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Writing software is not traditionally a tool for teaching English language skills. However, as these types of applications have matured through the years, they are increasingly becoming useful tools not just for fashioning your written documents into shape, but for helping you improve you master the language as well. How exactly does it perform as a language learning software?

See, every time you run a document through an English writing software, it analyzes it and points out erroneous portions, instantly letting you see weaknesses in your language skill set. As it points our mistakes and provides advice on how you may fix them, it’s serving as a teaching tool, almost like a private tutor of sorts. In fact, we’d go so far as to say that it’s probably a better learning platform than many courses, simply because you’re developing the language skills in an applied manner.

If you’re an ESL speaker currently taking a language course, using a writing software when you practice at home is bound to do more good for you than watching hours of English television or reading a chapter of a grammar book. Think back to when you were studying Math, for instance. Did you learn more from listening to a teacher, observing your classmates or solving the problems yourself while getting direct one-on-one feedback on your solutions? I’d venture a guess that the third of those options offered the best results when it came to lessons that you actually remember and seamlessly integrated into your skillset.

In many ways, an English writing software is akin to hiring a private tutor, except its infinitely cheaper and more convenient.

A powerful vocabulary usually takes time and experience to build. While that holds true for most folks, it doesn’t mean you can’t help accelerate the process a bit along the way. These practical tips should help you develop a robust vocabulary store faster than your average English learner.

1. Derive relationships

Words based on a common theme or concept are easier to memorize than those with no concept to tie them together. Most vocabulary lessons found on language learning software are structured this way for a reason - they work exceptionally well.

2. Write it down

Writing, for some reason, has a way of imprinting words into your consciousness. Instead of just reading words off a page, try putting them to paper yourself - the effect can be downright amazing.

3. Use your creativity

Employ your creative side and relate words to drawings, photographs, dance moves or whatever art form feels most natural to you. This can create a relationship that will help you pull out the right words at just the right time - most of the time, anyway.

4. Find relevance

Study words that carry a certain relevance to certain areas of your life. If you’re into basketball, for instance, words that relate to the game will usually prove easier to memorize than words often used in engineering pursuits. Whatever hobby, life event or situation carries meaning for you, use them to your advantage in vocabulary-building.

5. Be reasonable

Your vocabulary is not going to go from zero to hero in one day. As such, set reasonable goals that you can succeed in to build your confidence. That will prove 10 times better than failing over and over while trying to pursue unrealistic ideals.

Sumber : www.xamux.com

LEARN HOW
Everyone has different ways of learning. how to learn is formed from the environment and daily habits. If we know our learning style, then we can choose an effective learning strategy, tailored to the learning style of each of us.


PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE LEARNING
Learning English is not difficult, but also not as easy as turning the palm of the hand. What is important is the willingness and perseverance. Expert learning English, H. Douglas Brown promoted to the five principles of effective learning English following.

"Way of life". If we learn English in a country where the language is used as a Mother Tongue, generally we will more quickly master the language because every day we are surrounded by English, from waking up to go back to bed. This is because English has become an integral part of our lives. Similarly, we have to do in Indonesia, if we want to learn English effectively: we should make English as part of our lives. That is, we should try to use it every day where possible. For that, we can read, hear, or speak the English language on every occasion that we meet or who can we create. For example, we can set aside time each day to read an English article in a single day. If an article has not been able to, one paragraph or one sentence per day would not be a problem. We make our sentence is the sentence that day, and we use those words in any opportunity that might exist in the day.

Or, we can also take the time to hear everything in English (songs, news, or the tapes contain conversations in English) to accustom our ears to the foreign language. All we can do, among others are listening to the tapes (both songs, speeches, presentations, or teaching tapes in English) in the car all the way from home to office or vice versa. We can also try to write in English (writing memos, short letters, or write work plans will we do for a week or for the next day). In principle, we live surrounded by English-topic topic we like or we need.

"Total commitment". For English as an integral part of our lives, we must have a commitment to involve the English language in our lives physically, mentally, and emotionally. Physically, we could try listening, reading, writing, and training in English pronunciation, constantly and repeatedly. Mentally or intellectually, we can try to think in English every time we use the English language.

For example, in understanding the English language, not word for word, but the overall meaning. We can try to identify some expressions in English that have roughly the same meaning, for example: How're you?, How's life?, How's business? (Do not dwell on just one phrase.) And, most important is our emotional involvement with the English language, that we need to have a high motivation to learn English, and we need to seek "positive things" that we can enjoy, or who can give us rewards if we are able to master the English language. These will provide great energy for us to stay motivated to learn English. These three aspects (physical, mental, and emotional) we should totally involved in our learning process, if we want to learn English more effectively.

"Trying". Learning a language is like learning to ride a bike or learning to drive a car. We can not only read and understand the "manual" only, but we must try to use it. In the learning phase (experimental phase), it is normal that we make a mistake. What is important is knowing what we are doing wrong and fix it at the next opportunity. It would be better if at the moment we have a teacher who tries to tell us the mistakes we did. Teachers do not have formal teacher at school or an English course. Teachers could have a tape that we can listen and we compare with our words, a textbook that can be read and check the answer, or it could be acquaintances, or relatives who could help us if we have a problem or there are things that we want ask. We do not be ashamed to ask, and do not be afraid to make mistakes. From the questions we ask and the mistakes we do, we can learn a lot.

"Beyond class activities." If we learn English formally (in class, in the course), usually limited learning hours: four hours a week, six hours a week or eight hours a week. What is certain hours of learning in the classroom is certainly very limited. In order to learn to be more effective, we must create opportunities to "learn" as well outside the hours of coursework: a discussion with friends, visiting websites that offer free English lessons, or communicate in English with your friends or native speakers ( either by mail, email, or direct conversation.) We can also try to read newspapers, magazines, text books, listen to the radio, songs, or watch the events and movies. For learning can be more attractive, choose topics that match our interests, our needs, or which relate to educational background and work of our field.

"Strategies". If the commitment, courage to try, and English as part of our lives has been applied, the next step is to apply appropriate learning strategies to support our learning process. These strategies can we develop and we adjust our personalities and learning styles of each. There is more easily learned by using the "cue-cards", ie small cards that read phrases or words that we want to control is accompanied by example sentences that could use these words. This card can we carry everywhere we go. Whenever there is a chance (at the time of waiting for a taxi, waiting for lunch is served, or while in vehicles that were stuck in traffic), we can take this card and read it and try to improvise with new words in the same sentence structure. There are also people who more easily learn to directly communicate verbally with other people or native speakers. From this communication they ask, listen, and improve pronunciation and increase their vocabulary with our learning style.

"Auditory Learners." If we include those that are easier to learn by listening, then we have the learning style "auditory." If this is our learning style, then we can reproduce portions learn by listening, eg listening to the tapes of English lessons, our favorite songs, or news, speeches in English. We also could hear conversations in English in your favorite movies that we watch in the cinema, television, or VCD. Listen to the words, expressions that are used, consider the context or situation in which the words or phrases are used. Do this over and over again then we will meet with similar expressions that we can train on a regular basis, so that we can be more adept at saying and use it.

"Visual Learners". If we include those that are easier to learn through visual input (images, text), then we have the learning style "visual". There are so many strategies that we can do. We can read the articles in English that we consider important, and interesting in newspapers, magazines, or internet, and then we try to tell me again with words of our own flats, either in writing or in the form of greeting. We can also read and study the sample letters, proposals, brochures that we often encounter in doing our jobs.

To try to understand an abstract concept, we can describe it in a visual form: "flow charts", table, or other visual forms.

"Kinesthetic Learners". If we prefer to learn by doing something or moving, then we can learn by using computers (in which we have to press the button on the keyboard, or mouse), so we do not get bored quickly. We can also join associations in English (Home Club) that has many activities and games that involve movement. Which also we can do is learn to write (move my hands to write), or trying to understand a word or phrase to imagine movements that could be associated with the meaning of these words.

Each person can have more than one learning style (eg auditory and visual, or visual and kinesthetic). Whatever the learning style, if we already know, can we look for and apply learning strategies tailored to the learning styles so that results can be more effective.

Source: http://mgmp2008.wordpress.com