Please comment

[pl195001]

Assume you are ESL student ,do you think -Talking freely to English native- speakers is a more effective way to learn English than attending English lessons in classrooms?Discuss.

[Lonnie]

Accents, thats the problem when talking face to face, so if your eg, a foreign student in this country, the classroom would be better, but a lot of foreign students go to Malta to learn English, its such a small country, there are no regional accents.

[saxy_jag]

I think there's a case for one supporting the other. The classroom is a good way to learn the basics in a supportive and safe environment - no-one's going to moan at you if you make a mistake. Then you get to go out and practice, and you learn all the little bits of slang, accent and dialect that make up true English (as opposed to received English).

No classroom teacher (except maybe where I live) is going to to teach you "eyup, m'duck" but it's a vital part of language in some parts of the East Midlands.

[samuel23]

I did French up to A level and never ever truly got to grips with the language until I lived in France for 6 months. The classroom gave me the groundwork, but living in the country really taught me the way that French was spoken. As for accents, well every country has regional dialects and you learn whichever one is the local dialect for the area you are in. Here in England for instance we don't speak like a Geordie in Kent unless we've lived in Newcastle and moved southwards.