however, there the government tried and solved the problem. By another hand, in Brazil, the authorities seem can't care less about this. Anyway, let's wait and see what happens when these dangerous Brazilian stadiums are full of foreigners beside those criminals that always make Brazil seem a piece of the hell in South America. If someone could correct this text, I'd be thankful.

A boring day Today it was a boring day. I didn't work because I got the flu, and as my work environment is pretty cold because of the central air, my boss relieved me of the work for today. Well, I myself think it'd be better if I was work, I spent all the day on my own at home in front of the computer. I didn't go to college too, so I haven't seen anyone of my friends today. Tomorrow I'm going to work and attend to the classes in the college even if I wake up worse then I'm today. I'd like someone to correct this text for me, please. Thanks in advance.

Is there any difference between birthday and anniversary?

I'd like to know whether both words can be used in the same situations, for example:

Birthday/anniversary party

Birthday/anniversary gift

Marriage birthday/anniversary

anyway...

 

I know the word "birthday" is much more often used, and because of this I got a bit confused about the word "anniversary" usage.

 

 

Thanks in advance.

Interchange in Toronto I'm just looking for a subject to talk about for a few days, and now I had the idea to talk about an interchange that I intend to take in about two or three years. Indeed I'm not planning it to do soon because it need to coincide with my vacations, so I have only one month available to take it. Yes, I know, it's a too short time, but it's the time I have available a year. That's the reason because I don't intend go abroad the next year (2014). I need before get some fluence and then take the interchange only to practice and improve my listening and speaking skills in a real and natural ambient and, above all, acquire a bit of the Canadian culture. If someone could correct my text, I'd be thankful.

Have you ever used the Windows Speech Recognition or Search by Voice on Google to practice your English?

Recently I found out those two tools. Although I've always seen the icon in the search box on Google (a microphone), I've never had curiousity to hit that.

Today I also started using the Windows Speech Recognition. I had to configure my Windows language to English by Windows Update but it worth. Now I can speak into the microphone and the O.S. writes it in Word, Excel etc. I found it great to test my pronunciation skills.

 

Anyone else using those?

 

 

 

 

(Sorry for the typos :)

Do you have any trobles to understand the Brittish English (If you're studying American English)?

I'm just studying the American English for about three months, so I found out a good podcast source that mix news with listening (the website is "news in levels.com").

The approched news are divided in three levels, the first two are easy to understand because they're in American English (I think), but the level 3 podcast (video), besides being much more quick, it's spoken in a so hard to understand accent (at least for me who didn't get used to it yet). Even with the transcription I find that English a bit hard to understand.

 

So that's my question.

Is the BrE more hard to understand than the AmE, or I felt that because I didn't get used to listen that accent?

 

Sorry for any grammar mistakes :)