困惑，help

[瑞西inLDN]

Hi, everyboday.

I am pretty pensive now....i need your help really. :cry:

I am a chinese girl who is studying in London the moment, i need to make frds to help me practice my english as i realized that i have to speak their language very well if am in another country. Otherwise i will face many different kind of problems..such as, 1, always feel hard in university....the assignments, the presentation,the group work.....2; Sometimes i have this kind of feeling of being isolated by the western society because of my language ablity. 3;In case.....if i would fall in love with someone local here one day, my heart will broken as i could not express myself deeply to him, he won't understand and love me...etc....

My question is, when u r studying abroad, how do u make frds with locals? any special tips?

and, is there any one who is interested in learning chinese from london? probably we can do language exchange.......we could help each other?

[ms2002sss]

I have seen this problem with many Chinese students who come to the UK. Most Chinese will be in the same situation as you are, and tend to stick together for company and meal times. Once you get into a Chinese group abroad, people will tend to leave you to get on with things.

I dont think there is an easy way to make friends, but I can recommend some ways to improve and practice your English.

1. Do things alone. Get away from your Chinese friends now and again.

2. Get a job where you must speak to people. Supermarket, fast food resturant or a pub. All of these jobs are pretty easy to get with limited English, as they are not well paid and can have unsociable hours. But you will be forced to speak to customers and collegues, and that will help you improve. I think a pub would be best as it is more fun and will more likely have a different variety of conversation.

3. Go to church. its cheap, the people are friendly and they do lots of events on the side, giving you oppertunity to practice English. You dont have to be devoted to the religion, just play along to get in with the English speakers.

4. English TV. Dont lock yourself in your room and listen to Chinese songs and download Chinese TV. It will just make you homesick and you wont learn a thing. Watch normal UK TV and as well as picking up English, you will be able to join in the conversation when you hear people chatting about what they watched last night.

5. Rent a room with an English family. Not sure how easy they are to find, but daily encounters will only help you improve.

Hope these help. Of course you dont have to do these, just my recommendations from having several UK based Chinese friends

[randall_flagg]

hi there!

when you go to class next time, just smile and nodd at the next best person. sounds simple, but trust me, it works. try starting a conversation with the person sitting next to you, say something simple like: "So, do you like this class?" its that easy, just don't be too shy! i know this is easier said than done! good luck!

[瑞西inLDN]

ms2002sss and randall-flagg: Thank you for your reply.

ms2002sss: i think am going to try to get a job after my fundation year this summer.

i will stay in london for the next three years for my bachelor degree,so the church ideal sounds worth trying. xie xie very much:lol:

randall-flagg: i love smile. people in my class are all nice and everyday we have good time at school together, however, the problem is it is hard to make close frds here. they are all gone after class....or maybe i should just ask them to go out have fun at weekends...

thanks again. i am working hard to overcome my language barrier everyday in london now.

i believe everything is getting better as long as i stay.

may you all have a good time in china! cheers! gan bei:)

[ashwell]

Hi,

I am from the UK and I am currently in China facing the same problems as you! I shall be returning to the UK in three weeks for a month. Maybe we can meet up and I can give you some advice, and introduce you to some people. I have friends in London, and I live just outside. Feel free to mail me (1tomlee@gmail.com) if you have any specific questions.

All the best

Tom.

[瑞西inLDN]

All the best

Tom.

xie xie thanks Tom