I need help please!!!

[Anonymous]

:shock:

I am a student at NSU which is in Oklahoma. I have a girlfriend that is Japanese and her second langauge is English. She has many problems with remembering things let alone English. I am an English major and a native speaker and have enough knowledge of English and very little knowledge of Second Language Acquisition. The semester here is winding down quickly and I want to spend the one month break with her so I can help her with her English studies. She doesn't study that much and it is very hard to get her interested in it. I am not a teacher but one day I would like to be one. I want to help her but I have no idea what I can do. I have asked for help before from an ESL person on my campus but she is no longer in Oklahoma and all she sent me was a website of ESL stuff. I will appreciate any ideas or help with this please. Thanks!

Phil

 

[Tdol]

Japanese and English are very different languages and there are major conceptual differences between them that can make learning difficult. however, romance is a great motivator. To be honest, I would focus more on getting her to speak, rather than woerrying too much about grammar. If you need to consult a grammar, I'd recommend this:
https://www.usingenglish.com/amazon/uk/019431197X.html

She can practice here:
https://www.usingenglish.com/test/index.php

What I'd do, is think of how she will need to use English and take her through those situations. Teach her shopping vocabulary by going shopping with her. I wouldn't spend the month studying grammar. get out and about and into situations where she needs to talk to you and others and use that as the basis for improvement. ;-)

PS- do come here if you have any questions. BTW, if you register, you'll get notifications of replies, etc. ;-)

 

[firippu]

I am logged in under a user name that registered before. I have no idea what my user name isn't showing up...

 

[firippu]

:shock:


My login is working now thanks. I tried giving her words to study like a list and she told me in order to remember them she has to memorize them over and over. If she doesn't she forgets them. Many of the words that I speak and tell her the meaning of she doesn't remember. Right now I really don't have time to give her lists and give quizes. She doesn't have all that time to memorize words over and over because she is in college too. I will try your suggestions. Thank you!

 

[Tdol]

Also remember that the words have absolutely no connection, unlike European languages, where there are many similarities. A third of English words are recognisable to French speakers, say. A list of words can be what is known as a 'graveyard', because it is too much to absorb. It's better to try a few words and reinforce constantly. It's always harder to learn new words where there is no connection or link.

It's also curious the way the mind works- some words sink in, others don't. A couple of weeks ago, I learnt the Japanese word for 'dimple' (ekobo- my spelling). It seemed such a cute word that I remembered it. I might well forget many useful words but still remember that one. The mind is a slippery customer and memory the slipperiest. ;-)