Listening and reading are what professinals call "input", while speaking and writing are called "output". Given you don't get enough "input" , you can never generate quality "output". On Happy English Forum, the members can practice thier reading and writing using the forum. Some of them go to Saturday gatherings to practice thier speaking. What about listening? That's why Jerry added the friendly audio link to make up for the " lost listening" All right, it seems perfect for the all four language features if we choose to become an active meeting-goer.
However, do you feel confortable and capable each time you try to get your ideas across at the gathering?? Your words fail to express what is meant?? Getting tongue tied?? Speechless?? We don't grow up using English on a daily basis. Most of us have a hard time organizing sentences for just daily conversation, let along expressing opinions, views, and knowledge in different respects. Please note that Language build-up has its sequence. Briefly speaking, if you don't have enough words for things around you, you can't carry on everyday conversation. If you can't even carry on everyday conversation, you can't possibly express decent opinions. If you can't express decent opinions, how can you possibly give a good speach? Unbelievably, lots of learers do them all at the same time. That's where all the woes come from.
Studies show that writing is the silent and slow version of face-to-face talking. "Input" contributes to "output", while writing upgrads speaking. Constant witing practice on the forum will make you a better talker and a more organized public speaker(if we have to give speaches regardless of language learning sequence). Because, when we write, we have plenty of time to weigh our words, to organize paragraghs and developments, to look for information needed, to delete and rewite , etc. before it's published. Speaking, on the contrary, has to be done under the face-to face pressure and time frame. It's like spilt water that can never be retrieved when we get words out.
Writing could never be a better way to train our train of thoght and reduce the possibility of foot-in-the-mouth situations. In the meanwhile, the cyber English forum could never be a better place to practice writing--think about the number of viewers, interaction, and feedback, while in the old days, the English teacher was the ONLY PERSON that read what we wrote and we got no second opinion. What we write here on the forum might predict how successful our future English will be. The bottom line is: "How do all the users make the most of it?"
In order to have a clear picture of how significant each message we post is, we put main genres of writing on a language learning forum on a scale of one to ten. We'll find out what are the less challenging genres we could easily begin with, and what are the dmanding ones we might give a try at a later time.
Here is what we'll do. We score (one to ten points according to the scale) for each piece of message we leave on the forum, and add up all the points we score at the end of each month. It's not a competition, but a self-validation :
#1. 轉貼 I score 1 point if I transfer an artical or quote a website, because it's a great effort but a no-brainer. Only if we write a review along with it, we'll get 6 points. Even though It's benefitial to viewers all right, it's of little help to our own witing ability.
#2. 發問 2 points if I ask whatever question.
#3. 基本應對--請求, 邀請, 回覆, 感謝. ..3 points if I say hello, make requests, invite, thank, apologize....all the basic social fomality.
#4. 公告 4 points if I make an announcement or post a notice when I organize an event.
#5. 本身事件和經驗的描述 5 points if I discribe my own occurrences or experiences in life.
#6. 發表自己的觀念, 看法, 意見, 心得(可短可長) 6 points if I diplay my own perspective, opinion, or view on a certain subject that I bring up or that has been brought up by someone else.
#7. 幽默, 說笑, 胡扯 7 points if I show a good sense of humor in English, as well as cracking jokes or chewing the fat.( You must be wondering why shooting the bull is worth 7 points? Well, as a non-native speaker, it ain't no easy to keep a native speaker in stitches. it's a tall order.)
#8. 自行整理歸納的英文教學 8 points if I share learning stuff as an English teacher does.
#9. 自寫短文，各領域知識 9 points if I publish an English essay, which is likely to catch any publisher's eye .(Hah, just wait till the cows come home!)
#10. 自寫專業論文 10 points if I publish my academic thesis here on the forum.( No way!! Over my dead body!!)
It's very likely that we may have some of the above rolled into one. Then points sure add up. As for what are best for writing improvement and whether we are on the right track to the successful prospects, Here is some advice:
We, afte all, are not here to write strictly structured and awfully long academic theses . Let's forget about #10. #8 and #9 are not something average learners feel equal to. Witing messages or articals in any form of #2-#7 is most recommended. We can take as much time we need to organize everything we've learned from books. It's a great way to develop our train of thought and will help us become a fluent, organized and eloquent speaker.(plus regular attendance at the gatherings) If we don't even express ourselves well with as much time as we need through witing at the desk, how could we possibly do well when chatting or giving a speech facing audience under the pressure of being afraid of losing face and under the pressure of time frame??
Let's write as often as we can. Make every message count, long or short,correct or incorrect. By doing so, not only do we score from each message we write, but also "score" at each gathering we go to and in each English exam we take. Most importantly, We'll "score" our future.
(Score! Score!! I scored #6--6 points for this loooong personal view ?" Probably 9 points. It looks like an essay, doesn't it? )
