A Tip for the Possessive Apostrophe

Apostrophes need not be learning catastrophes
by Rolf Palmberg

What is the difference between

The boy's books are on the table, and
The boys' books are on the table ?

The position of the apostrophe in a noun (to indicate possession of something) often causes problems for ESL/EFL learners. Yet the rules are simple. In fact, learners only need to decide whether the possessive noun (the possessor, which, by the way, can also be a name) is singular or plural and whether or not it ends in -s in its written form.

The following rules apply:

If the possessive noun is singular, always add an apostrophe + s.
If the possessive noun does not end in -s (in its written form), always add an apostrophe + s.
If the possessive noun is plural and ends in -s (and this is a characteristic feature of the large majority of plural nouns), just add an apostrophe.

This is why you say James's books, the children's books, and even the boss's books. This is also why you don't know whether something belongs to one or several boys until you see the sentence in writing.

To simplify things further, all you really have to remember is Rule 3. If Rule 3 does not apply, always add an apostrophe + s.

(Note that American English does not always follow these rules.)

Poolside Interview

Meet the creator of Grammarman, the world's first and only grammar superhero

Josef Essberger of EnglishClub.com interviews Brian Boyd

Josef: Grammarman has to be one of the most imaginative ideas I've seen in the learning or teaching English field. And the whole concept seems to be very well executed. But before we talk about Grammarman in detail, can you tell me a little about yourself?

Grammarman, the world's first and only grammar superhero Brian: Right now I'm teaching English with the British Council here in Thailand, but my background is British. I was doing a degree in Education at Goldsmith's College in London, specializing in design and technology with computers, and I got involved with a publisher of educational materials...with the result that I ended up working for a time on educational computer games and books for children, all built around fantasy lands and characters, and involving interactive puzzles and quizzes. My job title was "multiple media designer". But even as a child I was always drawing cartoons and comic characters. I used to photocopy and sell them sometimes, you know, the way children do. I had no idea then that one day Grammarman would be born!

Josef: So who or what exactly is Grammarman?

Brian: I like to describe Grammarman as "the world's first and only grammar superhero". He's a comic-strip character in the style of Superman or Batman. Essentially, Grammarman is a hero who belongs to a distant group of beings called the Librarians. The Librarians live at the end of time in a city suspended in Space at the end of the Universe. They're a peace-loving people devoted to the English language and they live surrounded by endless shelves of books and reference works. The Librarians sent Grammarman to Earth as a baby to take care of the English language and defend Earth from the enemies of grammar. On Earth, Grammarman lives in Verbo City. He has the ability to detect errors. He's also the world's greatest reader and can sometimes read thoughts.

Josef: And what about Alpha-bot and Syntax? Who are they?

Brian: Grammarman can't possibly defend the Earth against grammar crimes all alone! So he's helped in his mission by two other heroes. Alpha-bot is one. He's the world's smartest android. There's nothing about grammar that Alpha-bot doesn't know, and his brain works at speeds we can only imagine. The other hero, Syntax, is an unusual visitor from a distant galaxy. He originally came to Earth to learn English, but decided to stay and help Grammarman in the fight against crime.

Josef: And villains? Who are the bad guys?

Brian: Of course, there are more villains than heroes. The Article Ants steal articles like "a" or "the". Anna Gramme is a mixed-up lady who scrambles words, but she's no match for Grammarman's superior brainpower. Then there's The Interrupter. He doesn't actually break the law but he's a real pain in the neck. Another is Uncle Uncountable who likes to use uncountable nouns in his crimes against his archenemy Grammarman. And Sammy Colon uses bad punctuation to cause confusion at the scene of a crime. There are more of course, because the battle against grammar crime is endless.

Josef: What was the idea behind Grammarman? How did it come to you?

Brian: It all started when I was having a drink with my good friend Thom Kiddle. We were talking about how Thai students love reading comics. I mean, even in class I'll sometimes find a student secretly reading some Manga comic! They read them everywhere, and at all ages. And we were thinking--if only they loved to read English comics. How about a superhero that teaches English? And really I have to thank Thom. He knew about my background in illustration and educational games and he really urged me on. And in fact he still helps tremendously, with ideas and advice. Although he's no longer in Thailand, we're always in touch by email, coming up with new exploits for Grammarman.

Josef: How do students learn with Grammarman?

Brian: Each episode of the comic works on two levels. Students can read the comic once, just for enjoyment...then each episode ends with a grammar puzzle. The reader is encouraged to read the story again looking for clues and answers. The solution to the problem is included at the bottom of each comic.

Josef: Who is Grammarman's target audience?

Brian: Really I'd say that anyone learning English could enjoy Grammarman. The language may be a little too much for very young readers, but that can be good because it stretches them. And even though it's a comic, adults love comic characters. In general, I'd say pre-intermediate and above.

Josef: Where and when does Grammarman appear?

Brian: I have a website that carries the early episodes of Grammarman. And then all the latest episodes of Grammarman are syndicated to newspapers and magazines around the world. They usually publish Grammarman once a month, though it's up to their schedule. Publications like The New Straits Times in Malaysia or The Buenos Aires Herald in Argentina.

Josef: Who or what inspires you?

Brian: It's mostly the comics that I read when I was eight years old and upward. Since then I've always enjoyed reading comics. Because of the nature of Grammarman it can't really work as a serious comic story. It tends to spoof and make reference to those comics of the 40's and 50's when it was all a lot more innocent. Nowadays comics have matured, they're more violent, more for an adult audience, but back in their heyday they were much more colourful and larger than life. Children would happily believe things like alien invasions. Nowadays Batman is very sort of dark and gritty, but back then he had a utility belt and he could always pull out all kinds of ridiculous stuff - like a fish&whatever he needed happened to be in that utility belt. So Grammarman's more like that. It sort of harks back to the comics when they were more innocent. And then another influence would be the huge amount of movies, the TV shows I've watched over the years. You can draw on all of that, when you're trying to come up with a story to fit a grammar point. It's just a wealth of stuff that you can use to your own ends.

Josef: What else do you have on your website?

Brian: The website started really as a showcase for the Grammarman comic. Apart from the early episodes of Grammarman, there are mini-biographies of each of the heroes and the villains. There's also some free clipart so students can download images of Grammarman, Alpha-bot etc and create their own stories. I extended the concept with more fun material such as interactive games, a downloadable maze book, reading resources, joke-of-the-day and puzzles. And then there's the student comics gallery. It's very creative what some of these young students have come up with.

Josef: I was very impressed by the audio. It sounds great, and very funny. How did you do that?

Brian: All the Grammarman episodes on the website have audio so that a student can read them and listen to the characters at the same time. I was able to do that because a friend of mine is a sound engineer. The sound is thanks to him really, and six or seven friends who helped out with their voices. The robot voice is me. I had to speak in a dead flat voice then my sound engineer friend made it sound electronic. He used his sound library to add lots of effects like explosions, cars screeching to a halt, audiences applauding and so on.

Josef: How do you get new ideas for each episode?

Brian: There are two approaches basically. One is to look through grammar books for a point to work on, and then think of a story to illustrate the point. And two, think of an adventure for Grammarman and then find a grammar point that would fit.

Josef: How do you actually produce Grammarman? I mean, who does the artwork and who looks after the website? How long does each episode take you?

Grammarman creator, Brian Boyd Brian: Basically, I do the artwork alone, though Thom's a massive help with the ideas. Normally it takes about a week to produce one episode. It starts with scribbled notes for the ideas, then rough pencil sketches with the characters as stickmen, mainly to check that the text can fit the space. Then I draw outlines for each frame in blue pencil on A3 paper. Blue because it isn't picked up by the scanner later on, so those drawings can still be quite loose. It gives me freedom to make sure the images are how I want them before committing anything to a finished drawing. The next step is to go over the blue outlines more carefully in black ink. After that, I scan the drawing into the computer and use a graphics program to tidy up the black line-work further. Then, still in the computer, add colour, shading and shadow to give a more 3D effect. The next step is to add the text balloons and the text inside them. And finally the title bar finishes it all off. Another friend of mine has been a great help with the website, though I'm learning how to take care of that more and more.

Josef: What feedback have you had? All positive? Any negative?

Brian: Mostly good. Very good really. Most of the emails I get say things like great idea, my students say it's fun. Teachers often write to say they've use Grammarman in class. It's a great thrill to get feedback from around the world from people I've never met and who are enjoying my jokes and stories. But I'm also pretty sensitive, so I cringe a bit when I get the occasional negative comment. I also have to be on the lookout for any real grammar mistakes because some people would be only too happy to point out errors. Fortunately I've got Grammarman to help me.

Josef: What plans do you have for the future?

Brian: Lots! Based on the current episodes of Grammarman I have plans for a collected volume, probably in book and, hopefully, CD form with audio. And then I'm also working on a Grammarman board game and Grammarman card game. I think they will be fun. When I have more time I'd like to find someone willing to produce a Grammarman computer game and some animated cartoons. And another idea is a Grammarman Fun Book on "fun" English, you know, quirky things like silent letters and palindromes&

Public Speaking in English: Presentations

Josef Essberger

People speak in public for many reasons. One of the most common forms of public speaking is the 'Presentation'. In a presentation, you 'present' or introduce something (a product, an idea, financial results, a project etc) to your audience. You give a presentation because you want to 'communicate' something. Generally, you want to do one of four things. You want:

to inform
to train
to persuade
to sell

A presentation is one of the best ways of communicating your message. And because English is so widely used in international business, a knowledge of the vocabulary and techniques used in an English language presentation is very useful.

This article will give you 7 of the most important areas to consider when giving any presentation.

1 Preparation

Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Good preparation is essential for any presentation. With good preparation and planning you will be fully confident. Your audience will feel your confidence. And so your audience will be confident in you. This will give you control. With control, you will be 'in charge' and your audience will listen positively to your message.

2 Structure

A good presentation has a clear structure, like a good book or film. A good presentation has:

a beginning (introduction & preview)
a middle (main message)
an end (review & conclusion)

3 Equipment

You may have any of the following pieces of equipment at your disposal:

whiteboard
flipchart
overhead projector
35mm slide projector
computer graphics

Each of these has advantages and disadvantages. The important thing is to be the master of your equipment, not the slave. You should know and understand your equipment perfectly.

4 Visual Aids

"A picture is worth 1,000 words."

There are many types of visual aids - photographs, graphs, pie charts, maps, tables, real samples etc. But you should use visual aids with care. Do not overload your audience with too much information in a short time. A good rule is: use one image to give one message. Do not try to give two messages with one image.

5 Signposting

When you read a book, you know where you are. You know the title of the book, the subject, the chapter, the end of one chapter and beginning of another, the section and even the page number. But when you give a presentation, your audience does not know where they are - unless you TELL them! You can use special language called 'signalling' or 'signposting' that helps your audience know where they are. Here are a few examples:

Let's begin by...
That's all I have to say about...
Now we'll move on to...
Let's consider this in more detail...
I'd like to deal with this question later, if I may...
I'd like now to recap...
To start with...later...to finish up...

6 Audience Rapport

You need a warm and friendly relationship with your audience. How do you achieve this? Well, enthusiasm is contagious. If you are enthusiastic, your audience will be enthusiastic too. Try to make eye contact with each member of your audience. Each person should feel that you are speaking to him or her personally.

7 Body Language

What you do NOT say can be more important than what you say. Your BODY is speaking to your audience even before you open your mouth. Your clothes, your walk, your glasses, your haircut, your expression: it is from these that your listeners form their first impression as you enter the room.

Poolside Interview with Matt Errey

Josef Essberger interviews the inventor of Word Up

Matt Errey is a games inventor. Games inventors are themselves a pretty uncommon bunch, but Matt is a games inventor with a difference - he invents board games for ESL. Matt's award-winning game "Word Up" is played by learners of English all over the world and is making its own unique contribution to language teaching. This month Josef Essberger speaks to Matt Errey by the poolside in Bangkok, Thailand, to find out more about this extraordinary game and its inventor.

Josef: WORD UP is getting a lot of attention now as what I suppose must be the leading board game specifically for English learners, and you've just released a new edition. So I have lots of questions for you about Word Up and how you came to invent it. But first, a little background about you...where did you grow up, Matt, and how long have you been involved in teaching English?

Matt: My home country is Australia, and that's where I grew up - in Melbourne, Victoria. And I've been involved in teaching English now for about 16 years - since coming to Thailand, basically.

Josef: Plenty of people have written books and started web sites for English learners, but board games are practically unheard of - I mean board games just for ESL. Whatever gave you the idea to create a board game just for ESL?

Matt: Necessity! Necessity being the mother of invention. It more or less evolved out of the situation I was in. I was teaching at a commercial college here in Bangkok, and I soon discovered that whatever we did it had to be fun. Thai people are very much into things being fun - whether it's work, learning a language, or whatever. So we all had to supplement the course work with games and activities to keep our students on-side. And in those days that meant making most of them up. There were a few books around, like "Games for Language Learning" by Andrew Wright, but it wasn't that easy to get hold of them. You couldn't just order them on the Internet, of course - because there was no Internet back then. And so I started coming up with different types of games for my classes - quiz games, card games ... and board games, obviously.

Josef: And how did you decide on the format for Word Up?

Matt: I was toying with the idea of making a game for my students that was a bit like Trivial Pursuit, but with the questions geared towards learning English rather than general knowledge, and the whole thing more or less came to me as it is now. The question categories seemed obvious enough - one for spelling, another one for vocabulary which is now Crossword Clues, and then Missing Word for grammar and structure, and Multiple Choice for everything else. And then I made a board with squares for each type of question, made some scoring tokens out of coloured paper, got some dice, and that was it. The special squares and the Word Up cards came along later, but the basic format was there from the start.

Josef: How long did it take you to make the original Word Up?

Matt: Well, the version I just described didn't take too long as it only had a few question sets and a pretty simple board. But after seeing how well it worked with my own students, and after getting a lot of positive feedback from other teachers, I decided to have a go at a more substantial version - hoping to get it produced. And that's when the work really began. It took me about 18 months to write the first batch of questions - which ended up being over 5,000 altogether. Then they had to be graded into levels of difficulty, and arranged into sets. That took another few months as I wanted each set to include a fairly consistent range of material - like tenses, idioms, phrasal verbs, collocations, general knowledge and whatnot. I also had to make sure that each set was balanced in terms of the number of difficult and easy questions it had - within the general standard of its level. And after I'd managed to get a company interested in producing it, the questions had to be edited and proofread, the board and the box had to be properly designed, and on it went. So all up it took about two and half years to get it to the point where it was ready to be launched - which was in 1991. And I've just spent another 6 months revising it all for the new editions we've just released.

Josef: That sounds like a lot of effort. Do you work full-time on Word Up?

Matt: No, not at all. I'm still rolling up my sleeves and teaching, and I think that helps me to remain focused on what learners really need, and what works or doesn't work with them.

Josef: Did you especially like board games as a child?

Matt: Yes. When I was a kid we didn't have home computers, let alone computer games, so we played board games all the time. My dad taught me chess - he was a member of the local chess club and a pretty good player. Then there was Monopoly, of course, and Cluedo, and my Mum taught me how to play Scrabble, so we used to play that quite a lot as well.

Josef: Do you still play board games now?

Matt: Only Scrabble, really. I have a couple of friends over every Tuesday night and we play a few games, and we've been doing this for years - religiously. And once in a while I'll play a game of chess, but that's about it these days.

Josef: Do you know who actually plays Word Up - I mean the type of learners, ages and so on? And where they are?

Matt: Well, it's used all over Thailand, of course, given that it's been available here for years. We've sold over 20,000 copies in Thailand alone - many of them to teachers and schools but most to students and their families, so here it's used in homes a lot. And since we've been selling it on the Internet, it's been mostly teachers who've bought it, so we know it's being used in schools and language institutes in over 60 countries already. What I'd like to see is students in other countries using it more at home. What I had in mind when I made it was to create a fun way for people to continue the learning process outside the usual classroom situation, as well as to make something useful for teachers.

Josef: You must have read my mind, because that was my next question. Is Word Up good for playing at home or is it mainly for the classroom?

Matt: I think it works really well for both. If learners want to do something to improve their English at home, I think playing Word Up is perfect. The fact that there are all these levels of difficulty means that the whole family can join in. The older kids could be on level 4 or 5, the younger ones on level 1 or 2, and Mum and Dad on whatever level suits them. But it's also good for teachers to use - it's good for breaking the ice early on, or for a bit of fun later on whenever the class needs a break from the usual format. And it also works well as a break-up activity at the end of a course.

Josef: Do you still use Word Up in your own classes?

Matt: Absolutely! For a start I'll use it early on with a new class. A lot of students are reluctant to speak at that stage - they're afraid of making mistakes, or they just feel a bit shy - and Word Up is a good way of getting them started. And it's also a good chance for me to observe them from a distance, so to speak - I can see pretty clearly the strengths and weaknesses of each student while they're playing, get some idea of where they're at as a group, and also find out a lot about their personalities. You can learn a great deal about someone by watching them play a game - and that's all useful stuff in teaching.

Josef: How specifically does Word Up help learners to develop their English?

Matt: Well, players obviously practise their reading, pronunciation and listening skills, but it also works as a good way to learn new material - like new vocab., new idioms and phrasal verbs, or new ways to use modals or prepositions or articles or whatever - just about everything anyone needs is in there somewhere, I'd say. And students really do seem to remember the material they're exposed to. Not because they particularly want to, mind you, but because they're totally focused on what they're doing. And they have to be if they want to win...and believe me, they do! They really listen - even if it's not their question, they'll listen and try to think of an answer. And when they hear the correct answer, they'll tend to remember it - because of their level of concentration. That's why the game format works well in general, I think - because it really does motivate students to concentrate, to focus - and if they're focused, they'll learn.

Josef: Was Word Up the first game you ever made?

Matt: It's the first one I've made that's been produced and marketed. I've had plenty of other ideas for games, and used them in my classes, but nothing else that I've felt could really be developed further.

Josef: I imagine it's not easy to just "create a game". How did you learn to do it?

Matt: No, I wouldn't say one just "creates a game", as such. In my experience at least, if an idea comes, and if it seems to work well, you tend to play around with it, develop it further, and then it slowly evolves over time until you end up with something you can call "a new game". I've gone through the whole business of consciously trying to come up with another game that we could market...and it just doesn't work like that. You can't just sit down and demand that good ideas come on cue - they come when they're good and ready.

Josef: If I asked you for the three main advantages of learning English with Word Up, what would they be?

Matt: Hmmm - that's a difficult one. But I'd say the first one would be simply that it's fun and that students never seem to get bored with it. They can play it over and over again and it'll still be fun and interesting - and will continually motivate them to learn. The second would be that it involves real communication and interaction - and it creates a genuine social situation in which this can occur. I'd say this is one of the main advantages of using board games in general, as opposed to computer games, for example. Most computer games involve interaction between a player and the computer itself - which I don't think is as authentic, or as useful, as the experience a board game provides. And the third? Probably the range of material, and the fact that it's all graded in such a way that a particular student can play the game from when they're a beginner right through to when they've got quite an advanced level of English. So it can provide a sense of continuity. Course books might change, teachers might change, but Word Up will always be there for them...a rock they can cling to in the turbulent waters of learning English. [laughs]

Josef: How many questions did you say there are in the game?

Matt: Today there are over 4,400 questions. 4,480 to be precise. Plus answers of course.

Josef: That's a lot of questions! How did you manage to come up with all those questions? And why an exact figure like 4,480? Why not something round like 4,000, or 5,000?

Matt: Well, to answer your second question first...the explanation is pretty mundane. It's a technical matter, to do with printing and how many question sheets fit on a large sheet when they're printed, before cutting up. And how did I come up with the questions? I had to take a fairly systematic approach. I'd think about each category and then come up with particular question types or themes. So for example, for Multiple Choice I'd think of something like proverbs, say, and then just make a whole bunch of questions on proverbs. Then maybe question tags - I'd list all the common ones and then make a series of Multiple Choice questions on them. Or for Missing Word I'd decide on phrasal verbs as a question type and then go through a phrasal verb dictionary and make a question for each - within reason, of course.

Josef: And how many people can play Word Up?

Matt: Two to six individual players, or two to six teams, though if teams are formed the total number of players shouldn't really be more than about twelve.

Josef: Now. the question I've been dying to ask you. Where did the name come from?

Matt Errey Matt: There was a hit song called "Word Up" in the 80s by an American group called Cameo. They were African Americans and apparently the phrase was part of their particular idiom, and still is I believe. It's used either as a sort of general greeting, especially among men, or as a way to indicate agreement with someone. So this was how I first heard it, and when I was trying to come up with a name for the game it got added to the list of possibilities. And in the end it seemed like the best one I had. It had reference to language, obviously, but didn't sound too bookish or academic. It was short and simple, so I thought it'd be easy to remember, and it had a positive ring to it. So that was the one I settled on.

Josef: Well, it must have been a good choice, judging from the game's popularity. Do you have any plans for "Son of Word Up" or other games?

Matt: None at this stage! I'm still really busy getting Word Up out into the world - but who knows? Maybe I'll get another idea and be hounded by it until I see it sitting in front of me as a finished product...

Speaking versus Writing

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE Spoken WORD. OR IS IT?

Josef Essberger

The purpose of all language is to communicate - that is, to move thoughts or information from one person to another person.

There are always at least two people in any communication. To communicate, one person must put something "out" and another person must take something "in". We call this "output" (>>>) and "input" (<<<).

I speak to you (OUTPUT: my thoughts go OUT of my head).
You listen to me (INPUT: my thoughts go INto your head).
You write to me (OUTPUT: your thoughts go OUT of your head).
I read your words (INPUT: your thoughts go INto my head).

So language consists of four "skills": two for output (speaking and writing); and two for input (listening and reading. We can say this another way - two of the skills are for "spoken" communication and two of the skills are for "written" communication:

Spoken:
>>> Speaking - mouth
<<< Listening - ear

Written:
>>> Writing - hand
<<< Reading - eye

What are the differences between Spoken and Written English? Are there advantages and disadvantages for each form of communication?

Status

When we learn our own (native) language, learning to speak comes before learning to write. In fact, we learn to speak almost automatically. It is natural. But somebody must teach us to write. It is not natural. In one sense, speaking is the "real" language and writing is only a representation of speaking. However, for centuries, people have regarded writing as superior to speaking. It has a higher "status". This is perhaps because in the past almost everybody could speak but only a few people could write. But as we shall see, modern influences are changing the relative status of speaking and writing.

Differences in Structure and Style

We usually write with correct grammar and in a structured way. We organize what we write into sentences and paragraphs. We do not usually use contractions in writing (though if we want to appear very friendly, then we do sometimes use contractions in writing because this is more like speaking.) We use more formal vocabulary in writing (for example, we might write "the car exploded" but say "the car blew up") and we do not usually use slang. In writing, we must use punctuation marks like commas and question marks (as a symbolic way of representing things like pauses or tone of voice in speaking).

We usually speak in a much less formal, less structured way. We do not always use full sentences and correct grammar. The vocabulary that we use is more familiar and may include slang. We usually speak in a spontaneous way, without preparation, so we have to make up what we say as we go. This means that we often repeat ourselves or go off the subject. However, when we speak, other aspects are present that are not present in writing, such as facial expression or tone of voice. This means that we can communicate at several levels, not only with words.

Durability

One important difference between speaking and writing is that writing is usually more durable or permanent. When we speak, our words live for a few moments. When we write, our words may live for years or even centuries. This is why writing is usually used to provide a record of events, for example a business agreement or transaction.

Speaker & Listener / Writer & Reader

When we speak, we usually need to be in the same place and time as the other person. Despite this restriction, speaking does have the advantage that the speaker receives instant feedback from the listener. The speaker can probably see immediately if the listener is bored or does not understand something, and can then modify what he or she is saying.

When we write, our words are usually read by another person in a different place and at a different time. Indeed, they can be read by many other people, anywhere and at any time. And the people reading our words, can do so at their leisure, slowly or fast. They can re-read what we write, too. But the writer cannot receive immediate feedback and cannot (easily) change what has been written.

How Speaking and Writing Influence Each Other

In the past, only a small number of people could write, but almost everybody could speak. Because their words were not widely recorded, there were many variations in the way they spoke, with different vocabulary and dialects in different regions. Today, almost everybody can speak and write. Because writing is recorded and more permanent, this has influenced the way that people speak, so that many regional dialects and words have disappeared. (It may seem that there are already too many differences that have to be learned, but without writing there would be far more differences, even between, for example, British and American English.) So writing has had an important influence on speaking. But speaking can also influence writing. For example, most new words enter a language through speaking. Some of them do not live long. If you begin to see these words in writing it usually means that they have become "real words" within the language and have a certain amount of permanence.

Influence of New Technology

Modern inventions such as sound recording, telephone, radio, television, fax or email have made or are making an important impact on both speaking and writing. To some extent, the divisions between speaking and writing are becoming blurred. Emails are often written in a much less formal way than is usual in writing. With voice recording, for example, it has for a long time been possible to speak to somebody who is not in the same place or time as you (even though this is a one-way communication: we can speak or listen, but not interact). With the telephone and radiotelephone, however, it became possible for two people to carry on a conversation while not being in the same place. Today, the distinctions are increasingly vague, so that we may have, for example, a live television broadcast with a mixture of recordings, telephone calls, incoming faxes and emails and so on. One effect of this new technology and the modern universality of writing has been to raise the status of speaking. Politicians who cannot organize their thoughts and speak well on television win very few votes.

English Checker

aspect: a particular part or feature of something
dialect: a form of a language used in a specific region
formal: following a set of rules; structured; official
status: level or rank in a society
spontaneous: not planned; unprepared
structured: organized; systematic

Note: instead of "spoken", some people say "oral" (relating to the mouth) or "aural" (relating to the ear).

Practising English outside School

Josef Essberger

When you are learning English, it is very important to use and practise your English as often as possible. If you are studying in a school, you have some good opportunities to practise. But what can you do after school, or if you are studying alone, to continue practising?

In fact there are many things that you can do outside school to improve your English. Let us consider the 4 skills that you need to develop to use a language well:

LISTENING
SPEAKING
READING
WRITING

Here are some of the ways you can improve these skills outside school:

LISTENING

Listening to English is one of the most important things you can do to improve your English. Do not try too hard to understand everything. Just listen and you will soon understand. You have several possibilities:

Cassettes and CDs

Listening to songs (on cassette or compact disc) can be useful in helping you to "feel" the language. It does not matter if you do not understand everything.

Television

On television, you have a big choice of programmes: films, chat shows, documentaries, news. In many parts of the world you can watch English-language television, for example:

Many television stations have Internet sites which give details of frequencies.

Radio

This is another excellent way to practise your English. Here are 2 stations that you can listen to world-wide:

BBC World Service
Voice of America

Films

You can watch films in English on video at home. In some countries, you can watch films in English at the cinema. Watching with video is a very good method because you can replay parts that you do not understand. If you watch a video with English sub-titles, you can cover the sub-titles with paper. Then, if there are some words that you really do not understand, you can remove the paper and look at the sub-title. But be careful! The sub-titles are not always an exact translation.

SPEAKING

Speaking English is one thing that you cannot do alone!

You can listen to English alone.
You can read English alone.
You can write English alone.

But, you run a serious risk if you speak to yourself in English! That is why you should speak as much as possible at school where there are people to speak to.

How can you speak English outside school?

That depends on where you are. But you should make a big effort to find somebody for conversation practice. In a large city, it should not be difficult to find people who speak good English. You can put an advertisement in a local newspaper. There may even be some English or American pubs or clubs where people speak English. You may find an English person, for example, who wants to practise your language. Then you can do a conversation exchange. Outside the big cities, you need to be more imaginative. Perhaps you can use the telephone. Or even the Internet, if you are equipped with an Internet phone.

READING

Reading is an excellent way to learn new vocabulary. But you need to read the right level of English. If it is too difficult, you may become discouraged. If it is too easy, you will make no progress. Try to read something that is slightly above your level. Try to understand the meaning of a new word from the context. If you really cannot understand, use a dictionary and record the word.

What can you read? Well, there is no shortage of reading material: books, poetry, newspapers, magazines, Internet.

There are so many books - fact or fiction - that it should not be difficult to find something suitable. Perhaps you already have some books in English. Or take a look in a library or bookshop. In many cities you can use the library of the British Council.

Some publishers produce 'simple' books for beginners. They are short, simplified stories. Usually they have notes and explanations.

We also have some short stories and classic texts in English Club English Reading with notes to help you.

Newspapers

You can learn a lot of new vocabulary from a newspaper. You can find British or American newspapers in all the big cities of the world. Some countries publish special English-language papers: the 'Bangkok Post' in Thailand or the 'Straits Times' in Singapore, for example.

Here are some British and American newspapers. They are available at news-stands in big cities and at airports and main railway stations.

British:

The Times
The Telegraph
The Financial Times (especially for business)
The European (weekly - especially about Europe)
'The Sunday Times' (weekly)

American:

International Herald Tribune
Washington Post

Magazines

Try reading a magazine regularly. You can subscribe to a magazine and have it delivered anywhere in the world.

Time (general interest)
Newsweek (news)
The Economist (business)
Cosmopolitan (fashion, leisure)

WRITING

Practise your English by writing letters to a pen friend. Today, with the Internet, this is very easy. You can exchange letters by email. To find a pen friend from anywhere in the world, check out English Club ESL Forums.

Word Stress and Sentence Stress

The Golden Key to English Pronunciation

Josef Essberger

Normally when we say "I feel stressed" it means "I feel anxious". Stress is a kind of worried feeling about life or work. But there is another kind of stress that actually helps us understand. This other kind of stress is an accent that we make on certain syllables and words when speaking English.

In some languages, for example Japanese, people say each syllable with equal force. But in English, and some other languages, we put a big force (stress) on some syllables and no force on other syllables or words. This can make it difficult for speakers of other languages to understand English that is spoken quickly. Of course, for native speakers it is not difficult - in fact, stress actually helps native speakers understand each other. So it is very important.

We shall talk here about WORD STRESS (stress on a syllable inside a word) and SENTENCE STRESS (stress on words inside a sentence).

WORD STRESS

Word stress is like a golden key to speaking and understanding English.

If you do not already know about word stress, you can try to learn about it. This is one of the best ways for you to understand spoken English - especially English spoken fast.

What is word stress?

Take 3 words: photograph, photographer and photographic. Do they sound the same when spoken? No. Because ONE syllable in each word is STRESSED (stronger than the others).

PHOtograph
phoTOgrapher
photoGRAPHic

This happens in ALL words with 2 or more syllables: TEACHer, JaPAN, CHINa, aBOVE, converSAtion, INteresting, imPORtant, deMAND, etCETera, etCETera, etCETera

The syllables that are not stressed are "weak" or "small" or "quiet". Native speakers of English listen for the STRESSED syllables, not the weak syllables. If you use word stress in your speech, you will instantly and automatically improve your pronunciation and your comprehension.

If you have an English teacher, you can ask her to help you understand word stress. Or you can try to hear the stress in individual words each time you listen to English - on the radio, or in films for example. Your first step is to HEAR and recognise it. After that, you can USE it.

Two important rules about word stress:

One word, one stress
The stress is always on a vowel

SENTENCE STRESS

Sentence stress is another golden key for speaking and understanding English. With sentence stress, some words in a sentence are STRESSED (loud) and other words are weak (quiet). Look at the following sentence:

We want to go.

Do we say every word with the same stress or force? No. We make the important words BIG and the unimportant words small. What are the important words in this sentence? Yes, that's right: WANT and GO.

We WANT to GO.
We WANT to GO to WORK.
We DON'T WANT to GO to WORK.
We DON'T WANT to GO to WORK at NIGHT.

Now that you know that word stress exists, you can try to learn more about it.

You should KNOW that SENtence and WORD STRESS are VERy imPORtant !!!

Better Homework, Revision & Examinations for ESL Students

Josef Essberger

Even if you are learning English in a school, you probably spend a lot of time working alone on your English. The time you spend working alone is actually very valuable for you. And you can increase its value by working in a disciplined, systematic way. At the same time, try to relax. Be cool. You will learn more easily and more quickly.

Here are some tips to help you learn as efficiently as possible. We will consider three aspects of your work:

Homework: INput; new language, new grammar, new vocabulary; exercises
Revision: reinforcement; looking again at what you have already studied; consolidation. This is very important.
The Examination: OUTput; this could be a major exam like the Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English, or an exam like the TOEIC, or a test at school.

Homework

Decide what time to do your homework each day - and then do it at that time without fail!
Find a convenient place to work and always work in that place.
Do your work progressively, a little at a time. Don't wait until you have a lot to do. That will worry you, and you will find it hard to start.
Be disciplined about your homework time. Don't waste your homework time doing other things, like telephoning friends or making cups of coffee!
Keep all your work together in a folder or file. Keep it tidy. Don't do it on scraps of paper.
Keep a record of what you have done each week - and what you plan to do the next week.
Leave time in your plan for unexpected events.

Revision

Revise in an organised way. Make a plan at the beginning - and follow to it!
Do not spend all your time revising! Try to spend time on your normal hobbies and your social life.
Make your revision interesting by relating it to the real world - the news, for example, or your job.
Make notes for your revision constantly. And try to practise what you revise.
If you do not understand something, ASK! Never be afraid to ask. Ask your teacher, ask the local library, ask EnglishCLUB.net. Asking questions helps you to understand.
Try to talk to other people about your revision. Discuss any problems with your friends and family.
If it seems difficult, think about the future. You are working hard now for a better future!

The Examination

Try to relax the night before the exam. Do not revise too late. Go to bed early!
On the day of the exam, have a good breakfast. Leave home early, so that you will not panic if the traffic is bad.
Do not worry if you are nervous. It is normal and natural to be nervous. It will make you more alert for the exam and so you will do better.
Read the exam paper very carefully. Be sure that you understand all the instructions - and then follow them!
Look for the questions that have the highest marks or points. Do them first.
Give yourself a time limit for each question so that you can finish the whole exam.
Make sure that you include your name and all necessary details (examination number, centre number etc) correctly.

Finally, try to be relaxed about your studies. Language is only a method of communication. It is really quite easy. You are already an expert in your own language. Soon you will be an expert in English too!

Your CV or Resume In English

When you apply for a job, employers ask for two important documents:

A CV or resume
A covering letter

This month we look at your CV. Next month we will look at your covering letter.

Why you need a good CV

Your CV is a summary of your professional and academic life. It usually concentrates on your personal details, education and work experience.

Your CV's job is very simple: to get you a job interview. To do this, your CV must be:

clear
well-organised
easy to read
concise
relevant to the job offered

Content

You should include everything that is relevant to your employment or career and nothing that is irrelevant. There are usually 5 general headings of information to include:

Personal details: name, address, email and telephone number (and sometimes nationality, age/date of birth and marital status)
Objective: a headline that summarises the job you want
Work experience: your employment in reverse chronological order
Education: details of secondary and university education
Personal interests: showing that you are a well-balanced person with an interesting life outside work

Sometimes, you may need to give additional information for a particular job or because you have special qualifications.

Format

In the English-speaking world your CV should be word-processed, for several reasons:

a hand-written CV is unprofessional
some recruitment agencies and employers like to scan CVs electronically
it will be easier for you to update and modify your CV later

It is usually best to limit your CV to a maximum of 2 pages. You can usually put everything you need on 1 or 2 pages.

DO NOT USE ALL CAPITALS LIKE THIS!!! CAPITALS ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO READ AND CAN BE CONSIDERED IMPOLITE IN THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD.

There are basically 2 standard paper sizes, depending on your part of the world:

A4 (297 x 210 millimetres) - as used in Europe
Letter Size (8 1/2 x 11 inches) - as used in the United States

Vocabulary

Your language should be simple and clear.

Use short words and short sentences.

Do not use technical vocabulary (unless you are sure that the reader will understand it).

Talk about concrete facts ("I increased sales by 50%"), not abstract ideas ("I was responsible for a considerable improvement in our market position").

Use verbs in the active voice, not passive voice. Which of these two sentences do you think is the more powerful?

active: "I organised this exhibition."
passive: "This exhibition was organised by me."

Use "power words". The most powerful words are verbs. And the most powerful verbs are action verbs. (Action verbs describe dynamic activity, not state).

Here, for example, are some typical power words for Management and Sales skills:

Management skills: assign, attain, chair, co-ordinate, delegate, direct, execute, organise, oversee, plan, recommend, review, strengthen, supervise, train
Sales skills: sell, convert, close, deal, persuade, highlight, satisfy, win over, sign

So you should use lots of action verbs matched to your skills, and use them in the active form, not the passive form.

This article is condensed from Resumes, CVs and Covering Letters in English.

e-ENGLISH IYKWIM ;-)

Josef Essberger

KWIM? I thought not.

For e-English read "electronic English" and for IYKWIM read "if you know what I mean".

And for KWIM? Yes, that's right. You'll have to FIOFY.

The internet has created a whole new way of speaking when we write email, post messages or chat online.

It saves time and typing effort, but it's no joke if you don't know the "secret". So just to help you if you're not already a netspeak expert, here are a few of the basic rules and codes people use on the internet.

Remember, these are for use on the internet with friends. We do not usually use them in formal letters or faxes.

Emphasis

If we want to emphasise a word (make it more important), we often use asterisks (*), like this:

"I *love* EnglishCLUB.net."

Sometimes people use capitals to add emphasis but it is not a good idea. MOST PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE A LOT OF CAPITALS. THEY LOOK RUDE AND CAN BE DIFFICULT TO READ.

Emotion

If we want to express our feelings and emotions, we can use "smileys". A smiley is a combination of symbols that looks like a face sideways. The original, basic smiley (eyes, nose and smiling mouth) is very popular and shows that we are happy:

:-)

We can also do this with eyes and mouth only:

Of course, if we are unhappy, we can change the mouth: :-(

There are many possibilities. Here are a few more:

;-) wink
:*) kiss
:~) tears

Abbreviations

To save time when typing (and maybe to save money if you are online), people often abbreviate commonly-used phrases. There are hundreds of possibilities and you certainly do not need all of them!

Some of these codes are just the first letter of each word, for example:

imo = in my opinion

Some of these codes use the sound of the letter to represent the sound of a word. For example, the letter "c" sounds like the word "sea" or "see":

cu = see you

Some of these codes use numbers because the sound of the number is the same as the sound of another word (not the spelling!). For example, 4 (four) sounds like "for". And 8 (eight) sounds like "ate". So if we write L8 we get "late". If we write W8 we get "wait"!

Here are some more examples:

aamof = as a matter of fact
asap = as soon as possible
b4 = before
b4n = bye for now
cul8er = see you later
damhik = don't ask me how I know
eta = estimated time of arrival
f2f = face to face
gf = girlfriend
gmt = Greenwich Mean Time
hth = hope this helps
icbw = I could be wrong
jam = just a minute
k = okay
lmk = let me know
mcibty = my computer is better than yours
oic = oh I see
pls = please
plz = please
q = queue
rumf = are you male or female?
sil = sister-in-law
tia = thanks in advance
uok = you ok?
vr = virtual reality
wdymbt = what do you mean by that?
y2k = year 2000

Millennium: 2000 or 2001?

Josef Essberger

A lot of people around the world are preparing to celebrate the end of this year (1999) and the beginning of next year (2000). This is considered a special occasion because it is:

the start of a new YEAR
the start of a new DECADE (10 years)
the start of a new CENTURY (100 years)
the start of a new MILLENNIUM (1000 years)

But not everyone agrees that 1 January 2000 is the first day of the new century/millennium. Some people say that the real first day will be on 1 January 2001. Why do they say this? Their logic is very simple: we start counting from 1, not from 0, so:

the first century ran from the year 1 to the year 100
the present century runs from 1901 to 2000
the next century will run from 2001 to 2100

This debate is a little academic because for much of the world the present year is not 1999 but something completely different. 1999 is a year in the "Christian calendar". The Christian calendar is the official calendar used by many countries. But there are other calendars, with different years. And their years do not always start on 1 January. In 1999 we see, for example:

the start of Chinese year 4697
the start of Islamic year 1420
the start of Jewish year 5760

Year 2000 Problem

Whether 1 January 2000 is the start of the new millennium or not, one thing is sure: it is the cause of a major computer problem worldwide. This is because many computers and programs have to be modified to be sure that they will not think that the year 2000 is the year 1900, or worse. This problem is sometimes called the "Year 2000 Problem" or the "Millennium Bug".

How do we say "2000"?

Many people say "two thousand" for next year. But we can also say "twenty hundred" (just as we say "nineteen hundred" for 1900). And for the following years:

2001 "twenty-o-one"
2002 "twenty-o-two"
2010 "twenty-ten"
2025 "twenty-twenty-five"
etc

Speaking to Yourself can be Dangerous!

Josef Essberger

There are 4 key skills when you learn a language:

listening
speaking
reading
writing

Which one of these is the "Odd-Man-Out"? Which one of these is different from the other three? The answer is speaking. The other three you can do alone, on your own, without anyone else. You can listen to the radio alone. You can read a book alone. You can write a letter alone. But you can't really speak alone! Speaking to yourself can be 'dangerous' because men in white coats may come and take you away!!!

That is why you should make every effort possible to find somebody to speak with. Where can you find people who can speak English with you? And how can you practise speaking when you are alone?

At School

If you go to a language school, you should use the opportunity to speak to your teachers and other students. When you go home, you can still practise listening, reading and writing, but you probably can't practise speaking. If your teacher asks you a question, take the opportunity to answer. Try to say as much as possible. If your teacher asks you to speak in pairs or groups with other students, try to say as much as possible. Don't worry about your mistakes. Just speak!

Conversation Clubs

Many cities around the world have conversation clubs where people can exchange one language for another. Look in your local newspaper to find a conversation club near you. They are usually free although some may charge a small entrance fee.

Shopping

If you are living in an English-speaking country, you have a wonderful opportunity. Practise speaking to the local people such as shop assistants or taxi drivers. Even if you don't want to buy anything, you can ask questions about products that interest you in a shop. "How much does this cost?" "Can I pay by cheque?" "Which do you recommend?" Often you can start a real conversation - and it costs you nothing!

Anglo-Saxon Pubs and Bars

Even if you don't live in an English-speaking country, there are often American, British, Irish and Australian pubs in many large cities. If you can find one of these pubs, you'll probably meet many people speaking English as a first or second language.

Language is all around You

Everywhere you go you find language. Shop names, street names, advertisements, notices on buses and trains... Even if you are not in an English-speaking country, there are often a lot of English words you can see when walking in the street, especially in big cities. And there are always numbers. Car numbers, telephone numbers, house numbers... How can this help you? When you walk down the street, practise reading the words and numbers that you see. Say them to yourself. It's not exactly a conversation, but it will help you to "think" in English. For example, if you walk along aline of parked cars, say the number on each car quickly as you pass it. Test yourself, to see how fast you can walk and still say each number. But don't speak too loud!

Songs and Video

Listen to the words of an English-language song that you like. Then repeat them to yourself and try to sing with the music. Repeat the words as many times as possible until they become automatic. Soon you'll be singing the whole song. Or listen to one of your favourite actors on video and repeat one or two sentences that you like. Do it until it becomes automatic. It's good practice for your memory and for the mouth muscles that you need for English.

Above all, don't be afraid to speak. You must try to speak, even if you make mistakes. You cannot learn without mistakes. There is a saying: "The person who never made a mistake never made anything." So think of your mistakes as something positive and useful.

Speak as much as possible! Make as many mistakes as possible! When you know that you have made a mistake, you know that you have made Progress!

Letter Writing

Even though we often use email and fax to correspond today, business letters sent by post ("snailmail") are still very important. A well-structured letter is a pleasure to receive and creates a good impression.

It is just as easy to write a well organised letter as a badly organised one, because the layout of a modern business letter in English is very simple. Your address is at the top (in the middle or on the right). The rest of the letter can be in "block" format, with each line starting on the left. There should also be plenty of white space.

There are some minor differences in layout between British and American English and according to personal style. Here, however, are the key elements of a letter, in their usual order:

1 Your address, telephone, fax, email

Put your address, telephone, fax and/or email at the top in the centre or on the right. Do *not* put your personal name here, even if it is a personal letter. (Of course, if you are using company paper, the company name will probably be here.)

2 Date

Be careful when writing the date. All-number dates are written differently in British English (31/12/00) and American English (12/31/00). This can lead to confusion. It may be better to write the date in full (31 December 2000 or December 31st, 2000). This can also look less "official" and therefore more polite.

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. This should be the same as on the envelope.

4 References

These are codes that you or your correspondent may use to define a letter or subject. You write your correspondent's reference in the form: 'Your ref: 01234'. If you wish to include your own reference, you write: 'My ref: 56789' or 'Our ref: 56789'.

5 Salutation (Dear...)

A letter in English almost always begins with 'Dear...', even if you do not know the person. There are several possibilities:

Dear Mr Smith
Dear Mrs Smith
Dear Miss Smith
Dear Ms Smith
Dear Sir
Dear Madam
Dear Sirs
Gentlemen

6 Subject

The subject of your letter. This is useful but not obligatory.

7 Body

The letter itself, in well-structured paragraphs.

8 Ending (Yours...)

Yours sincerely Yours faithfully Yours truly

9 Your signature

10 Your name

Your first name and surname, for example:

Mary Bond
James Smith

11 (Your title)

If you are using company headed paper, write your Job Title here. If you are writing a personal letter, write nothing here.

12 Enclosures

Indicate that one or more documents are enclosed by writing 'Enc: 2' (for two documents, for example).

Here is a very simple letter as an example of layout.

Lunar Rock Productions Ltd
7 Moonlight Boulevard, Dover, 2030 NSW, Australia
tel: +61 2 337 476 fax: +61 2 337 477

7 April 2000

Mr James Bound

Sales Director

Universal Aspects Ltd

769 Oxford Street

LONDON WC1 007

Your ref: 16538

Our ref: SR/tgh/7

Dear Mr Bound

PLANNED VISIT TO LONDON

Thank you for your letter dated 3 April 2000.

We intend to stay in London for five days and

I should be grateful if you could make the

necessary arrangements as previously discussed.

I am enclosing a copy of our intended programme.

I very much look forward to meeting you.

Yours sincerely

Susan Rogers

Art Director

Lunar Rock Productions Ltd

Enc: 1

Letter Writing

There are some minor differences in layout between British and American English and according to personal style. Here, however, are the key elements of a letter, in their usual order:

1 Your address, telephone, fax, email

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. This should be the same as on the envelope.

4 References

5 Salutation (Dear...)

A letter in English almost always begins with 'Dear...', even if you do not know the person. There are several possibilities:

Dear Mr Smith
Dear Mrs Smith
Dear Miss Smith
Dear Ms Smith
Dear Sir
Dear Madam
Dear Sirs
Gentlemen

6 Subject

The subject of your letter. This is useful but not obligatory.

7 Body

The letter itself, in well-structured paragraphs.

8 Ending (Yours...)

Yours sincerely Yours faithfully Yours truly

9 Your signature

10 Your name

Your first name and surname, for example:

Mary Bond
James Smith

11 (Your title)

If you are using company headed paper, write your Job Title here. If you are writing a personal letter, write nothing here.

12 Enclosures

Indicate that one or more documents are enclosed by writing 'Enc: 2' (for two documents, for example).

Here is a very simple letter as an example of layout.

Lunar Rock Productions Ltd
7 Moonlight Boulevard, Dover, 2030 NSW, Australia
tel: +61 2 337 476 fax: +61 2 337 477

7 April 2000

Mr James Bound

Sales Director

Universal Aspects Ltd

769 Oxford Street

LONDON WC1 007

Your ref: 16538

Our ref: SR/tgh/7

Dear Mr Bound

PLANNED VISIT TO LONDON

Thank you for your letter dated 3 April 2000.

We intend to stay in London for five days and

I should be grateful if you could make the

necessary arrangements as previously discussed.

I am enclosing a copy of our intended programme.

I very much look forward to meeting you.

Yours sincerely

Susan Rogers

Art Director

Lunar Rock Productions Ltd

Enc: 1

Self-Study = Distance Learning

by Stephen Orr

Back in the last century people were learning languages from books. Then as technology moved on, audio cassettes were added to practise listening. The next advance was to use video so that learners could appreciate the cultural environment of the language.

Computers started to be widely used for language learning only in the last 20 years. At first they were limited to text and the benefit of the computer was the interactivity that allowed immediate feedback to the learner. This enabled plenty of drilling on grammar and vocabulary but was not the most exciting of methods. The launch of the Windows 95 operating system opened the door to full multimedia programs that could offer all that the traditional materials could do plus the innate computer feedback.

Today technology has moved on further. The development of the internet has now turned the computer into a communication centre. The general use of email has created new opportunities for teachers to assist learning at a distance.

This development of learning materials is naturally having an impact on traditional learning structures. Self-study used to mean trying to learn from books that were often little more than phrase books. Since learning a language is a hard task for the great majority of us, it is not surprising that self-study on its own was not very successful. Teachers were needed to provide information, motivation and guidance.

As learning materials become more comprehensive and motivating, you can make more and more progress on your own. The role of the teacher is changing. Basic information and drill can be provided by computer; the teacher is then free to concentrate on the more important aspects: motivation and production of language in speech or writing. Timing and degree of interaction between you and your teacher can be flexible. Of course in most educational institutions the curriculum and timetable are still very structured. But if you are learning in your own time, and probably at your own expense, you now have much more flexible options.

The latest development is a direct email link from self-study CD-ROMs to an online teacher. Now you can get personal one-to-one tuition from any multimedia PC with an internet connection.

One leading publisher has just launched a range of courses, not just for English but for French, German, Italian and Spanish as well. These courses are on CD-ROM and each language has 3 levels - beginner, intermediate and advanced.

When you need more help you simply email the tutor. The tutor will know which course you are following and your results to date so he is able to provide good, relevant advice. All you do is buy the CD-ROM at normal price and then get additional tuition as you feel the need. So the self-study becomes distance learning with all its advantages of flexibility and low cost.

Stephen Orr is Chief Executive Officer of Talkfast International, a UK-based web retailer that specialises in advising schools, teachers and learners on the best software for their needs. Stephen founded the company after several years' experience of international business and the problems of working effectively in a foreign language. He often gives papers at international conferences on using technology to improve language learning.

Chatting in English

Josef Essberger

The verb "to chat" means to talk (to someone) in a friendly, informal way. Today there are many places on the Internet where you can chat. You can chat with people all over the world, in many languages and about many subjects or topics. These places are usually called "chatrooms" and you can find thousands of them by using the keywords "chat" or "chatroom" in any good search engine.

Sometimes you need to register to enter a chatroom. This means that you need to provide a username and password, and possibly your email address. Your username does not have to be your real name. It can be your nickname or any name you want (if it is not already in use). When you have your username, other people in the chatroom will call you by that name and nobody else can use it.

Chatting is a good way to practise your *informal* English. Messages in a chatroom, are usually short sentences. Sometimes they are not even sentences, but just a few words that are not really correct grammatically but may be typical of the way we speak in a quick conversation with friends.

To save time, people often use abbreviations like TTYL (talk to you later) or IDK (I don't know). You can see a list of some of these abbreviations below.

So don't go to a chatroom to practise "perfect" English. Go to a chatroom to practise casual or informal English and find new friends. You can even use a chatroom to help improve your typing skills if you want.

There are usually two ways to chat in most chatrooms:

In public. (Everyone can see what you say.)
In private. (This is called "person-to-person" or "one-to-one" and you talk directly to one other person. No-one else can see what you say. This is useful to chat with a friend or relative in another country, or to have private lessons with a teacher.)

Here are some of the most common abbreviations people use:

121 One-to-one (Person-to-person) AFK Away from keyboard
AKA Also known as
ASAP As soon as possible
ASL Age/sex/location?
B4 Before
BBL Be back later
BRB Be right back
BTW By the way
CUZ Because
FAQ Frequently asked questions FYI For your information
IDK I don't know
J/K Just kidding
K OK
L8R Later
LOL Laugh out loud
M/F Male or female
MSG Message
OIC Oh, I see
P2P Person-to-person
PLZ Please
PM Private message
SYL See you later
TGIF Thank goodness it's Friday THX Thanks
TTYL Talk to you later

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Self-Study = Distance Learning

by Stephen Orr

The latest development is a direct email link from self-study CD-ROMs to an online teacher. Now you can get personal one-to-one tuition from any multimedia PC with an internet connection.

What's IN a Preposition?

Josef Essberger

Prepositions can be divided into:

one-word prepositions (eg at, into, on)
complex prepositions (eg according to, in spite of)

The name "preposition" (pre + position) means "place before". Prepositions usually come *before* another word, usually a noun or noun phrase:

noun (I will meet you IN *London*.)
pronoun (Give it TO *her*.)
noun phrase (I'm tired OF *all this work*.)
gerund (verb in -ing form) (It crashed ON *landing*.)

If a preposition does not come before another word, it is still closely associated with another word:

*Who* did you talk TO?
TO *whom* did you talk?
I talked TO *Jane*.

Notice that many prepositions can also be adverbs:

He walked DOWN the hill. (preposition)
Please sit DOWN. (adverb)

A few prepositions can also be conjunctions:

Everyone came BUT Tara. (preposition)
I asked her BUT she didn't answer. (conjunction)

How many prepositions are there in English? It is not possible to give a definite answer, partly because complex prepositions are "open class", which means that new ones could be invented at any time. But for a list of almost all the one-word and complex prepositions in common use, see English Prepositions Listed which includes 370 example sentences.

Many words are associated with a particular preposition. When you learn a new word, try to learn the preposition associated with it. A good dictionary usually gives you examples.

Here are some common verbs that are associated with a particular preposition:

to agree WITH somebody
to agree ABOUT a subject
to agree ON a decision
to agree TO a proposal
to arrive AT/IN a place
to ask FOR something (but to ask a question/the time/directions etc)
to borrow something FROM somebody
to depend ON somebody/something
to explain something TO somebody
to insist ON -ing
to laugh AT somebody/something
to listen TO somebody/something
to participate IN something
to pay FOR something
to be rude TO somebody
to shoot AT somebody/something
to smile AT somebody
to succeed IN something
to talk TO somebody
to talk WITH somebody (US)
to worry ABOUT something
to write TO somebody

Here are a few common expressions with particular prepositions:

to be afraid OF somebody/something
to be angry WITH somebody
to be angry ABOUT something
to be bad AT something
to be clever AT something
to be good AT something
to be interested IN something
to be kind TO somebody
to be nice TO somebody

Poolside Interview

Meet Thailand's American superstar

Josef Essberger of EnglishClub.com talks to Peter Tuinstra

Josef: You're a foreigner in Thailand - an American - who speaks perfect Thai. That in itself is pretty rare. But you're also known here in Thailand as a superstar and heartthrob who takes on roles acting the part of a foreigner, but always speaking in Thai. I'd like to talk about your acting career, with special emphasis on acting in a foreign language. But first, could you tell me a little about your background and how you came to learn Thai in the first place?

Peter Tuinstra Peter: I was in the military back in the states. I joined on the understanding that I would be trained as a linguist. I got assigned Thai. I did not choose it initially. So I studied Thai for my first year in the military eight hours a day, five days a week. At the end of that first year I took a test and passed. After which I worked as a Thai linguist for the next three years.

Josef: At the end of that first year you were fluent?

Peter: I was fluent in speaking, listening, reading and writing, but not to the degree that I am today of course. I've been living it for over 6 years since then, reading and speaking it every day. But, yes, I was functionally fluent at the end of that year. It was a very intensive course.

Josef: Why and how did you start in acting?

Peter: I came here, and I immediately knew I needed to have a job. I'd prepared ahead of time and I knew that to get a job as an English teacher I should be qualified other than just being a native speaker, so I did take some Teaching English as a Second Language courses back in the States and I volunteered as an English teacher to foreign nationals who were living in Washington DC at the time. With that experience and a little bit of pocket money I'd saved up - not much! - I applied for English teaching jobs at about three different schools in downtown Bangkok, and one of them I chose, they agreed to hire me, it was nearest to home. In the course of that first month of teaching English I got approached by a modeling agent and I got a modeling job, and that led to more castings for modeling jobs, and one of the castings that came up wasn't for a modeling job, it was for a TV show-that's how I got into acting.

Josef: So starting in modeling and then TV was completely coincidental?

Peter: Absolutely. It was not planned. The agent was a very professional guy. He sent me a couple of castings. I went to the castings and got hired for the jobs. I got paid better than I was making money teaching English and I said "Oh, this is a ball!" I kept going to more castings, got more jobs and before long I had to cut back on teaching English because I had enough modeling work coming in. Then he said, "OK, you've got this TV job now", so I went to the casting for it and after three castings got my first TV show, which was the lead male role, almost unheard of in the Thai industry because, I mean, how many roles are there for foreigners speaking English let alone the lead role, right? So it was kind of a fluke thing. I came to Thailand at the right time.

Josef: And what was that first TV show?

Peter: It was called "Boonrawd". That was the name of the lead female. It was also the name of the show. And when the work on the show commenced full time, I was already having a difficult time fitting in the modeling and finding English teachers to fill in for me, so I was able to stop teaching English at that point about six months in to being here. And from that point on I was lucky enough to have work to do other things. That's how I got started.

Josef: Am I right in thinking you had some previous experience in acting?

Peter: My father, when I was growing up, used to teach drama. So as a young kid I did do a couple of small plays, but then it all stopped because I got into football, baseball and other things, and my father wasn't teaching theatre anymore. Then when I was in the military, a year before I came to Thailand, just for fun I decided to go take some theatre acting classes at the local community college. I enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun. I did a couple of castings and got a small part in a stage show. So I had limited acting experience when I came to Thailand. I wish I would have had more because the past six years has been a learning experience all along.

Josef: What roles have you played here in Thailand, and what sort of shows do you tend to work on?

Peter: I've done about nine nighttime soap opera show in the past six years. Usually the roles are the foreign boyfriend or husband and/or the businessman who for one of those two reasons speaks Thai in the show. And on other occasions, something interesting, I played a general, and in one of the shows I played a bad guy who was a character in someone else's dream&I like those roles, something different and interesting.

Josef: Have you acted here in Thailand on the stage?

Peter: I have. A few years back I did a stage show at the Bangkok Playhouse on Petchburi Road. That was fun.

Josef: Is there anyone or thing that has really influenced you in acting?

Peter: Well, there are lots of actors that I really like and admire, that are extremely talented and skilled, and that I look up to, but I can't say that I've watched and tried to emulate or anything like that. I've just admired and thought, "Wow it's incredible, I wish I had just a slither of that talent, something approaching their abilities". Edward Gordon Junior is a phenomenal man, Robert de Niro, but hey, there's a lot of good actors out there.

Josef: How do you get on with the Thai actors and directors?

Peter: Very well. I tend to get along well with anyone, for whatever reason. They've been very friendly to me, very accepting. So I've felt very comfortable with the people. You know Thais, how they are, they're very friendly and open. It's the same acting on the set. I never sort of felt that I was out of place, I was always made to feel comfortable which has made it all the more enjoyable. They're really helpful too. I mean I always get the script in Thai and sometimes I have questions. What does that mean exactly? I understand all the words, but what's it really saying? And I find, whether it's another actor, or the director or a stage-hand, everyone's always willing to come over and happy to help.

Josef: Are there any particular roles that you'd like to play?

Peter: Sometimes I think I'd enjoy playing something a little more sinister or evil, and be given the freedom to play it my way! I would enjoy playing something like that.

Josef: Let's talk a little more about language. How and when do you learn your lines?

Peter: Hmmm. That's a good question. I have to spend a lot more time than the Thais do on their lines. I get the scripts, in Thai, and I ask every production I do to give me a script as much in advance as they can. On occasions I've got it a month or so in advance but more often than not I get it a couple of days to a week in advance, and sometimes just before shooting the scene actually, so it's quite difficult. But when I'm fortunate enough to get it ahead of time I pore over those lines. I do my homework. You know, just like an English teacher, you don't just teach when you go into class, you have to prepare what you're going to teach, and your lesson plan. Same game in acting. I look at the script ahead of time before I shoot it to memorize the lines. I do it usually at home. And I've found that it helps to have the TV off and radio off and I actually say the lines out loud as opposed to reading them quietly in my head because if I do not they don't seem to stick. Sometimes I feel very confident. I'm walking down the street and think "Ha ha! I know my lines off by heart", but then I go to say them out live with my mouth moving and my voice coming out and I start forgetting them. But practicing them in my room actually saying them out loud - if someone were listening they'd think I was talking on the phone or something -- I've found that to be the best way, for me personally anyway, to rehearse my lines. It took me trial and error to realize that.

Josef: When you're doing that, do you also act the part out?

Peter: It was very difficult at first. Even today it's still a work in progress. But definitely for the first several years it was almost impossible to act. I was using 99.8% of my concentration to memorize the Thai lines and say them as clearly as possible, so I had very little ability to focus on the actual acting that I should be doing. And at that it should be something that comes naturally anyway. It's hard to be natural when you're trying to memorize you lines. In fact I remember that in the first couple of months of shooting my very first TV show I didn't even hear what the people were saying back to me. I was basically waiting for them to finish speaking and then spiel my next line. So it's been a learning process all along. Also, I've found that, at least in the Thai industry, it's almost impossible because it's not shot on a set, it's usually on location, so you never really know how it's going to be set up, or how the director's going to want you to be in that scene. I have thought in my head on occasion, "Okay, I'd like to do the scene this way", and I've prepared that way and I've got to the set and the director's had a completely different idea of how it needs to be done. And I mean he's the director so it's going to go his way, nine times out of ten! So I've found that whatever time I have to prepare is better spent just memorizing the lines and let everything else come naturally after seeing the director and how he wants the scene to be shot, where he wants me to stand, where he wants me to sit and all that.

Josef: Would you say you are now totally fluent in Thai?

Peter: It's a great question because people who aren't fluent assume that I am. But in reality no, not a hundred percent. For example, with the coup happening, there's a lot of vocabulary for the past week or two I've been going through my dictionary looking up Thai words for different types of coup. [Editor's note: Thailand had recently had a military coup d'état.] So, there are certain specialist subject matters that are going to come up where I don't necessarily know all the vocabulary. Another weak area of mine, having been classically trained in government school and taught by older Thai teachers, I know more formal vocabulary words but I'm not so good at the slang or idioms. Even though I've lived it for over six years I haven't quite mastered idiomatic sayings and slang words so much. But, yes, I would say certainly 90% plus fluency because I can go anywhere, I can talk about almost any subject matter with anyone, and if I don't know the vocabulary to deal with that subject I can usually talk around the subject.

Josef: And you understand everything that's going on all around you, on the telephone or watching TV&

Peter: Not 100%. I have found through my experience that different people have different natural gifts when it comes to languages. My natural gift is speaking, for whatever reason. I think it's genetic, that's my suspicion though I can't prove it. But listening has always been a weak area of mine. When I was studying Thai there were ten of us in a room together. Ten military guys. We all sat in the same room. Eight hours a day, five days a week for a whole year. But at the end of that year we all came out not only with varying degrees of efficiency and fluency but with varying degrees of skills in certain areas. For example, I was one of the best speakers in the class, but my listening was lacking. And the kid who sat right next to me and became a roommate later on, who should theoretically have had the exact same skills I did because he listened to the same teachers, for the same amount of time, in the same room, he could listen and understand 99% of what was said, but if you asked him to say something all his tones were way off, he couldn't get the accents right, and his speaking was just about half I'd say of what I could pronounce. His grammar was very good but his pronunciation was very difficult. So yes, again listening I would say is a weaker area for me. Now I understand, I would say, a lot better. When I first came phone call conversations were very difficult for me. Even though I could speak a good deal and I would make the other person usually feel quite confident, I'd have to tell him "Hold on, hold on, even though I'm talking with you my comprehension level isn't up to my speaking, please speak slower, what did you say?" I would dread direct phone conversations because it was harder than seeing that person. But now six plus years down the road I feel much more confident. I talk on the phone all the time and I get maybe 85% of what's said to me on the phone whereas I understand 95% of what's said to me face-to-face.

Josef: What you're saying is interesting, that people have different skills in language. Unfortunately it's not always recognized or, more important, accepted as something that's normal.

Peter: It's nature. The same as anything else, whether it's bodybuilding, whether it's football, or anything else, why should it be different with language?

Josef: How about writing? Thai has its own particular script. Did you learn to read and write with the Thai script in class?

Peter: Yes. I still read and write but writing is the skill I use least often so I'm most weak in that area, rather weaker than my listening right now. But I enjoy it, it's a lot of fun, and I strongly, strongly recommend anyone who wants to learn a Thai to learn the writing system. And even if they have no intent of ever using it, it just reinforces every other skill.

Josef: What do you think of the importance of speaking versus writing?

Peter: In my personal opinion I think it helps immensely to learn the reading system in addition to speaking. Most people are intimidated by it because they assume it's so difficult and it's never going to become something useful. But in reality you can look at it as support, like the base of a house. You don't look at the base of a house every day, but it's there. You may never learn the entire alphabet. You may never be fluent at writing. But I think it reinforces speaking. And it's never that difficult. If you just take three symbols a day and you memorize those three symbols and practice writing them as you say them out loud, come on, after a while it just sticks in your head, you can't forget it.

Josef: Accent. I presume you have an accent in Thai?

Peter: I've been told both things by Thai people. Sometimes, when I've spoken to somebody on the phone they've told me that they wouldn't know the difference. Other times I've had people comment to me, "Oh, you have an accent." So I think it depends on the subject matter I'm talking about, maybe the mood I'm in that day, maybe how much English I've been speaking for a couple of hours prior to having that conversation with that person. Various factors must influence it. But I've been told both so I'm not really the best person to judge.

Josef: Do you feel that being fluent in Thai, or any foreign language, changes the way in which you perceive or interact with the people?

Peter: Absolutely. Absolutely. Because you have a better understanding of what's really happening, what's really being said. No doubt about it.

Josef: Does it help you to understand the people themselves, their history, their culture, their way of thinking? Do you look at them differently, do you think?

Peter: That's a tough question. I know that's the easy answer, but I'm going to lean towards the yes side and the reason I say that is because in Thailand anyone who studies the language will know within a short period of time that simply by adding "khrap" at the end of a sentence makes the sentence much more polite. When I was first told that in the States I didn't understand. I thought, "Why would that be?" But after living here for a while I see that in the culture you get a lot more respect and openness from people if you've a "jai-orn" [soft-hearted] attitude--and one small symbol of that is adding "khrap". If you didn't know the language you'd have a difficult time learning that. And there's a number of foreigners from wherever who don't learn that. They get angry easily, if their beer isn't on time, if their beer isn't cold, they'll immediately complain and shout "I want another one!" If you do that in Thailand, okay, you're going to get your beer, but they'll look on you with a very unfavourable attitude and over time it could have consequences.

Josef: You don't know what's in the beer, either.

Peter: Exactly! Exactly! But if you live here long enough and don't speak the language maybe you're going to learn some of those things anyway, but maybe not as quickly as you would if you spoke the language.

Josef: Do you have any tips for learning a language like Thai with its own particular writing system?

Peter: The biggest one that I would suggest, and I get asked this question quite a lot, is go buy those little kiddie books, that have the alphabet, you know the ones that have the letters of the alphabet in dotted lines that you trace over, with pictures of chickens and cats or whatever. And the country's full of Thai people so grab one, whether it's your girlfriend, your boyfriend, your friend, your co-worker, treat them to lunch and ask them to pronounce each letter for you and when you've learned how to pronounce it say it each time as you trace it, "gor-gai, gor-gai, gor-gai". Do that 20, 30 50 times and it's just drilling it into your brain. If you've got 3 letters a day, say 3 days a week, that's only nine letters a week. It's just a matter of time. Sooner or later some of that writing will stick. That writing's going to reinforce everything else. And as I say it I can hear the people complaining, "Oh, that's too hard! It's way beyond me!" But it's really not as hard as they think. Just get over that initial scare factor. Just do it and make it fun. After you learn 6 letters, grab a Thai newspaper. Just find that letter "gor-gai". Go through it. Every time you see "gor-gai", circle it. Another one, circle it. In a period of time you're going to know the letters. Once you know the letters it's just a matter of putting them together to start making words. Once you know the words it's a matter of stringing them together to make sentences. Just one step at a time. Its very logical.

Josef: Have you ever had to change the lines of a show, or make any other changes to suit you better?

Peter: Oh yes. I've had to change some of the vocabulary words. Sometimes I've had to change the way a sentence is spoken because I couldn't get my mouth around the sentence in time before we filmed the scenes. I've had to do that on several occasions. And even the girl's name in my very first show, "Boonrawd", I couldn't say that name so I asked the director, "Could we change the name of the lead female?" And he said "No we can't!" I said "I don't understand. Let's just make her name 'Manee' or something like that, something easier to say. I'm the main guy in the show, why can't you change the name for me?" But now I look back this was a very famous show. It had been done previously in Thai history and everyone knew that it had. It's like changing the name of the movie "Gone with the Wind". You can't! It took me a week or two of practicing "Boonrawd" before I could say that name right. It was difficult!

Josef: What are you currently working on?

Peter: A couple of things. I have one personal project that's taking up a fair amount of my time. In the meantime, I do have an Internet radio station that I'm involved with called whozaa.com. That's a 24-hour hip hop station under the banner of Virgin Radio Thailand. So that eats up a bit of my time. And then I field phone calls. That's how I get my jobs now. I have a scene in a film that's shooting this month. Then a guest spot on a television show that's coming up soon.

Peter Tuinstra Josef: You're in great shape. How do you keep fit?

Peter: By going to the gym consistently. I love it. It feels good. And once you do it you get addicted to it, like coffee or anything else. So that helps keep me in shape.

Josef: Is there anything you'd like to add about language?

Peter: I'd just close on a positive note and say let's be grateful for the fact that we live in a modern day and age and can travel to faraway places. So, keeping that in mind, just feel respectful and enjoy the place as much as you can, and make an effort to learn the language as best you can. We all have varying degrees of ability but that's the easiest way to show respect and admiration for your host country, right? And be happy to teach English to those that ask you too, because, you know, give and take!

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Selasa, 11 Februari 2014

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Minggu, 18 Desember 2011

A Tip for the Possessive Apostrophe

Poolside Interview

Meet the creator of Grammarman, the world's first and only grammar superhero

Public Speaking in English: Presentations

1 Preparation

2 Structure

3 Equipment

4 Visual Aids

5 Signposting

6 Audience Rapport

7 Body Language

Poolside Interview with Matt Errey

Josef Essberger interviews the inventor of Word Up

Speaking versus Writing

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE Spoken WORD. OR IS IT?

Status

Differences in Structure and Style

Durability

Speaker & Listener / Writer & Reader

How Speaking and Writing Influence Each Other

Influence of New Technology

English Checker

Practising English outside School

LISTENING

Cassettes and CDs

Television

Radio

Films

SPEAKING

READING

Newspapers

Magazines

WRITING

Word Stress and Sentence Stress

The Golden Key to English Pronunciation

WORD STRESS

SENTENCE STRESS

Better Homework, Revision & Examinations for ESL Students

Homework

Revision

The Examination

Your CV or Resume In English

Why you need a good CV

Content

Format

Vocabulary

e-ENGLISH IYKWIM ;-)

Emphasis

Emotion

Abbreviations

Millennium: 2000 or 2001?

Year 2000 Problem

How do we say "2000"?

Speaking to Yourself can be Dangerous!

At School

Conversation Clubs

Shopping

Anglo-Saxon Pubs and Bars

Language is all around You

Songs and Video

Self-Study = Distance Learning

Chatting in English

English Checker

Self-Study = Distance Learning

Poolside Interview

Meet Thailand's American superstar

Arsip Blog

Mengenai Saya