In other words, don’t use the word “down” after a noun.

You can’t say:

Weight down  (Instead, say “lose weight.”)

Speed down  (Instead, say “slow down.”)

But, you can say:

Look down on

Move down

Pat down

Run down

Scale down

Settle down

Sit down

Slow down

Stand down

Step down

Tie down

(To be) down

So, be careful and don’t down your nouns!

To really understand how to use a word,  I suggest that you become a vocabulary detective. Like a detective, you need to do some research, and the best place to go to learn how to use a word is an Internet news website. A search on these sites will reveal how the words are being used today. Doing the search is easy. Go to a news site like Google News or Yahoo News and type your word in the “search news” box. If you want to find a phrase, then use quotation marks (”…”) around the entire phrase. The results page will show your search terms in bold, and you can click on the link to see the entire sentence.

For example, let’s say you read the phrase “edges up” in a book, and you can’t figure out what it means. If you do a Google News search, you will discover the following sentences using the phrase:

• “Idaho’s jobless rate edges up, work force declines.”
• “Nikkei edges up on techs, exporters”
• “unemployment rate edges up to 5.6%”
• “Kiwi edges up to $0.7070, from $0.7054 earlier”

If you look in an online dictionary, you’ll learn that “edge up” means “to push one’s way into a space.” In fact, this online dictionary says that “edge up” is rarely used as a verb. But after looking at the news articles from the Google search, you’ll see that the phrase is often used as a verb to mean “to increase by a small amount.” You’ll also notice that the phrase seems to be used to talk about money and numbers. The sentences from the news search give you a better picture of how the word is used in today’s media.

You can also refine your search and look for how the term is used in headlines, in the body of a text or by date. In addition, you can search in blogs. (Blogs are not always edited with the same standards that newspapers are, so be aware that you might find more grammar mistakes in blogs.)

If you’d like to investigate more uses of the word, then change the grammar a little and see what happens. If you try the same search using past tense (”edged up”), you’ll see similar results. However, if you do another search but change the preposition to “on” instead of “up,” you’ll see that the phrase doesn’t exist. The results show sentences that use the words separately.

• …around the grassy edges. On Monday,.. .

If you begin your vocabulary learning by searching for how we use words, rather than by searching for a definition, you’ll be able to quickly add the words to your active vocabulary.

Does the idea of networking scare you? Does it bring to mind images of parties and events in which you stand around and talk to strangers while you nervously hold a drink in your hand, secretly looking for the clock to see if it’s time to leave? These kinds of parties are not only nerve-racking, but also time-consuming, expensive and not always fruitful. However, things have improved in the last few years. Today, networking is often done virtually. Although you can’t completely replace real handshakes and small talk around a table, you can grow your network without leaving your home.

In the past, swapping contact information with someone you met at a conference didn’t guarantee that they’d actually do anything with it. As you know, it’s easy to go home from conferences with an overloaded brain. By the time you recover from a conference, you are probably so busy with work that you forget to follow up with the people you met. You might see them at the next conference, but they might not remember you, and there’s probably no chance that you are going to connect before then. With Online networking, you’re always just a click away from a contact. You can make connections with those people once a month instead of once a year.

Are You Online?

If you are a professional and don’t have an Online presence, then how will people find you? If you send in your resume to a company, they will most likely do a search on your name to find out more about you. Don’t you want the search results to show that you are well-connected and an expert in your field? The good news is that you don’t have to be a techie to do this. The following networking suggestions require only an open mind, not a tech background.

Prepare Your Pitch

Before you start networking Online, you need to prepare a few things. Think about a one-sentence description of who you are and what you do. I suggest keeping an “elevator pitch” document in your computer that contains a few self-introductions of different lengths that you can copy and paste into “about me” pages on websites. You should also have an updated version of your resume. Next, you need a digital photo of yourself that you feel comfortable uploading to the Web. The photo should be a headshot that makes you look professional. Finally, think about your purpose for networking. Who do you want to connect with? What are your goals?

Make Connections

Networking is about making connections and engaging in two-way communication, so having a static website is really not necessary unless you run your own business. You don’t need a website to simply grow your network. The best way to network is to join Online networking sites.

As you probably know, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are the biggest and most useful social networking sites for professionals doing business in the United States.

Facebook tends to be a place for more personal connections, so you might want to avoid adding professional contacts as “friends” if you tend post photos and comments that are not related to your professional life. However,  you can interact with professional contacts on Facebook by creating a community page for a unique topic. For example, I know a real estate agent who created a page especially for people interested in Eichler homes, and of course we have an Ovient page. This is a great way to use Facebook to expand your network, and doing this will keep your private life and professional life separate.

On Twitter, you can find a huge number of professionals from all over the world talking about interesting topics and exchanging ideas. I recommend making a unique Twitter account for your professional communication. You can use this account to post links, communicate with other leaders, and write your brilliant ideas about your industry. If you are new to Twitter, do a search on “how to use Twitter,” and you’ll find advice and videos on how to use this website.

LinkedIn is a business networking site.  You need to be on this site if you want business contacts or hiring managers to find you. You can add information about your work history and professional interests, make connections with people you know, write and receive recommendations from colleagues, and most importantly join groups. By joining a group, you can participate in discussions and meet new people in your industry. There are groups for alumni, special interests, and clubs that you belong to off-line. Many of your colleagues are probably on LinkedIn already, so look at the groups they are in. You can find groups by doing keyword searches.

There are many other industry-specific social networking sites that you might want to join. For example, The Educator’s PLN is a networking site for teachers.  Do a search to find out if there is one that you should join, or ask your colleagues if they belong to any groups.

Another way to connect with people is to comment on blogs. Writing comments is a great way to connect with authors, researchers, publishers, business leaders, and people in the industries you’d like to work in. Of course, the next step is to create your own blog so that other people can comment on your ideas!

Manage Your Time

At first, you might find yourself spending a lot of time figuring it all out and getting connected. (It can turn into a bit of an addiction!) But you really don’t need to spend all of your time Online. I recommend spending a few hours each month to keep in contact with people, and if you take a leave of absence for a few months, it’s OK. Everyone does. You don’t have to give up your hobbies just because you’ve joined the online world. Set aside time and call it your “professional development” or “ personal marketing” time.

If you’re new to all of this, keep an open mind and be patient with the technology and yourself. Don’t write it off because you don’t understand it. Please feel free to start by commenting on this blog!

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.

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.

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。

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.

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.

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.