My Autonomous Learning Pla

After learning for a whole semester, I know some useful English learning websites which can help me improve my English skills.


Vocabulary

There are some websites which I found useful to learn English, especially for self-learners.

The first one is COCA. I use it to learn the correct ways of using words. It provides lots of articles that let us know how other people use the words easily.

The second one is activities for ESL Students. It provides lots of quizzes, such as grammar and vocabulary. We can choose the level of the quiz that we are interested in. Plus, it enables us to learn and play at the same time. It's both educational and entertaining.

Third, there is AWL. It can help us memorize lots of vocabularies. By doing the exercises, we can remember the words that this website has already arranged for us.

Last, there is Just the Word. I use this one the most. It's really helpful. When I type a word, it shows me many ways to match the word. Also, the website will tell you what's the correct or common use of that word and phrase.



Listening

Youtube and Voicetube, I think everybody knows these two websites because they are very convenient and useful. People can learn English on these websites.

VOA (Voice of America) is a news website that can improve both listening and reading skills. It is free and east to use.  By using it, it is not only a way for English learners to read and listen to English news online, but also an opportunity to know American culture and the latest events.

Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab provides many listening quizzes, and most of the contexts are interesting. It has different topics for us to choose. We can choose the contents that we prefer.



Speaking

Youtube, Voicetube and Voice of America can really help us to practice speaking. Users can learn vocabularies and pronunciation with the script.



Reading

I prefer BBC News. English accent is more difficult for Taiwanese people to understand, but you don't need to listen to the English accent by reading. And the news there including many area, and they're interesting.



Writing
In the end, Facebook and Instagram can help us write well. Nowadays, people use these two websites frequently. There are many fan pages providing English learning. Besides, in Instagram, there are some accounts which are worth of following. The accounts include phrases, English vocabulary and idiom.

Social Media Learning learning

I use Facebook and Instagram to learn English. I check out some memes or gag pictures there. I think they are funny and lighten my mood, and I can improve my English ability at the same time. I've learned many slangs and phrases on Facebook.
Recently I learned the phrases "hit the nail (right) on the head", which means :

1. Lit. to strike a nail precisely on the head with a hammer.

2. Fig. to do exactly the right thing; to do something in the most effective and efficient way.

I also make some friends on those websites, we chat in English, encourage each other. They make my life better.

Mobile Learning

I use Youtube to learn English with my cell phone. It is a website as well as an application. If I find some videos I like, I can mark them or add to my playlist, and if I leave comments on some videos, some people may reply to me. It is convenient that I can both get the notifications from the mobile phone or the Internet Browser.
Most times, I watch the videos of my favorite singers, bands, or actors' interviews. I think in this way I can get used to the accents of people from different countries, and I can translate my interpreting skills at the same time. It really helps me a lot!

WriteAhead

WriteAhead is a website to help you figure out the usages of terms or phrases.
You can use it to check if the grammar is wrong or the substitution of synonyms or how to choose the appropriate collocation.

But the information there isn't very detailed or accurate.
I looked up to the phrase Hit the nail on the head (meaning:  to do exactly the right thing; to do something in the most effective and efficient way.), but there's no information, so it only showed the related  phrase.

Summary & Comment: BBC News

Summary & Comment: BBC News

Putin's joke

24 November 2016 Last updated at 20:01 GMT

He was pleased with it. But some might not find the Russian president's geography lesson so funny.

Summary:

Russian President Vladimir Putin attended an award show for geography whizz-kids. Putin asked a kid, "what can you impress U.S. with?" The kid answered, "I know all the borders, countries, contours, and capitals." Then Putin asked, "so where does Russia's border end?" The boy answered it correctly, "Russia's border ends at the Bering Strait, at the border with the U.S.A." Putin then joked, "Russia's border doesn't end anywhere. That was a joke."

At the end of the video, there are subtitles about Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine.

Comment:

I think Putin is an admirable person. He is ambitious but he doesn't go too far. With a bit humor, he made the award more interesting. His joke was mainly on the United States, so it doesn't bother me at all, though American people might find it offensive. We all need the sense of humor to make life easier and funnier. Life without humor must be a tragedy.

ESL

ESL lab

I got 100% correct!

English self-introduction (audio)

English self-introduction (audio)


(Script)

    I'm Sherry, a 22-year-old college student. There are four members in my family, my mom, my dad, and my younger sister. I retested for college in 2014, so I am a senior in Soochow University with my sister. My friends say that I'm sincere,friendly, and interesting. I like to get along with people who are genuine and honest.

    In my spare time, I like to chase idols and watching movies and series. My favorite singer is a Korean group, TVXQ, and I like every song of them, and they are actors too. I've been to few concerts of them, and these are the top 3 best memories to me. Recently, I watched Hannibal, Sherlock, and Supernatural, and none of them end. I think I can learn a lot from movies or series, as I can learn knowledge in the books. There were some concepts I didn't understand, but as time went by, I realized some of them and deeply convinced by them.

    For now, I'm working on improving my English ability. I hope I can become a translator and take some cases in the near future. If I have chance, I would like to be an exchange student to Europe.



I listened to the pronunciation at this website:
http://imtranslator.net/translate-and-speak/#