stockman

Originally posted by lky010185 at 2006-11-22 07:56 PM:9 i" S: J3 D2 z& Y  [: q5 i
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thx，但交換生每日都要對住外國人講英文，唔會進步得好快ma？

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I disagree with what SK said that gaining 1 year of experience in the U.S. is not 'worth it'.  It all depends on how you define 'worth' and how you plan to use your 1 year there.  If you go to schools with lots of Chinese and all you speak is Chinese, then you're wasting your $.  Find a situation where you're forced to speak English in your daily life.  Try to make friends with non-Chinese.  Learn other people's culture.  Even volunteer (I don't think you can work with a student visa) at school or community center will gain you lots of experience you won't learn from books.3 d. r! G* d1 T0 h7 H' h' a- j
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And having a foreign country study experience in your resume is definitely a plus when you go interview for jobs.

stockman

Originally posted by lky010185 at 2006-11-25 02:15 AM:4 Y6 K$ K6 w1 j7 {1 m- v

' q" b4 j# y% ?; V* b# i4 W3 x* Dthx stockman ，多謝你地ge意見，，...

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Since I'm not familiar with your Exchange Student program I can't give you any advice on the details.  But from my personal experience, the grade you got from your HKCEE is not quite relevant to how hard/easy you can verbally communicate with people in English in the U.S.
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4 @0 u) o4 ?% }: K& x) O3 {6 |( ~I graduated from a Chinese high school in HK before coming to the U.S. years ago and got a D in English in HKCEE.  I thought I started learning ABC in kindergarten and was quite confident about my English ability....until I met reality here when I had to open my mouth to talk.
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Just remember this: textbook English is different from everyday English.; C9 j2 O% a* o' B9 H" C

- s/ o  \# o5 s: x# WIn textbook they taught you to reply 'I am fine.  Thank you.  And you?' when people ask you 'How are you?'  In real life, you most likely just say 'great', 'so-so', 'I've had better days', and many other variations.  And unless you are dealing with people in a business setting, you mostly likely don't need to worry too much about your grammar when speaking.# ]/ m! A) O9 o  _- n
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Also, don't be afraid to make mistake when speaking as people usually are very considerate when they know English is not your first language.  They're more patient and try to help you out too, as long as you have the encourage to speak.  If you're too shy to speak, you will never learn.' `( D1 G9 h! r: a8 x/ w! x
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Listening and speaking also go hand-in-hand and you rarely can speak well without good listening skill.  I'd say don't waste your $ on those educational CDs but rather listen to more English songs or TVs.

stockman

Originally posted by lky010185 at 2006-11-26 04:42 AM:3 R: k7 A6 ~' b7 V! M3 b
真係好多謝stockman 花咁大心機同時間...

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) O" @" b( u5 G0 b5 O: u/ M6 r4 MI wish you the best of luck if you indeed decide to go study in the U.S.  Take full advantage of your opportunity as you are young only once in your life.  You can affort to make mistakes in high school but you're not in U you need to plan carefully.6 D0 r/ A0 W4 q  E  |' @  Z0 l

% `/ e/ r) W, h: N+ e7 ~I went through similar situations like you do now and I simply wanted to share what I know to help.  :-)