How often do you practice english?

[Trellum]

Hi guys and girls   It's no secret that english is in no way my mother language, it's also no secret that I actually practice it on a daily basis, because I use it for my work   But I know some people who also speak english and they don't really practice it often, other than by watching TV shows or listening to songs in English, that is.  And even then, they don't do it so often! 

I'm actually not sure what I'd do if I didn't use english for my work, there is a big chance I'd have forgotten a lot words... I'm lucky I practice it daily, but I'll not be doing this for life!  How often do you guys practice english? 

[VNtomboy]

Hourly. Seriously, I speak English as much as I can, watch English movies exclusively, only listen to English music and read English books. It's the only reason why I've kept most of my fluency so far

[Baburra]

I get to practice it often because I have a lot of people around me who speak English mainly, including family members and some friends. I honestly would much rather just use my main language all the time if I could but since they are more comfortable with it then I try to oblige. Also debates and technical explanations tend to be easier for me when I use English for some reason.

[Trellum]

It might sound weird to you, but I actually prefer to use english instead of my mother language. When I use my mother language I feel so clumsy, I fee it's much easier to communicate using english than Spanish. I feel so much more comfortable speaking english.

[Rosa]

English happens to be my second language and I say this because in my country we speak Creole first and only use the Queen's English when writing or when communicating orally for business. Sometimes you meet someone for the first time or someone who was raised to speak  English all the time and so you may adjust very quickly to English also. All in all, English is quite dominant here and I don't think I need to practice it everyday but I know i'll always have to figure out having a perfect grammar.

[RingoBerry]

I used to be nervous. And never mingled much. I stuck to my own circle of friends and yes we all did speak English well but problem is that our exposure was limited. After I entered university and of course, back when the internet first started and when I got my first PC, I started to join Yahoo groups to do roleplay and write stories from my favourite stories and movies. Mostly animation! It works btw!

[AExAVF]

I practice my English as practicable as possible.  I also watch English language movies out of boredom, but secretly I learn how to speak the language correctly.  Sometimes I speak in front of the mirror, even articulating my words correctly.  I am hesitant to practice my English while within earshot of my family, as they might think I am just speaking to myself.

[takibari]

I don't intentionally use English just to practice. In regular situations, I turn to my native tongue. But since my work involves the use of English, then I get to 'practice' it on a regular basis. For entertainment purposes, I however, prefer watching English movies and TV dramas. Primarily because doing so challenges me and forces me to sharpen my listening and comprehension skills.

[Trellum]

I used to be nervous. And never mingled much. I stuck to my own circle of friends and yes we all did speak English well but problem is that our exposure was limited. After I entered university and of course, back when the internet first started and when I got my first PC, I started to join Yahoo groups to do roleplay and write stories from my favourite stories and movies. Mostly animation! It works btw!

That is great!  Yahoo helped me greatly when I had just started learning and practicing English, I owe so much to yahoo chats that I can actually speak English. I made so many awful mistakes at first, but if it wasn't for yahoo chats I have no idea where I'd be now... surely not writing this right now!

[Trellum]

English happens to be my second language and I say this because in my country we speak Creole first and only use the Queen's English when writing or when communicating orally for business. Sometimes you meet someone for the first time or someone who was raised to speak  English all the time and so you may adjust very quickly to English also. All in all, English is quite dominant here and I don't think I need to practice it everyday but I know i'll always have to figure out having a perfect grammar.

That is awesome, Rosa!  I think it's nice you guys grew up speaking a second language. I come from a country where people grew up speaking only one language, and speaking English is seen as something spectacular, lol. Ok, not spectacular, but speaking English well in my country is seen as a really big merit.  Yesterday a girl who works in the lace where I get my lunch from every Friday was amazed when she found out I speak English.

[lushlala]

I speak English more than I speak my own mother tongue because it's the official language of Botswana, my country. So as I spend most of the day in work, and English is the medium of communication in all work situations, I'm always speaking it. I'm married to a non-Botswanan, so at home we speak English. English is widely spoken in Botswana, so even among friends, we often speak more English that our own language.

[Tyrell]

All day, every day. Like you, I prefer speaking and talking in English rather than in my native language - it just feels 'right' for some reason. I post in English forums, listen to English music, watch English TV series & movies, play English games (both online and offline), etc. In fact, I dislike their non-English counterparts. I guess after doing them in English for so long suddenly doing them in another language feels really weird.

[zurcminister]

Well I always practice all the time because I need all the time in my job because English is the language of business after all. I practice through writing. I also practice through speaking consciously and unconsciously. How about you guys?

[Trellum]

All day, every day. Like you, I prefer speaking and talking in English rather than in my native language - it just feels 'right' for some reason. I post in English forums, listen to English music, watch English TV series & movies, play English games (both online and offline), etc. In fact, I dislike their non-English counterparts. I guess after doing them in English for so long suddenly doing them in another language feels really weird.

I feel the same way when it comes to anime, for some reason if I watched a series in a language first as a kid, I can't watch it in it's original language or any other language. That doesn't happen with any other kind of TV shows, only with anime   I prefer my dubs to be in Spanish, rather than English or the original language most of the time.  English is still my preferred language for everything else   I hope I can continue using it a lot at work (when I find one in my new city).

[Trellum]

I speak English more than I speak my own mother tongue because it's the official language of Botswana, my country. So as I spend most of the day in work, and English is the medium of communication in all work situations, I'm always speaking it. I'm married to a non-Botswanan, so at home we speak English. English is widely spoken in Botswana, so even among friends, we often speak more English that our own language.

That is so interesting!  Where is your husband from?  I'm also getting married to someone who is not from my own country, right now we communicate in English only, but in the future we will have to do it in Dutch.  I feel very comfortable speaking English with him, but I know he'd feel better if I spoke dutch.  I will eventually   I'm studying that language very hard!  I'll have an exam in a couple of months so I can get my MVV.

[missbookworm]

I always practice English since that's what I do for a living. I am currently working as a freelance writer, and I have to use my English writing skills everyday. I also love watching English movies/shows and listening to their music.

[thonguyen]

i practice my english by creating my blog to remmeber anything i learn " voa4you.com  , i study from voa learning english , very useful.

[MichaelHannigan]

After some point, you stop "learning" English, the moment you get comfortable enough o watch a movie/listen to the lyrics of a song and understand it, is the moment you stop translating in your head English to your Native Tongue. Of course, learning a few tid bits along the way is great for your vocabulary!

[Mary84]

I don't have many chances to talk in english in my day to day life so I try to practise it by myself. I read books, I watch movies and tv shows and I chat with my anglophone friends. When I started to learn spanish, I was very worried about losing my fluency in english so I'm trying  to learn spanish as if I were a native english speaker, for example I signed up on Duolingo and I chose english as my native language and spanish as the language to learn. When I read something in spanish on my e-reader I use the spanish-english vocabulary to find out the meaning of the words I don't know and when I watch a movie in spanish, I use english subtitles. That was I get to learn spanish and to strenghten my english at the same time.

[GennevierAnderson]

I also practice it on a daily basis, mostly online and in writing as in my country there are very few places where I find myself into the situation of talking in English. I usually spend all my afternoon and night practicing my English online, and I have the belief that it became something like a secondary language for me, as I might be using it as much as I use my native language in a normal day, the only difference is that I do not speak it as much, but I definitely write it even more.

[lauraxoxo]

It's all about practice! If you don't practice a language, you lose it! Every day, I listen to music in English, watch shows in English, use phrases in English, and even talk to myself in English (in my head, of course). Before, I used to go to school in English, which meant lots of practice all the time. Now that I am in college, I get some classes in English, though not as many as I would like. Some people start to lose their English really quick, which is why it's important to keep writing, reading, and listening to English to prevent this this from happening. 

[Linguistic]

I almost always try to speak in English even when I am at my home, as this ensures that I am getting fluent in speaking as well as writing the language. Also, daily practice ensures that I am able to put the new words which I learn into practice as well and thus ensuring that I am able to enhance the vocabulary as well as have a constant habit of speaking as well.

 

I encourage you to practice it in normal day to day life as it would benefit you a lot.

[宇崎ちゃん]

I use English online all the time when I don't use Japanese.
Dutch and Polish are my 'offline languages'.

[gracerph]

English is also not my first language but I use it daily because of my work too. I also use it during conversations with my child because I want him to practice his English at an early age. I also watch TV shows or movies in the English language everyday so basically, English is a big part of my daily life even if I'm not a native speaker.

[Ling Lang]

English (apart from French) is my foreign language. I study english teaching so I use it every day during the classes. But it is also my passion therofore I always try to do something connected with English language at home, no matter what - reading, watching, listening, speaking, writing. Learning English is a huge pleasure for me; I like to do it even if I'm exhausted after a hard day