LLH... My language learning history

Since I was a child I have had a passion for foreign languages and, consequently, at the age of 8 I entered English language course on “beginner” level. However, it was rather difficult to learn to speak a foreign language free and fluently when one does not live in the country where this language is spoken, and I often had difficulties while speaking aloud in front of an audience in English. I continued studying the language both in primary school and in a language academy as well.After having taken written exams in Bulgarian and Mathematics needed for application to elite secondary schools with outstanding marks, I was accepted to study at high rated secondary school in Bulgaria with an intensive French language and English language as a second foreign language which was listed as my first choice. At high school teacher’s approach towards foreign languages was academic and it was hard to study academic terms in a foreign language. Since I was already familiar with the basics of English, I have never had any difficulties during my English studies at school. The basic knowledge I had gained beforehand helped me memorise words and phrases easily and understand unknown set phrases from the context without using a dictionary. However, my problems with oral presentation remained as we never had enough time for each and every student to lead a conversation or at least participate in a discussion. Although I could understand written English, I was still unable to speak without constantly thinking of the right words.For all those reasons, I attended an English language course and I passed the TOEFL exam which was a major step for me as a second foreign language. Never was my intention to continue my further education in English, but after having a proof of proficiency in French I decided to improve my level of academic English. In this case, I considered that studying in English would be the best way to develop my academic writing and oral skills. The latter, in my view, is still to be worked on as I am tense at times while giving a presentation. I continued working on my English in London, where I attended English courses and gained a degree in economics. 

My expectations of the English language course at the University of Groningen are related to my weaknesses: oral presentations, writing on an academic level using the appropriate vocabulary and diversity of linking words. Although I consider myself as I have a flair for languages, it would not be enough to be academically correct when writing reports and essays. In my opinion, I must gain much confidence, which comes naturally when academic writing and oral skills have been improved on the level needed at universities. 

Hazel - mission statement

Hazel mission statement
“Our goal is to provide today’s young women with exclusive, state-of-the-art make-up products while preserving their skin as well as the environment.”

English...

"I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that "I do" is the longest sentence?
George Carlin

I guess you've heard for the CAE exam. The post contains exercises, examples and tests related to the use of English on CAE exam level. (C1.1 and C2.2) Have a look ;)

http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/?gclid=COTsivbzwK0CFQKEDgodMitNBQ

The Academic Word List

There you go! In this post you can find information and useful links about the AWL, the academic word list. Basically that is the list with the most frequently used words in academic English. Just check it out yourself... :)

• How to Use
• AWL Selection
• Sublists
• The Corpus
• References

The Academic Word List (AWL) was developed by Averil Coxhead as her MA thesis at the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. The list contains 570 word families which were selected according to principles. The list does not include words that are in the most frequent 2000 words of English. The AWL was primarily made so that it could be used by teachers as part of a programme preparing learners for tertiary level study or used by students working alone to learn the words most needed to study at tertiary institutions. The Academic Word List replaces the University Word List.

For detail on the development and evaluation of the AWL, see Coxhead, Averil (2000) A New Academic Word List. TESOL Quarterly, 34(2): 213-238.

To purchase a copy of the AWL Occasional Publication from Victoria University of Wellington, please visit Vic Books website.

Vocabulary profile checker

In the post you will find a useful link to vocabulary profile checker...
http://www.lextutor.ca/vp/eng/

Using English Dot Com

In this post you will find a link to an interesting site that I discovered some time ago.
There you can see useful tips and courses available. Enjoy!
http://www.usingenglish.com/

Treasure trove article / 5 Steps to preparing a quality presentation

5 Steps to Preparing a Quality Presentation

Nikolay Gitsov
s2084961
GR.21

Step 1
Planning

Planning ahead of time

Write down everything

Edit later

More written down – more options

Step 2
Put the pieces together

Organizing thoughts

Connect the different pieces

Include transitions

Easier to follow – better presentation

Step 3
Say thoughts out loud

Written on paper – not enough

Preparing for oral presentation

Think out loud

Step 4
Practice in front of the mirror

Practice in front of the mirror as many times as possible

Getting more familiar with the presentation

Less nervous

Look at the card as little as possible

Step 5
Speak Clearly

Speak slowly and clearly

Avoid ‘’ands’’ and ‘’ums’’

Sound professional

Take time in advance

Practice makes perfect

Additional information

http://www.articlemarketingdomination.com

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Josh_Spaulding

Thank you for the attention

Summary of learning goals and plan for achieving them

General goal 1: More formal and academic usage of English
Specific Goal: Academic vocabulary
Goal Completion Strategies:
- Read articles and solve problems from ML as well as extraxct the appropriate vocabulary
- Weekly reflections on the material
- Use more formal English While expressing myself
- Avoid using non-formal words and phrases

General goal 2: Fluency
Specific Goal: No repetitions of words
Goal Completion strateies:
- Range of vocabulary and AWL
- Explain meaningn of know and unknown words

General Goal 3: Grammar
Specific Goal: Appropriate use of prepositions
Goal complation strategies:
- Learn collocations by heart
- Learn the basis rules for different types of prepositions
- Read more academic literature
- Use less prepositions, but more appropriate