English learning from Civfanatics

[Cheetah]

Otago is the name of province??? Thanks for good information.
I guessed he might be from Africa because he did say he would speak to his people or family in Maori. I'm still not sure, though.

... Maori isn't African. The Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand.

And as far as I know, otago is from New Zealand. He's been telling bits and pieces of his life there in several posts on the forum. And he's some part Maori as well, if memory serves me right.

 

[Leifmk]

This place in particular? Not really, as I learned English long before there was a civfanatics forum. But it was largely my interest in nerdy stuff such as computers, science fiction books and so on that drove me to learn English in the first place. As far as reading and writing goes, I've used English more than my native Norwegian on a daily basis for maybe twenty years now.

 

[ryandryu]

... Maori isn't African. The Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand.

And as far as I know, otago is from New Zealand. He's been telling bits and pieces of his life there in several posts on the forum. And he's some part Maori as well, if memory serves me right.

Sorry for my mistake. I'd better go to bed. It's 03:50.

 

[ryandryu]

A Korean trying to learn English eh? Well, don't spend your time here trying to get that service for free (are you North Korean perhaps? because I smell communism), go hire a Filipino who can teach you broken English over video chats. Because you know, the best things in life cost money.

Thanks for your good advice.
But you got me wrong. If you more carefully read what I posted, you will more exactly know where I'm from and what I'm doing where. You don't have to do that, though.
Anyway, misunderstanding and negotiation of meaning is said to be another good way to learn language.
I appreciate your misunderstanding.

 

[Winner]

So, what did you do last weekend?

It's more of a question of who

Oh, if only...

I'm sure he did his usual. Worked some, relaxed, then went to church on Sunday to repent his sins and continue the fruitful and not at all imaginary path towards salvation.

How do you know? Have you been following me?

 

[ryandryu]

I first came here because I wanted to practice my English. I must say it has helped me a lot. Unfortunately, I've built up a vocabulary that's great for all kinds of talk about politics, history, sciences and other topics, but is pretty useless for describing ordinary things. I could talk hours about some of these topics, but when I am asked what I did last weekend, I can barely stutter few senteces

Hi winner,

How did you know this place? What made you come here? Do you play Civilization?
Which part is more helpful in learning English? Gameplay itself or interacting with others here?
I think your ability to "talk about politics, history, sciences and other topics" has greater value than that of casual conversation.
The former seems to take more time and efforts than the latter. Don't you think so?

Good luck!

 

[Kennigit]

How do you know? Have you been following me?

My bro Jesus told me. He sees everything man!

 

[Winner]

Hi winner,

How did you know this place? What made you come here? Do you play Civilization?
Which part is more helpful in learning English? Gameplay itself or interacting with others here?

Ha, so many questions As a kid I used to play Civ 1 and other games which gave me some knowledge of English. Later I got addicted to Fallout games, which really forced me to expand my vocabulary.

As for today, I think I am past the point where games can teach me anything I don't already know (OK, except for games like GTA which can teach you the slang used by certain type of black people in America).

I think your ability to "talk about politics, history, sciences and other topics" has greater value than that of casual conversation.

On the internet, yes. In my field of study, yes. In usual day-to-day conversation, no way. I am pretty bad at small talk.

The former seems to take more time and efforts than the latter. Don't you think so?

I don't know - but it's definitely embarrassing. When I use English to talk about the things I mentioned, I am pretty self-confident and natural. When I am supposed to talk about mundane things, I have the feeling I sound like a high-school student. Even my accent deteriorates I'd say my English is really topic-dependent which is really pathetic.

Good luck!

I might have missed that, but why are you interested in this? Your English seems perfect. Is it some research project of yours?

My bro Jesus told me. He sees everything man!

Big Brother Jesus?

 

[azzaman333]

I'm a native English speaker, and posting here has probably made my English use in real life worse. I can edit what I say here without anyone reading it but real life doesn't work that way.

 

[Tee Kay]

My written English steadily decays whilst i post on this forum

I'm a native English speaker, and posting here has probably made my English use in real life worse. I can edit what I say here without anyone reading it but real life doesn't work that way.

I'm not a native speaker but I can agree with these statements. My speaking has always been horrible but I can remember being able to write good stories and essays and address topics in long paragraphs before I discovered the internet. I think I've gotten used to writing short statements and spam posts on forums and being able to edit what I write.

 

[ryandryu]

I might have missed that, but why are you interested in this? Your English seems perfect. Is it some research project of yours?

Probably.
I'm interested in the beyond-game culture like cfc from pedagogical perspectives although I need more learning and exploration.
Also, as you guess, I might want to write a research paper on the subject someday.

 

[Kennigit]

Big Brother Jesus?

I asked O'brien whether Big Brother existed, and all he said was how I don't exist. But with Jesus, one time I was chilling out on the beach and stopped walking because I was tired and Jesus came and carried me on the sand! How can Jesus be big brother since big brother doesn't exist?

 

[Shaihulud]

I use it as my first language as I am living in Singapore. I am fine with technical writing, but otherwise it is not very good. I come to the forums in the past to practise my English, and also improve my CIV3 skills. It did improve my game, but not my English skills (I am too lazy to post much) My written and articulated English does not match, I can speak English sentences normally, but writing it down is harder.

 

[ryandryu]

I use it as my first language as I am living in Singapore. I am fine with technical writing, but otherwise it is not very good. I come to the forums in the past to practise my English, and also improve my CIV3 skills. It did improve my game, but not my English skills (I am too lazy to post much) My written and articulated English does not match, I can speak English sentences normally, but writing it down is harder.

So, do you think your writing would have improved more if you'd more often written here? If so, why?