· Studying

Hi, my friend! I know that you have just arrived in Singapore and are going to study English in the following six months. I also know that all of you are the first class students in China, but I still want to say some words on studying in Singapore, because studying here is slightly different from that in China, especially in English subject. I would like to give you some information, suggestions and share my experience as a senior scholar.

· Study style

We all have the experience of learning English in China: the endless grammar, vocabulary exercises and exams. It seems that even if you could not speak English well, you still can get high scores. However, English is a language, which is used to communicate with people. Therefore, you must firstly change your attitude and study style toward English: you need more speaking and more application. To the opposite, you will not have that tedious homework to do here. English teachers here pay more attention on skills, abilities and application on language. You may feel

stressless and free, but in fact, more work is waiting for you. The teachers will give you some kinds of work which is very useful to let you know the cultural background and raise your interest in English, such as some interesting reading materials, some educational movies. You also will have some kinds of projects that you have not done before such as survey report, research paper, magazine, etc. Those works are actually interesting and challengable, it does not just need your English but also your ability of organisation, creativity, imagination, etc.

· Speaking

First please look at this instance: on an English lesson when I just arrived here, the teacher taught us how to visit BBC’s web site to learn English. When I was looking at BBC’s web site, the teacher asked me: “ how do you find it?” I answered immediately: “ Oh, very easy, I find it through ‘ Yahoo’.” In fact, what the teacher meant was how I thought about the web site. So the “ joke” happened. But I never forget the meaning of that sentence since then. PRC scholars are usually weak in speaking but strong in grammar. That is somewhat ascribed to the English learning style in China. To improve speaking skills, most people's experience is that you speak clearly as much as possible. It is really a good method proved by many of us. Furthermore, I think the more effective way is conversation. You should take every possible chance (if you want, you will get enough) to speak to your teachers, foreigners and your classmates (in English of course). At first, you may feel nervous and make some mistakes, but that will be improved after a period of time. If you do so, your oral English will be improved at an amazing speed. In the end, you will be able to express yourself freely. That is very helpful to your listening and vocabulary too. The example above means you can learn through conversation as well. You should also memorise some phrases, idioms that can make your conversation more fluent.

· Vocabulary

In the beginning you perhaps worried about your vocabulary, because you may find that there always are have some unfamiliar words that influence your understanding. I still remember the first lesson I had in Singapore: could not understand what the teacher said, did not know what the teacher wrote on the board. However, all of us right now can have lessons without language obstacle. As you can see, vocabulary is the basic and essential thing in English. Certain amount of vocabulary is absolutely necessary. So, how to build your vocabulary? Many people's experience is: memorising certain amount of words, always try to use the new words in conversation and writing consciously. You can also persist in reading articles on the“ Straits Time” and some magazines, although you may not understand them at first. If you are free, it’s very helpful to read some famous English novels, perhaps that may attract you more than newspaper. By doing so, your vocabulary will be accumulated step by step and you will first get benefit in reading and listening exams. On the other hand, though vocabulary is so basic and important, it is not everything in English. We should know that even a British could not know all the English words. As for us, the most important task is to remember the several thousand most useful words firmly. What I hope is that you do not put too much pressure on yourself. Often times, the most useful and powerful tools in the comprehensive reading exams are your linguistic sense and how much you know the cultural background, but not the amount of your vocabulary. Another aspect, you may loss your interest or passion if you are memorising the vocabulary round the clock. I do not think that is a good way of learning vocabulary because, without application, you will forget them after a long time.

· Ending

English, unlike those science subjects, needs you to work hard and never stop. Language also should include communication skills that make it even more difficult. After all, English is really a subject that is worth a person to spend all his/her life to learn. Another aspect, I also find myself become interested in English. That leads me to put more effort in it. I think latter on you would have the same feeling. Of course, much more personal-suitable experience and methods of learning English is waiting to be found and summarised by yourself. "Studying is study how to study", isn't it? We have to admit that English is very hard for us, but English is the most useful and necessary, especially for our future in Singapore. Furthermore, once you loved it, you will spend all your life to learn it. Let's learn English together, with our passion and determination!

G.P.4 Yage 28/9/99