again about Language barrire

boho_girl
Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:01:16 +0000

^^ I agree that the best way to improve your literacy is to start reading books (or magazines) in English (same advise as for improving SAT Writing portion). There’s a huge variety of cheap books in English so you’ve got to find something you like. Ask an American friend to recommend you a good read. And I’m more inclined to agree with Happymomof1 on this - books don’t necessarily have to be too difficult.
If you can’t easily access books in English, then read online portals of reputable American newspapers. Depending on the topic of your interest, you can find a big variety - TIME, New York Times, Newsweek, The Economist and likes if you’re into current events and more serious writing as this will also help you improve your conversation about politics or even some about cultural problems of contemporary America. If you like music there is Rolling Stone, if you’re into fashion and every-day girl stuff then you can find Elle(girl), Cosmo(girl), Vogue etc online.
Personally, I recommend the first group of more serious writing as they will expose you to more difficult words and more formal writing. And they write about huge range of things, not only politics, so I am sure you’ll find some topic of your interest.

If you want to know “who in the hell they’re laughing at” then keep a pen and paper always near-by when you’re watching TV and write down what/who you didn’t understand. You can look it up online and learn more about it later.

Maybe you should also start watching sitcoms in English with Chinese subtitles. Sitcoms are fun, and they often include various jokes specific to American culture that are not as hard to understand. I found them as a good way to learn about American culture and some of those American media/historical figures because most of the humor uses them + same people/events came up in several different shows so I could figure the context.

It’s great that you found Americans nearby! I agree with Olgita that there isn’t much you can do before physically arriving to USA but I believe there are some ways to increase your knowledge a bit. Like asking your boyfriend and/or friends to talk to you more about his/her view of USA, most/least favorite American things, etc. Lots of topics are bound to come up as some people love to talk about greatest American guitar player/rock band in the history, some about contemporary problems like racial tensions in some areas, differences between East Coast, West Coast, Midwest and South, or even illegal immigrant problems or immigration-regulation laws (Yes, I’ve had a friend like that). Ask them what they like/miss/want/dislike about USA, or what major differences they noticed between USA and China etc and I guess you should learn a lot about American culture.
Or if you don’t understand what your American friends are talking about, ask them about it. If you happen to ask lots of questions, then explain that you’re eager to learn more about American culture and that their stories are invaluable to you. Maybe you can even tell them to talk to you more about USA as you’d like to learn more before you leave for college.
This is, of course, if you are not already talking about these things.

As for writing, besides reading books and magazines, try reading essay writing tips and some writing rules (you can find them online, too). But for it to really improve, you should write a lot and get a feedback on them (you don’t have to write a War and Peace, maybe just a short 0.5-1 page reflection on a book you’ve read, what happened today, how much you like chocolates etc.) Ask someone you trust (teacher, native-speaker friend) to look over your essays and honestly tell you what needs improvement.

I hope you’ll find something fun to read :)