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Formal English vs. Informal English

May 12th, 2013 | Posted by rachael in Improving your English - (0 Comments)

Formal English and Informal English differ in the tone, and the usage of English. When do you use Formal English and when do you use Informal English?

Formal English

Usually when we talk about the two kinds of English it is in the context of writing.  Formal English is used when writing a report, e-mail or a business communication.  When you are writing for business, you need to use proper spelling, grammar, sentence structure and punctuation.  Your writing must be free of jargon, and be to the point.  An example of a letter in Formal English would be a complaint letter to a company.  For example, if you bought a fresh loaf of bread,  and while eating it, you found mold.  You would use Formal English to write a complaint to the bread manufacturing company.

Informal English

Informal English is used when you are on social networks such as Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.  You can also use it when you are writing e-mails to friends and family. When you use Informal English, you can use jargon, abbreviations, creative sentence structure and improper spelling.  An example could be writing an e-mail to invite your friends to a BBQ.  ”I’m having a BBQ this coming Sunday. Wanna come?”

You might want to be careful about being too free with informal English on Facebook however,  Prospective employers can look up your profile, and based upon what they see, decide whether to ask you to come for an interview or not.  The rule in writing is usually, when you are in doubt, use Formal English rather than Informal English.

 

 

 

 

How to communicate better in English even if it’s not your mother tongue

April 30th, 2013 | Posted by rachael in Improving your English - (0 Comments)

One of the best ways to communicate better in English even if it is not your mother tongue is to just jump right in.  Spend time with English speakers and join in their conversations.  Don’t worry if you don’t know a particular word, the best thing is to communicate!

Today we are with David who is from Brussels, Belgium. He grew up in a French speaking household.

David, which languages did you speak while you were growing up?

We spoke only French at home, we learned Dutch and English at school.

What was the most difficult part of learning English for you?

Vocabulary was the most difficult. The words looks like French, but they are not. If you try to say a French word with an English accent, you will get your point across. It may not be exactly the right word, but English speaking people will understand.

How did you practice speaking English?

I traveled to Great Britain and I stayed with a family who didn’t speak French. I was forced to speak English for everything! I visited the UK once a year during vacation.

What advice do you have for someone is starting to learn English?

Listen to the news in English, to help build up a passive knowledge, read books in English, and to speak to English speakers who don’t know French. This will force you to speak English.

Thank you very much David, for sharing with us your experience in learning how to speak English, even if it is not your native tongue.

 

Tips to Increase your English Vocabulary

April 27th, 2013 | Posted by rachael in Improving your English - (0 Comments)

When you are learning any foreign language, you have to work on it every day. In this way, each new word that you learn becomes yours.  On the average, you need to use a word seven times so it will move from short term memory into long term memory.

There are many ways to learn new words. The first one is to read English.  The level should be just a little stretch from your own level. If you take a text that is much too hard for you, it will be discouraging because there will be too many new words, and the article will take too much work to understand. Each text should have 5 – 10 new words. Then you need to use the new words. First I suggest that you make flash cards with the new words. Then, write the words in a sentence. After that, use the new words when speaking English to a friend or an English teacher.

The second way to learn new words is to listen to the news or other recordings that you like. Some people learn English from songs they like. Get the lyrics to the songs, and listen to the song while reading along at the same time.  If there are words you don’t know then use the flash card method to learn them. Then use the word in a sentence and while speaking.

The third way to learn new English words is to use all your new words that you have learned by reading and listening and write a blog.  Make sure that you use the words correctly, but if you have been writing sentences, then this should be easy for you.

 

The last way to increase your English vocabulary is to sign up for English lessons.  You will then meet new words every lesson,  in a systematic way.

Top Five Mistakes to avoid while writing an email in English

April 9th, 2013 | Posted by rachael in Business English | Improving your English - (0 Comments)

Especially when English is not your mother tongue, there are many mistakes that you want to avoid when you are writing an email in English. We are going to mention only five of them here.

Writer’s tone

Right off the bat, you need to have the right tone for your e-mail. If you are writing to your boss, then you don’t want to sound too casual. Emails have replaced for the most part business notes, but you still need to keep a bit formal when you are writing.

Spelling

The next mistake that you need to watch out for is spelling. Yes, you have a spell checker on your computer nowadays, but if you used to instead of too, both words are spelled correctly, and the spell checker won’t catch your mistake.

Grammar

This leads up to the next mistake to avoid. You still need to use proper grammar when writing an email. If you are unsure if the sentence has proper grammar, then read it out loud. If you still don’t know, then grab an English speaker and read the sentence to them, and they will tell you if it sounds “right.”

Idioms

Another mistake to avoid is the over use of idioms, if you don’t really know the right usage. Don’t let the cat out of the bag, is meant to mean not to tell secrets.  This is never taken literally!

Technical Jargon

The last mistake to avoid when writing emails in English is using too many technical jargon phrases and abbreviations that your reader may not know. This makes your email more difficult to understand and it just might get deleted instead of read.

Good luck writing your emails in English.

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Who Studies English By Skype?

March 11th, 2013 | Posted by rachael in Business English | Improving your English | Job Interview in English - (0 Comments)

Who studies English by Skype? This is a very hot topic nowadays. Many people have found that the traditional way of studying English in a classroom with 29 other students does not really give a good background in speaking English. Skills such as writing and listening can be learned in a classroom setting, but to really learn how to speak, you need to practice speaking. When you are in a classroom, if each student speaks for five minutes a class, the 45 minute class session is very quickly used up. Many people are turning to private English teachers, but sometimes if you don’t live in an English speaking country, you may not find a teacher in your area. This is why many people are turning to the Internet and Skype to learn English.

Who studies English by Skype?

This is a very wide open question. As an online English teacher, I’ve taught students from different countries and professions who like the convenience of having lessons on Skype via their home computers or their smartphones.

I have taught business people from Brazil who need to be able to speak with their business partners in Europe.  Sometimes an international company has to have all their employees from different countries speak English to each other in the course of their work.

University students also take lessons by Skype because they can fit in an English lesson between their university classes.  They also have the flexibility to reschedule a lesson if something comes up and they need to do another project for class.

People who are job hunting often need to learn English so that they can get a better job. A lot of jobs in Europe need people who are bilingual, in their native language as well as in English. Even the job interview may be in English. Taking English lessons by Skype can be very helpful in getting a new job.

As you can see, there are many different types of people who take English lessons by Skype.  Maybe you can learn English by Skype too?

 

 

 

How to Type in English

February 27th, 2013 | Posted by rachael in Improving your English - (0 Comments)

Do you find yourself still hunting and pecking for the letters on the computer keyboard? A  lot of people need to write for their jobs at work, but have never had the time to take a typing course. Yet, you feel like you are still a beginner when it comes to filling out forms on the computer and interfacing with the Internet.

Touch Typing can be a very important skill for you in the modern world. When you can touch type, then being a prolific blogger is much easier. Doctors can write out their reports much faster and more accurately. Students can become better writers.

So what is the the best method to learn how to Touch Type? In one word: Practice. I learned how to Touch Type when I was in summer school of 10th grade, many years ago. It took about six weeks of 1 hour lessons each day, but at the end I knew how to type. We learned on the newest technology of the day, the IBM Selectric Typewriter (ok, so now you know how long ago that was). The principles have not changed since that far off time.

As I didn’t find a method that was exactly as I had remembered, I wrote a book myself. I took each letter and typed it for a whole line. Each new letter is then typed for a full line. This is because even when you only know four letters, you can get up a good rhythm while typing. Then little by little I added new letters until we have covered the whole keyboard. Yes, it might take you more time, but in the end you will be able to Touch Type! Persistence is the key, keep going and you will be a Touch Typer!

Here is the link on Amazon for the new method: How to Touch Type  in English.

How to type in English

 

English learning holiday

July 13th, 2012 | Posted by rachael in Improving your English | Traveling - (0 Comments)

Are you thinking of an English learning holiday? A good way to improve your English is to choose an English speaking country to go to while on vacation. There are many different places to go where you can take English classes and then go see the sights.

Learning English in Malta

A student of mine recently went to Malta so he could improve his English and go diving after class. Malta is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean. It is under British rule, having two languages, English and Maltese. The climate is warm, not much rainfall, making it perfect for combining learning English and sightseeing. When you book your English classes, you can also get accommodations with the school, at hotels, apartments or host families. You will be given a placement test the first day you arrive for class, and if you wish a final exam at the end to check your progress in English.

Learning English in New Zealand

Another exotic place you can go to learn English is New Zealand. New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere, so if you want to escape the high temperatures in Europe during the summer, go where the weather is cooler down south! There are two islands in the New Zealand group, the North Island, and the South Island. The official language is English. There are 23 accredited institutions all over the country that teach English. You can study for the TESOL exam, learn English and travel! You can also go traveling to see the unique countryside, go swimming at the beach, take a trip up the canyon, go bird watching, caving and many other activities.

English learning holiday in the United States

The United States is the destination of choice for most people who want to learn English. English is the only official language in the United States, it is a nation of immigrants and this is one of the unifying factors of the country. There are many language schools all over the country from Boston on the East coast to San Diego on the West coast. After class, if you are in New York, you can see a play on Broadway, or go shopping on Fifth Avenue. If you choose to study in Northern California, you can go to Yellowstone National park for a holiday. Choose your study dates about a year in advance, as accommodations inside the park fill up fast!

An English learning holiday can be a fun way to improve your English. Basically, any English speaking country has English schools where you can study. It just depends on what country you would like to discover.
If you don’t have the opportunity during these holidays to travel overseas, online English courses are definitely an option!

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Using slang in English

May 3rd, 2012 | Posted by glenn in Improving your English - (0 Comments)

What is English slang?

Slang is the informal speech that you will learn from your friends and from movies but is often not taught in textbooks.  This is because slang is not official language, it has come into the language through popular speech and may or may not yet be recorded in dictionaries etc.

A few examples of slang in English

If someone is not very smart, you might call them an airhead, a dumbass, or a bonehead (nouns).  If you are going to steal something, you jack it, you knock over a store or pinch it (verbs). If someone has had too much alcohol, they are tanked, sloshed or horsed (adjectives).

Why do we have slang?

We live in a society that values people who are attractive and fun to speak with.  If you make your language colourful, people will like that and mimic you.  So, if you say something in a way that people find amusing, it may be copied again and again until it becomes part of the language that people use.  It might even end up in the dictionary.

Slang comes from people saying things in a unique and interesting way.

How do I learn to use slang?

The same way everyone else does.  Slang is spoken English so if you want to experience slang, speak with people.  Don’t try to learn slang from books because if it is already printed, people are probably already saying something else.  Just listen to the way people speak and follow suit.

Don’t forget that slang is often very local so the slang that you learn with one group of friends may be completely different to the slang you learn with another.

Learn English verbs

March 1st, 2012 | Posted by glenn in Improving your English - (0 Comments)

It is sometimes confusing with so many different types of verbs and verb forms in English.  So, here is a quick list of some of the terminology to help you to keep them straight.

Different kinds of English verbs

Regular verbs.  These are the verbs that change to past tense by adding “ed”.  When we use present perfect, they use the same form as for past simple.  (e.g. I like her, I liked her, I have liked her for a long time)

Irregular verbs.  These are the verbs that are not so standard.  (e.g. I read books, I read a book yesterday, I have read 3 books.)

Phrasal verbs.  These are a kind of idiomatic language.  Idioms are where you put two words together and make a meaning different to the two words separately.

(e.g. I looked it up in the dictionary.    look + up = find in the dictionary so it is a phrasal verb)

BUT I looked up the stairs.   look + up = look + up so it is not a phrasal verb

Auxiliary verbs.  These are the verbs that are not the main verb in the sentence.  Some examples are modals (can, should, would, etc); the verbs be, do and have.

Different forms of English verbs

Transitive and intransitive.  If a verb takes an object, it is transitive.  (e.g. I like to eat oranges- eat takes the object oranges) (I like to sleep- sleep does not take an object so it is intransitive)

Active and Passive.  Active verbs make the subject important by placing the subject at the beginning of the sentence.  (e.g. I did the work)  But a passive sentence is focused on the action not the subject.  (e.g. the work was done)

Infinitive (base) form. This is the simpke form of the verb.  (e.g. go)

Present participle.  This is the “ing” form used to make present continuous. (e.g. I am going)

Past participle.  This is the form of the verb that we use for present perfect (also known as V3).

Gerund.  This is the “ing” form.  This is not a verb.  The gerund form is a noun.  (e.g. I like swimming)

 

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Improving your English daily

February 19th, 2012 | Posted by glenn in Improving your English - (0 Comments)

Imagine that you are an actor and one day your agent says that you need to make your muscles bigger if you want to act in action films.  How do you go about improving your muscle mass?  There are no short cuts; you need to devote your time to exercising.  But more importantly, you need to exercise regularly in short bursts not once a week for 6 hours.  Your English is the same; it is about developing good habits not about short, irregular periods of study.

Study English daily!

If you really want to improve your habits for studying English, here are some tips that you can do daily in order to get those fabulous long-term results you have always wanted.

1) Watch TV actively.  This means don’t just listen and watch, but imitate what you hear when you hear short phrases and listen for understanding when you are listening to lengthy stories like the news.  It is useful to mute the TV after a news article and to summarize what you have just heard when listening to the news.

2) Listen actively to people in conversation.  This means that when you are in an English environment, listen to people talking and watch the movements that they make with their eyes, hands and especially their mouths.  If you can imitate them without looking like a crazy person, this will help you to improve your pronunciation.

3) List the words that you don’t understand.  Make a list of words that you hear but you don’t understand but make sure that you write down the sentence too.  If you cannot find the word in the dictionary and you have to ask your teacher, they will know the situation in which you heard it and they will explain the right meaning to you.

4) Use the words that you learn.  If you learn a new word, try to use it often.  This will give you the practice that you need to use the word correctly and you will get the feedback to tell you whether you are using it well.

Developing your English skills is all about practice and the more regularly you practice and the more you integrate English into your lifestyle, the faster you will reach your goals.

As part of your daily English practice, take some English conversation lessons with a native-English teacher.

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