Understanding English slang is very important in learning English. You probably have the same confusion. You have accumulated a lot of vocabulary, but when you talk to a native American, you still don’t understand what they talk about, because they use a lot of slang. For example, if a person says: “Let’s hang out tonight.â€? You may think what “hang out” means. If you explain this phrase literally, you may think the meaning is hanging something out, but, actually, it doesn’t really mean that. It means “Let’s go out tonight and have some fun.” So, understanding slang is very important for communication.
Here, I’d like to share my experience of how to understand some English slang. Having conversations with native speakers as many times as possible, the more you talk, the more you understand. Reading newspapers as much as you can, there is a lot of slang being used in the newspapers, try to understand them, and use them in your real life. You can also buy some English slang books, which will help you understand slang more easily.
Anyhow, as long as you go to great lengths to concentrate on this learning, you will find that your English will be improved quickly.
I went to New York last Christmas day; I had a great time there. My friend Zach and his girlfriend May showed me all around the city and we were out until after midnight almost every night.
But the trip from New York to Los Angeles didn’t go too well. I got a ticket for an eight-thirty flight. But I didn’t get to the airport until a quarter after. I hurried to the ticket counter to check in. It was very crowded that day and it took me fifteen minutes to check my bags, so I had to run to the gate. I didn’t run fast enough, and missed my flight.
The clerk at the gate told me to go back to the ticket counter and ask about other flights. The next one was ten, so I had to sit and wait for another two hours. That flight was late, so I didn’t get to Los Angeles until almost 2 P.M.
When I got to LAX, I went to the Baggage Claim area to pick up my bags, but I couldn’t find them. I told the baggage clerk about it, but she couldn’t find the lost suitcases either. Then she called the airport in New York to see if they could help. Sure enough! My bags were still in New York airport! They didn’t arrive in LAX until late evening.
It was a little difficult for me that night, but it is okay, tomorrow is another day!
If you are from Asia, you’ll find American culture is so different from that of your own country. You may have experienced some cultural shock here in America. Do you want to share your stories with other people?
Learning English is so difficult and takes so much time. Do you have any experience to share? Do you have a question to ask? Let’s discuss English learning here. If you find any good articles on English learning, link them here.
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