Am i mad?

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yashradia

You reckon if i put the radio on 24/7.. Not that i will lisen to it all the time but say when i am sleeping and its on all the time... How long will it take me to get my confidence back?

Who knows

Reply 21

osamab

how long have you been in this country for?

like 3 years

yashradia

By the time i do that people cut me off! I mean they all speak and think so FAST and by the time i say something they have already said and i look like a stupid dumb!

To be honest, it sounds like you're hanging out with the wrong crowd. As suggested before, listen to online radio/tv and try and imitiate it.

When I speak with someone who isn't confident with their english, I consciously slow down and avoid using crazy vocabulary. Perhaps the people you hang out with arn't really used to other cultures, or know how difficult it is to learn a second language.

Reply 24

bansheeee*

yashradia

Its just that my opinions are different from others. All of my mates have something in common all the time and its just me that id the odd one out all the time.
Clubbing wise and dinking wise is all good. Its just during the lectures time and chilling time. I want to find my own identity and fo some reason i just cannot. Also i dont use words like amazing, fantastic, etc because i dont know what it means. I just know the basic english and its just so annoying.

whats your first language? my first language is Irish so I struggled with english when I moved to london first ,but I'm way better now :smile:

Reply 25

GodspeedGehenna

bansheeee*

whats your first language? my first language is Irish

Wow, is that quite common?

Reply 26

bansheeee*

GodspeedGehenna

Wow, is that quite common?

yea,in Ireland! mainly in galway,donegal,cork,kerry.

Reply 27

osamab

You have to keep on trying. Get out there and socialize. The only way you will get better is through practise. If people don't appreciate that you're learning a new language and laugh at you, I wouldn't think they would be very good friends. I've been in this country for almost 17 years, and while my English is pretty good, I slow down when I'm talking to someone who is still learning and give them more time. I am not trying to pick your friends for you but it seems like you need to meet some new people who understand where you are comming from.

Reply 28

River85

Andylol

www.bbc.co.uk/radio1

www.bbc.co.uk/6music

But as the OP's asking about pronounciation and vocabularly Radio 1 isn't going to help much. Radio 4 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/) is far better. Maybe BBC 7 too (just for the larfs)

Reply 29

jacy_babi

http://www.merriam-webster.com/

dictionary with pronuciation

Reply 30

XxCalxX

is there mayb a part time english course u could take? or evening classes?..if not talk to ur m8s surely they will understand and if they are good mates they should understand and try and help you by explainin stuff..or just by being patient when you are talking?

Reply 31

yashradia

part time english course about speaking? I want to speak like how all the dudes speak. You think taking course will help? My mates are all i dont know. They dont teach me and also when i speak infront of them i feel so dumb! Now i dont evn see any of them because i get so embarassed.
Writing wise i am sooo kool. On facebook also i am sooo good at writing its just SPEAKING. i cannot talk as i get sooo nervous and end up saying wrong stuff.

Reply 32

hobnob

jacy_babi

http://www.merriam-webster.com/

dictionary with pronuciation

Surely that would be American pronunciation, though? :confused:

Reply 33

Good bloke

Why do so many people think that the noun derived from pronounce is spelt and (and pronounced) pronounciation rather than pronunciation?

Reply 34

deadwing

Get a language exchange partner? It depends on what your native language is but if it's a popular one to study there could be loads of people at your university who would like to practise with you. You can meet up with them for a drink and talk for 1/2 an hour in English, 1/2 an hour in the other language and you get to meet new friends and gain confidence in speaking.

If there's no one you can find nearby, you can always look on the internet for people to talk with if you have Skype or MSN messenger you can do language exchanges with anyone in the world.

Also, www.livemocha.com (a language learning website) has a feature where it gives you a paragraph in English and you record yourself speaking it. Then you upload it to the website a native speakers review it and give you advice on how to improve your pronounciation.

If you've lived here for three years it's probably just more of a confidence thing.

Reply 35

croissantfever

Have you tried TELLING your friends this is how you feel? Or do you just avoid them now? Cos if you spoke to them, listened to them, an imitated their pronunciation?

Reply 36

yashradia

No i am not making it up!
I am just saying that when i speak to people they all laugh at me! Also some words which i cant say for example i was talking to my mate and i said champions league and they burstd out laughing! Yo think its a joke? Its not cos every single end there is someone out there laughing at me. I want to improve my english and learn to say RIGHT things at the right time and for that i asked for your help!

Reply 37

yashradia

croissantfever

Have you tried TELLING your friends this is how you feel? Or do you just avoid them now? Cos if you spoke to them, listened to them, an imitated their pronunciation?

No i dont wna tell them. they probably think i am so dumb :frown:

Reply 38

fanta90

yashradia

like 3 years

3 years and haven't properly learnt to speak? You need to go out more, watch movies, tv shows and youtube or podcasts.

Reply 39

penny_wishes

yashradia

I am just saying that when i speak to people they all laugh at me! Also some words which i cant say for example i was talking to my mate and i said champions league and they burstd out laughing!

The reason you have no confidence is because you're hanging out with idiots. Seriously, these people are supposed to be educated and at university and they're LAUGHING at you for struggling? You need to find friends who are more sensitive to things like this, and help you to learn rather than just laugh at you.

Perhaps try and find people who study language courses at your university? I imagine they would be willing to help you with your language and be more sensitive because many of them will be travelling abroad in the next year, or maybe just got back from travelling!

You probably have enough work to manage as it is, but if you can find the time, perhaps get hold of some materials that will help you learn about the different rules in English in more detail. Basic English can get you by, but if people aren't explaining things to you, then you need to find out how words like 'fantastic' fit into sentences and when they are used in order to have some idea of their meaning. Once you learn the rules you can probably work out what people are trying to say just by where the word is in the sentence.