For everyone who feels like speaking English....

Hi Astrid,

Don't worry we are all trying and doing our best. It doesn't matter if you make mistakes. I sometimes email with a family living in Cairns. They're from the UK and they said to me: How can we ever criticize (had to look this one up f.e., I wrote this word with S instead of C) you, as you are writing English and we can't even understand/write one word in Dutch. :) :)

So just try and try and try and......most importantly............have fun!!!!!!

Take care,

Miranda  :)
 
[quote author=groentje link=topic=2886.msg47210#msg47210 date=1139493729]
And uh ..... are you make use of te grammar and spelling check?  :wink: :wink:[/quote]

Mwahaha you'll find out when you spot another one of my *huge* spelling or grammar errors, or Koengaroo does :sword: , and please don't hesitate to rub it in ;-) it's great fun!
 
[Enjoy and just one little note:

Quote
Maybe this will gonna be also better when I practice, practice, practice

Revise this in something like: Maybe this will go better when I practice, practice, practice


Thank you, It sounds al lot better.
 
No worries, you're welcome, any time...  :up:

By the way, to make a quote you can press the second right button from the second menubar you will then see: quote][/quote

Now if you want to quote some one just copy the text between the two quote][/quote and you will see the white quote bar.  :up:

Goodluck and try it out in the Test topic http://www.xpdite.net/forum/index.php?board=41.0

Greetz,
Koen
 
What is your experience by the writing test: you get a topic to write about, but it is a topic with words you don't know. So it is not easy to write about. What did you do or what can you do in this circumstances?

:fish:
 
The good thing about a writing test is that most of the times, you have to write about your opinion or feelings about a certain topic. That means that you can try to say everything in your own words and maybe try to avoid words or expressions you're not sure how to use ór write!
In stead of letting a writing test scare you off, try to use it ! Write about things you know or 'lead' the essay in a direction that you are comfortable with....

Sara
 
I totally agree with Sara,

For me it has been 4 years ago that I took the test, so a lot has changed over the years.
But what ever topic you get to write about, just write in your own words what your opinion is and try to make it easy on your self. The good thing is that you can interpret it in your own way and therefore you can make it a topic you feel comfetable with.

Just keep on practicing here and you will be alright.  :up:

Gr.Koen  :-D
 
What if they don't like your opinion?  :lol:
Can you typ or do you have to write? My handwriting is terrible  :| I'll fail because they just can't read it. heh.

What if you learn some really hard questions by heart before you make that writing tests, just general words which you can use with almost every topic, wouldn't that make some kind of impression? :p
 
What if they don't like your opinion?
Click to expand...

I don't think that matters, what they look at is the way you have build your sentences and how the words are spelled, I don't think they really care about what you write unless it is of cource offencive and discriminating.  :|

Can you typ or do you have to write? My handwriting is terrible  I'll fail because they just can't read it. heh.
Click to expand...
Naturaly you will have to write by hand, and don't worry about your handwriting, because they will be able to read it.

What if you learn some really hard questions by heart before you make that writing tests, just general words which you can use with almost every topic, wouldn't that make some kind of impression?
Click to expand...

You can try but it would be really great if you just use the words you know in the right way at the right time. Now this can be difficult, but it is easy to learn. Just participate in this topic as much as you can and you will learn how to write english and new words all the time. You can even make a print out of this topic and write all these messages down as a practice. There are plenty of difficult words to be found in this topic.  :-D

Goodluck.  :up:

Gr.Koen
 
[quote author=FOL link=topic=2886.msg47709#msg47709 date=1139788747]
What if they don't like your opinion? :lol:
Can you typ or do you have to write? My handwriting is terrible :| I'll fail because they just can't read it. heh.

Do you have a Doctors hand-writing? They you can't read too, and still you can get your medicine. :-D

:fish:[/quote]
 
[quote author=FOL link=topic=2886.msg47709#msg47709 date=1139788747]
What if you learn some really hard questions by heart before you make that writing tests, just general words which you can use with almost every topic, wouldn't that make some kind of impression? :p
[/quote]

This is not about the writing test but about the speaking part, Richard my partner had his IELTS last Saturday.  He spoke to a guy who had the interview before him.  He had some words he had 'learned' which he thought would impress the interviewer, but she saw straight through it and began to question him about it.  So the advice would be keep it simple and don't try to be too smart!

I was a bit worried about Richard's writing, as it looks like a drunken chicken has walked across the page  :), but he made sure he had enough time to go back over what he had written and join up his letters properly so it was legible!
 
Hey Scutch,

How did he think he went? Does he have a good feeling about the whole thing or....
And what did he think about the interview, I 'm just curious. When I had to do the ielts I had to do everything on the same day, thank god for me they thought my english was very good according to the interviewer.. :-D

Gr.Koen
 
Hi Koen,

Yes, he had a good feeling, he even said he enjoyed it!  :-o

But there was not too much pressure on him, 4.5 for him is OK as he is not doing a skills assessment.  I hopefully shouldn't have to do the test as I am a British citizen, although I have read on the British forum that some people do it just to be sure!

I'm sure your English is very good, going by your written English anyway.  I am curious though if you speak English with a particular accent, bit Australian perhaps?  My Dutch ex-husband spoke English very well but after a few years of living with me he developed quite a Scottish accent.  Even Scottish people didn't believe he wasn't Scottish!

Gr,
Susan
 
Hello Katrina,

I know from my irish partner Liam that it is indeed very, very difficult to learn dutch. Especially the order of a sentence is often very different and as well as pronouncing the GGGGG. Unfortunately for Liam, i live in Venray (a bit in the south of Holland) were we speak with a softer GGGG that people in the North. They often pronounce  the G there as CHCHCHCH. He bought a cd to practise, maybe something for u? And I teach him all the words i want to hear, so that is in my advantage...! Good luck! Keep on practising, especially words that u use daily. Words that i tought Liam are:

-welterusten, slaap lekker, tot morgen (good night, sleep well, see u tomorrow)
-hoe gaat het? (how are you)
-goed, en met jou?  (good, and you?)
-Lekker weertje he? (nice weather eh?)
And another very very important one:
-ik wil chocola!!!  (i want chocolat!!!)

Greetings, Marieke :up:
 
Hello hello :) Long time no see :)

oh oh... IELTS talk... We have to do it all over again this year maybe... Stupid test... only valid for one year (am I saying this right?)
Maluka and I both had an overall score of 7, so that's not to bad at all, but it was a very long day... Was really tired when we walked off that campus in Utrecht.
Maybe we'll do better next time, because we know what we can expact... or maybe not ;)

You know what my problem is.... Sometimes I can't understand an Ozzie ;) The Australian English is sometimes hard for me to understand. When we were in Utrecht in January I had a few moments that I could'nt understand Katrina that well, because of all the 'noise' in the cafe. She sent me a song a while ago and I had to listen it a few times, bofore I could make something of it ;)

So... Katrina... Maybe it's best for me to sit next to you in Antwerp in March ;) Good practise :)
 
[quote author=mariekske link=topic=2886.msg47820#msg47820 date=1139844262]...as well as pronouncing the GGGGG. [/quote]

I remember arriving at my parent's place after a day of walking along the beach with a Danish friend. My father, with a develish grin, asked "...and what place did you guys go to?" (the answer was Schoorl).
 
I was quite lucky, being Scottish I could pronounce  the GGGGG quite easily, the English people I know (and so to read the Irish) have more difficulty.

For example the  'ch' in loch the English have difficulty with, pronouncing it as lock.

But still I would probably have been shot during the 2nd world war, Scheveningen is pretty hard to pronounce!!  :)
 
@ Scutch, I reackon you would have gotten away clean in the 2nd world war, because the germans have problems saying it them selves...  :rotflmao:

I am curious though if you speak English with a particular accent, bit Australian perhaps?
Click to expand...
Mmm, well what can I say, I have a accent, but it is not dutch, not australian and not english, I call it the world accent.

I have lived in Liverpool for a couple of months, of course lived in the Netherlands, worked in former Yoegoslavia and lived in Australia. I picked up a bit of every accent arrount during those times, when I hear somebody from Liverpool talking, within a day I have their prenouneciation and I almost sound like one, same with Australians (although that is normal to me since I live with Katrina) and when I hear somebody from the US or anywhere else, I pick their accent up pretty easely.
I only have this for English and Dutch though, maybe because I'm not really interessted in other languages. :|


Gr.Koen
 
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