English course

Hi,
I would like to improve my English and attend in some English course.
Any experience ? :)

instead of doing a course.best way is to talk to friends who can speak english and even rectify ur mistakes as well..

i would suggest you Amideast
http://www.amideast.org/kuwait/english/ … e-programs

personal tutors wont be much of a help as there can be other intentions involved.

Hi Natalie,

Your best bet would be The British Council, conducted by native English teachers
http://www.britishcouncil.com.kw/en

Hey Natalie,

As mentioned, by Ace117 and Insala, try some of the programs offered by recognized institutions.  At these institutions, you could get further information on improving your language skills.  Though I must admit some of those I meet, teaching English here have questionable English language skills. Many people in Kuwait who say they speak English are poorly trained.  Be careful of those that claim to speak English.

I would add try writing more and reading more.  My stepdaughter is Thai and once we got her to start writing more her English language skills improved. We got her to write book reviews and activity reports, which helped.  Grammarly and other such programs can check you writing and suggest improvements. This would help when talking to others as you can compare what you have read, wrote, software suggestions, and what the person is saying

Aim to write articles for a local media outlet.  The process might seem cumbersome at the start but eventually your language skills will improve and you could add an achievement to your resume.

Thanks a lot for all suggestions :)

Good luck Natalie!

I think native speakers are best esp. the British.  even when it comes to the grammar.

I also have an American friend and he calls me from time to time and I learned lots of new words and phrases from him! It even helped me out a little bit with my heavy Middle Eastern accent.

I also bought English language DVDs and books from Jarir Bookstore and while it helps tons I still feel the best way is to have a native speaker speaking the language.

My only problem though is the grammar :|

Most of my non-native English language students appear to think that grammar ought to be taught separately from every other component in English, and that should never be the case. English grammar should never, ever be taught as a separate unit, as to do so would render the exercises incomprehensible to the student. Apart from reading and writing in English on A DAILY BASIS, I would strongly suggest that you immerse yourself in the language as much as you possibly can. Watch reputable TV programmes in English, listen to English radio songs and speak, speak, speak in English as much and as often as you can. You have to engage in the language by listening to it and then repeating it. Reading and writing in English is only half the battle (as any student of English will tell you); the rest is engagement and immersion.

English language tutors working at language institutes are, for the most part, unqualified to do the job properly. The majority of those tutors are hired locally, which means they come cheaply and from a variety of different cultural backgrounds, the most popular being Indian, Egyptian and Pakistani. Language institutes in Kuwait are notoriously stingy with their rates of pay, averaging 10KD per one to one and a half hour session. Now, while this paltry rate may be perfectly acceptable to Arab and Asian tutors, who don't have the necessary qualifications, and shouldn't be teaching English anyway, the majority of qualified, Western tutors will simply refuse such ridiculous rates of pay.

My advice would be to scout around, do your homework, and find out what you can from word of mouth - it's usually the best way. Good luck!

Yes, I can help you , im American english teacher here in kuwait , I do classes for all ages, just call me and we can discuss the details. ..50515579 mike.

Hello
Maybe we can help together and improve our English by talk together..

i dont think a working professional should pay to improve their language; especially English.

go out, meet people, interact, speak.

I agree with @subhasish and @legacy. I have been to the British Council (many years ago), read books, took courses and all of that. But the things that helped most are the TV and friends (native and not, if a person's English is good it doesn't matter where they're from).

Yes, I can help u for sure..im American English teacher here in kuwait and ive done so many classes for kuwait army, kuwait airport employees and lots more companies and government officials just txt or call me at ***mike and we can discuss everything. Thanks.

Mike>
I hope your verbal skills are better then your written skills...

Beware of scammers everyone  :)

I'm with the majority here, ...hang out with english speaking friends (not hard to find in Kuwait)... watch english TV shows, do your grocery lists in english and take an english speaking friend with you for groceries to discuss products and names.  I taught (as a volunteer) ESL for a while in the states, one of my favorite exercises was taking the students out into the city to read and discuss signage, products (in stores), public/government and banking forms, and helped them to understand day to day terminology through 'functional' sources.  Although I would also have to say that learning practical written skills has merit as well, ...above all... have 'fun' with it, and keep it simple.  :)

a friend of mine told me a funny story; shes an English language teacher, and in one of her classes she'd just finished drinking KDD chocolate milk and threw it in the dust bin. one of her students pulled it out, looked at it, and then scribbled something on his papers (i think they were being tested), he'd looked up the word "milk" on the box!

and aye, sorry i did not catch that - ol' fellow advertising his defective teaching methods.. practice what u preach man.

Dear Natalie,
If you need any type of language course please feel free to ask.
In Kuwait you will not find any intensive programs and its expensive.

You will need a minimum of 6 weeks intensive Plus general English course from UK.

let me know

hello,
I think I'm looking for the same help, natalienew ! after this three years from the post can you tell me what you already did to improve your English please share your experience with me.
thx

Hello muhtawfik,

natalienew has not connected since the past two years and this thread is old. See post 3 and 4, they are still valid answers.

All the best,
Bhavna