Mastering the English language

Hi everyone,

It is widely agreed that speaking English is essential for a successful integration in England. Do you agree?

Where can one attend a language course in England?

Is it easy to communicate in a different language with English?

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Priscilla

Absolutely.  It's essential to speak the language of the country you are living in. How would you make friends and network without being able to talk to anyone because you cannot speak the language.

For integration   very important   to  be multilingual

I am trilingual. This has been of great help.

English language is important not only for living in England (Great Britain) but also if you plan to move to any such country where you don't speak the local language.
For Britain, it is best if you search for English learning centres online, just type in the area you live in, following what you need and the search engine will come up with the results.

One surprising problem for expats in England is regional accents and local slang.
Hello, how are you in English is commonly express as "Ey up, ars tha digglin" in Yorkshire.

That is just one example of many regional variations in English, something that makes life difficult for expats who spent all their time and effort perfecting the finer points of listening comprehension on nicely prepared recordings of people speaking beautiful English.

Next up is idioms. The English use idioms without the slightest thought but text books hardly touch them. This massive cock up is common to most ESL/EFL books.

Slang is essential, as expats will find out the first time a shopkeeper tells them their shopping will set them back ten quid.
A friend telling you a new car will cost a bomb isn't trying to arm himself for a future war, he's telling you it's expensive.

You'll get the hang of it, but be prepared for shocks and confusion.
Still, coppers can be helpful if you need directions to the quack's.

Fred wrote:

.... You'll get the hang of it, but be prepared for shocks and confusion.
Still, coppers can be helpful if you need directions to the quack's.


Indeed, or even to the Fang Farriers. :)

Hi Priscilla,

Imagine a morning

you got up and people around you dont speak the same language!!!!!

Shocking............ i bet

So most important is BODY LANGUAGE

1- easiest way to learn Lingo is (making friends and thinking in that language)
2- Body Languages are traditional, and its great to adopt by the people... You have whole wide world to experience without words..... Just smile

I dont know why did i write that... I just did

cheers
Benny

I would say that English is the only way. While some people may have high school French or German, the English like most English speakers do not speak other languages.

If you need to meet people that speak your native language. Look up meetup.com to for groups.

I learned american English in Guatemala however now I am learning British English. I belong to the BME network in Weston-super-Mare and we support people to learn not only the language but the culture. It is very important to know the invisible queue at the pub!

Saludos

Patty
[link moderated]

It is very important to know the invisible queue at the pub!


Cultural norms are commonly just as important as language skills.
I've never even considered the importance of the invisible queue because we just know how to do it, but a new arrival who fancies a pint could easily get a black eye instead if he went to the wrong pub and didn't 'line up' at the bar.

What line? - That invisible one all the locals can see.

Sounds weird, but it's absolutely true.

Hi
It is indeed. There are many schools and private institutes that teach English to non-native speakers. Expensive, but professional.
I would say that one should learn English to communicate because if you one doesn't know English, he or she might face problems at various places. For example, shopping, taxi (sometimes), asking an address, etc.