Tips for Taking Effective Lecture Notes in English

  • Thread starter Thread starter Aafia
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    English
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around strategies for taking effective lecture notes in English, particularly for individuals who feel their English language skills are weak. Participants share various tips and resources aimed at improving language proficiency through different methods such as reading, writing, listening, and engaging in conversation.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that practice in reading and writing is essential for improving English skills.
  • Others propose watching English movies and TV shows without subtitles as a method to enhance listening skills.
  • A few participants emphasize the importance of participating in forums and asking for corrections to improve language proficiency.
  • One participant mentions that listening is crucial for language acquisition, drawing parallels to how children learn from their parents.
  • There are suggestions to use language groups and websites for learning English, with specific recommendations like meetup.com for conversation practice.
  • Some participants share personal experiences of learning English, noting that writing by hand has helped improve their spelling.
  • Concerns are raised about specific vocabulary challenges, particularly in technical subjects like mathematics.
  • There is a discussion about the effectiveness of using subtitles while watching English media, with differing opinions on their necessity.
  • One participant mentions video games as a fun way to learn English and other languages.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the value of practice and engagement in various forms to improve English skills. However, there are differing opinions on the use of subtitles and the effectiveness of different learning methods, indicating that multiple competing views remain.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty about the best practices for learning English, and there are references to personal experiences that may not apply universally. The discussion includes a mix of formal and informal language tips, which may vary in relevance depending on individual learning styles.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for non-native English speakers looking for practical advice on improving their language skills, particularly in the context of taking lecture notes and engaging in academic discussions.

Aafia
Messages
70
Reaction score
1
I want to make my own notes of whatever sir says in class i mean how to take lecture notes ... but my english is weak ... please give me some tips ...
 
Science news on Phys.org
I'll add that practice includes reading as well as writing. In addition, corrections help. I learned a lot of Spanish by participating in alt.usage.spanish (on Usenet), where we discussed various things and people corrected my errors. Alt.usage.english might work for you. There are probably many other forums where you can get involved in discussing things that interest you and people will correct your errors in English. (In most forums, though, correction of people's language is discouraged.)
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Aafia
In your free time, you might want to watch english movies/tv-shows without subtitles. Very rough in the beginning, but you'll get the hang of it very quickly. This is essentially how I learned english.

Participating on english forums (such as this one) helps too, especially if you actively ask people to correct your mistakes. For example, for a long time I had in my signature that I appreciated any corrections of english mistakes.

And of course reading english books helps too. This can be about anything, even technical physics books.

The main components to understand a language are reading, writing, listening and talking. Talking will likely be difficult in a foreign country. But the other three should be possible to do.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Aafia and Greg Bernhardt
Aafia said:
I want to make my own notes of whatever sir says in class i mean how to take lecture notes ... but my english is weak ... please give me some tips ...

And let me give some suggestions:

1) The word "I" should always be a capital letter. I don't really know why that is, but that's the way it is.
2) "Sir" is probably your teacher. Of course you can call your teacher sir, but that's only when you talk to him directly. If you talk to us about your teacher, then you should say "my teacher" or "my professor".
3) Ending a sentence with "..." is allowed, but it's not good practice to do it three times in a row.
4) Sentences start with a capitcal letter.

Hope that helped!
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Aafia
I think you should listen the English as long as you can. Listening always helps in improving your language. A child listens to his/her parents and starts speaking the same language. Secondly you must try to speak, no matter if it is wrong. This is the only way you will be able to learn good skills of the language.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Aafia
micromass said:
Participating on english forums (such as this one) helps too, especially if you actively ask people to correct your mistakes. For example, for a long time I had in my signature that I appreciated any corrections of english mistake.
Ok can you please suggest me some websites so that i can learn english ... and thanks for help me
 
micromass said:
1) The word "I" should always be a capital letter.
Aafia said:
Ok can you please suggest me some websites so that i can learn english ... and thanks for help me
It looks like helping you is a waste of time.
 
zoobyshoe said:
It looks like helping you is a waste of time.
Sorry .. I have forgotten to write I in capital ..
 
  • #10
I like using language groups. Try meetup.com and find English conversation groups in your area
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Aafia
  • #11
I read books, watch movies with and without subtitles and I also wrote a lot in English (not typed, wrote with my own hand), hence my spelling is nigh impeccable (ego). PS! I am not a native speaker, English is my third language.
 
  • #12
nuuskur said:
I read books, watch movies with and without subtitles and I also wrote a lot in English (not typed, wrote with my own hand), hence my spelling is nigh impeccable (ego). PS! I am not a native speaker, English is my third language.
Well nigh impeccable, indeed! Your English is better than a lot of Americans whose first language is English.
 
  • #13
Mark44 said:
Well nigh impeccable, indeed! Your English is better than a lot of Americans whose first language is English.
That may be the case, but I am not really satisfied. I can do fine in a regular chat, but I struggle with specific vocabulary: mathematical analysis related vocabulary, for instance. Another point is that I don't really consider knowing English all that impressive, since we are all surrounded by it. I would be much more content were I able to speak Swedish/Norwegian, English is .. a means to an end, it sounds horrible, I know.
 
  • #14
micromass said:
In your free time, you might want to watch english movies/tv-shows without subtitles. Very rough in the beginning, but you'll get the hang of it very quickly. This is essentially how I learned english.
.

Aren't English subtitles helpful?
 
  • #15
Lisa! said:
Aren't English subtitles helpful?

Sure, and sometimes they are necessary. But from experience I found out you learn to understand English much quicker and better if you do it without subtitles. However, you must know English pretty well already to be able to understand it without subtitles.
 
  • #16
Do you enjoy playing video games? I found it a quick and enjoyable way of learning language, thanks to it I can improve my English and some basics of Japanese katakana. And for a student, of course reading English textbooks.
 
  • #17
Thank you guys for giving me advice and tips . I will try .
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: nuuskur
  • #18
Aafia said:
Thank you guys for giving me advice and tips . I will try .
For some reason, I felt proud :)
 

Similar threads

  • Sticky
  • · Replies 0 ·
Replies
0
Views
5K
  • Poll Poll
  • · Replies 142 ·
5
Replies
142
Views
7K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
3K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
34
Views
4K
Replies
4
Views
4K
Replies
14
Views
4K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
2K
Replies
98
Views
4K
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
4K