I wonder how much time you guys and gals spend on reading English newspapers? If you are serious about learning English, spending 30 minutes to one hour everyday shouldn't be too much to ask. I mean, read the sentences outloud and don't worry about whether you understand every darn word. The understanding will be gradual, but seeing English words will eventually become second nature to you. (you're becoming second nature to me now...) When you walk down the streets, do you first see English or Chinese on those signs? Perhaps play a little treasure hunt and catch those funny things some experts were paid big bucks to translate...and for us to get good laughs? If you catch one, let the store know, and perhaps our English can all improve as a result. My advice is to read a lot, but don't try to understand all of them; listen to (or watch) lots of TV news off the internet (Nightly Business Report would be a great one for business majors), but don't try to understand them all. I was able to understand David Letterman only about 10% when I first started, but that was more of a culture thing than language per se. It does take time, but without seeing and hearing a lot, you will remain at saying "my English is poor." Try "my English is lousy," "my English is horrible," "my English kills cats," "my English is worse than your Chinese," "my English is hard to understand," "my English is like you-know-who,"... There are more than one way to skin a cat, but first you must have a chance to see 'em cats skinned. So, go out and expose yourself to lots of English words, phrases, usages...but for Pete's sake, don't hold the scary thought that you must understand them all to be worthy of using English. That said, live long and prosper... --

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