I have just changed my profile photo (avatar) - this is the first time I've ever changed it!

I bet you are already familiar with my old avatar, and some of the members here (like anele) may not really want me to change it. I don't think it's a good idea to change one's profile photo frequently, but it's quite acceptable to change it from time to time. Actually, some of the members have suggested I change it. I never changed the photo because I think it may make it hard for other members to easily recognize me - I almost failed to recognize some of my friends since they changed their avatars. Do you think it would be a problem to change profile photos so often?

And, finally, I thought it was time for me to do that. So, I changed it to a photo of me (taken in Canada) - you can see my face now. I'm not sure if I look just like what you imagined. You may say it doesn't matter the way I look since you never judge by apprearances which can be deceptive. I'm in my late 40s, and 178cm tall. I hope I didn't ruin the nice image of me (in your imagination).

Do you enjoy change? Some people fear it. Sometimes, however, we do something just for a change. Now is the beginning of 2012, don't you think it's time for a change?

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy new year! Happy 2012!

I've noticed that some of the members here prefer clicking on the "Like" to adding a comment on what they've just read or seen. There's nothing wrong, though, and most likely the blogger will appreciate it if you click on the button after you've read their blogs. I just wanted to say it might be not good enough to show your appreciation by just clicking on the "Like" rather than really adding a comment on what you really liked.

I usually leave a comment on what I like. I just read this blog by Tara. I really enjoyed reading it. I clicked on the "Like" and added a comment on it.

So, can you tell me why you just clicked on the "Like" instead of leaving a comment on what you've just read or liked? You might find it's hard for you to write something. If that's the case and if you really want to learn English, you should have tried to leave a comment there. You might have made some mistakes in your comment - spelling, grammar, etc, but that's what it takes for you to learn English. And most likely, the blogger will point out the mistakes you made if you really want them to correct you.

I consulted a grammar book again when I was trying to find an answer to a question this morning - it's been a long time since I last read the book. When I was looking through its table of contents, I found I needed to read some of its items again because I wasn't so sure if I really understood them, or rather some of the entries were so unfamiliar to me now even though I had read them more than once.

Yes, people forget things, and repetition seems to be one of the most effective ways to learn. Sometimes, you may think you have understood all of the contents in the book you've just read. But you need to consult the book from time to time, especially when you're trying to solve a problem or to answer a question, because you want to make sure you truly understand what you're trying to give. For example, when you are not so sure if you should use "in" or "of" in the following sentences:

(1) He is the tallest member in the team.

(2) He is the tallest member of them all.

I've read the grammar book several times - you bet it's one of my favorite books. The more times I read it, the more I learn. So I'll try to read it again.  It sounds crazy, doesn't it?  So, why not?

And, I'll try to read some of the comments, messages, blog posts here (on MyEC) again, because "people speak English."

 5 Free Online English Dictionaries for English Learners/teachers:

1. Longman - a user-friendly online dictionary with detailed meanings for each word.

2. Cambridge - providing you with concise meanings and pronunciation.

3. TheFreeDictionary - the world's most comprehensive dictionary with synonyms, antonyms, idioms, etc.

4. Urban - a dictionary with idiomatic usage for the words.

5. howjsay.com - a talking dictionary of English pronunciation.

Time flies! It's already been five months since I arrived here in Canada in February, and I'm going back to China in two weeks. I've experienced the winter and so fantastic a summer here; I've learned a lot (English,medicine, and more); I've made so many friends; I've visited several beautiful large cities (Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Quebec, and I'll be visiting Vancouver on my way home). I really enjoyed my stay here, and so impressed by the friendly people, gorgeous sights, and the way they live or work. Yes, it's so hard for me to say goodbye and leave. I'll take this opportunity to share a few things about my learning English in Canada, though.

What have I achieved in learning English?

It's easy now for me to communicate with the local people in English (hospital staff, shop assistants, drivers, restaurant servers, etc). I can understand most of the conversations, commercials and news on TV. Sometimes I found myself speaking English with an imitated local tone (speak up just as locals do) - I even talked with local friends about our further cooperation or business in detail in English. You bet they kept asking where I picked up all the English, especially when they knew that I didn't speak English in my daily life back in China and that everything in China is in Chinese (even the medical text books). My ears are getting more and more 'sensitive' than ever before - I can overhear and understand what they're talking about. That's so amazing!

Failed to immerse myself totally in English

Montreal boasts the biggest bilingual city in the world - most of the people here speak French, even though they are also fluent in English and staff at the hospital where I'm studying usually speak English. Maybe I should have chosen to study in Vancouver or Toronto, where most of the people speak English. I'm living in a house owned by a Chinese family and my roommates are all Chinese, so when I'm at home (after work) I speak Chinese , not English.

The most effective way to learn English

Learners tend to ask this question: What's the most effective way to learn English? In my opinion, the most effective way to learn English is that you live, work or study totally in English, which may force you to use it. Ideally, you have a partner (wife/husband, girlfriend/boyfriend) who's a native English speaker. Yes, you'll find it hard for you to find such an ideal way to learn English. Actually, there're already so many effective ways to learn it - so why bother to look for the most effective one?

I'm looking forward to seeing your comment. Let's talk about it!

Toronto takes the place of Vancouver as costliest city in Canada

--immigrant: someone who lives in another country permanently

--domestically: in one particular country

--accommodation: place to live, stay, etc

Toronto has just replaced Vancouver as the most expensive city in Canada. Thanks to a lot of immigrants from around the world, Toronto is now the biggest city in Canada, which caused the increase in rent for those who are living there. Second only to Toronto, Vancouver,the most beautiful city in Canada, is still one of the costliest cities domestically. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is the least expensive large Canadian city. In the world, however,Toronto is the 59^th most expensive city, while Vancouver the 65^th, Montreal (used to be the largest city in Canada) the 79^th. The most expensive city in the world, is Luanda, the capital of Angola (an oil-rich country), beause of the surprsingly high accommodation cost there – $20,000 per month for per house. Tokyo, Japan and N’Djamena, Chad are among the top three.

Discussion Question: Does it sound unbelievable that an African city is the most expensive city in the world?

Comprehensive Questions

1. Which city is the biggest city in Canada?

2. Which city is the costliest city in the world?

3. Which city used to be the biggest city in Canada?

I've noticed some members just keep writing blogs/blog posts, but don't really like to read or leave a comment on blogs from other members. Don't get me wrong - I mean we do encourage you to write blogs, but we also encourage you to leave a comment on blogs by other members.

Would you like others to comment on your blog?

It seems that everyone wants others to comment on their blog. So many people still remember how excited when they saw a comment on what they just wrote. Some members may wonder why no one has commented on their blog, while some people may not care whether their blogs will get any comments or not - they just keep writing. You might also like this blog : Are you expecting any comments on your blog?

Why did your blog fail to get any comments?

One of the reasons may be that you never comment on blogs from others. If you try to read and leave a comment on other members' blogs, the other members will try to leave a comment on yours. The trick is you should take the initiative to leave a comment. Other members who just got a comment from you will remember you and will leave a comment for you whenever you publish a blog here.

I appreciate it when a member managed to leave comments on all the newly posted blogs. I admire those who take the time to read and responde with a comment on what they just read.

Wow! Great! Congratulations to Li Na, a Chinese woman tennis player!

Today, I asked a question in the OR (hospital's operating room). I hesitated to ask at first - what if I asked a stupid question? Would my Canadian counterparts look down on me because of a stupid question? But, the attending (a high ranking doctor) said, 'Good question! I know in Asia you don't...but in Canada we do...'.

So, here comes my question: What could be a 'stupid question'? Teachers usually want their students to ask questions. And, a question can be a good title for an article, or a good topic for a conversation. But, only too often, students are afraid of asking stupid questions and hesitate to ask. In fact, it's not easy for learners of English to ask a quetion in English, no matter whether it's a good or stupid one. I tried to ask myself some stupid questions, but found it was not easy to ask something really stupid. Some questions may seem to be stupid, but do make sense in some cases. What about this question: Have you eaten something since last time I saw you? This seems to be a stupid quetion - how could a man survive without eating anything? But, actually, it was a doctor who was asking a patient who hadn't eaten anything for several days because of surgery.

Here comes my idea: Let's try to ask a 'stupid question', and we may try to pick a stupidest one at the end. That would be fun.

Your task:

1. Try to ask a question which you think is a stupid one.

2. Argue about a question another member just asked - try to prove the question actually makes sense.

3. Help to pick the 'stupidest question' or the 'best stupid' question when it's time for us to do that.

4. You are allowed to ask several questions at a time or at times.

What makes a 'stupidest question'?

1. Really stupid but fun

2. Gramatically correct sentence

3. Sounds natural

So, let's get started! You could be MyEC's 'stupidest' or 'best stupid'. Have fun!

I've spent most of my leisure time here on MyEC since I joined this fantastic community two years ago. I've written dozens of blogs and most of them were featured here.

I still remember how excited when my blog was featured for the first time. The blog Native English Speakers' Blogs was a success and actually became a discussion about native speakers' roles (especially those of native English teachers) in helping learners learn English on MyEC. The blog got 92 comments and was at the top of the blog list for several months. Some of the English teachers here joined in the discussion too, and Josef (the founder of EC) and Tara (the administrator of MyEC) even added comments on it many times. That's why the blog was so successful.

As a volunteer moderator here, I often read and comment on blogs by other members as well as write my own. Members usually expect comments on their blogs. Actually, I even wrote a blog about comments: Are you expecting any comments on your blog? Thankfully, most of the comments have been inspiring and encouraging. A member even coped all the exciting comments and made them a new blog post. Tara, as an English teaher, often adds such comments on learners' blogs. Most of the learners like to read her blogs and comments. She will give some advice or suggestions or make some corretions for learners to improve. You bet members appreciate it so much. More and more members have started to write blogs. 

I'm a doctor and now studying in Canada as an academic visitor. Tara even offered to write a letter of reference for me before I came here. So many members encouraged me to face the challenge I might meet when living in an English-speaking country far from mine. Their support helped me to survive the hard first few weeks here and I shared my experience with them by writing blogs. I've tried to send messages to the chief of the department and the secretaries, and they found my writing was good. They may have been curious about where I learned all the writing skills. I bet you know the answer.

Hi Everyone,

Thank you all for your concern! I'm glad that some of the members here asked me for my 'part 2' and they really wanted to know how my study in Canada was going. I'm happy to tell you that everything here seems to be going well. I'd like to share something new with you.

Getting used to the new environment

I've moved to another rented house which is near the hospital where I'm studying. So, I don't need to take the Metro (underground/subway) to the hospital every day. I'll never forget the day when I first went to the hosptital and talked to the chief of the department.  She spoke English and asked me several questions, such as my study goals here, my work experiences. Thankfully, my English worked well and it turned out to be a nice talk or a successful interview. Montreal seems to be an amazing city. All the road signs are in French, which may make you feel as if you were living in France. But, actually, most of the citizens here are good at English, and this city has welcomed so many immigrants from around the world and different cultures. People here seem to be friendly and willing to help. I admit I felt a bit homesick and some stress during the first two weeks here. But, now I feel more comfortable and begin to get used to the new environment. 

English in the hospital

I'm studying in the OR (operating room where surgeons perform surgery) right now. Most of the staff in this hospital speak English, even though they can switch easily from English to French. Surgeons in the OR may say: 'Can I have...?'; 'The light still sucks...Better now...thank you.'; 'Perfect.'; 'Do you want to take a look?'. I can understand most of what they say in English. But I sometimes did fail to understand them when they were mumbling or speaking fast, and I needed to say 'sorry?' often to get the picture. Sometimes I knew I missed something funny in the doctor's lounge because they were talking and laughing - they might be talking about their vacations, their daughters, latest news, or sports like golf.  I'm trying to imitate the local accent - I found if I spoke with the accent, they could understand me more easily. Also, I'm trying to initiate more conversations with them to practice my speaking and listening skills - you bet it can be a challenge for learners to initiate one.

PS: I'm sorry for failing to include any photos, but I forgot to bring the wire with me and can't connect my camera to the computer.

Hi Everyone,

I'm happy to tell you that I'm already here in Canada after the long journey from China, and everything here seems to be going very well for me. I'd like to thank all the members who kept asking about my journey during my absence for the nice comments and notes. There's nothing better than receiving messages from MyEC friends. It was all the kind greetings that cheered me on and made me survive the first few days here in another country far from mine. I'm sorry for the dalay in reply and for missing all the newly posted blogs, but, MyEC's been undergoing some changes and the new look looks very strange in my old version of IE. I thought it would be OK in a few days or so, but I decided I need a new browser and eventually found the Huohu, which MyEC looks perfect in.  Do you like the new look of MyEC? Oh, I'll get to the point and share something with you - I promised, didn't I?

An English learning journey - at the airport and on the plane

While I was on the way to Canada and even before the journey, I was determined to pick up some English and to see if I could communicate with people I met by using English. There were all the signs which were in English at the airports and all the English spoken by the flight attendants. To my surprise, I even failed to understand some of the very simple English expressions. 'Are you sure you don't want anything to drink?' a nice stewardess asked me again. 'Oh sorry, a cup of tea... please.' I replyed. But, I did respond very quickly(maybe the first one) when they let all the passengers to board (I needed to transfer at a couple of different airports) and I got a nice place for my carry-on baggage. I enjoyed the journey so much.

Started to adjust myself to new life here

After the long journey, I need to adjust myself to the new life here. There are still some challenges for me.

First, I need to cook and find all the materials to cook with. Where's the nearest supermarket? Can I get something familiar there? I share a rented house with some other students and doctors from China ,and we share one kitchen. I managed to survive the first few days by living on the cup noodles  I carried with me from the airport. Today, however, I tried to get some rice, vegetables, eggs etc and cooked myself a nice lunch, even though I'm still suffering from jet lag.

Second, I need to learn some French. You bet most of the people here would like you to speak French since Montreal is the world's second largest French-speaking city (second only to Paris) - it's amazing there's this beautiful French-speaking city in Canada where most of the people speak English. I'll take the Metro to hospital tomorrow morning and I wonder if I need to use 'billet' (French) or 'ticket' (English) when I enter the Metro station and try to get something like this. But, thankfully, most of the people here can speak both French and English. I just need to make an effort to speak any of them a bit naturally.

Third, last but not least, I need to really learn something at the hospital. A professor at the hosital (a teaching hospital of McGill Unversity, a famous English-speaking university of Canada) has already made a study plan for me. Can the doctors and nurses there understand what I say in kind of Chinglish (Chinese English)? How can I get used to the new working environment and get along with the staff quickly? What if the patient speaks French? I'm somehow not so sure if I'm really a nice person to make friends with. I know I need some confidence and luck. Do you think that could be a problem for me?

It's late at night here where I live now and I need to head for bed. Wish me a nice sleep tonight (you know, the jet lag and my body may probably mistake the night for the morning )!!!

Hi Everyone,

I'm glad to inform you that I've been offered a 6-month observership (as an academic visitor) in a teaching hospital in Quebec, Canada, and I will be going there very soon. It's really a dream come true - I eventually got the opportunity to study in an English-speaking country. I hope and am sure that I can improve both English and surgical skills there. I can't wait to hit the road. I'm so excited, but a little nervous about the upcoming trip. I decided it's time for me to share the news with you, and want to know what you think of this?

Do you think it's a valuable opportunity to study in Canada?

Canada is a beautiful English-speaking country, which I always want to visit. Once I'm there, I can immerse myself in an 100% English environment, which is certainly beneficial for improving English.

Any tips on travel?

I'm busy packing. I'm going to pack in some clothes, food, books, and, of course, passport, credit card, mobile phone and laptop. Please let'm know if I missed something important for me to travel to and live in another country far from mine. Are you nervous when you're about to travel?

Are you afraid of change?

Many people are. Change, however, doesn't necessarily mean something troublesome. With change, you can get new opportunities, new experience, and meet new friends - probably one of them will become your best friend in life. So, it's worth it, even though it's also true you may need to make an effort to adjust yourself to the new life, new job, and unfamiliar environment.

Your opinion does matter!!

Hi Eveyone,

One more question for you: Now that you know I'm not a native English speaker, do you still think Expector's English is good enough to help you learn or improve English?

I know some of the members here are not interested in reading anything from/by non-native English speakers. They're afraid of learning mistakes non-native speakers may make. It's quite reasonable for them to think so or do so. I even suggest reading all the blog posts or comments by native English speakers. I admit that I read all the ones by Tara. But the problem is that most native English speakers do make mistakes now and then, and it's hard for learners to spot all the ones. Tara once said 'Don't be afraid of learning others' mistakes.'  I agree that we should and can learn from the mistakes.

As a moderator here on MyEC, I try to make anything I write as grammatically correct as possible for fear that other members may follow the mistake I could make. But I'm a doctor, not really a teacher of English - in fact, even a real native English teacher could make mistakes. Some members here, however, do think my English is good and admit they've learned a lot from me, which I appreciate. I especially enjoyed it when they asked for my opinion on what they had just written. I've been trying  to do my best to help learners here with their English by commenting on their blogs or correcting their mistakes. But sometimes I failed to do so, especially when I was busy with my work in the hospital to help the patients.

Do you mind having a non-native English speaker help or correct you? Do my comments on your blog posts really mean something to you?

Hi everybody,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Can you hear me? Do you like my voice? Does it sound a little Chinglish? I don't think I've got a nice voice, though. I even hate my voice - many people do. This is the first time I've ever uploaded such a record - I decided it was time for me to make my voice heard the other day. I hope you can follow suit, make your voice heard, and practice spoken English.

Christmas Day isn't a holiday here, so we don't take any days off work or school. But, Christmas is getting more popular here, and people do celebrate it every year by shopping around, having a Christmas Eve party, or eating out with family or friends in the evening, no matter whether they are Christian or not.  Children here don't expect any surprise gifts from their parents on Christmas Day. However, they'll get plent of them or even 'red envelops' (with money in it) on Chinese New Year's Eve. Sound like fun?

Oh, I'll try to sing part of a famous song of English:

Say you, say me

Say it for always

That's the way it should be

Say you, say me

Say it together, naturally

...

Do you like to sing English songs? Or you can sing a song for us in your mother tongue. Let's learn English by 'using our mouth'. You are not supposed to learn ‘dumb English’.