English is Easy

“Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom.” says Roger Bacon. Learning English opens us to various opportunities and experiences, thus making us more wise. Now a days, everyone desires to speak confidently and fluently in English. One method to enhance learning is making and maintaining a language journal. You May Also Like: How to Effectively Use Punctuation to Enhance Your English Language Skills? Having a language journal makes learning effectives and learners are able to achieve their goals. To make a language journal all you need is a book and pen, so are you ready to begin? Start by writing down your goals. Your goals need to be specific and time bound. You could have goals related to vocabulary – learn 100 new words per month, improve Grammar or speak fluently within 3 months. Next you need to divide your book into 2 parts – Vocabulary and General. Part 1 – Vocabulary Words – Oxford dictionary editors add more than 1000 words every year, isn’t that amazing? English vocabulary is like water in the ocean. We can keep on learning but it will never end. We can never say we know every word. Each time you come across a new word, jot it down in your journal. Write down the word, it’s meaning and a sentence. A person who wants to speak well must know more than 10,000 words. Along with words, you could also make a note of the different forms of words. Let us look at an example – Beauty, it is a noun, beautiful is the adjective form, beautifully is the adverb form and beautify is the verb form. Thus, by learning one word and its forms, you can learn 3-4 others words along with it. Idioms and phrases – Idioms are a group of words having a different meaning than the original meaning of the words. Using idioms helps us express our thoughts and ideas in a better way. There are many idioms like blessing in disguise, better late than never, a piece of cake, once in a blue moon, which can be used in our daily conversations. Learning these idioms and using them while speaking will make our language more colourful. Part 2 – General Common mistakes – When someone corrects your mistake, make a note of it along with the right words to be used. This will help you to avoid repeating those mistakes. With time and practice, you will definitely improve your speaking skills. Grammar rules – You needn’t note down every Grammar rule. However, you could make notes about topics that you are weak at. If you think, you make mistakes in a particular tense, you could write down the rules of that tense and practice it. You could also note down general rules that are useful in conversation. Reading notes – Reading is important to improve fluency. When you read and come across some interesting information, do make note of it in your journal. You may also write in brief about what you read. Writing brings connectivity between our thoughts and words. It also improves vocabulary. Reading helps develop fluency in speaking. The more you read, the better you can speak. Enjoy learning English with your language journal. You may decorate your journal with colourful pens and pictures. Enjoy the experience of learning and growing, as you make and maintain your language journal.

“Reading Makes a full man” said Francis Bacon. To become fluent in English, or for that matter, in any language, we must start reading. The spoken word, sounds, intonation and pronunciation are very important. The written word is introduced together with sound. Once we understand both, then reading naturally takes over. Reading is very interesting. It gives you details about the language, precise knowledge of grammar and styles of writing. Under a broad spectrum of comedies, tragedies and romance, you can step into the world of stories – starting from small dialogues, short stories, passages,  we move on to story books and novels. Then the excitement begins…. The newspaper is the morning’s first dose of reading. Read parts of your paper loudly and act as if you are the news reader. If possible, ask someone to correct your pronunciations and intonations. Otherwise we have our Google friend, ready to help you. Fluency in Spoken English can be acquired by keeping few things in mind: 1]Speak in English often and practice speaking with other people. You must initiate conversations in English. Encourage people around you to converse with you in English. 2] Try to write passages, notes or slips in English. Never translate from our mother tongue. 3] Listen to the news or sports in English, watch English films and read sub titles. Imitate them, they will help you to correct your pronunciation and accent. 4] Read something every day. One who wishes to speak fluently must make reading a part of his or her daily activies. Newspaper, articles, magazines, books, handouts – whatever possible literature you can put your hand upon. Read loudly, with expression like you are telling someone a story or relating a scene, or giving them a detailed image of the daily news. This exercise will greatly help you towards fluency in speaking English. You will be able to convert clarity of thought and information into perfect sounding words. This will give you the much needed confidence to interact with other people. Take help from someone to check the pronunciation in your speech regularly. Reading aloud makes more sense because you can concentrate on your speech, pronunciation and tone. Every dialogue or situation story can be read by you, with profound expression. You may also join our Speakwell class for daily speaking practice. Our professional and intensive training will help you speak fluently and you will develop into a confident speaker.

Building your vocabulary is important to speak English. Adding affixes to root words is an easy and interesting way to develop your vocabulary quickly. Many new words are formed by adding an affix to the beginning or end of a root word. Let us see the meaning of root words, prefix and suffix. A root word is a word in its simplest form. A root word has nothing added to it. Root words are also called base words. For eg: do/ heat/ write/ happy/ pack, etc. If you add an affix to a root or base word, you change the meaning of the word. For Example: Cook is a base word. Affixes are word that are added before or after the root word and change the meaning of a root or base word. Prefixes and Suffixes are both Affixes. Prefixes are word parts that come at the beginning of the root wood. Suffixes are word parts that come at the end of the root or base words. Un+ Cook+ ed = UnCookEd Un —- Prefix / Cook —– Root or Base Word / Ed —– Suffix Let us look at few more examples to understand root words, prefixes and suffixes. Let us take the letter “A”.  By adding a as prefix to a word, its meaning changes. The meaning derived by adding a as prefix is “Not or without”. Examples are Amoral/ Apolitical/ Asocial. What we observe here is by just adding ‘a’ before these words we mean that they don’t have moral standards, they are not interested in political affairs and they are not social. Let us take another example where we add “Ab” as prefix we mean “Away from”. Examples are “Abduction, Abstain, Abnormal. By just adding “a” before these words they become negative. They mean to kidnap, to stop from doing something and someone who does not behave normally. In a similar way when we add certain words at the end of a root word as a suffix, we change the meaning of the word. Let us learn through some examples. When we add “cide” as a suffix to the root word it means “kill (ing). Examples are Suicide, Pesticide, and Infanticide. By just adding a “cide” at the end of a base word we give a new meaning to the words. They mean to take your own life, to kill the pests in the fields and to kill an infant. The second example we learn is to add “ed” at the end to the root words. By adding ‘”ed” the words it means past tense verbs are formed. Examples are walked, jumped and bathed. By adding ‘ed’ at the end of the words we can convert them into past tense. Let us learn through one more examples. Let us add “ing” at the end of the root word as a suffix. Examples are sleeping, walking, jumping and bathing. By just adding ‘ing’ at the end of the words we can convert them into present participles called as continuous form. We can also learn some examples where we have prefix and suffix attached to a root word: Uncomfortable == Un – prefix, Comfort – root word, able – suffix. Irregularly — Ir == prefix, Regular – root word and arly is the suffix Disorganised – dis – prefix , organize – root word and ed is the suffix. They are all opposite of the words comfortable, regularly and organized. In the same way latin words and greek root words are formed by adding affixes to it. An example of a latin word would be ‘cent’ means one hundred. We can form two words by adding cent as a prefix – century meaning 100 years and suffix — percent meaning out of hunderd. A greek root would be ‘graph’ means writing. We can form two words by adding graph as a prefix — graphology meaning the study of handwriting and as a suffix – autograph meaning a signature of someone you admire. To learn more such ways to improve your vocabulary, join our Speakwell class and develop your Spoken English skills.

The inventory of English words is immense. There is an enormous list of tremendously difficult words but they sound so amazing that you want to use them in your language. If you enjoy reading English then you might want to investigate and comprehend these difficult words. The ironical twist is that, when you are attracted to these words phonetically, you desire to learn more. Then these hostile words turn friends and enter your vocabulary seamlessly. Use them often! Use these formidable, perplexing and confusing words many times. Fit them in your written or spoken language. Practice the difficult words. Engage them in your conversations. Repeating them will help you recall the choicest words at the precise time. Association with thing or other words. Associate difficult words that take your fancy to things or inversely use things or occasions to utilize these difficult words. To describe what you are doing, use these wonderful unusual words which will bring back accolades for you! The word ‘scintillating’ meaning glittering could be associated with jewellery. You could take a word, like ‘controversial’ and associate it with a news feature! A word like ‘extempore’, meaning someone just stands up and gives a short speech on an un prepared subject – at the spur of the moment; at an event. Link it to –An extempore speech! Break the word. You could take the word – Assassination meaning the action of killing someone. You could break the word into ass+ass+in+nation. Ass means donkey. So you could imagine two donkeys in a nation to learn such words. Another words like hippopotamus could be broken into hippo+pot+amus. Technical and technologically associated words are very difficult but again, constant usage of them is necessary. This helps in improving your vocabulary and recollection power. Learning difficult words can become easy with these few tips. Enjoy learning difficult words as you upgrade your language. Practice will make you perfect!  

In the Hollywood film, ‘Sound of Music’, Julie Andrews sang, – Let`s start at the very beginning… Do-A- dear, a female deer..’ and engraved the song into our memories forever. That is what is unique and amazing about the combination of music with words. You May Also Like: 5 Fantastic Tips to Develop Your Impromptu Speaking Skills. English being an expressive, emotional and appealing language is absolutely magnetic when put to fabulous music and sung melodiously. The meaning, accent, pronunciation becomes clear and rhythmic. This makes it easier to remember the language. People aspiring to learn speaking English, can pick up many words and phrases which can be used while conversing daily. Music attracts the attention of people and the lyrics can be hummed together. In that case, the English Language in the song, automatically improves our English – our accent, pronunciation and phonetically helps to better our spellings. All these are very important elements in learning to speak well. Babies in cradles hear lullabyes. Quiet and soothing music with sweet words fill their minds with simple English words like ‘baba, papa, sun, moon, rain; the list is endless. Imagine, a small baby is already learning vocabulary! Repetition is the key word, which helps the child to remember and speak English properly. Rhymes and poems learnt in nursery are the foundation. The combination of music and repetition of words forms a base from learning to speak in English. Let’s look at a simple nursery rhyme. I hear thunder, I hear thunder, Oh, don’t you? Pitter patter raindrops, I’m wet through. A child learns words such as thunder, raindrops, wet, etc. The child is also able to learn simple sentences such as I am wet. Besides words, there are lessons in punctuations too! English songs in various styles such as rock, pop, classical music enhanced with beautiful and soul touching lyrics, compel you to sing along. Lyrics like –We are the World, We are the children, We are the ones that make a brighter day, So let`s start giving. Each and every accomplished singer sang this awesome song which is now an Iconic World song of solidarity. These words teach English! A song is easy to remember, easy to grasp and easy to listen to, is repetition; either repetition of certain words and phrases, or repetition of the sense conveyed by them. We find repetition usually in the song`s chorus, where the repeated lines form a refrain. Sometimes listeners are expected to join in the song`s chorus. So, music in English songs helps the listeners to grasp the language easily. Their accent improves, they can understand certain sentences and can sing along. The same helps them to talk and converse. It becomes so wonderfully or musically easy to speak English. If you are musically inclined or not ,TRY it! It will surely be an amazing way to learn English.

All new English learners are advised to read books. Reading books helps us develop our vocabulary and grammar. However, one area of struggle for beginners is choosing a good book to read. The books chosen must be short and simple. Hence, it is ideal to choose a good novel that is easy to understand. Today we shall see few novels for you to begin learning. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton This is a short novel and is perfect for beginners to learn English. The sentences are short and easy to understand. The vocabulary is also very easy and you will enjoy reading it. Plot – The story is about Ponyboy Curtis, who is the main character and his struggles with right and wrong in the society. He lives with his older brothers, Sodapop and Darry since their parents passed away in a car accident. They are members of a gang of teenagers called Greasers. Regular fights with the enemy gang leads to a member from the enemy gang killed and Ponyboy is in the hospital. The judge has to decide if Ponyboy is guilty or not? The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway In this book, the author uses short sentences making it easy for the readers to understand. He also gets straight to the point. Plot – The old man and the sea is a story about a battle between an aging, experienced fisherman called Santiago and a large marlin. Santiago has gone 84 days without catching a fish and he finally catches a really big fish – a large marlin. However, this was not the end of his problems but a beginning to a new journey of struggles. The Giver by Lois Lowry This is an interesting book which catches the attention of the reader. The grammar is simple and easy to understand. Though this is a long story, it is easy to read as the sentences are short and simple. Plot – Jonas is a young boy. He lives a very safe life with a lot of order and rules. There are many rules and everyone follows them. The citizens’ lives are planned for them and they don’t often make a decision by themselves. Later, Jonas is given a special job where he can see all the memories of the past. At first he is very excited but he soon learns some truths about the people in the community. He feels that this kind of life is unfair and comes up with an interesting plan to bring change in the community. These are three books you could start with in your journey towards learning English through books. You may then move towards reading others books. There are various types of novels like romance, horror, mystery, humour, science fiction,etc. You could make choices according to your area of interest. You may even borrow books from friends or join a library. So get started and happy reading!

One Monday afternoon, the counselor came up to me, “Mam, this is a new admission, Chandan. He is a beginner level students and needs to be taught from the basic.” Teaching basic students has always been a challenging task and requires much more patience. So I was slightly upset. Tall and slim, Chandan entered the class. He said, “Mam, mujhe English sikhna hai.” The passion in his voice melted my heart. He then began telling me his story. He had come to Mumbai few months ago from a small village in the north. He lived with his uncle in Malad. His uncle worked as a carpenter and has taught him the trade too. However, he feels that he is capable of doing much more in life. He has few friends near his house who work in corporate offices. He wishes to work in one too but his lack of skills and qualifications are barriers for him to accomplish his dreams. He is only a 12th pass that too from Hindi medium. He told me that he wants to learn English and complete his graduation. Chandan was regular in class and worked very hard. He began by learning three and four letter words. Whenever he learnt something new, there was a sparkle in his eyes and a huge smile on his face. I felt as if he could already see his dream coming true in his mind. After learning basic vocabulary, he began learning sentence structure. He would often ask me questions such as – “Mam, mein ghar pe nahi hoon, how to say in English?” or “Maine kaam khatam kiya hai.” When I helped him to frame these sentences, he would repeat them often. I told him to start using these small sentences outside the class too. He felt happy whenever he spoke with others in English. At times, some people also laughed at him when he made mistakes but he never let these things discourage him. He revised everything taught in class at home and asked questions whenever he was confused. At times, he would randomly ask me, “Mam, what is the meaning of allegation? I read in the paper that – Those allegations were false. But I did not understand meaning.” When I explained to him that allegation means a claim that someone has done something wrong or illegal, he said, “Ohh! Now I know the meaning.” After 3 months, Chandan had learnt to converse with others in English though he wasn’t yet fluent. What I admire about him is his perseverance. No matter how late he comes home from work, he doesn’t sleep without completing his homework. After learning to read, he reads the news paper whenever he gets time. All his efforts were paying though his better communication skills. He participated in every activity – reading, debates, group discussions. We also conduct special NSDC classes helping students develop their telephone etiquette and teaching them to communicate with clients over the telephone.In his fourth month, one day he entered class with a box of sweets. He distributed pedas to the whole class. With joy in his voice he said – Mam, I got a job in a call center as a tele caller. I was very happy for his success. However, his timings were in shifts and he couldn’t attend class regularly. He said that he read a book on his way to work and back. At times, he would message me asking for meanings of certain words. With time, his course was over and on his last day he gave a speech on – My journey with Speakwell. He spoke about all the obstacles he faced and how he overcame them. He inspired other students by saying that nothing is impossible and if he could learn English then anyone could. He also expressed his gratitude towards me for guiding him in his journey. You May Also Like: Self Confidence – The Key to Success In Speaking English Four years later, I got a call saying – “Good morning mam, this is Chandan, your student. Do you remember me?” “Ofcourse,” I said, how couldn’t I have forgotten such a person. His voice brought back memories right from the day I was upset as he was a basic student to the joy I experienced on his last day. Images flipped in front of my mind like a movie. I asked him about how his life has been. He then continued, “Mam, I completed my graduation and I have been promoted as a team leader. I am planning to do an MBA and join a corporate. I wanted your advice if I should go for a part time or full time.” I adviced him a full time MBA as the future prospects are better, also he had both – funds as well as the time. He liked the advice and went ahead to do his MBA. That was Chandan’s story –from a non-English speaker to one who can speak in English confidently, from a carpenter to a team leader, from a non-graduate to someone pursuing an MBA. The word Impossible itself says I’m possible and this can be seen clearly in Chandan’s life.

Have you ever lost your way while going to an unfamiliar place? In Mumbai, we often have to travel to a new place – to meet friends and relatives, for work related travel, going for an interview, going for weddings or any other occasions, etc. While travelling to an unfamiliar place, we often seek directions either from the person whose place we are going to or strangers on the way. We may even seek directions from local shops as they are familiar with the place. We do this in order to ensure that we reach the right place. In Speakwell English Academy, we have a conversation book having conversations on daily topics such as greetings, apologizing, expressing emotions and other such topics. One such topic is directions. Before we see phrases on how to seek and give directions, let us consider few specific points to keep in mind: Always address an unknown person by saying – Excuse me! Excuse me is a word used to draw a person’s attention towards us. Once the person is listening you may ask about the address. While receiving directions we need to listen carefully. We may even make notes to ensure that we don’t get confused. If you haven’t understood, ask again and clarify your doubts. Always remember to thank the person for taking time to help you. We shall now see few common expressions in English used for seeking and giving directions. Below are phrases used to asking directions: Excuse me! Could you please tell me the way to Andheri Station? Excuse me! How can I get to Speakwell Skills Academy from here? Excuse me! Can you tell me how to go to Dadar? Excuse me! Where is the nearest ATM Machine? When you ask the above questions, you are likely to receive directions with the below phrases regarding the mode of travel. We need to choose an appropriate mode of travel considering the distance, traffic, fare and convenience. Take the 707 bus and get off at Shanti Nagar bus stop. Catch a train going towards Churchgate from Platform No. 2 Take an auto from here, it will take you 10 mins to reach the place. Incase the place is near they will give you the necessary directions so that you can go walking and find the address. Phrases you will hear when the other person is giving directions are: Go straight and take a left from the signal. Turn right at the crossroad and then take the first left. Keep walking until you see a dead end. It is the last building on the right. You have taken the wrong turn. You need to go back and enter the previous lane. Another important thing to note while seeking or giving directions is landmarks. Landmarks are famous places situated in the area making it easy for us to find our destination. These include banks, hospitals, cinemas, lakes, libraries, gardens or shopping malls. Dwarkesh Building is opposite Joggers Park Speakwell Skills Academy is next to Suchak Hospital. Take a right from ICICI Bank. It is the second building in that lane. Now that you are familiar with vocabulary related to seeking directions, the next time you travel to an unfamiliar place go ahead and seek direction in English. By using the conversation book by Speakwell English Academy, you can use daily phrases on common topics and improve your Spoken English skills.

In words of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Advice is like snow – the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.“ Just like painting, speaking and storytelling, giving advice too is an art – an art that can be learnt and mastered. At the Spoken English course at Speakwell English Academy, we coach our students on various conversation topics. One of the topics in the Speakwell Conversation book is on Advising. We demonstrate this through various examples and role plays. Learning the art to give an advice is important as we encounter numerous situations in our daily life where we need to give an advice – when someone is confused, when a person feels discouraged or even when someone is going through a difficult phase of their life. We ought to always keep the purpose of giving an advice at the back of our mind – to help people deal with a particular situation or problem and give them hope. Below are four essential skills through which anyone can give an advice remembering the simple acronym LEGO. Listening – Prior to giving an advice we need to understand the situation. Listening keenly to the person will help us understand him or her. While listening, we need to be completely present (physically and mentally) and avoid any kind of distractions like ringing phones or interruptions by other people. Empathy – After listening to the person we need to first empathize with them. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. It is difficult to advice someone unless we look at that circumstances from their shoes. Give the advice – Listening and empathizing are communication without words. After this, follows the subtle and intricate art of giving an advice. We need to be cautious about the words that we use and speak the appropriate word in English. Avoid using commands like you should. Instead you may begin by using phrases which are acceptable. For example – If I were in your place, I would say that, I think it is a good idea to, I feel you could try this option, I suggest or I recommend. Using these words makes the person more receptive to the advice given. Also, avoid using negative words like don’t, can’t, won’t, etc. If you have experienced a similar problem, don’t hesitate to share it as the person will be able to relate to your experience. Ask the person what he or she thinks is the best remedy to solve the problem. You can use simple questions such as – Have you considered the possibility of trying this? Once the person shares their opinions, use words such as – I agree with that, it sounds interesting, probably you could try that, that’s a brilliant idea. Using positive and uplifting words will increase their confidence and also encourage them to come up with better ideas. Openness – The last and the most important quality is openness. Avoid making the person feel forced to follow your advice. Always remember that each one of us is the best person to decide for ourselves. Giving an advice in Spoken English is easy following the 4 steps of the acronym LEGO and it can be mastered by everyone with practice and patience.

Before you sit down to put your thoughts together on the preparation of a resume, you should clearly know the meaning, the motive and the importance of a resume. A resume is a testimony of one’s achievements, skills, interests and inherent strength, manifested through different sections like career objective, education, experience and skills for the purpose of getting called for the interview, not the job. Your personal interview will get you the job. It is therefore of paramount importance that all the relevant data and facts are put down in an easy to read manner to look credible enough to grab the eyeball of the employer. Whether you are applying for the first time after your college studies or changing your career midway or aspiring for a higher post, a resume is one instrument that will set the ball rolling if you market it in a professional way. There is no right or wrong way of writing a resume. There are no set formulas or pre-determined formats. All resumes whether for the accomplished or freshers, need to have the basic information of qualifications and experience for the employer to perceive their competence for the job. Very often the question in the minds of freshers is, what do I say which is substantial to warrant a call? Yes, you do not stand a chance for a job that requires experienced and skilful people, but you can stand out among the crowd as a unique person who can make a difference. Therefore a fresher will need to modify his resume slightly as per the employer’s need to make up for the lack of professional experience and career objective Companies are always in search of young people who can add new dimensions, infuse fresh ideas and create opportunities in innovation and creativity to boost up the company profile. Here I would add what many think is not relevant but is very essential:  The idea of creating an image of yourself in the mind of the employer. The employer does not know you as a person.  The resume will give him a flash about your qualifications but not about your strengths and your inner traits. That you will have to, in order for him to be convinced of your role in the organization. The image that he forms will determine your future. If he forms an image of you as one who is committed to achieve goals, as one who can add value as a team player, as one who can complete the jobs within the time frame, as one who does not keep staring at the clock,  then your resume will come alive to him. You will sell yourself as a person and not vacuous words and that will set you apart from the others. Eg: Personal qualities: Ability to work with others in any environment Take complete responsibility to meet deadlines Solid organizational skills with attentions to details Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Enthusiastic and dependable with a positive outlook Do not use pompous or high sounding words to describe yourself, but support it with your co- curricular activities and interest that should relate to the job applied for. Here are a few points to be kept in mind while preparing a resume. Sections: The important thing in any resume is to use sections to split into different segments as they help the employer to focus on specific information and qualification which he is wanting to. Avoid too much text within the small area. Personal details: A vital aspect of your resume is the personal details.  However good and attractive your resume may be, and you may be the right candidate, but your resume will go to the bin if the employer is not able to contact you. Career objective:  A career objective displays whether the aspiration of the candidate is in sync with the requirement of the employer. Therefore what you bring to the table about what you can do for the company is vital, not what you expect the company to do for your personal growth. And this objective will make your resume unique. eg : if you have completed an IT course, your objective can go as follows: Looking forward to a challenging job in a reputable organization where my analytical skills and creativity can be utilized to the utmost to solve problems or develop new ideas in computer software programs. Or a graphic designer: To attain a respectable position of a Designer in your organization where I can utilize my “out of the box” creative and innovative ideas in designing, thereby adding to the development of the organization. Or seeking for an internship To apply my creative designing skills while gaining some hands-on experience through an internship position and thus help in taking your company to a higher level. Do not copy verbatim from the web pages but rather use them to formulate your own. Academic Qualifications: This is the most important segment in your resume in the absence of any experience.  So play around it as per the requirement of the company, highlight it, adorn it with facts and if there is any other skill to go with it, especially if you have any internship or any project related achievement linked to the job, or any interest that you want to showcase,  then highlight it. This is what will catch the employer’s attention. Internship proof: I’ve done an internship where I worked for a PR team on research for the company. My responsibility was going through all the newspapers, magazines and on line resources to gather information on all the coverage the company was receiving.  This brought me in direct contact with all the reporters and editors of many newspapers and magazines. Today I am well versed with the in and outs of newspaper and magazine reporting. Project undertaken: Led a team of 15 college students for a campaign on “No smoking” in colleges around Mumbai city, and was highly appreciated by the Chief Minister too. The campaign was taken to different states too at the behest of the Governor. And finally don’t