Archive for February, 2010
Straight Up English – Past tense
If You’re Happy
Teaching pronunciation
The Pinocchio
Here are ten questions to help you start speaking English. Each of these questions help to begin or continue a conversation. The questions are in two categories: Basic Facts and Hobbies / Free Time. There are also a number of questions that can help you continue the conversation after the first question.
Five Basic Facts
These five questions will help you get to know people. They are simple questions with simple answers and provide information so you can ask more questions.
What is your name?
Where do you live?
What do you do?
Are you married?
Where are you from?
More questions for …
These questions help to continue the conversation after your first question.
“What is your name?”
It’s a pleasure to meet you. Where are you from?
That’s an interesting name. Is it Chinese / French / Indian, etc.?
“Where do you live?”
How long have you lived there?
Do you like that neighborhood?
Do you live in an apartment or house?
“What do you do?”
Which company do you work for?
How long have you had that job?
Do you like your job?
What’s the best / worst thing about your job?
What do you like best / least about your job?
“Are you married?”
How long have been married?
Where did you get married?
What does your husband / wife do?
Do you have any children?
“Where are you from?”
Where is ….?
How long did you live there?
What is XYZ like?
Do you like living here?
Hobbies / Free Time
These questions will help you continue conversations and find out more about people’s likes and dislikes.
What do you like doing in your free time?
Can you play tennis / golf / soccer / etc.?
What kind of films / food / vacations do you enjoy?
What do you do on weekends / Saturdays?
More questions for …
These questions will help you ask for more detail.
“What do you like doing in your free time?”
How often do you (listen to music, eat out in restaurants, etc.)?
Where do you (listen to music, eat out in restaurants, etc.) in this town?
Why do you like (listening to music, eating out in restaurants, etc.) so much?
“Can you play tennis / golf / soccer / etc.?”
Do you enjoy playing tennis /golf /soccer /etc.?
How long have you played tennis /golf /soccer /etc.?
Who do you play tennis /golf /soccer /etc. with?
“What kind of films / food / vacations do you enjoy?”
What’s the best place to see /eat / go on vacations?
What’s the best type of film /food / vacation, etc. in your opinion?
How often do you watch films / eat out / go on vacation?
“What do you do on weekends / Saturdays?”
Where do you go to …?
Could you recommend a good place to (go shopping / take my children swimming / etc.)?
How long have you done that?
eslabout.com
Job Letters in English
Josef Essberger
When you apply for a job, employers ask for two important documents:
1. A CV or resume
2. A covering letter
In the last issue we looked at your CV. This issue we will look at your covering letter.
Why You Need a Covering Letter
When you send your CV to apply for a position, you should also include a short letter. This letter is called a covering letter, cover letter or letter of application.
Your letter of application is a sales letter. The product it is selling is your CV.
Content
Your letter should be short, concise and relevant. It should:
1. confirm that you are applying for the job
2. say where you learned about the job
3. say why you want the job
4. say why you would be a benefit to the company
5. request an interview
Format
Here is the typical format for your covering letter:
1 Your address – telephone – fax – email
Put your address and telephone number, fax and/or email address at the top in the centre or on the right.
2 Date
3 Destination name and address
This is the name of the person to whom you are writing, his/her job title, the company name and address.
4 Reference
The reference number or code given by the employer in their advertisement or previous letter.
5 Salutation (Dear . . .)
A letter in English usually begins with ‘Dear…’, even if you do not know the person.
6 Subject
The subject of your letter, which for a job application is normally the Job Title.
7 Body
The letter itself, in 3 to 6 paragraphs
8 Ending (Yours . . .)
Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully, Yours truly
9 Your signature
10 Your name
Your first name and surname, for example Mary Smith, James Kennedy
11 Enclosures
Indicate that one or more documents are enclosed by writing ‘Enc 2′ for two documents, for example.
In the English-speaking world, an employer would usually prefer to receive a letter of application that is word-processed (that is, produced on a computer and printed). A hand-written letter could be considered unprofessional.
How to Hear English Everywhere
Josef Essberger
Two simple definitions
* to hear: to receive sound with the ears
* to listen: to try to hear
YOU are very good at languages! You must be because you already speak one language very well – your own! And if you can learn and speak one language well, then you can certainly learn and speak one or more other languages.
But did you ever ask yourself: “How did I learn my own language?” In fact, you never really “learned” it at all – you just started speaking it. One day, when you were about two or three years old, you started speaking your language. A few words at first, not full sentences. But you spoke. And very soon you made progress without even thinking about it. It was like magic!
But it wasn’t magic. It was the result of hearing. For two to three years before you spoke, you heard people speaking your language all day, and maybe all night. You heard people speaking your language. Maybe you listened to people, but more importantly you heard. them. Then, as if by magic, you started to speak. All that hearing was necessary for you to start speaking. For two to three years words went IN to your head. Then words came OUT of your head! That is why hearing (and listening to) English as much as possible is so important to you now. The more English you put in, the more you’ll get out!
So how can you hear a lot of English when you’re not in an English-speaking country or family? Fortunately, there are many ways of hearing English in almost all countries of the world.
Radio
You can receive English language radio in most countries. Two of the best international networks are the BBC World Service and Voice of America. Both of them have special programmes for learners of English. You can find information about times and frequencies for your country on their web sites.
Television
TV is an excellent resource for hearing and listening to English. The pictures help you understand what is being said. If you don’t have access to English-language TV, you may be able to watch TV on Internet.
Internet
It is now a lot easier to hear English by Internet. If you’re reading this at your computer, you can probably listen to some English-language radio news right now, without even moving! To be able to listen to radio on the Internet, you’ll need to have special software called a “player” installed in your computer. Most sites work with two players – the RealPlayer from RealNetworks and the Windows Media Player from Microsoft. Don’t worry. Both these players are free and you may already have them installed on your computer.
Music/songs
Songs in English are everywhere, even on foreign-language radio and TV stations. Listen to them often. Buy some cassettes or CDs, or make recordings, and try to write the words for an entire song. But choose one that is not too difficult. That means it should be reasonably slow, and with real words sung clearly. Some pop songs are very unclear and are difficult even for native English-speakers to understand fully!
Cinema
Outside the English-speaking world, many large cities have cinemas that show films in English, usually with sub-titles. Make it a habit to go to these films. If you need to read the sub-titles, at least you’ll be hearing English even if you don’t understand it.
Video
Video has one really great advantage. You can play it again . . . and again. You can use video to watch film cassettes that you buy or borrow. If there are sub-titles, you can cover them with paper (which you can remove if you really don’t understand after listening several times). And you can use video to record programmes from television and then watch them several times to improve your understanding.
Friends
Try to make friends with English-speaking people so that you can practise your English through conversation. Of course, this will practise your speaking as well as your listening. And if you don’t have a lot of time to go out and meet people, at least you can chat a little by telephone.
Finally, don’t worry if you don’t understand everything you hear. Hearing comes first! Understanding comes next!
Josef Essberger
Right now you are reading English. That means that you are using your brain in a very active way. Reading is a very active process. It is true that the writer does a lot of work, but the reader also has to work hard. When you read a text, you have to do some or all of these:
* imagine a scene in your head
* understand clearly what the writer is trying to say
* agree or disagree with the writer
Advantages of Reading
When you learn a language, listening, speaking and writing are important, but reading can also be very helpful. There are many advantages associated with reading, including:
Learning Vocabulary In Context
You will usually encounter new words when you read. If there are too many new words for you, then the level is too high and you should read something simpler. But if there are, say, a maximum of five new words per page, you will learn this vocabulary easily. You may not even need to use a dictionary because you can guess the meaning from the rest of the text (from the context). Not only do you learn new words, but you see them being used naturally.
A Model For Writing
When you read, it gives you a good example for writing. Texts that you read show you structures and expressions that you can use when you write.
Seeing “Correctly Structured” English
When people write, they usually use “correct” English with a proper grammatical structure. This is not always true when people speak. So, by reading you see and learn grammatical English naturally.
Working At Your Own Speed
You can read as fast or as slowly as you like. You can read ten pages in 30 minutes, or take one hour to explore just one page. It doesn’t matter. The choice is yours. You cannot easily do this when speaking or listening. This is one of the big advantages of reading because different people work at different speeds.
Personal Interest
If you choose something to read that you like, it can actually be interesting and enjoyable. For example, if you like to read about football in your own language, why not read about football in English? You will get information about football and improve your English at the same time.
Five Tips for Reading
Tip #1
Try to read at the right level. Read something that you can (more or less) understand. If you need to stop every three words to look in a dictionary, it is not interesting for you and you will soon be discouraged.
Tip #2
Make a note of new vocabulary. If there are four or five new words on a page, write them in your vocabulary book. But you don’t have to write them while you read. Instead, try to guess their meaning as you read; mark them with a pen; then come back when you have finished reading to check in a dictionary and add them to your vocabulary book.
Tip #3
Try to read regularly. For example, read for a short time once a day. Fifteen minutes every day is better than two hours every Sunday. Fix a time to read and keep to it. For example, you could read for fifteen minutes when you go to bed, or when you get up, or at lunchtime.
Tip #4
Be organised. Have everything ready:
* something to read
* a marker to highlight difficult words
* a dictionary
* your vocabulary book
* a pen to write down the new words
Tip #5
Read what interests YOU. Choose a magazine or book about a subject that you like.
Things to Read
Newspapers
You can find English-language newspapers in all large cities around the world. Newspapers are interesting because they are about real life and the news. BUT they are not easy to read. Try reading newspapers if your level is intermediate or above.
Some British newspapers:
* The Telegraph
* The Times
* The Independent
* The Guardian
* The Financial Times (business)
* The Sunday Times
Some American newspapers:
* The International Herald Tribune
* The New York Times
* The Wall Street Journal (business)
Magazines
Some magazines are published weekly, some monthly. You can find English-language magazines in many large cities around the world. If you cannot find the magazine you want in your town, you may be able to order it for delivery. Many magazines have pictures which can help your understanding. You will need an intermediate level for most magazines, but a pre-intermediate level may be ok for some magazines.
There are magazines on every subject:
* Politics
* Sport
* The House
* Cars
* Music
* Romance
* Travel
* Language
* etc
Books
Books are divided mainly into:
* Non-fiction (history, biography, travel, cooking etc)
* Fiction (stories and novels)
Some books are easier to read than others. It often depends on the author. Agatha Christie, for example, wrote in an easier style and with simpler vocabulary than Stephen King. You can buy books in specialised English-language bookshops in large cities around the world. You may also be able to find some English-language books in libraries. And if you have a British Council in your city, you can borrow many English-language books from their library.
Short Stories
Short stories can be a good choice when learning a language because they are…short. It’s like reading a whole book in a few pages. You have all the excitement of a story in a book, but you only have to read 5,000 or 10,000 words. So you can quite quickly finish the story and feel that you have achieved something. Short stories are published in magazines, in books of short stories, and on the Internet. You can also find short stories at EnglishClub.com English Reading.
Readers
Readers are books that are specially published to be easy to read. They are short and with simple vocabulary. They are usually available at different levels, so you should be able to find the right level for you. Many readers are stories by famous authors in simple form. This is an excellent way for you to start practising reading.
Cornflakes Packets
By “Cornflakes Packets”, we mean any product you can buy that has English writing on or with it. If you buy a box of chocolates, or a new camera, why not read the description or instructions in English? There are many such examples, and they all give you an opportunity to read real English:
* airline tickets
* cans or packets of food
* bottles of drink
* tapes and CDs
* user guides for videos, computers…
* etc
Poetry
If you like poetry, try reading some English-language poems. They may not be easy to understand because of the style and vocabulary, but if you work at it you can usually get an idea – or a feeling – of what the poet is trying to say. You’ll find some classic poems, with explanations of vocabulary, at EnglishClub.com English Reading.
Good luck with your reading. It will help you make a lot of Progress!
Interjections
Hi! That’s an interjection. 
Interjections like er and um are also known as “hesitation devices”. They are extremely common in English. People use them when they don’t know what to say, or to indicate that they are thinking about what to say. You should learn to recognize them when you hear them and realize that they have no real meaning.
Interjection is a big name for a little word. Interjections are short exclamations like Oh!, Um or Ah! They have no real grammatical value but we use them quite often, usually more in speaking than in writing. When interjections are inserted into a sentence, they have no grammatical connection to the sentence. An interjection is sometimes followed by an exclamation mark (!) when written.
The table below shows some interjections with examples.
interjection meaning example
ah expressing pleasure “Ah, that feels good.”
expressing realization “Ah, now I understand.”
expressing resignation “Ah well, it can’t be heped.”
expressing surprise “Ah! I’ve won!”
alas expressing grief or pity “Alas, she’s dead now.”
dear expressing pity “Oh dear! Does it hurt?”
expressing surprise “Dear me! That’s a surprise!”
eh asking for repetition “It’s hot today.” “Eh?” “I said it’s hot today.”
expressing enquiry “What do you think of that, eh?”
expressing surprise “Eh! Really?”
inviting agreement “Let’s go, eh?”
er expressing hesitation “Lima is the capital of…er…Peru.”
hello, hullo expressing greeting “Hello John. How are you today?”
expressing surprise “Hello! My car’s gone!”
hey calling attention “Hey! look at that!”
expressing surprise, joy etc “Hey! What a good idea!”
hi expressing greeting “Hi! What’s new?”
hmm expressing hesitation, doubt or disagreement “Hmm. I’m not so sure.”
oh, o expressing surprise “Oh! You’re here!”
expressing pain “Oh! I’ve got a toothache.”
expressing pleading “Oh, please say ‘yes’!”
ouch expressing pain “Ouch! That hurts!”
uh expressing hesitation “Uh…I don’t know the answer to that.”
uh-huh expressing agreement “Shall we go?” “Uh-huh.”
um, umm expressing hesitation “85 divided by 5 is…um…17.”
well expressing surprise “Well I never!”
introducing a remark “Well, what did he say?”
