T is for Think in English

(During the month of April we are participating in an A-Z challenge hosted by Arlee)

We'd love your support by 'like'-ing us on facebook. Just click here: 

HLS English Classes Kuantan

Key Point #1 is "Think in English."

I have found through teaching English in Malaysia for 7 years that it is much more effective to train students to 'think in English' rather than having them thinking and speaking in another language and then translating it to English.

I demand all of my students regardless of age or English proficiency, to speak in English during our classes. It's difficult at first but it really trains them to 'think in English.'

Think in Chinese, Speak in Chinese

Think in English, Speak in English

Has anybody else come across such translation problems between languages?

L is for Language

(During the month of April we are participating in an A-Z challenge hosted by Arlee)

We'd love your support by 'like'-ing us on facebook. Just click here: 

HLS English Classes Kuantan

When it comes to learning English, translating between languages (ie. Bahasa Melayu to English or Mandarin to English) has produced a lot more errors than proficiency. There are also a number of words in Bahasa Melayu (BM) which have been 'borrowed' from English. Some of these include 'televisyen', 'elektrik', 'objektif', 'insurans' and 'komunikasi.' 

With my school students, this has caused a lot of problems when it comes to spelling, favouring the BM words over the proper English spelling.

So while the world has need of good translators for many worthy purposes, I believe it is NOT a worthwhile endeavour when learning English.

What do you find is an effective way of learning a language?