Readable Blog

I know a lot of teachers read this blog–maybe more teachers than students! I’m starting a new blog, written from a teacher’s point of view. I plan for it to be slightly unusual: I’ll be posting more than things like lesson plan resources or a technique I found for explaining a certain grammar point. I’ll also be looking at things like time management (I plan to review the book Getting Things Done), relaxation, nutrition, my own language learning, using open source applications, sociolinguistics topics (such as World Englishes), alternative TESOL careers (like what I’m doing), etc. I’m still relatively new to the field of TESOL, so I’ll be exploring ideas, thinking aloud (okay, in text!), and opening discussions. I definitely don’t want to come across like I think I’m an expert on these topics, because I’m still learning too.

So if you have any thoughts about what kinds of things you’d like to see discussed, please leave a comment and let me know. It’s going to be called “Talk to the Clouds,” and will be at talktotheclouds.com. When I get it up and running, I hope you’ll join me.

(In the meantime, please let your students know about Readable Blog and encourage them to comment on posts!)

If you’re an adult, you should check out the Real ESL blog. This blog includes video conversations and explanations of normal spoken English (including slang). Kim, the blogger, makes her own videos to explain things to you. Currently, she has videos about everything from pronouncing “th” to ordering coffee at Starbucks.

You should be at an intermediate or advanced level to use these videos. You should be an adult, too, because Kim feels that it’s useful to be able to understand and use “swear words.” These are words that most English-speaking adults use when they are angry or joking or speaking very strongly, but you can also get into a lot of trouble if you use them incorrectly.

I hope you’ll check out Kim’s videos and make sure to visit her blog regularly.

(Another good resource for learning to speak natural-sounding English is the Speak English Like an American book and CD series. I’ll be reviewing these soon.)

Last year I wrote about April Fool’s Day. A lot of countries around the world enjoy this holiday, even though there is usually no time off for it. Because it is already April 1 in Australia, Japan, etc., you can already read about this year’s April Fool’s Day Jokes at Wikipedia. Which one do you think is funniest? I’m going to wait until I can read all of them.

No one is sure how April Fool’s Day got started. Some people say it’s because the European calendar was changed in the 1500s, and people who didn’t change their calendar to the new way were “April fools.” Other people think it comes from even older holidays or traditions. It’s probably related to the vernal equinox (the first day of spring, in late March). This day was a joyful holiday in many ancient cultures. We’ll probably never know exactly where it comes from, but it will probably be popular for a long time. People love to play jokes on each other.

The main Wikipedia page about April Fool’s Day tells us about some actual events that caused problems on April Fool’s Day. In 1946, there was a big earthquake on April Fool’s Day. It affected Hawaii and Alaska. More than 150 people died. Some say that people didn’t listen to the tsunami warnings because it was April 1.

If you hear anything shocking on April 1, be careful: you can’t be sure if it’s true or not.

(P. S. Did you read the Harry Potter books? The twins, Fred and George Weasley, have their birthdays on April 1.)

Our reader Dmitry wrote to ask about subway words. Dmitry, if you are confused about American subway terms, I think that’s not surprising! Only a few cities in the US have subways, so most Americans don’t live near one. (I didn’t live in an area with a subway or metro until I was 21 years old and moved to California.) As a result, we don’t use subway-related words very often. To confirm my guesses, I asked some of my friends to find out what words they use. Some people had firm answers. Other people weren’t sure. And some people said “I’ve never gone on a subway, so I don’t know!”

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we have several public transportation systems run by different counties and cities. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) is a kind of light rail line. Sometimes the trains go underground, like subways, and sometimes they go above ground. I live near a BART station which is also a transit hub: several different bus lines and bus systems stop at this station.

Dmitry also asked about the connection between two subway stations.

If it’s underground, I would call it a “tunnel.” I might say “Going through the tunnels while riding on BART makes me nervous, because I’m worried about earthquakes.” If I am looking at a subway map, I might say “section.” However, my friend who works in public transportation says it’s a “line.” But we rarely need to use these words for subways, because in most cases we would just say “It’s 3 minutes from the Fremont station to the Union City station.”

Dmitry also asked about stations where you can change lines. Most of my American friends said that this is a “transfer point” or “transfer station.” However, we all agree that usually we use the verb form here: “You should transfer from the Richmond line to the Pittsburg line at Macarthur Station.” Some of my friends who speak more British-style English said that they would say “interchange,” but that’s not common in the USA. We all feel that a “hub” is either 1) a central station where a lot of subway lines meet, or b) a station where different systems connect, such as the bus, the trolley, and the subway.

If you need to use these words in conversation, find out what the local people call these things. If you need to use these words in writing or outside the US, don’t worry about it. Your meaning will probably be clear from the context.

I hope this answers Dmitry’s question! Thanks for asking.

The words “poll” and “survey” are similar. Both can be nouns or verbs. To “poll” or “survey” people (verb), you ask for their opinions about something, and then you share the answers. Newspapers and TV news shows often report on polls and surveys (noun). For example, “A new poll today showed that 89% of people like chocolate” or “A survey of English learners showed that 75% wish they could practice speaking more often.”

I’d like to know your opinions, so I’m going to have polls sometimes. Please choose your answer and let me know what you think!

Do you often use contractions when you speak? Contractions are words like it’s, I’m, they’re, we’ll, couldn’t, etc. (standing for the phrases it is, I am, they are, we will, could not, etc.). You probably quickly learned to use contractions in spoken English.

You may have been told that contractions are slang or informal language. That’s not really true (at least for the USA). If you go to a formal presentation at a conference, the speaker will almost always use contractions. Contractions occur in most forms of writing, too. If you’re writing a blog or e-mail in English, you should use contractions normally. If you’re writing a regular e-mail to your co-worker, professor, or friend, contractions are 100% fine to use. If an e-mail is extremely formal, such as proposing a new contract for a business, you might not use contractions. If you’re writing an essay or paper for school, you will probably not be allowed to use contractions. Here are some examples of e-mails using contractions:

Hi, Naomi–

I haven’t received the report from XYZ company yet, so I won’t be able to send you the data today. I hope that’s all right. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do.

– Clarissa

Dear Dr. Lee,

Thanks for sending us the website about the museum exhibition. It sounds like something we shouldn’t miss, so I was wondering if I could e-mail the other students and arrange an informal trip. I’d be willing to drive, since I’ve recently gotten a new minivan. Would that be all right with you?

Thanks again!

– Clarissa

These e-mails are neither formal nor casual, but they use contractions in order to sound natural and friendly.

Caution: “Reduced speech” is different from contractions. You should not use reduced speech in business or school writing. Reduced speech includes words and phrases like gonna, woulda, hafta, ‘em, etc. We frequently use these when we speak, but they are considered too casual for most forms of writing. (It’s OK to use these in e-mail to your close friends, of course, especially if your friends also use reduced speech in writing.)

Tip: If you work for a company where the main language is English, look at some e-mail and memos from the important people at the company. If they use contractions, and you don’t, you should probably start to use contractions. Why? Well, when most people in a group use contractions and one person doesn’t, it makes that person look unfriendly, awkward, and tense. (Unless you’re the boss, of course!)

In the USA, most companies and universities have their own “culture,” and it’s important to pay attention to that culture. When you read a book on American manners or business, you should always remember that your company’s (or school’s) culture is more important than any rule given in the book. I often laugh at books on American manners and behavior, because their advice is sometimes not true for everyone–the writer came from the East Coast, but I live and work on the West Coast (where we do things differently). Sometimes the writer’s advice is old-fashioned.

This is why, even if your books or teachers told you that contractions were bad, you should think about using them more often. Remember, always check what you’ve learned against what you see in the real world. If the real world seems different from the rules you learned, you should ask somebody to explain. If you can’t ask anybody, then it’s up to you to decide which way is right for you.

Next time, we’ll talk about some things that are NOT okay in business or school e-mail. If you have questions, leave me a comment or e-mail me at clarissa ( at ) readableblog ( dot ) com. What do you want to know about?

P. S. Send is a good book on current e-mail etiquette. It’s written at an advanced level, for native speakers, but it’s a very useful book.

Do you use Twitter? (You can read about it in several languages on Wikipedia.)

If you are a Twitter user, you can follow Readable. I’ll write about what I’m doing sometimes. I’ll try to use easy English, so beginners can read it too. You can send short, simple questions to me there. If the question is easy to answer, I’ll answer on Twitter as soon as I can. If the question is hard, I’ll try to answer it later here.

I don’t use Twitter on my cell phone, so I probably won’t answer right away. It might take some time for me to answer.

(I can’t do anybody’s homework or be anybody’s conversation partner, but I hope I can answer some of your questions about English grammar, American culture, etc. )

You can look for interesting and popular Twitter users to follow at Alltop and Twitterholic.

P. S. I’m sorry I haven’t written much lately. If you are an English learner who likes this blog, please comment sometimes or ask a question. That makes me want to write more.

I’m going to try to start posting twice per week, probably Tuesdays and Fridays. If that works, I’ll try to start posting 3 times per week. Remember, if you have something you want me to write about, you can leave a comment here. (You don’t have to use Twitter.)

After the last post about Valentine’s Day, maybe you’d like to learn more about how it’s celebrated in the US.

Here are three websites that describe Valentine’s Day. Each site is very different, but all of them are interesting.

1. This ESL Valentine’s Day Lesson is a great place to start. It has three pages, with pictures, and it’s a good introduction to Valentine’s Day. It’s easy to read.

2. For an interesting look at the business side of the holiday, the big card company American Greetings has posted an article called The Business of Valentine’s Day, which includes statistics and other information. The level of this article is advanced, written in a news-media style.

3. Finally, the History Channel (an American cable TV channel) has a huge Valentine’s Day site, including history, videos, quizzes, and more. (Watch out! If you click on the Valentine Videos page, it’ll start to play the video–with sound–right away. So don’t try it at work…) This website is also mostly at an advanced level. Some of the content here is written in an academic style, but other parts are casual and full of slang.

I hope you have a great Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day is coming up this Thursday! Are you ready?

Valentine’s Day is celebrated differently around the world. What do you know about Valentine’s Day in the US? Check yourself by taking this quiz!

Regarding Valentine’s Day in America …

1. … do men receive most of the chocolate?

2. … do people often give presents to their significant other?
3. … do couples often go out to dinner together?
4. … do many elementary school students give cards to all of their classmates?
5. … do people only give cards to their significant others, and not to friends and family?
6. … do restaurants offer special dinner menus?
7. … do most people make their own chocolate to give as gifts?
8. … does your boss expect you to give him or her a present?
9. … do you get the day off?
10. … is it the number one day for flower sales?
11. … is chocolate the most popular candy?
12. … is there another holiday in March called White Day, where men give gifts to women?

Okay, ready?







Here are the answers!

1. NO! Men can both give and receive chocolate, but women probably get more chocolate than men.

2. YES! Jewelry is common, but it can be anything–books, plants, games, or anything that your loved one will enjoy.
3. YES! I’m planning to go to dinner with my husband.
4. YES! In my school, each student decorated a box for receiving valentines. Then, on Valentine’s Day, we had to bring a card for each classmate (so that no one would be sad). Some students also give out candy. Stores carry special cheap cards, which come in a box of 20 more. These cards have images of cartoon characters, pop stars, sports, etc. Children sometimes make valentines using colored paper, stickers, etc.
5. NO! Many people give cards to significant others and to their children, friends, etc. It depends on the person.
6. YES! These dinners are often very expensive, but might include special extras like champagne, roses, and a special dessert.
7. NO! Some people do, but most people just buy their candy. Popular brands include See’s, Joseph Schmidt, and Godiva.
8. NO! Your boss will probably be very surprised if you give him or her a gift, since this day is mostly for romance.
9. NO! Almost no one has this day off, because it’s not a national holiday.
10. YES! It’s considered a romantic gift. Traditionally, men give roses to women, but anybody can give anything to anybody.
11. YES! A lot of chocolate is sold for Valentine’s Day, and you can buy special chocolates at all kinds of stores.
12. NO! White Day was invented in Japan. It is not known or celebrated in American culture–there’s no need for it here since Valentine’s Day is for both men and women to give and receive presents.

How did you score? Did you learn anything new, or did you already know everything? Actually, there’s a lot more to know about Valentine’s Day, because it’s a very old holiday in Europe (where it comes from). In a few days, I’ll post some websites where you can learn more about Valentine’s Day.

P. S. Significant other is a way to refer to “wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, partner,” etc., without making any guesses about the relationship or the gender of the person. (After all, you often can’t tell by looking if someone is married, gay, etc.) For example, let’s imagine that I have two co-workers, Alice and Scott. If Alice works late every day and never takes a vacation, I might ask Scott this question: “Does Alice have a significant other? It seems like she’s always working.”