I've been learning English for many years now by using many resources available to me. It is mostly reading, as I have very few opportunities to use English to communicate. Due to this fact, my vocabulary is rather one-sided: I can read fast and without problems, but I have difficultly finding the proper word in real conversation. My live expressions are full of book-learned words and phrases. I guess I often use formal and archaic words instead of simple spoken ones. I simply don't feel the difference between them as a native speaker does.
Are there any online resources that could help find out the most appropriate words for the contemporary usage, helping to sound less artificial, formal and archaic? Or, maybe, other advices for the learners like me?
Answer
The only way that you can learn contemporary informal usage is the same way that you learned the formal, bookish language: constant exposure. In other words, find someone(s) you can talk to a lot, who will help you with your language and expose you to more modern idioms.
The other thing that might help is watching television, particularly sitcoms, talk shows and other informal formats. Avoid imitating news shows, documentaries and the like, since they tend to use a much more formal register than is common in everyday speech. (And don't mimic sitcoms too closely, lest you start talking solely in catch-phrases and cliches.)
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