For everyone who feels like speaking English....

Annemiek
  Yeah i'm 24 ... well 25 2 months or so  :donttell: :-D
I'm not looking forward to the Winter neither........ and i know how it feels to just getting over your cold and then scared of getting another one....!!!
As i'm just getting over having an Inner ear infection ( really hurts .... don't like it ) some Dutch bug...... :-D .Haha

So when do you head off to Oz???

don't worrie about your english , as the more you worry about it the more you won't want to try ......... I can understand you . so don't worry

Greetz Katrina
 
We'll be heading off to Oz in about  a year or two. Still takes a while... We did our IELTS in march and Mark did his skills assessment in may or something. Got a negative answer back from the ACS, because of a lack of working experience... We thought Mark had a Bachelor's degree for his ehm... don't know the english name.... Well. They said at the beginning of his first term "You'll get a Bachelor's degree for this" The website of the school said the same... But... it wasn't a Bachelor's degree at all... So, 6 years of working experience instead of 4 to show at the ACS.
Mark has got his 6 years in september 2006 and then we'll start all over again...
 
Skilled Independent. Mark is a software developer, but I don't know what function he's chosen from the SOL anymore...
We're not that busy anymore with the assessment, so forgot a few things ;)
 
Hi again
Oooo man what a trill :lol: Maybe it sounds a little unusual but I just had my first business like call. I called somebody from Westpac banking in Australia.  I have to say. Speaking and thus adapting and seeking the right words within seconds was quiet difficult. I had to formulate my question twice because the lady didn't understand me very well. It so strange. While I'm typing this text it goes rather fluent. But speaking.... :-x Hope it will improve  :|
Just a few more months and I have to apply for a job. If I do that with the speaking level I just presented to the Westpac lady... I think it’s gone take a long,..looooooong time before I will find a job on the same level I have here in Holland. Well it’s my own fault. I wanted to emigrate.  Nobody said it’s going to be easy :roll:
bye bye :up:


Edit: After the call my question still isn't answered. It is a 24h service number especially for overseas customers. But the computer system is closed at night. So what's the reason for a 24h line......Right Nothing at all!! only for general questions, not for specific questions. No offence please but, Australians 
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:evil: :-D :up:
 
Hello Katrina,

To learn on both side, it would be better that you answer in Dutch.
So you‘re not the only one who can laugh at.  :roll:

Gr. Ton  :up:
     
 
@Bear

We had the same kind of experience you had.. A few eeks ago we called the Westpac 24/7 phonenumber. She did give good advice, but we had to call the local branch (were we have our Westpac account) to get it executed. In a way you are quite right to doubt the usage of a 24/7 line..
On the other hand it is also handy to be able to get advice directly at the moment a question pops up in your mind. Because then when you do call a local branch you are prepared anyway..

About your fluency in speaking English, the practice is the best way to do it. If you would have the money and the time for it you could go to the language-institution in Vught (I don´t recall the specific name) for a week were you can take a full week´s course. You´ll be ´in house´, and will be forced to speak English all day, evening (and maybe night) long. That seems to be a good way to get you started,
Of course I think that is quite expensive.

Another option could be that starting from tomorrow (or rather now) agree with Muis to only speak English to each other. If possible and if they are willing, try to get family or friends to do the same...

Regards,

Perthpete.
 
Hi all!

Great initiative Sheila!! :up:

You know what, in regards to "the spoken word", you can attend all the language courses in the world but at the end of the day nothing is better then the real thing!!! Practice makes perfect and who cares if you make a mistake or two, three, four....(who's counting anyway.. :-D). Also, you will find that you will have to get used to the way people speak (mumblers, people who leave "bits" out of sentences, etc. not to mention all the abreviations and slang!!)

Barry  -
I had to formulate my question twice because the lady didn't understand me very well.
Click to expand...
that was probably just because SHE was not listening!!! Don't doubt yourself just keep talking :up: a lot....

I found the "listening" part the hardest bit in the beginning, watch DVD's and turn the subtitles off?? that will give you some extra practice if you like?

bye for now
Syl
 
Hello,
I agree with Syl, nothing goes above the spoken word. My English is far from perfect, but I have the confidence that I can make myself understandable. And if there is a moment of doubt, I just use the Dutch word or somekind of own translation, wich useally works!
 
Hi Sheila and everyone else,

This is going great isn't it, is looks like a real chatterbox (but then the right kind  :wink:). Good thinking  :) coming over here to get Koen. And you get the feel of Holland so you know (for real/colds/inner ear infection  :cry:) what it's like over here. No for real Holland isn't such a bad place. But I guess like the most of us, I think Australia will suit me better. Getting back to your question, yep we're planning to go to Queensland, but not Brisbane. We are looking for a place to live somewhere between MacKay and Cairns. How did I get the Australia bug.........well my nan had 2 brothers living in Melbourne, the came there in the fifties and started a new life there. My nan regularly went to visit them for a couple of months. In (way back) 1987 I graduated from highschool. Nan was planning to go to Melbourne again, and I said.. just for fun... well, I've got nothing to do (not knowing what to study at that time) I'll go with you. My mum and dad overheard me saying this and gave me the opportunity to go with her for 6 months. So.....how could I refuse.....I went. I didn't have much money and my nan was a bit overconcerned about me. So I didn't become a partyanimal, but just stayed around the house, got to know some people, went to the beach and followed a English for migrants class for a couple of months. I learned that even after 6 years of English at school, it's more scholastic English than the real thing. I had a great time and after that I got to know my boyfriend (for 16 years now) and he also had 'the bug'. So 2 kindred spirits ( :cold: :hang: sorry for the pics, but we don't talk this way, we're more the direct kind of softly HUM correcting ones). We went together in 1996 for 4/5 weeks and again in 2000 for 10 weeks. It almost looks like a story book now. To sum it all up, I like the outdoor living, the people, the diversity of nature, beach, openness and easygoing way of talking (at least I think so). Do you have any idea how long it will take before you and Koen can start getting back? Are you going back to 'your old place' or do you both want to start somewhere else?

Hope I didn't bore you with my story  :lol:

Thanks and good luck with your Dutch (what kind of swearwords do you know???? :evil: :evil:)

Miranda
 
Hey Tum,

Nice try to get Katrina to write down the swear words she knows.... I hope she won't write it down though since this is a decent forum.... isn't it???  :-D :p :up:

We hope to get back in may next year, hopefully by the end of Januari we'll have my visa to return to Australia.
We'll start back at Kat's mum's place for about a month maybe 2 in Melbourne and then move our stuff and dog to brisbane or arround that area  :beach: :flipper: :fishing: :happysun: and so on and so forth.

I've been to Mackay and to Airlie Beach, we'll get married over there, and looking forward to it.

Ohh one more thing you didn't bore me with you story, it's always got to hear what people drives to go to Oz and how they met. :)

Greetz,
Koen
 
@Bear,

I also had the trouble in the beginning when I first went to England to speak English, but I guess you have to be willing to take the chance of making a mistake.
My Mother in Law corrected me all the time when I first went to Australia, but it helped me to improve my speach, and that's why I got a nine (9) for speaking on the IELTS test. Not that I didn't make any mistake, but I was confident enough to think that I knew what I was talking about.

I agree with Perthpete that it would be great practice to speak English at home, this way it doens't matter if you make a mistake as long as the other doesn't make fun of it. It will boost your confidence and that from Muis and it will become your second nature. As you noticed at the meeting in Tilburg, for me it's easy to switch between English and Dutch since I speak it very often, the moment I switch to English my thoughts switch straight away as well which make it very easy for me. I know that not everybody can do this straight awai but trust me if I say that it will happen to you as well as long as you practice... :up:


@ Ton, as soon as Katrina knows how to reply in Dutch (next to swear words) you'll be the first to know.....  :-D


Greetz,
Koen
 
Hi Koen,

Whereabout in Melboure are you going? I stayed in Rosebud with my nan's family at that time (that's down the Mornington Peninsula), my school was in Frankston. It's also nice over there, but I thinkweatherwise you're better of in and around Brisbane. I looked at the place Syl lives - being curious - (hi Syl :)) Edens Landing, which looks great (south of Brisbane).

Bye

Miranda  :)
 
Hi there Tum,

this is sheila (koen's parnter Katrina)

My mum lives in Upwey , south east of melb .But my Grandparents live in Rosebud ....somewhere......:)

we ar4e both looking forward into moving to brisse or somewhere around there ... nice weather and all

:beach: :surfer: also great place to walk our dog ( Freckle):dog:

:)
anyway look forward into hearing from you

Katrina
 
Annemiek

stuff that ...lol

i have a funny Australian song . so just give us your email addy  and what i will do , is i will send it across
then what you should do is put your speaker's up.....

Katrina
 
For everyone who feels like reading English:

LIFE IN THE AUSTRALIAN ARMY

Text of a letter from a kid from Eromanga to Mum and Dad. (For those of you not in the know, Eromanga is a small town west Of Quilpie in the far south west of Queensland)

Dear Mum & Dad,

I am well. Hope youse are too. Tell me big brothers Doug and Phil that the Army is better than workin' on the farm - tell them to get in bloody quick smart before the jobs are all gone!

I wuz a bit slow in settling down at first, because ya don't hafta get outta bed until 6am. But I like sleeping in now, cuz all yagotta do before brekky is make ya bed and shine ya boots and clean ya uniform.
No bloody cows to milk, no calves to feed, no feed to stack - nothin'!! Ya haz gotta shave though, but its not so bad, coz there's lotsa hot water and even a light to see what ya doing!

At brekky ya get cereal, fruit and eggs but there's no kangaroo steaks or possum stew like wot Mum makes. You don't get fed again until noon, and by that time all the city boys are knackered because we've been on a 'route march' - geez its only just like walking to the windmill in the back paddock!!

This one will kill me brothers Doug and Phil with laughter. I keep getting medals for shootin' - dunno why. The bullseye is as big as a bloody possum's bum and it don't move and its not firing back at ya like the Johnsons did when our big scrubber bull got into their prize cows before the Ekka last year! All ya gotta do is make yourself
comfortable and hit the target - its a piece of piss!! You don't even load your own cartridges - they comes in little boxes and ya don't have to steady yourself against the rollbar of the roo shooting truck when you reload!

Sometimes ya gotta wrestle with the city boys and I gotta be real careful coz they break easy - it's not like fighting with Doug and Phil and Jack and Boori and Steve and Muzza all at once like we do at home after the muster.

Turns out I'm not a bad boxer either and it looks like I'm the best the platoon's got, and I've only been beaten by this one bloke from the Engineers - he's 6 foot 5 and 15 stone and three pick handles across the shoulders and as ya know I'm only 5 foot 7 and eight stone wringin' wet, but I fought him till the other blokes carried me off to
the boozer.

I can't complain about the Army - tell the boys to get in quick before word gets around how bloody good it is.

Your loving daughter,
Sheila xx
Click to expand...
 
Hi Syl,

Great stuff !!!!  :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

Weren´t there some guys on the forum who might want to find a ´sheila´ to get in the country quicker ?? Hope they find the right one..

regards,

Perthpete
 
@ Syl,

Loved the Army story, was in stitches halfway down the story.
Got any more??

Rene
 
Glad you liked it!!!

Bit busy at the moment, but I will have a look to see what else I can dig up!

Syl :-D
 
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