Learning English - My Method

In one of my telephone conversation with a client, I noticed myself stammering a lot in my English pronunciation. I know it is just fine, English is not my first language. Sentence constructions is also difficult for me which takes me a little longer to form an English paragraph. I have to make many revisions from time to time. In short, I am not proficient in English.

I wonder then how can I improve my English proficiency. Most of the applications I did before for oversea, I was asked for my English proficiency and to fake it, I often check the box for fluent in both written and oral. But in reality, I have difficulty expressing myself in English. Recently, I am thinking of switching a job, but I am dreading the interview. I can't sell myself in English. You know what I mean.

And at the back of my mind, I need I have to do something.

I have to squeeze time to learn a word each day and its meaning and be able to apply it in a sentence. I remember during high school in our English subject we had a notebook where we cut an English word from newspapers or magazines, paste it on a page, provide its meaning and use it in a sentence. And I started just doing that. But with only a notebook and a pen. Whenever I encounter a word that I don't understand, I just write the word, google it and write down its meaning. Good thing, I have this blog to apply the new word I learned each day.

I have been listening to great music these past weeks. Honestly, before, I couldn't understand the content of a song if I do not read the lyrics. But with more listening, I am beginning to understand the lyrics and how it is pronounce in a song.

I watch more English movies lately. Would you believe I don't actually understand English movies' plot without a subtitle? Or without me reading first the synopsis? That's how low my comprehension is. Before, I lean on the character's actions of the movie thus movies with less actions and more of conversations bore me. I don't understand it at all. With more exposure to these, I think I am progressing with the pronunciation as well as comprehension. I am still having trouble though with British English. I will get to that. :)

I am also finding time to read English books. Out loud. I remember the time, when husband heard me reading out loud and he has given me a face of disbelief. Like, seriously, you are reading out loud? Hahaha. I ignore him of course and just continue. The truth is, I have the 'probinsiyana' accent with 'f' becoming 'p' and vice versa. With 'o' as 'u'. And a lot more of the letters. Hahaha. He sometimes correct me with how I pronounce a word. A real time feedback. It's a good one though.

My financial blog reading for over a year now has taught me a lot of jargon words in financing. Glad, google is readily available. The adjustment with all the terms is all worth it.

I have a long way to go with English word/s. There are these idiomatic expressions I have yet to study.

Think positive. God Bless. :)

Breaking Away At The Moment

Two weekends ago, I was amazed by how my little child demonstrated perseverance into learning something new. Yes, looking at her from afar and just watching how she manages to go back and forth walking is something so wonderful for a mother like me. She sometimes loses her balance and then get up again and go the same routine. What caught me more smiling was when she was trying to reach a ball from the far end of the sofa. I watched her as she tries to reach it with her hand and fail several times. After many tries, I was anticipating for her to ask for my help but she didn't even glance at me. Instead, I saw her grab a teddy in the sofa and used it to pull the ball towards her and turned to me and said "Ketch" (for catch).

Funny how my little girl is teaching me a lot about all of these qualities. Her patience to get up every time she loses her balance from walking and running is remarkable. I know every kid in the world is actually like she is. Just unique paces. 

I know within myself that I should be childlike and not a childish at all. Having these certain treats - perseverance and determination, I know we can go along way with savings, sharing, and investing.

I admit, sometimes i am lax and most of the time, lagged behind with the care free attitude towards the future. Basically, my graph of motivation is fluctuating heavily as my emotions. Hormones they say. I get easily swayed and just completely dropped everything I have started eventually. Remember my expenses tracker?

As I watched my little girl move back and forth without her even looking at me and just continue her routine, even dances and raises her hand with a beaming smile on her lips, I thought how contented she is. How happy she is with her routine.

So maybe if I apply the same determination and perseverance to the other aspect of my life, I might end up with endless possibilities. As of the moment, I thought I have done so much with not much of results. I need more patience to look again. Fire up my desire to push me forward again. And if I encountered another dead end such as today, I can go back and examine where I went wrong.

Why did I say I am on a dead end today? I feel like I have exhausted so much of my effort and do not know if I can think more. To kill this immersing feeling, I decided to read a book. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. I must say it is a very good read.

I am determined to be a better person not just in my finances, our finances as a couple but also a better person in relationships whether it to be with my husband, my siblings, my in laws and other people. I wanted to persevere my personal goal as an individual and grow more spiritually.

I can do this. Baby step. I have started with finances and as of the moment, I can say though I am lax sometimes, my status is work in progress. A step forward still.

Just sharing. God Bless. Smile. :)

February - Spending Less and Less

28 days and they have gone so unnoticed. February, 2015. How it really went by so easily. I haven't got the chance to buy anything for myself. Wow! I am hoping the following months will be the same.

So what have kept me busy that I haven't hit the mall this month or the flea market for that matter? First, I am tired going out after work or before going to work. The workload has been heavy as reflected with my post. I only have few short posts. That when I get home, I just wanted to lie down and sleep. But, after a few minutes lying down, I usually grab my phone and check things out in the province. Then cook a simple breakfast and wait for the husband to come home. Sometimes, I eat alone specially when he has to extend longer period of time.

Second, I don't have any particular I like this month. My husband once told me, 'ang hirap mong regaluhan, wala kang gusto'. Hahaha. What he meant is that I don't really have those 'I want this, I want that' attitude. A chocolate will make me happy. A cake will make me giddy. But no to those high end gadgets, flowers, or other things. So this month, my husband only bought me chocolates and few junk foods which I crave on a PMS as a valentine gift. I begged the husband not to buy me any flowers which he promised not to. The flowers will wilt and the materials used to form the bouquet will add to waste.

Third, I haven't been watching TVs lately so I am no longer in sync with the trends. Hahaha. Added to that,  I have kept away from those few people who wanted to show off a lot. Who talk about the new 'must haves' and the 'new must try' eating venue/staycation and all. I think it had helped me because I know within myself, there is that 'inggetera' feeling. Hahaha. Plus, the social media craze like instagram and facebook. I put myself in lie low mode after I organize the contacts and following list. For me to learn more about contentment, I stayed away at those in the meantime until I can figure out exactly how to deal with it positively.

I am a work in progress. I know. I am willing to learn and change for the good. There maybe humps along the process but I know that I can do it. Things will fall into its right places at the right time.

Think positive. Smile. God Bless. :)