MadmoiZelle speaks English

[Neil]

How great would it be to find an english Madmoizelle  (granted, I haven't really looked for one ^^)

To the girls who are currently taking the TOEFL, how and when did you register?

I'm supposed to take this test, but no news from my Uni so I'm just gonna do it on my own (as usual).

Thanks

 

[Man-Size]

Hi Gals....?!

I do speak english a little, but not as much as I want to.
I'm really bad in (at ?) grammary, and I really want to find someone, a kind of teacher, or people to speak with, but in real life, I want to hear and to work on my accent too.

I would love to find an english or an american person to talk too, or to work with.
I live in Paris, I tried to find it, but nothing for the moment.

Do you have any idea ?

By the way, I'm sure my words are full of mistakes...

 

[Khadoushka]

Hey guys ! For those who I can help, I took the TOEFL (IBT, that is to say on a computer) last year, and I had 95 out of 120, with everything above 20 out of 30 except the listening.

I can try to give you some pieces of advice.
For the comprehension, as you have 4 texts to understand and to answer questions about, you have to be very fast. I think they warn you and tell you how many minutes you have for the 4 texts, so divise it into 4 and try to stick with it. My best friend took it one or two months before I did, and she failed at this part because of that mistake, as she wasn't careful enough.
For the speaking, it's quite simple, but I thought that was an unusual test. You have a very simple question and you have to think and answer very quickly. The problem is that many people try to respond in a complicated way, but actually you shouldn't. When I asked my english teacher about it, she told me to use a very simple method : first, say a little introduction in one sentence (like veeery short), like you take the topic and turn it into an affirmative sentence (for example, if they ask you "what would be your dream job?", start with saying "If I had to choose a dream job, it would be...") Then, try to be a little bit structured. Answer with 2 or 3 arguments, and say one sentence for each argument, don't forget that you have not much time. For example, say "My dream job would be teacher; because (1) I love children, (2) I want to have long holidays so as to take care of my family, (3) I love teaching, actually I have a little sister and I'm always helping her with her homework." You can say anything, it doesn't really matter, even silly things that you don't believe  Then, end with a little conclusion. Try to be fast and to be clear and well structured. Maybe check on the TOEFL site to see what are the most common topics they give and how many minutes they give you to prepare your answer and then answer. I remember it was like 45s and 1 minute, but I'm not sure at all.
For the written part, you have 2 essays (if I remember well), same thing  that for the speaking, try to be clear, not to make mistakes, and try to stay simple.
About the listening part, I think it was the most difficult part but my friend did it well and she told that she just took notes when listening to the documents and that she was very careful when choosing the answers.

That's all  If you want more information, just send me a mp, I'll be happy to help you! xx

 

[Maura Amaru]

The Word Reference message board is not bad at all for the madz who was searching for that type of spot on the web. There is also the Craftster message board if you enjoy DIY and so on.
I just would like to say also that I'm happy reading you girls and boys (wa can say "guys" in informal language maybe ^^)  in this vivid bubble on the internet where I can see clever and open minded people sharing discussions on so many different subjects.
I hope I could become one day funny and open-minded  too .
I love foreign languages as english and spanish, hoping that I will be able to learn other languages. But I'm a fucking procrastinating person. And I both need to improve and want to practice this nice, singing and quasi universal language which is the Shakespeare one.
I'm reckless this evening lol.

 

[December 4]

Hi Gals....?!

I do speak english a little, but not as much as I want to.
I'm really bad in (at ?) grammary, and I really want to find someone, a kind of teacher, or people to speak with, but in real life, I want to hear and to work on my accent too.

I would love to find an english or an american person to talk too, or to work with.
I live in Paris, I tried to find it, but nothing for the moment.

Do you have any idea ?

By the way, I'm sure my words are full of mistakes...

 Hi there !

Don't worry, your English is not so bad ! And I think you're good at grammary

I heard about some kind of meetings where you can go and find someone to talk with in English. The point is for instance, if you want to practice your English you go there and find someone who wants to pratice his/her French. So let's say you stay there for 2 hours, there will be one our where you speak French with that person and an hour where you speak English together. So you're both helping each other and improving together.

One of my friend is doing that for Swedish and French and it's working quite well for him.

Take care !
Eli

 

[December 4]

 Hi there !

Don't worry, your English is not so bad ! And I think you're good at grammary

Grammar, no y

My mistake !

 

[Clarinouille]

I want to say that I've discovered a website handsome(?) ! The urban dictionary ^^

 

[Cordaelya]

For the girls wondering which country's best to practice my English.

- England is a good place to start, it's not far away and it's quite easy to find a job. If you wanna stay there for a long period, try to travel outside London (even if it's a great city, there's too many french).

- If you want to travel, Australia is the greatest destination. The visa are a bit expensive but, you can study (or travel) and work.
You've got the same thing in Canada (just more freezing than Australia) it's the "Working Holiday Visa" you can also work there while studying.

- Finally, the USA. You can study and a have an "on campus" job (meaning you won't be able to see many things outside your campus) and there's no "travel and working  visa. But still, you can travel their for less than 90 days with the ESTA (about 15$).
You can find some holiday jobs here International Services (most of them are from june to september. Students only)

Normally, if you are a student, you won't be able to work more than 20 hours a week.

If you're no Bill Gates, you can still watch TV shows / Movies without subtitles (or with the English ones).
Or, you can have fun with music and try to fill in the blanks of some video clip here  Lyrics Training it's quite good for the oral comprehension.

Hope it'll help.

 

[Hawley]

Or, you can have fun with music and try to fill in the blanks of some video clip here  Lyrics Training it's quite good for the oral comprehension.

I didn't know this website, that's pretty cool ! Learning a language with music is awesome in itself, but this kind of game can really help improving oral comprehension. I saw they have english and spanish songs, I can't wait for them to extend this concept to french music... A British friend of mine is learning french, he's very good at writing but has some difficulties with oral, it'd be perfect for him.

EDIT : My bad, the UK and spanish flags on the bottom are just here to set the whole website in these languages ! They have french songs, also italian, portuguese, german and dutch. That's really cool !

 

[Tessy]

@urumii : I spent ten days in the Highlands of Scotland, volunteering in a hostel, to improve my language skills. The west-Highlands may be the most beautiful place in the british isles; but it's also where they have the worst accent. The good thing about it is, if you can understand people in Scotland, you can understand people anywhere.

For those who are looking for a job abroad, you can have a look at the "woofing" topic (and the other similar opportunities like helpX). You won't get paid if you do it, but you don't have to pay for anything except the travel (if you're travelling in Europe. For America/Australia, I don't know how it works with the visa).

 

[Bedsareburning]

Very soon I'm going to travel in Ireland and I'm wondering if it will be difficult to understand them ?
My english level is not that good but I want to improve it during this travel but I'm afraid of the difficulties of understanding because of their accent...

 

[Hawley]

Very soon I'm going to travel in Ireland and I'm wondering if it will be difficult to understand them ?
My english level is not that good but I want to improve it during this travel but I'm afraid of the difficulties of understanding because of their accent...

Irish accent is the best  Ok I might not be super-unbiased on this, most of my native-speakers friends are from Ireland. The accent in Dublin is quite understandable, but the minute you get to the countryside, I must admit it gets tricky. But don't be afraid, speaking with native-speakers is what will get you a better level in english ! After a few days you'll get used to it. And Ireland is an awesome place to discover, you won't be disappointed

If you want to know what irish accent sounds like, actor Andrew Scott is irish, and his accent is quite representative of what you might hear in Dublin (the old guy has a stronger irish accent) :