MadmoiZelle speaks English

[DaphneeRose]

Hi girls
I was wondering if I may join you on this topic, I really love the idea of it! I'm currently in my first year at university, studying English (LLCE degree). I figured a little practice wouldn't be bad, because honestly, in class we don't get a lot of chances to really have conversations in English...
@Heran. I agree with @No_Joke, there's a free one-month trial for Netflix so you can do that and see if you're satisfied with the TV series they offer I suscribed about three monthes ago, and while the choice is quite important, you don't have as many TV series as in the US. But the offer is still decent, at least more than the choice of movies, which is, in my opinion, not that good. And if you're wondering about whether certain TV shows or movies are on Netflix or not, I can check for you if you'd like

 

[elsarive]

Hi lads!
I'm glad to have found this topic. I've been living in Ireland for the past 9 months and I'm about to go back home in a few weeks.. Then I was worried of having no opportunity to practise my English anymore, then lose all the progress I made here.
Netflix is great to practise and improve your oral AND written understanding, since you can choose to add english subtitles then move on to no subtitles at all.

 

[AngelTen Richard II]

Hey guys!
I see there are some people here who'd like to improve their English! May I suggest a few possibilities?
Maybe you can comment, and communicate in English in English-speaking Facebook groups, on twitter, or comment any videos on youtube. This way you will have the opportunity to talk with natives, and to see what the real native English sounds like.
Another piece of advice: try to practise oral expression. I know it's the hardest one, but it is the key part to a quick progress! I usually take every opportunity during school-time to ask a question, the meaning of a word, or anything. Don't let yourself be impressed by any grammar mistakes you might make while speaking, it is better to speak with a few mistakes than not speaking at all!

 

[Tératogène]

Hey guyzzz
I was wondering.. I know there's a slight difference between "think of" and "think about" in the meaning but I can't quite get it the right way, can someone enlighten me?

 

[AngelTen Richard II]

Hey guyzzz
I was wondering.. I know there's a slight difference between "think of" and "think about" in the meaning but I can't quite get it the right way, can someone enlighten me?

"to think of" is like "Hey, I think of something" it is the idea in general, or "to think of a solution" is like getting it. It is "j'ai une idée".
"to think about" is more the reflection in its progress, when the thoughts are turning inside your mind. "Je réfléchis à quelque chose" could be quite a good translation in French.

 

[Tératogène]

@AngelTen Richard II thanks!

 

[Belle-de-nuit]

Hello Ladies :-)
What is going on here ? (They are too many past comments for me to read them all)

I think some of you have spoken about TOEIC. And I just want to say I found it easier than the IELTS test I had because, contrary to the lattest, there is no test to evaluate your writing or speaking capabilities. The TOEIC exam is better known by schools and companies but the IELTS is more complete. During my first semester at Uni, I had 6.5 at IELTS (what I needed to have to integrate a Swedish university as an Erasmus student, with grades rating from 6 to 7) but ended up with 975/990 at my TOEIC test last year Unless I'm very tired and grumpy (like the cat), I'm usually good with grammar stuff.

 

[Selby]

Has any one of you ever heard of the Cambridge's Certificates ?

 

[Romilly]

Has any one of you ever heard of the Cambridge's Certificates ?

Yes, it's like the TOEFL but mostly for advanced business English. Do you have to take it?

 

[Selby]

@Romilly I thought about sitting it, but I was hesitating between the B2 level and the C1 level. It is just to prove my English level, so I don't know if I would better sit the TOEFL or this one !

 

[Romilly]

@Romilly I thought about sitting it, but I was hesitating between the B2 level and the C1 level. It is just to prove my English level, so I don't know if I would better sit the TOEFL or this one !

The TOEFL is generally more usefull but it really depends on what you wanna do with the certificate. Some universities ask for the TOEFL, some other the Oxford certificate, some the Cambridge...

I would go first for the B2 - in my town for example I applied for the B2 and got... C1. It still has been a lot of preparation.

 

[Selby]

@Romilly thanks for your reply ! I am a bit lost with these levels, because I learnt English "by myself" : my parents lived in England, and as a young child I loved listening to my parents speaking English. When I arrived in Year 7 (sixième), I already knew a few English words (but my level was really poor though) and my English teacher asked me to translate texts while the rest of the class was studying. My level increased very quickly, and 2 years later I began to read English books. The problem is I never listened during the English classes, so I don't know how to define my level... Sometimes I lack of self-confidence and feel like my English is bad (this is very strange, because I can speak English as I speak French, I don't need to think about the sentences I am going to say, nor need my dictionary when I read classic books).
Even if I'm still very young, I would prefer to sit it now and be able to focus on other things later.

Edit : I first thought about sitting the B2 one, but my English teacher told me that I could try to sit the C1. This is why I feel lost.