Learn how to use prepositions by reading advertisements!

Let me tell you a secret. You can learn English without a textbook or a teacher!

You can learn from the English that is around you every day. All you need to do is look for it.

Think about all of the “teachers” you have:

friends, family, colleagues, neighbors, waiters and waitresses, cashiers, taxi and bus drivers, flight attendants, sales people, landlords, hair stylists, the person sitting next to you at a party, supermarket signs, brochures, newspapers, advertisements, billboards, email, junk mail, TV, radio, books, magazines, websites, blogs, videos, food packaging, menus, instruction manuals

These are your teachers, and they’re (mostly) free to use!

Read the paper, and look up words you don’t know. Listen to how cashiers and flight attendants talk to you. Listen for different styles of language. Watch TED videos. Read the back of your cereal box. Watch TV sitcoms to learn slang. Read signs more often.

Write your observations in a notebook.

Let the English that is around you be your teacher. (If you’re not living in an English-speaking community, you’ll have to try a little harder and be more creative, but it’s possible to find many of these things if you have access to the Internet.)

Go on, look. English is all around you.

Do you get nervous when you think about giving a presentation?  Most of us do.  Do you get nervous when telling a story to a friend?  Most of us think this isn’t so difficult. I’d like you to know that giving a presentation should be as easy as telling a story.

When you tell a story, you typically have the following elements:  an introduction (or “hook”), background information, a sequence of events, a climax, and a resolution or conclusion.

Here’s how you might tell a story:

Get their attention: Guess what happened to me yesterday? or I have a funny story to tell you.

Give some background information: Last weekend, I went on a business trip to Vancouver.

Explain the sequence of events: Before my trip, I…. Then I…. When I got to the meeting….

Reveal the most important point or climax of the story: I was greeted by the CEO and immediately realized that he was my old college roommate!

Explain the conclusion or next steps: I invited him to visit me in California.

Your story might be funny, surprising or sad, but in any case, you’ll probably follow this pattern.  Now, think about a presentation that you have given.  Did you tell a story, or did you simply read a bunch of unemotional information? People remember stories.  If you give a presentation in a story form, your audience will be more interested in what you have to say, and more importantly, they’ll remember your presentation long after you’ve finished.

Here is an example of how you can use the elements of a good story when giving a presentation:

Get their attention: What if I told you that you could complete your work in half the time it takes you now?

As you plan for your next presentation, think about the story you are going to tell, and imagine that you are telling this story to a friend.

Listen to the difference between the pronunciation of iPad and iPod in American English.

アイパッドとアイポッドの英語の発音の違いです。聞いてみてください。

Dear Apple,

I don’t know whether to thank you or hate you for naming your new product the iPad.  As an instructor of professional English, I spend hours every day helping my clients improve their pronunciation.  Much of this time is focused on vowels.  As you know, “iPad” /ɑɪpæd/ sounds a lot like “iPod” /ɑɪpɑd/.  Having grown up in Ohio, this distinction is not lost on me.  “Pod” is easy for me to say.  “Pad” is even easier, especially with my northern Ohioan accent in which I often say things like, “Where’s it at?” (with a very strong, perhaps even whiny, /æ/).  But what about the rest of the world?  Do you know that you just created an iPainful pronunciation nightmare for my clients?

In Japan, for example, “iPod” is pronounced /ɑɪpoʊd/.  Your shiny new iPad, on the other hand, is pronounced /ɑɪpɑd/.  Sound familiar?  Yep, the Japanese pronunciation of “iPad” is almost exactly the same as the American English pronunciation of “iPod.”  Nice.  Do I correct my clients when they pronounce “iPad” as /ɑɪpɑd/, or are they really just talking about the iPod, in which case their pronunciation would be correct? And, if they overcorrect the pronunciation of “iPad,” they would be saying /ɑɪpɑɪd/, at which point I would be wondering whether they “paid” for the pad or the pod.

Maybe your real goal was to get the international community to talk about the features of both devices.   A 30-second conversation could quickly become a discussion of features.  The iPod (/ɑɪpɑd/? /ɑɪpoʊd/?) would become “that music thingy” and the iPad (/ɑɪpæd/? /ɑɪpɑd/?) would become “that big thingy that plays music, but also does other cool stuff.”  If your goal was to promote conversation about your products, well done.  If your goal was word-of-mouth marketing, well, let’s just say that you may see an unexpected jump in sales of iPods in some parts of the world.

Perhaps I am being too harsh.  Perhaps I should be thanking you for the perfect opportunity to practice vowels in a relevant and interesting way:  “Okay, Hiro, explain the differences between the iPad and the iPod.”  I can finally entice my clients to see that these subtle differences in pronunciation really do matter. Or, maybe this calls for visual aids, in which case every language instructor will be buying an iPad.  Hmmm, maybe that’s the best solution:  “This is an iPad and this is an iPod.”  Hey Apple, how about a volume discount?

Respectfully,

Ovient English

Ovient Social Night in Mountain View

When you attend a lecture, conference, or trade show, do you feel comfortable starting conversations with the strangers around you? It’s not an easy thing to do, even for native speakers. (See Michael Arrington’s TechCrunch post about how to interact at events.) Talking to people is an important business skill because meeting new people and making connections helps grow your personal network, which eventually gives you more opportunities to grow your business.

The four examples I share below are four REAL conversation openers from the last networking event I attended. I started conversations using the examples shown in #1 & #4, and other people used #2 & #3 to start talking to me. The conversations weren’t long, but they were meaningful, and we exchanged business cards at the end with the hopes of a continued relationship.

1) ASK TO SHARE A TABLE

Walk up to someone sitting at a table and ask if you can sit next to her. This works every time–unless the seat is being saved, but if that’s the case, just find another table.

2) ASK IF IT’S HIS FIRST TIME AT THIS EVENT

When you’re standing near someone and he isn’t talking to anyone, ask him if he’s ever been to this kind of event, if he’s ever heard this speaker, or if he’s ever been to this event space.

3) ASK IF SHE IS A MEMBER OF THE ORGANIZATION

If you find out that you are both members of the organization, you will have found something that you have in common. You can talk about past events. If the person you are talking to is a member and you are not, you can ask about the benefits of being a member.

4) COMMENT ON THE FOOD OR DRINKS

Walk up to someone near the food or drink line and make a comment. When I was recently at an evening event, and I said to the person standing in line, “I don’t think I should drink coffee at 9 PM.” He replied, “It’s good coffee. You should try the decaf.” This small talk led us into an interesting conversation about books and authors.

These conversations I had were not business exchanges, but networking isn’t always about making a sale. Networking is about meeting people, being helpful and making connections. Don’t be shy, and just remember that everyone is just as scared as you to start up a new conversation!

Ovient English Instruction

Clients often ask me which is better, private lessons (1-1) or classes? My answer always depends on what the client wants to learn. I often ask two questions, “What do you want to improve?” and “What kind of classes have you taken before?”

Regarding the first question, if the client wants to learn how to speak up in meetings, get comfortable with small talk, improve listening, practice negotiating, learn to debate, or gain confidence in public speaking, I would say, “classes.”

If the client wants to improve speech clarity and pronunciation, learn how to speak in 1-1 settings,  improve writing, learn industry-related vocabulary, practice interviewing, or have all of his errors analyzed and corrected, then I would answer, “private lessons.”

As for the second question, if the client says that he has taken classes before and didn’t like them because he didn’t get personal attention from the instructor, then I might suggest 1-1, with an option of trying out some small groups at some point. Some people have had bad experiences in classes, and I don’t want to force them into a situation in which they come to class already thinking that it’s not going to help them. However, if a client says, “I really want to improve my communication with my international colleagues,” I would immediately suggest a class. Regardless of what research and experience has taught us about learning in groups and classes, in order for a learner to improve, he or she needs to believe that the environment is right for him or her.

That said, the cost and time will also dictate which option a client will choose. Classes are usually much less expensive than 1-1 for obvious reasons, but if the client wants to have a flexible lesson schedule, then 1-1 would be better. As you can see, the answer is not so simple.

In addition to thinking of the answer in terms of the client, we must also think about what the instructor wants. Jason Renshaw wrote in his blog that he prefers to teach classes, and you can see from comments on his post that instructors have various opinions. Personally, I enjoy teaching 1-1 and very small classes.

Here are some additional points to consider when thinking about teaching or taking a class or private lesson:

Classes (or Small Groups)

• Interacting with classmates can be more effective than learning from an instructor.

• Mixed-level classes can help everyone learn more. The lower-level learners will be pushed more than if they were alone, and the higher-level learners can cement their knowledge by helping others.

• Questions and additional information from other learners in class add to the instructor’s lesson plan.

• Learning in a group can take the pressure off each individual.

• Class members can make friends and business connections.

Private (1-1) Lessons

• The lessons can be personalized and reflect exactly what the learner wants/needs.

• Instructors can give individualized attention and feedback.

• Lesson times and locations can be more flexible.

• Learners can work on sensitive work-related material that they don’t want to share with a class.

When considering the ideal class size, we need to consider the learner’s needs, learning-style and motivation. We also need to consider the instructor’s needs, teaching-style and motivation as well. I believe there is not a one-size-fits-all answer to this question, but there is likely a perfect fit for the circumstances.

Do you know when to use the, a, & an?

Use “the” before a noun when…

• the listener knows the exact thing you are talking about “The speech was really long.” (The listener knows the speech you are talking about.) “The car that drove by was speeding.” (The listener saw the car.)
• there is only one in the whole world. “The Internet has made my life easier.” (There is only one Internet.)
• the noun represents a place in a community that everyone knows or shares. “I went to the bank.” “I went to the grocery store.” “I went to the library.” (Even if you don’t go to the same back, you should still use “the.”)

Don’t use “the”  when…

• the noun is a proper noun (a name, city, company). “I searched for it on Google.” “I live in California.” (However, we DO use “the” when referring to “the United States.”)
• you use a pronoun with the noun. “I washed my car.” “Your pen is on my desk.”

Use “a” or “an” before a noun when…

• you do not define the noun. The noun is general.  “I saw an interesting website today.” (You don’t explain which website.) However, when you talk about this same website again, you will say, “The website was interactive.” (Now, you use an article because the listener knows that you are talking about the website you saw earlier.)
• the noun is one of many. “I ate an apple for lunch.” (There are many apples, and you ate one.)

Use “an” when the noun that follows it starts with a pronounced vowel: we say, “an underachiever” but  “a university.”  The u in underachiever is pronounced as a vowel, but the u in university is pronounced with a “yu” sound.

Don’t use “a” or “an”  when…

• the noun is a plural. “Universities are getting more an more expensive these days.”

Quiz: Add or remove “the” or “a/an” in the sentences below.  (Answers are listed at the end.)

1. Wasn’t speech amazing?

2. Most of banks in America are safe to deposit money in.

3. Did you see the my car?

4. A scuba diving tank is a underwater breathing apparatus.

5. He used to work at Google, but he quit to start the new company.

6. I need to go to a bank before work this morning.

7. The keynote speaker talked about the Web 3.0.

8. I always think a meetings at work are too long.

9. My favorite hobby is watching movies.

10. United States has many national parks.

Answers

1. Wasn’t the speech amazing?

2. Most of the banks in America are safe to deposit money in.

3. Did you see the my car?

4. A scuba diving tank is an underwater breathing apparatus.

5. He used to work at Google, but he quit to start a the new company.

6. I need to go to the bank before work this morning.

7. The keynote speaker talked about the Web 3.0.

8. I always think a the meetings at work are too long.

9. My favorite hobby is watching movies.

10. The United States has many national parks.

I read a blog post today from Chad Fowler called “How Learning a Second Language Changed My Life.” I think it’s a great story, and I would like to share my own thoughts about how people can learn a second language on their own.

First, find out what kind of learner you are. Answer these questions to get an idea of how you learn best.

•    Do you need to “see” it on paper to understand?
•    Do you need to “hear” it to understand?
•    Do you learn better when you are having fun?
•    Do you remember more when you are moving around?
•    Do you need to memorize rules?
•    Do you learn by talking to people?

You can learn more effectively if you understand your strengths and use them to help you. Think about what has helped you in the past.

Use a variety of strategies when studying.

Talk to speakers, use a textbook, memorize vocabulary, write sentences and paragraphs, listen to various recordings, study grammar, read newspapers, magazines, and books.

Don’t forget the 4 skills.

Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing

Learn with someone.

Find a language-learning partner. If you meet with someone who is also studying the language, you can help teach each other and practice together.

Organize your studying.

•    Set achievable, short-term goals. (For example: My goal is to finish a book this month; to learn 10 vocabulary words; to be able to tell a story; to be able to ask questions in meetings)
•    Create a study notebook with material that you have studied. Review it every month or two.
•    Study in short intervals. (10, 20, or 30 minutes a day)
•    Tell someone about your study plan, and talk about it frequently.
•    Plan out when, where and how you will study.

Answer these questions to help yourself get started on a self-learning program:

What is your first goal? I will be able to  (                              ) by (deadline).

When will you study?

How will you study?

Your biggest obstacle is fear. Don’t let it stop you. Good luck!

I origionally posted this information for English language learners on my Knol site. You can read the full article here: http://knol.google.com/k/blythe-musteric/learning-english-on-your-own/1js5hgjj9kl0b/2#

(c) 2009 Ovient English. All Rights Reserved.

There has been a lot of buzz on the Web recently about how handshakes are disgusting, spread germs, and are probably unnecessary.  TechCrunch just posted on this again yesterday.  I have to admit that although I have spent hours talking with my clients about the importance of handshakes in American culture, especially business culture, I don’t like the practice much myself.  I keep hand sanitizer at the ready and wash my hands incessantly.  Despite this, I continue to shake hands and often force myself to shake hands even with my clients from Japan and other parts of Asia where handshaking is not traditional or common.

Why?  Why do we still cling to this silly practice of touching our palms together?  People can be really offended if you don’t accept or offer a handshake.  It is almost as if the handshake is a gift that must be received, whether or not it is wanted.  Just as you don’t refuse birthday gifts, no matter how unwelcome, you can (almost) never refuse a handshake.

In many Asian cultures, the exchange of small gifts is an important part of both meeting for the first time and reuniting.  Americans give gifts on special occasions.  Maybe handshakes are meant to be our “everyday” gift for those we meet.

Business deals are often concluded with a handshake.  Perhaps it is this exchange of “gifts” that seals the deal, much like a contract is an exchange of money for goods or services.

If we agree that handshakes are gifts, surely we can come up with something better.  Aren’t there better gifts to be shared than a sweaty palm?

Have you ever finished a classroom discussion where getting the learners to talk was like pulling teeth? The learners just don’t seem interested in speaking up, or when they do answer questions, their answers are too short.  I recently read a blog post titled, “26 Reasons why most brainstorming sessions fail (and what to do about it),” and I was reminded of why many ESL/EFL classroom discussions fail. “Fail” in the sense that the instructor, who wants the learners to ‘discuss’ a topic, ends up doing most of the talking or seems to be talking to only one or two participants for the duration of the discussion.

Here are my observations of why classroom discussions fail and what you can do about it.

20 reasons why classroom discussions fail:

1. Instructor talks too much.
2. Instructor interrupts discussion with error feedback.
3. Instructor stands up in front while the learners sit.
4. Classroom seats aren’t set up to be conducive to a discussion.
5. No transition from an instructor-led class to a learner-led discussion.
6. Learners are not given enough time to answer questions.
7. Learners are embarrassed by their language ability.
8. Learners are afraid their comments aren’t intelligent.
9. Learners don’t want to offend others with their own opinions.
10. Topic is too broad.
11. Topic is embarrassing or too personal.
12. Topic is not timely or relevant to learners’ lives.
13. Learners have never thought about this topic before and therefore have never formed opinions on it.
14. There is nothing to engage visual learners.
15. Learners don’t know how to use the ‘language’ of discussions.
16. Discussion has no ‘ground rules.’
17. Learners stop paying attention halfway through the discussion.
18. Learners don’t ask questions of each other.
19. Learners can’t hear or understand each other.
20. Learners don’t see how the discussion fits into the lesson.

20 ways instructors can improve classroom discussions:

1. Limit your talking. (Record a discussion to get an idea of how much you talk!)
2. Tell the learners that you will not be analyzing their language for errors, so they can speak without worrying about being graded.
3. Sit among the learners and be a participant.
4. If possible, move the seats so learners can see each other.
5. Assign a ‘discussion leader’ who starts and finishes the discussion so there is a clear distinction between the instructor-led class and the learner-led discussion.
6. When a question is posed, wait at least 5 seconds before trying to encourage learners to talk or making a comment yourself. They need time to think!
7. Don’t interrupt with error correction. (See #2.)
8. Encourage learners to give positive feedback to one another. That was an interesting comment. I’ve never thought of that before.
9. Encourage learners to use language that respects the opinions of others while stating their own.  I feel differently because…. While I don’t agree with you, I think that’s an interesting perspective. You made a good point, but….
10. Focus the topic on an idea that can be discussed in the time limit you have set. Discuss “Your use of social media to connect with friends” rather than “The Internet.”
11. Consider the different cultures and backgrounds of learners. If you’re not sure if the topic is too sensitive, then wait until you know your learners better.
12. Choose something that they know and understand. Don’t ask learners in Japan to talk about the NFL Superbowl.
13. Remember that learners may have never thought deeply about this topic before. Give them time to think and form opinions. Perhaps have them brainstorm vocabulary or do some freewriting beforehand. (See #6.)
14. Engage the learners by showing them a video or picture to stimulate discussion.
15. Teach learners language to help them participate in discussions. (Opinion language, language for making connections to what people have said.)
16. Give learners rules.  Everyone must talk at least once. You must comment on statements made by at least two other participants. Don’t look at the instructor when you talk; look at someone in the class.) There also may be some cultural differences in how people have conversations. Discuss the ‘rules’ of talking in a group in your culture vs. their culture(s).
17. Tell learners to take notes during the discussion. Have them summarize the discussion as a writing assignment.
18. Make learners responsible for asking a certain number of questions.
19. Break learners into smaller groups. Do a jigsaw discussion.
20. State the objective of the discussion beforehand. Tell them why they are having a discussion, even if it is to simply practice having a discussion.

Of course, every classroom is different. Learners bring different styles and abilities to the class, and depending on the culture(s) represented, you may have to alter your own definition of what a discussion is. To conclude, I recommend that you do your own classroom research and find out what works for your learners. Discuss with them (if possible) what your expectations are and how they feel. This might turn into a great discussion!

Comments welcome!

(c) 2009 Ovient English. All Rights Reserved.