SPEAKING & Pronunciation TIPS: you are too shy to speak? there are some hints here!

Guys & gals,
We can communicate in English when i arrive there this Febuary . I left VN when i was 10 years old.
Any off-line meeting in the 3rd week of Febuary ?
At your request, instead of saying
"And I think I should improve my English through this way,"
we usually say
"And i think this is how i should improve my English"
Nothing wrong with the way you say . However, the way you say, i assume, is the "VNmese way" and you simply translate word by word into English .
Don''t ask me way . It''s just language . The way we say things and convey our thoughts.
Let me give you an an example . Overhere, I met a VNese guy who claimed to be an English teacher . At first, i could not understand what he mean when he went: "You walk in my stomach"
Then, translating it into Vietnamese "Em đi guoc trong bung anh" , i realized that he really mean,
"You can read my mind"
Cheers,
Thuye^`n

hint: don''t be afraid to speak out loud
Sorry to say in Vietnamese this time, next time must be in English
To all members: the biggest hint is " don''t be shy". That is also the reason I post the messages below.
Hope to see you there,
To Thuyền: do you want to join us within your trip schedule?
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Arial" id=quote>Trích từ:
Hiện box Môi trường đang có 2 chiến dịch lớn thực hiện tại Hà Nội và TP HCM vào dịp Tết sắp tới. Nội dung của chiến dịch là nhằm hạn chế tối đa việc xả rác và bẻ lộc trong dịp Tết sắp tới, mà hoạt động trực tiếp diễn ra vào đêm Giao thừa.
Các bạn quan tâm và có lòng với sự sạch đẹp của thành phố hãy tham gia hoạt động tình nguyện nhiều ý nghĩa này.
Chi tiết về thảo luận chiến dịch Giao thừa sạch tại Hà Nội:
http://www.ttvnol.com/ttx/449234.ttvnhttp://www.ttvnol.com/ttx/449234.ttvn
Chi tiết về thảo luận chiến dịch Tết sạch không rác tại TP Hồ Chí Minh:
http://www.ttvnol.com/ttx/470488.ttvnhttp://www.ttvnol.com/ttx/470488.ttvn
From Rinvic (TP HCM)
Thu ngo moi tham gia chien dich Tet sach khong rac.
Chao cac ban,
Ban da~, hay chua tung nghe den chien dich ?~Giao thua sach?T cua nhom ban thanh nien tinh nguyen dang trien khai tai Ha Noi? Chien dich nham han che tinh trang xa rac ra duong pho va han che viec hai loc dau Xuan tai ho Hoan Kiem, Ha Noi trong dem giao thua xuan At Dau 2005, moi ban cung xem qua http://www.ttvnol.com/ttx/449234.ttvn va tham gia, lien he qua pinkie_ahn@yahoo.com
Song song voi chien dich dang duoc trien khai tai Ha Noi, tai Tp Ho Chi Minh cung se duoc trien khai do Rinvic, va mot so ban tinh nguyen khac cung to chuc. Chien dich mang ten ?oTet sach khong rac?. Chien dich se tap trung chu yeu vao khu trung tam Thanh Pho: dia diem moi nguoi don phao bong giao thua va khu pho di bo^. phuc vu Tet. Thoi gian: Dem giao thua tu 9h den 0h30.
Hien tai, chung toi dang can nguon nhan luc cho doi ngu thanh nien tinh nguyen trong viec to chuc cung nhu chuong trinh hanh dong. Cong viec se duoc phan cong tuy kha nang dong gop cua cac ban vao tung giai doan:
- Doi ngu len ke hoach hoat dong ?" D1
- Doi ngu lam poster ?" D2
- Doi ngu dan poster ?"D3
- Doi ngu hanh dong dem giao thua va thu gom poster ?" D4
Thoi gian va noi dung tham gia se duoc pho bien sau khi da len danh sach thanh vien.
De biet them thong tin chi tiet va dien dan thao luan cho chien dich tren ttvnol:
http://www.ttvnol.com/ttx/470488.ttvn
va TIG: http://projects.takingitglobal.org/TetSG
De tham gia vao hoat dong cua chien dich, moi ban gui email cho toi qua:
Tet.sach.khong.rac@gmail.com
voi thong tin:
Ho ten:
Truong / Noi cong tac:
Nam sinh:
Dien thoai lien lac
Vi tri co the tham gia:
Cam on su quan tam cua ban va chao than ai
Rinvic
From 6hsanghn Ha Noi
Hien toi dang co mot du an ve viec nang cao giu gin ve sinh trong dip Tet sap toi, cu the la toi da mo ra mot topic tren mang Trai Tim Viet Nam Online va da co thao luan ve project nay. Cac ban co the xem tai dayde biet them chi tiet :
http://www.ttvnol.com/ttx/449234.ttvn
Hien nay ke hoach van chua hoan chinh, con gap mot so van de ve to chuc va so tinh nguyen vien tham gia con it, rat mong cac ban se giup cho du an nay thanh cong. Toi cung xin cam on nhung ban da giup do it nhieu trong ke hoach nay cho den ngay hom nay, du khong biet chac no co the thanh hien thuc duoc khong.
Hom nay toi viet email cho cac ban, truoc het la de tim them volunteer muon tham gia du an nay. Cac ban o Ha Noi co the lien lac voi toi, con ke hoach trien khai tai TP HCM ban rinvic dang ruc rich chuan bi, cac ban co the lien he roi ban bac chi tiet.
Cac ban co the tham gia project theo nhieu cach khac nhau:
· Dong gop y kien.
· Tham gia vao cong tac chuan bi.
· Truc tiep tham gia vao hoat dong trong dem giao thua tai ho Hoan Kiem (chung toi can ban vao buoi toi 30 cho den khoang 1-2h sang ngay mong 1 Tet sap toi).
Toi rat hy vong ban se forward email nay di cho ban be, nguoi than, nguoi quen, de nhung ban co dieu kien tham gia va co tam huyet se tap trung lai de lam mot viec co nghia trong dem giao thua nay. Do cung chinh la ly do toi van gui email nay di cho mot so ban hien dang o nuoc ngoai, hy vong cac ban se ung ho.
Khong phai ai cung co dieu kien tham gia du an nay, nhung ai trong chung ta cung co the bo rac dung noi quy dinh thay vi vut rac ra duong, nho do, ban khong chi giu sach moi truong, lam dep canh quan ma con phat huy duoc nep song van minh trong cuoc song hien dai ngay nay. Toi rat cam on vi ban da doc email nay, cung nhu nhung nguoi da, dang va se chuyen no di tiep.
Neu ban muon tham gia, hoac co gi thac mac, xin hay lien he voi toi: Nguyen Hong Anh ?" pinkie_ahn@yahoo.com
Hen som gap lai.

hint: don''t be afraid to speak out loud
Sorry to say in Vietnamese this time, next time must be in English
To all members: the biggest hint is " don''t be shy". That is also the reason I post the messages below.
Hope to see you there,
To Thuyền: do you want to join us within your trip schedule?
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Arial" id=quote>Trích từ:
Hiện box Môi trường đang có 2 chiến dịch lớn thực hiện tại Hà Nội và TP HCM vào dịp Tết sắp tới. Nội dung của chiến dịch là nhằm hạn chế tối đa việc xả rác và bẻ lộc trong dịp Tết sắp tới, mà hoạt động trực tiếp diễn ra vào đêm Giao thừa.
Các bạn quan tâm và có lòng với sự sạch đẹp của thành phố hãy tham gia hoạt động tình nguyện nhiều ý nghĩa này.
Chi tiết về thảo luận chiến dịch Giao thừa sạch tại Hà Nội:
http://www.ttvnol.com/ttx/449234.ttvnhttp://www.ttvnol.com/ttx/449234.ttvn
Chi tiết về thảo luận chiến dịch Tết sạch không rác tại TP Hồ Chí Minh:
http://www.ttvnol.com/ttx/470488.ttvnhttp://www.ttvnol.com/ttx/470488.ttvn
From Rinvic (TP HCM)
Thu ngo moi tham gia chien dich Tet sach khong rac.
Chao cac ban,
Ban da~, hay chua tung nghe den chien dich ?~Giao thua sach?T cua nhom ban thanh nien tinh nguyen dang trien khai tai Ha Noi? Chien dich nham han che tinh trang xa rac ra duong pho va han che viec hai loc dau Xuan tai ho Hoan Kiem, Ha Noi trong dem giao thua xuan At Dau 2005, moi ban cung xem qua http://www.ttvnol.com/ttx/449234.ttvn va tham gia, lien he qua pinkie_ahn@yahoo.com
Song song voi chien dich dang duoc trien khai tai Ha Noi, tai Tp Ho Chi Minh cung se duoc trien khai do Rinvic, va mot so ban tinh nguyen khac cung to chuc. Chien dich mang ten ?oTet sach khong rac?. Chien dich se tap trung chu yeu vao khu trung tam Thanh Pho: dia diem moi nguoi don phao bong giao thua va khu pho di bo^. phuc vu Tet. Thoi gian: Dem giao thua tu 9h den 0h30.
Hien tai, chung toi dang can nguon nhan luc cho doi ngu thanh nien tinh nguyen trong viec to chuc cung nhu chuong trinh hanh dong. Cong viec se duoc phan cong tuy kha nang dong gop cua cac ban vao tung giai doan:
- Doi ngu len ke hoach hoat dong ?" D1
- Doi ngu lam poster ?" D2
- Doi ngu dan poster ?"D3
- Doi ngu hanh dong dem giao thua va thu gom poster ?" D4
Thoi gian va noi dung tham gia se duoc pho bien sau khi da len danh sach thanh vien.
De biet them thong tin chi tiet va dien dan thao luan cho chien dich tren ttvnol:
http://www.ttvnol.com/ttx/470488.ttvn
va TIG: http://projects.takingitglobal.org/TetSG
De tham gia vao hoat dong cua chien dich, moi ban gui email cho toi qua:
Tet.sach.khong.rac@gmail.com
voi thong tin:
Ho ten:
Truong / Noi cong tac:
Nam sinh:
Dien thoai lien lac
Vi tri co the tham gia:
Cam on su quan tam cua ban va chao than ai
Rinvic
From 6hsanghn Ha Noi
Hien toi dang co mot du an ve viec nang cao giu gin ve sinh trong dip Tet sap toi, cu the la toi da mo ra mot topic tren mang Trai Tim Viet Nam Online va da co thao luan ve project nay. Cac ban co the xem tai dayde biet them chi tiet :
http://www.ttvnol.com/ttx/449234.ttvn
Hien nay ke hoach van chua hoan chinh, con gap mot so van de ve to chuc va so tinh nguyen vien tham gia con it, rat mong cac ban se giup cho du an nay thanh cong. Toi cung xin cam on nhung ban da giup do it nhieu trong ke hoach nay cho den ngay hom nay, du khong biet chac no co the thanh hien thuc duoc khong.
Hom nay toi viet email cho cac ban, truoc het la de tim them volunteer muon tham gia du an nay. Cac ban o Ha Noi co the lien lac voi toi, con ke hoach trien khai tai TP HCM ban rinvic dang ruc rich chuan bi, cac ban co the lien he roi ban bac chi tiet.
Cac ban co the tham gia project theo nhieu cach khac nhau:
· Dong gop y kien.
· Tham gia vao cong tac chuan bi.
· Truc tiep tham gia vao hoat dong trong dem giao thua tai ho Hoan Kiem (chung toi can ban vao buoi toi 30 cho den khoang 1-2h sang ngay mong 1 Tet sap toi).
Toi rat hy vong ban se forward email nay di cho ban be, nguoi than, nguoi quen, de nhung ban co dieu kien tham gia va co tam huyet se tap trung lai de lam mot viec co nghia trong dem giao thua nay. Do cung chinh la ly do toi van gui email nay di cho mot so ban hien dang o nuoc ngoai, hy vong cac ban se ung ho.
Khong phai ai cung co dieu kien tham gia du an nay, nhung ai trong chung ta cung co the bo rac dung noi quy dinh thay vi vut rac ra duong, nho do, ban khong chi giu sach moi truong, lam dep canh quan ma con phat huy duoc nep song van minh trong cuoc song hien dai ngay nay. Toi rat cam on vi ban da doc email nay, cung nhu nhung nguoi da, dang va se chuyen no di tiep.
Neu ban muon tham gia, hoac co gi thac mac, xin hay lien he voi toi: Nguyen Hong Anh ?" pinkie_ahn@yahoo.com
Hen som gap lai.

Thuyền,
Your story should be in some hilarious colums like "Shoot me, babe". Sorry, I get carried away by some jokes from the Reader Digest. Vietnamese people often have some interesting phrases and they are so funny if plainly translated into English.
Actually many English slangs and phrases (I prefer American English) are similar to what Vietnamese people often say. For instance, "over my dead body" = "bước qua xác chết của tao". If you observe UK people speaking English, you would hear "bloody" infront of every word. Something is similar that you would hear from some local Vietnamese people. At a moment, I can''''t recall any others.
You''''re driving me nuts ...
This story will cheer you up ...
Before I could start my first job right out of college, I had to present evidence that I was a U.S. citizen, so I brought a driver''s license and birth certificate. The clerk looked at my driver''s license and copied down some information. She then picked up my birth certificate and gave it a good, long look.
- "Is something wrong?" I finally asked.
- "Yes," she said. "I can''t find the expiration date."
(collected from Reader Digest)
Được kimo sửa chữa / chuyển vào 05:08 ngày 14/01/2005

Thuyền,
Your story should be in some hilarious colums like "Shoot me, babe". Sorry, I get carried away by some jokes from the Reader Digest. Vietnamese people often have some interesting phrases and they are so funny if plainly translated into English.
Actually many English slangs and phrases (I prefer American English) are similar to what Vietnamese people often say. For instance, "over my dead body" = "bước qua xác chết của tao". If you observe UK people speaking English, you would hear "bloody" infront of every word. Something is similar that you would hear from some local Vietnamese people. At a moment, I can''''t recall any others.
You''''re driving me nuts ...
This story will cheer you up ...
Before I could start my first job right out of college, I had to present evidence that I was a U.S. citizen, so I brought a driver''s license and birth certificate. The clerk looked at my driver''s license and copied down some information. She then picked up my birth certificate and gave it a good, long look.
- "Is something wrong?" I finally asked.
- "Yes," she said. "I can''t find the expiration date."
(collected from Reader Digest)
Được kimo sửa chữa / chuyển vào 05:08 ngày 14/01/2005

Thanks Ak_pham. your hints helps me believe my language. I think that if I dont have to take a good mark in IELTS or any certificates, I will sthink in English everyday and every time. But I am very anxious about my pronunciation. Can u give me advice ?
I used to think that I have to study in foreinger Language center to speak fluently, but now I think that is a bad concept. I am wasting a lot of money for it, and the lession I have spent money and time to study is : If we don''t set a mission and plan a clear way to study English and other skills, we cannot catch the result we hope.

Hi Letmebe and other members,
I wanna share with you some tips to study speaking. I will continue to post some tips of pronunciation and something more.
Hope they are useful for you guys....
----
How to practice and improve Speaking skill?
+ Talk to yourself
+ Talk about anything and everything. Do it in the privacy of your own home. If you can''''t do this at first, try reading out loud until you feel comfortable hearing your own voice in English.
+ Record your own voice
This might feel very uncomfortable, but it will help you find your weak pronunciation points. Listen to yourself a few days later. Which sounds do you have difficulty hearing?
+ Use the telephone.
+ Participate in class
+ Learn common idioms
+ Understand the sounds that your language doesn''''t have
For example, many languages don''''t have the "r" sound. These sounds require extra practice.
+ Recognize that teachers are trained to understand you
When you get out into the real world, average people will have a more difficult time understanding you unless you practise speaking slowly and with proper pronunciation.
+ Practise minimal pairs
+ Study word and sentence stress
+ Practice tongue twisters
Được fireice sửa chữa / chuyển vào 23:48 ngày 05/11/2005

English Pronunciation
English is not Phonetic
Always remember that English is not "phonetic". That means that we do not always say a word the same way that we spell it.
Word Stress in English
The secret key to English pronunciation! Many languages don''t use word stress but English does, and so must you!
Sentence Stress in English
Like word stress, sentence stress is a fundamental part of the English language. Your English pronunciation will improve immediately if you start using sentence stress
Homophones
Homophones are words that have exactly the same sound (pronunciation) but different meanings and (usually) spelling. For example: hour/our or to/too/two.
Linking in English
Linking is important in English. When we say a sentence, we join or "link" many of the words.
English Tongue-Twisters
Tongue-twisters are phrases that "twist your tongue". These English tongue-twisters are very difficult to say, even for native English speakers!
English Phonetic Spelling
When speaking on the telephone, it is sometimes useful to spell a word using English Phonetic Spelling.

Pronunciation Tips
These English pronunciation tips will help you get the most out of your Pronunciation Power program.
Tip 1
Do not confuse pronunciation of words with their spelling! For example, "threw" and "through", although spelled differently, are pronounced the same. Also, identical letters or letter clusters in words do not always produce the same sound. For example, the "ough" in "though" and "through" represents a different sound in each word. Learn to practise what you hear, not what you see.
Tip 2
Imagine a sound in your mind before you say it. Try to visualize the positioning of your mouth and face. Think about how you are going to make the sound.
Tip 3
Listen to and try to imitate the Pronunciation Power instructor. In ad***ion to listening for specific sounds, pay attention to pauses, the intonation of the instructor''s voice and patterns of emphasis. This can be just as important as the pronunciation of sounds.
Tip 4
The English language has many different dialects, and words can be pronounced differently. It is important, however, that you pronounce words clearly to ensure effective communication.
Tip 5
Finally, the Pronunciation Power program is a tool to help you. But you must practise what you are learning! Remember that you are teaching your mouth a new way to move. You are building muscles that you do not use in your own language. It is like going to the gym and exercising your body. Use the program to exercise your mouth a little bit each day.

Pronunciation Glossary
These are some of the words used to talk about pronunciation. You will find them in the instructions for your Pronunciation Power program.
Air flow
The flow or passage of air out of the mouth.
Aspiration
A small "explosion" of air when you make a sound.
Au***ory
Hearing (not seeing).
Clusters (blended sounds)
Two or more sounds put together to make a single sound.
Curl
A position of the tongue where the tongue is shaped in a curve, not flat.
Flatten
A position of the tongue where the tongue is flat not round.
Glide / Slide
Move the tongue as you say the sound.
Hard palate
Hard part of the roof of the mouth.
Intonation
Change in pitch of a sentence, up and down.
Lengthen sound
Make the duration of the sound longer.
Lips spread
Lips are open slightly and pulled back.
Lower
Bottom of mouth.
Pitch
Amount of height or depth of a sound.
Pressed lips
Top and bottom lips touching.
Protruded lips
Rounded lips, pushed out.
Roof
Top part of your mouth, inside.
Round lips
Make a circle with lips.
Shorten sound
Make the duration of the sound shorter.
Soft palate
Soft part of the roof of the mouth.
Tap
Touch quickly.
Tooth ridge
The hard area directly behind your top front teeth.
Top of mouth / Roof of mouth
Area of tooth ridge, hard palate and soft palate.
Unvoiced (voiceless)
The vocal cords do not vibrate.
Upper
Top of mouth.
Visual
Seeing (not hearing).
Voiced
The sound is made by vibrating the vocal cords (voice box). To test whether you are making the sound voiced, put your fingers on your voice box. With a voiced sound you should feel a vibration. All vowels are voiced.
Được fireice sửa chữa / chuyển vào 23:36 ngày 17/11/2005