ELG STRATEGIES CHECKLIST MODULE 5 STRATEGIES TO TRY

As you work your way through the ELG modules, use this checklist to note the strategies you would
like to try, then start planning how you might begin to use them. It will also be useful to note the
strategies you already use, so that you have a better understanding of your learning approach.
ELG Star Tips are those strategies that were found by our research to be positively associated with
higher academic outcomes.

MODULE 5: IMPROVING YOUR ENGLISH

What does our research show?

Many of those detailed and time-consuming strategies for learning English which were useful for you in
your initial English language classes may not be useful to you now. In fact, those strategies may take
up too much time now that you have a heavy academic workload as well.

You now need to learn as you go.

Talk to yourself in English:

When I am alone and walking, travelling and even bathing, I often use English
to talk in my mind. By doing so, I feel comfortable and confident.

Talk to yourself in English all the time, either in your mind or just by whispering
to yourself in English.

Record yourself and play it back to see how you can improve.

Read aloud to yourself a little each day.

Even in my thinking process, I try to think and speak to myself in English.

Repeat what you hear:

Sometimes when I watch English movies, I try to repeat what they say in the
movie.

Memorize the way language is used by watching TV serials and imitating their
pronunciation.

I watch English movies and whenever I like a sentence, I say that sentence
EXACTLY like they said it in the movie over and over again ... I even do the
tone even though it is meant to be a tone for little girls... but I try it anyway!!

Television really helps because the words are pronounced and used in the
right context so you learn to use new words the right way by hearing how to
pronounce it and how to use it.

Might
try later

Ill try
this one

SPEAKING STRATEGIES

I do this
already

Recorded below are some of the key strategies suggested by our students, supplemented by some we have
drawn from other research.

Have something to talk about:

Keep up to date with news and current affairs so that you have a topic of
conversation that you can draw on.

Live with people from other cultures and language backgrounds:

Try to live with people who come from different backgrounds because it will
force you to speak English.

Live with an Australian home-stay family it will help you to understand

Australian culture and the Australian accent.

Make friends with English-speaking people:

Interact with native speakers. Don't be shy or afraid of making mistakes. When
you feel comfortable, ask people to correct you.

I have several Australian friends, so I use English a lot when I meet them after
they finish their work on weekdays or over the weekends.

The best way to pick up the expressions I need in everyday life is to mingle
with native speakers.

Relax when you speak it actually improves your articulation.

Make friends with people who are from other countries who dont speak your
first language so that you have to communicate in English.

Get a job in an English speaking work environment:

Working part-time in English-speaking surroundings is a big help. I improved

my speaking that way and understand Australian English better!!

I am somewhat forced to improve my oral communication in English as I work

at a footy venue where I have to answer and guide people.

Talk to your family, your children and your friends in English:

I speak in English with my kids, who are currently studying in primary school,
to improve my communication skills.

I spend time speaking English especially when I'm with my boyfriend who also
comes from the same background, and we correct each others English.

Using English words when communicating with family or friends from back
home is another thing you can do to improve English.

Use English in your daily activities:

I use English with friends and tutors or lecturers. I also use English in shops
or to find my way to reach some destination.

I attend a lot of workshops and seminars in my field and learn how people
express their ideas on particular topics.

Make friends in all classes. It's sometimes easier to practise English with
other international students because they are struggling at first as well.

Go to museums, parks, plays, bars, church. Do in English what you normally

would do in your native language in your home country.

Check with your listener to make sure that they understand you. Its quite OK
to ask, Do you understand what I mean?

Join a club or group:

I joined a debating club, and went to meetings of societies that organise

events which I can actively take part in.

Play sport with a club: university sports and clubs are great ways to meet

people and interact in English.

Join a Toastmasters Club

Try to do group assignments with people from different cultures.

Arrange a weekly meeting with friends who come from different countries.
Have different topics to discuss every week and perhaps have a presentation
by one or two members about their own cultures as well.

Keep on practising:

Keep practising to keep up with the standard of your English, no matter how
fluent your English is, because once you become lazy at using English, then
you will go backwards.

The more you use English the better user you become. You learn writing by
writing, speaking by speaking and reading by reading.

Seize every chance to practise your English whether on campus or in your job.
Practice makes perfect.

If a phrase or word is always difficult, write it down and practise it.

Take the opportunity to have conversations with people you dont know it is
very different talking to those with whom you are familiar.

Set aside some English only time there is nothing wrong with using your
own language, but forcing yourself to use English can push you to the next
level of your development.

Talk on the phone without the cues from face to face exchanges (e.g. facial
expressions and gestures) you will improve your ability to speak carefully (and
negotiate with the listener when you are not making yourself understood).
Practise saying your name, address and phone number so that you are
understood.

Engage in real life tasks. For example, give directions to people who ask;
when eating out, ask a wait person about a certain dish (ingredients, how it is
made); talk to peers/friends about what you did on the weekend; chat to the
person serving you at the shop.

Form a study group, meet regularly and spend time discussing your course
content.

Record yourself speaking play it back and think about how you might
improve your speech. Compare how you sound to the recording of an
Australian speaking friend.

LISTENING STRATEGIES

Our students watch movies, television, radio and listen to English music:

Listen to local radio and even news from your home country in English.

I am trying to manage my time to listen to English music, watch news in

English, watch TV programs. Start with TV because you can observe the body
language too.

Watching movies with both English and Chinese subtitles is a good way for me

Might
try later

When you are talking to someone, check that they are following your meaning
ask questions such as Do you understand what I mean?

Ill try
this one

I do this
already

Other helpful tips

to improve English. I do not look at subtitles when I can understand the film. If I
cannot catch it, I will look at the English subtitles. Looking at Chinese subtitles
just confirms whether I am right in understanding the meaning.

I mostly learn English by listening to songs and watching movies in order to

improve my listening and speaking skills. I exposed myself as much as
possible by watching TV or movies and listening radio or music.

Listen to English songs and sing with the English lyrics.

Listen to ABC radio every day while travelling to and from Uni.

Watch documentary movies sometimes it is easier to understand the

grammar and learn new vocabulary.

I always watch foreign (English speaking) movies, sitcoms and TV series with
English subtitles. I believe it's the best way to improve my English.

Video-record and re-play until you understand the language.

Our students attend all their lectures to hear English spoken:

I attend all lectures, tutorials and lab classes because they are important and
because I hear native English speakers speak English. In turn it helps me to
hear how they pronounce certain words.

What does our research show?

Following a lecture on a handout and adding your own notes is linked to academic success. So
make sure you print off notes/handouts before a lecture if they are made available to you.

Relying on friends notes and reading the material instead of attending the lecture DID NOT correlate
positively with academic success.

Some words of advice:

It's not so important to understand every word that another person is saying. It may be more important
for you to understand what they mean in the context. As time goes on, you will know how to use those
words or sentences.

Talking on the phone is difficult but important. Dont hesitate to ask for information to be repeated.
Practise by ringing a friend.

Australian accents

Never hesitate to ask what an expression means, and that includes your
lecturers and tutors. Native speakers like to explain slang terms.

Keep a note of new expressions in a journal/diary.

English is not the same in all English-speaking countries, so international

students need to know which words can be used in specific countries, to avoid
offending people when they don't mean to.

Conversation groups are a great way for a new international student to

become familiar with Aussie slang.

Dont be too shy to ask people to explain or repeat what they said. Say things
such as Im sorry I dont quite understand, Could you please repeat that

Might
try later

Ill try
this one

Listening to understand Australian accents and expressions:

I do this
already

New accents are always difficult for language learners to understand. Australian English not only differs from
other accents in its pronunciation but also in its idiomatic expressions (also called slang). These are fun to
learn and there are many books and websites where you can learn more about Australian slang.

again, What do you mean when you say?.

Culture and language are closely linked, so find out about Australian culture to
help your understanding when speaking with others especially those who are
Australian born. It will also help you understand the content of your course
many cultural references are made in lectures.

Other helpful tips

Practise listening top down (listening to get the big picture) or bottom up
(listening for details) but not at the same time. Choose the way that is most
appropriate for the context. For example, in an informal context listen for the
gist. Alternatively, listen to the language that a radio announcer uses (one
day focus on pronunciation, another day on words or phrases).

Use online dictionaries when you want help with the pronunciation of a word.

More words of advice about Australian language and culture:

Listening also means observing body language. Notice how Australian English speakers:

Keep their private space. That means that there is always some distance between speakers.

Give feedback to the person speaking by nodding their head a little or by saying things like mmm,
Yes, OK or right.

Look directly at the face of the person they are speaking to.

Other unique features of Australian English to listen for:

Australian English speakers are generally shy about formal introductions and may start talking without
formally introducing themselves.

Compared with other English speaking societies, Australian English speakers say thank you a lot.

Our students say read more to read better:

Read local newspapers even for international happenings and news.

Read magazines, simple novels, and newspapers, even the free newspapers
and pamphlets at railway stations or supermarkets, food labels, cookbooks,
road signs, advertisements anything you can find in English.

I read a lot of fictional and non-fictional works. I have the habit of reading at
least a novel or text every week. I also belong to a book club.

Try to read as many academic journals as possible.

Read course-related newspapers (e.g. the Financial Review or the business

pages in the daily newspaper).

What does our research show?

Students who read slowly and translate back into their first language do
not achieve well academically. There was a negative correlation between
the use of this strategy and Grade Point Averages.

Might
try later

Ill try
this one

READING STRATEGIES

I do this
already

They often hedge their requests, that is they are less direct when asking for something, e.g. Do you mind if I
shut the window?, Is it OK if I smoke?, Can you reach that glass for me?, etc.

Smart reading tips:

Read widely to expand your day-to-day vocabulary.

Familiarise yourself with what you are about to read the structure (chapters,
sections), the contents pages, the index, the reference section, any differences
in type setting and what they signal, and look at figures and tables.

Scan the text first to find out where information can be found.

Construct a diagram of your understanding as you read so that you will

remember the relationships between ideas in what you read.

Read academic texts with a focus. Focused reading means you are looking for
particular information and this helps you to concentrate.

If your textbooks have questions at the end of each chapter, try finding the
information to answer each question this is focused reading.

Pay attention to the headings and sub-headings - these will help you
understand what follows.

Pay attention to the first sentence in a paragraph, it can give you an idea of
what follows.

Look for connecting words such as for example, then, in addition, similarly,
therefore, firstly, secondly, finally, in conclusion etc. These will guide you
through the text and show you the relationships between sentences.

Avoid looking up every word. Try and guess the meaning from the context.

Critical reading tips

Critical reading is not about criticizing. Its about evaluating (positively or negatively)
what you read against some criteria, so you need to have some criteria before you
start. Here are some criteria for evaluating an academic text which ones do you use?
Overview critique

When and where was the research done or the paper written (It might be out
of date or be very recent)?

Who was the paper written for who is the intended audience?

What sort of text is it (research qualitative or quantitative; theoretical or more

abstract; a review a good resource to keep; polemical (a discussion paper)
contributing to an ongoing controversy or discussion)?

Did the author explain his/her aims clearly? Look at the abstract or
introduction.

Why was the paper written did the author respond to previous inconclusive
research, add to an existing body of research, contribute to an on-going
controversy, raise a new problem or issue?

Did the author review the background adequately? Look at the literature the
author has reviewed.

Did the author show a need for his/her research? Does the paper respond to
problems identified in previous literature? What does the author hope to
achieve in the paper? What are their aims?

Was the research/argument strong or robust?

What was the methodology (quantitative or qualitative)?

Were the research instruments piloted, informed by other research, validated,

and included (or not) in an appendix?

What sort of sampling was involved a large-scale population, a selected

sample? Was the sample size adequate?

What percentage of the target group responded (for a survey or

questionnaire)?

Are the results statistically significant?

Who collected the data and how was it collected? Would there have been any
researcher bias?

Do YOU think the findings are of value? What are your reasons for this?

Was the argument/claim/hypothesis made explicit and well supported with

examples and/or evidence?

What does it contribute to the field of research? How will it contribute

to/change practice or opinions?

What were the limitations of the research? Was anything left out or not
discussed or considered?

Does the research have external validity? Can it be replicated elsewhere?

How sure are the writers about their research findings? Look at the discussion,
and for words like suggest, probably may, could, implies, etc.

WRITING STRATEGIES

Our students noted that academic writing was not like other writing and required
them to develop a new style.

When you are writing for academic purposes, draft an outline for your text. List
your main points and use these as your topic sentences for each new
paragraph.

Get a friend (especially someone who has English as their first language) to
read what you have written. Ask them to let you know if there is anything that
doesnt make sense or is not expressed in the usual way.

Read your own text aloud. You will pick up errors more quickly because you
are using your eyes and your voice. If you run out of breath, look at the
structure of your sentences they may be too long.

Make charts or lists of useful words and phrases, especially those that you
may use often, and those that you find difficult to use appropriately.

Keep a record of the feedback you get from your tutors and lecturers when
they mark your work reflect on this feedback and see if there is a common
pattern of problems.

Take the opportunity to write notes, emails and letters to your friends and
acquaintances in English.

When you are writing, take advantage of the thesaurus option available on
many computer word programs. For instance, write a simple word and see if a

Might
try later

Do these findings agree or disagree with the background literature?

Ill try
this one

I do this
already

What was the final conclusion? (Look at the Discussion)

Keep a journal this provides practice and gives you an opportunity to reflect
on your language and your experiences.

Have grammar resources readily available. There is lots of online help and
there are a number of good texts available keep these on hand when you are
writing.

When you come across a piece of text that is particularly well written keep a
copy and examine it carefully. Consider those parts of it that contribute to the
quality of the text.

Many websites have discussion boards. Join one and contribute. Discussion
board writing is a particular type of writing, but it does provide some writing
practice.

WRITING EXTRA: TIPS ON HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARISM

Always include references for direct quotes, for paraphrasing, and for
summarizing. You must always give credit where credit is due.

Keep track of ALL your sources. Photocopy your source material or store it in a
bibliographic program like Endnote, so that you dont have to go back to the
library or look for material again.

Always quote and reference a key word that isnt commonly found in other
resources.

When you use three or more successive words from any source, quote and
reference the quote.

Never just substitute your words for someone elses words and call it your
work. Its the thinking behind the ideas that you need to experience, not the
practice at using a thesaurus.

Never use the syntax and organization of ideas in an article without referencing
it.

Never plagiarize yourself. You can refer to papers you have previously written
or published. You can even quote yourself. But never copy/paste your previous
writing and present it as a new piece of work.

Always take accurate notes. Include quotation marks, complete bibliographic

references, page numbers, and note when you are paraphrasing or
summarizing.

Create an annotated bibliography or keep a list of URLs so that you can go

back to source material later if needed.

Always plan your time. Writing takes time, especially if it involves research.
Good note taking takes time. If you procrastinate, then you give yourself less
time and make plagiarism appear to be a viable option. It is never an option.

Might try
later

Use a learners dictionary to make sure that you use new words correctly.
Remember that many English words are only correct in some contexts.

Ill try
this one

I do this
already

better word can replace it (e.g. when using Microsoft word highlight the word
you have used and right click synonyms).

All strategies cited here were adapted or cited in full from Wadsworth Cencage Learning Discipline Resources/English/Special Features
http://www.wadsworth.com/english_d/special_features/plagiarism/strategies.html Downloaded 12 Feb 2010

Dont procrastinate.

Always make writing personally meaningful even if the topic seems

mundane. If you think through what makes the topic meaningful, you will want
to learn more and come up with your own ideas.

IMPROVING YOUR VOCABULARY

It is important now to develop vocabulary in the context of your academic learning and your life in Australia.
Avoid spending too much time using the time-consuming strategies that you may have used when first learning
new words in English.
What does our research show?
Risk-taking strategies such as thinking of an English word that you think means the same thing
relate positively to academic achievement.

Might try
later

Ill try
this one

Our students provided a lot of strategies on how they remember new words and
phrases. Here are some for you to consider, along with some from other
research on learning new vocabulary:

I do this
already

Micro-strategies or detailed time-consuming activities are negatively associated with academic

achievement. Some examples of micro-strategies are:
using the word or phrase in a rhyme or with related words
writing it down on a list
remembering when you first saw it
creating a wall chart of new words/phrases
working out the meaning of an English work by dividing it into parts that you understand.

Actually using a new word or phrase is useful:

For me I need to use a particular word or phrase at least three times within a
short span of time to remember it.

I try to learn new words from daily life, even when I am shopping at Coles. The
more often I use and see the word, the easier for me to understand and apply
the word in my writing or speaking.

Read widely stories, newspapers, magazines outside class to increase

your English vocabulary.

Use the word while having a conversation with a native English speaker.

Use any new word in everyday life whenever possible.

Discipline specific vocabulary, or the terminology that is used in your study

2
area, is especially important :

Write a brief definition of key words within texts (and perhaps write your first
language equivalent above) so that you can understand how they are used in
context.

Pay attention to new words and expressions used by your teachers and
classmates.

Strategies to help in acquiring discipline-specific vocabulary were drawn from 1) Akbari, Z., & Tahririan, M. H. (2009). Vocabulary Learning Strategies in
an ESP Context: The Case of Para/medical English in Iran. Asian EFL Journal, 11(1), 39-61 and 2) Fan, M. Y. (2003). Frequency of Use, Perceived
Usefulness, and Actual Usefulness of Second Language Vocabulary Strategies: A Study of Hong Kong Learners. The Modern Language Journal, 87(2), 222241.

Undertake extensive reading of references, journal articles, etc., in your

discipline so that you have repeated exposure to specialist vocabulary items.

Maintain a glossary of key words and phrases in your discipline.

Learning Australian expressions is a challenge:

Conversation groups are a great way to get familiar with Aussie slang.

I reckon the best way to pick up expressions I need in everyday life is to mingle
with native speakers.

International students should learn about English speakers backgrounds and

unique culture. It takes time to comprehend to see all the complex differences.

Understanding your own culture is actually as important as understanding

Australian culture when you study English as your second language.

Linguistic research suggests that we can learn whole phrases just as we learn
words:

If a word is difficult, try learning it in a phrase.

When you learn a phrase, you learn a bit of grammar with it.

Learn academic expressions as whole phrases. This helps you remember the
correct prepositions, e.g. In contrast to; this is similar to; as a result
of, etc.

To learn a new word find a context for it learn it in a sentence that means
something to you.

As you read, dont list new words, write them in a new context (e.g. a
sentence). This also gives you practice at paraphrasing.

It is important to review and consolidate new words you have learned. When
you read a sentence or a passage and come across a word you have just
learned, focus on recalling the meaning of the word to help you understand the
context.

Some students had interesting new ways to remember words:

Type new words into the memo/notes section in your mobile phone.

Record yourself saying the word and its meaning onto your phone.

Use daily reminders or pop-up post-it notes on your computer screen.

Some final words of advice:

These are strategies that will work in with your daily activities.
Be careful not to spend too much time creating special lists, wall charts and so on.
At this level your time is better focused on mastering your academic reading and writing.