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Re:My confusion of reading English novels
Ni3 hao3, Marianne,
I have the same problem reading novels in other languages as well as in reading novels in my own language. For me, I find the best thing is to find a reasonable compromise in between looking up none of the words, which, as you say, results in not developing your vocabulary, or looking up every word, which is a waste of time, and usually also results in your not developing your vocabulary.
What I do is read with a pencil in my hand. Every time I see a word I don't know, I underline it and write the word at the top of the page, so it will be easier to find later.
Every so often, I take a break from reading and I do vocabulary work instead. I practice my vocabulary skills, trying to guess what the word means from context, from how the word is formed, from what I know about language and about how words are developed in English. I also focus on the words that look the most important--those that show up frequently in the book I'm reading or words which I have a reason to beleive will be useful words for me to learn. I try to have an idea how many words I can work on at a time--for me, that's 3 - 5 words that I hang onto and practice, and when I feel comfortable having learned a couple of those, I'll pick a couple new ones as I continue reading to add to my study list.
This way, I'm not trying to memorize every new word, I get through my novels at a reasonable pace, and I continue nonetheless to develop my vocabulary, making deliberate choices about which words I want to hang on to, and which I can let go, and perhaps learn at another time when I see them again.
I hope this is helpful.
Zhu4 ni3 hao3,
Mark
Sacramento, California, USA
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Language pair: Chinese, other; English
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Mark S.
March 26, 2005
# Msgs: 1
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Re:Re:Re:hey!!!!
hello Eddy! nice to meet you! sorry for replying so late! well i hope you will achieve to become an english teacher, i'm sure you will, you're right friends are important, oh you play the guitar that's cool! for how long have you been playing?
Morgane
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Language pair: Spanish; English
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Morgane
March 20, 2005
# Msgs: 5
Latest: March 20, 2005
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Re:Re:hey!!!!
hello Shaun, sorry i reply very late but i don't use that site that much!! it would be cool if we could chat a bit
can you tell me a bit more about you ?
Morgane
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Language pair: English; French
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Morgane
March 20, 2005
# Msgs: 5
Latest: March 20, 2005
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Hilkka H.
March 10, 2005
# Msgs: 1
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Re:Granada, Madrid or Bilbao
Yes, i´m from madrid and of course is the best place . Is a beautiful city, have much culture places, have much student. I invited you to chose Madrid .I´m trying to learn english and excuse my fouls. Hasta otra.
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Language pair: English; Spanish
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Alfonso
March 7, 2005
# Msgs: 1
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Re:Re:Re:Student
We'll you're definitely off and running with your English. I'm having no difficulty understanding what you want. That's what language is about, right?
I will be happy to answer any questions you may have for me. I'm not able to take on another pen pal right now, but let me suggest that you browse through some of the older messages on the site and see what kinds of questions are being asked and answered. This may answer many of your questions, and inspire you to ask some more. The more you enjoy the site and have fun using it, the more you will get to know other English speakers (as well as speakers of other languages), and develop new friendships with people who will also be happy to help you in any way they can.
Welcome again, and good luck!
recuerdos,
Mark Springer, Sacramento, CA USA
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Language pair: Spanish; English
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Mark S.
March 6, 2005
# Msgs: 2
Latest: March 6, 2005
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I'm looking for you,my friend!
I'm an English learner,I want to improve my English.I am looking for a language exchanging partner who is a native of English Country.If you want to exchange our language,be interested in Chinese culture,or just chat,please feel free to contact me.I use "spype",a free communication software,my skype name is "aireagle" wei
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Language pair: English; All
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Zhenwei H.
March 6, 2005
# Msgs: 1
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Re:student
¡Hola Jesús!
Bienvenidos a Language Exchange; mucho gusto conocerte. Yo también estudio ensenar ingels, y por eso, no pudí dejar de ayudarte con tu tarea. Favor de dejamer sabes si puedo ayudarte en algo, con ingles, con la cultura americana, o con asuntos de ensenar a ingles. Tengo un certificado por ensenar composición, y estudio para un máster en la literatura de inglés. Quiero enseñar literatura y composición en universidad.
¡Suerte!
I’m not sure if you’re assignment calls for us to reply to you in english or not, so I thought I would translate, just in case it helps:
Welcome to language exchange! I’m delighted to meet you. I’m also studing teaching English, so I couldn’t ignore your request for help with your assignment. Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with, either English, American culture, or with theory of teaching English. I have a certificate for teaching composition, and I’m working on my master’s degree in English literature. I hope to teach literature and composition, either in community college, or in the University.
Best wishes,
Mark Springer
Sacramento, CA USA
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Language pair: Spanish; English
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Mark S.
March 4, 2005
# Msgs: 1
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Re:Student
¡Hola Eddy!
Bienvenidos a Language Exchange; mucho gusto conocerte. Yo también estudio ensenar ingels, y por eso, no pudí dejar de ayudarte con tu tarea. Especialmente cuando tenemos tanto de comun. Yo también toco la guitarra, tambien me gusta ver peliculas y hablar con familia y amigos. Favor de dejamer sabes si puedo ayudarte en algo, con ingles, con la cultura americana, o con asuntos de ensenar a ingles. Tengo un certificado por ensenar composicion, y estudio para un máster en la literatura de inglés. Quiero enseñar literatura y composición en universidad.
¡Suerte!
I’m not sure if you’re assignment calls for us to reply to you in english or not, so Ii thought I would translate, just in case it helps:
Welcome to language exchange! I’m delighted to meet you. I’m also studing teaching English, so I couldn’t ignore your request for help with your assignment—especially since we have so much in common. I also play guitar, love to watch movies, and talking to family and friends. Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with, either English, American culture, or with theory of teaching English. I have a certificate for teaching composition, and I’m working on my master’s degree in English literature. I hope to teach literature and composition, either in community college, or in the University.
Best wishes,
Mark Springer
Sacramento, CA USA
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Language pair: Spanish; English
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Mark S.
March 4, 2005
# Msgs: 2
Latest: March 6, 2005
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Re:Can anyone help me learn please?
hi,
don't know if you still looking for someone to practice.
i'm 23 years old gilr. i live in taipei and i'm a grad.school student now. i would love to make friends with you. you can find me on my msn(kwaliu99 ) ^^
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Language pair: English; Chinese, Mandarin
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stephanie
February 26, 2005
# Msgs: 5
Latest: February 26, 2005
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