VNtomboy

I also love reading and I have always considered it a hobby. Ever since I was young, I was constantly reading. I´d read almost everything that was in our local library by the end of my primary school. Sometimes I brought home even four books.

Now when I think about it... I haven´t read a single BOOK book (paperback) in years. Ever since my secondary school, I have been reading ebooks. It´s not that I hate paperback novels, I simply like ebooks more. I don´t see very well and I have to wear glasses all the time, so the letters in paperback editions are too small for me. I get headache after half an hour of reading or so.

Ebooks are easier to read and more practical simply because I can enlarge the letters as much as I want. I can even change from large to extrra large and then back to large and so on. Reading doesn´t hurt my eyes anymore and I can enjoy it again. That´s my reason for shifting to ebooks.

yeah, I'm the same. I think it's mainly because I'm not sentimental towards paperback novels. They just clutter up my room more than anything.

Words that have silent letters...man they confuse the heck out of me.

I'm not a *student* per se, but I do use English EVERY SINGLE DAY. I'd actually say reddit.com is an awesome resource, because it's a massive message board and you're bound to find people with similar interests on there, so speaking English doesn't feel like a chore. It's pretty much all in English as well.

That sounds like a very interesting tip, VNtomboy! It's a simple enough one, but I'm surprised I never thought of it! It's not a big thing, but I can definitely see it working. Thanks for the tip

Haha, thanks. My sister told me that, and it's made quite a difference with my French learning. So many people overlook it.

That being said or "that said". There's no "that been said".

One thing that's often overlooked is to set your phone to the desired language. That way, it'll force you to look at that language every day, multiple times a day. It helps a lot.

What about "an apple a day keeps the doctor away"? 

I'm super glad! They're an awesome app, and I've been heavily recommending them to friends and family. Let's hope the quality level isn't lowered for all the new languages though.

People in here are pretty much correct. "Whether" is between two or more options and "if" is more conditional. However, I wouldn't worry too much about it in colloquial language because native speakers do use the two interchangeably.

I have been exposed to American English more frequently than British.  In terms of spelling, I always prefer the American English way of spelling.  I even have an English proficiency handbook and while it contains references from both American and British English, I always stick to American English out of convenience.

Haha yeah I agree that American spelling is more similar to how it's pronounced than British English is.

For me, it's definitely British English. It just sounds classier and more sophisticated to me.

Very cool idea. I think it depends on the person, really. Some people like to have a proper teacher to motivate them, but others prefer a laid back approach. I'm somewhere in between, so while I do enjoy language exchanges, I wouldn't JUST do them in order to learn a language.

How is this any different from google translate? Aside from the fact that it's not free...

I've just started a couple weeks ago with some Spanish so we'll see how that goes. Congrats on getting to the end!

I guess it depends on the purpose of why you are taking the English proficiency test. For me, I will be taking the IELTS a couple of months from now for my plan of studying in Australia. They do require a certain band score in IELTS before the university allows me to enroll in the course I chose.

What's the score that they require? Back when my mum went to get her PhD, it was only like 6.5

The basic rule of thumb is to treat the semicolon the same as you would a full stop. They aren't too common in everyday writing though, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I have been thinking for a while to study a third language and I am trying to consider several. First on my list is the French language. I have always love the sound of it. But I feel intimidated by it. I have bought a book - French Made Simple, but I can't find anything simple in it. It says something about its similarities with the English language when it comes to vocabulary but its the pronunciation I am intimidated. I am thinking of enrolling in a class but I just can't afford it at this time.

Try duolingo? It's a great app for beginners and it's free.

I think the British people just really pronounce things differently, that's why there is a language called "British English", it really has it's own nuances. Like they say "whilst" instead of "while". Here is a link that is related to the topic: http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/10/why-do-the-british-pronounce-z-as-zed/

You mean AMERICANS pronounce things differently? The Brits were the first to speak English...hence the name, lol

That depends on whether or not you're flying first class lol. In all seriousness, I actually love flying. That sense of adventure is awesome.

Well, that could definitely help, lol. We are living in a highly global world, it's so easy to go from one place to another by plane in a matter of hours... it use to take months to do that some years ago.  It's just amazing when I think about it. I know traveling by plane isn't the best and most comfortable experience, but can't deny planes are making things easier now...

I talk with a lot of people online who are from the UK and I always notice that they use an S in words that I would put a Z in like "organize," they would spell it "organise" Is there a Z in British English?

I think the Z pronunciation is the ~original~ way to spell it. American spelling is more based off of how it's pronounced (another example is "color" instead of "colour")

Yes, it is

Nice, thanks for the rec. Have you used it yourself?

Interesting...I've personally never heard of it before. Is it a software or an app? More importantly...is it free?

What about "healthy as a horse"? I never understood why the horse is used as an image of good health though.

Oh man I LOVE anki, it helped me learn a ton of vocab for the SATs (which I aced). Also, I'd forget rosetta stone and go with duolingo instead, and another thing I found super helpful is to change the language on your phone to your target language.

Cool, is it free?