February 27, 2010
So, you’re an ESL student dumped onto an English-speaking workplace. Chances are, you have no choice but to learn how to write business English effectively, lest risk being unable to perform your job well.
Business writing is different from other types of writing in that it’s a little more formal and requires you to produce material with a professional tone. If you’re going to work in an English-speaking country, there’s no escaping it, as most professions (especially white-collar ones) will require you to write in that manner.
To help you out, here are a few tips:
1. Learn to write English in a more formal, straightforward manner. To be on the safe side, it’s best to aim for a more formal tone, rather than find a more balanced writing style. Sure, you might not end up writing the most interesting emails or memos, but you’ll sound professional doing so.
2. Write to your audience. Always know who you’re writing a document for. If it’s an email to a co-worker along the same rank as you, a little less formality might help you establish better rapport. For a report that you’ll submit to superiors, though, you may want to dispense with the pleasantries.
3. Be clear and to the point. No need for literary devices for business writing. Sure, it might help for proposals and other materials intended to sway opinion. But you’ll be teetering a fine line and it’s best not to rock the boat, especially if English isn’t your first language.
4. Arm yourself with a good English language software. You’ll need it, especially when it comes to cleaning up writing mistakes and improving your overall facility.
November 23, 2009
Need to brush up on English marketing terms for a project, meeting or an upcoming trip? Here’s a list of common marketing vocabulary that every ESL speaker should have learned from their business language software and are keeping in their arsenal.
Brand. A noun that denotes a type of product made by a particular company (e.g. “Our brand of soap was first in sales last year.”)
Brand Identity. A noun that encapsulates how a company wants consumers to see their products. Are you a luxury item, a product for technical types, a bargain or something intended for women?
Brand Image. In contrast, with “brand identity,” this refers to how consumers actually perceive your products (e.g. “We need to change our brand image.”).
Launch. A verb that’s used to refer to the introduction of a new product, along with a complete advertising and marketing effort (e.g. “During the launch of our new product next month..”).
Consumer. A noun that refers to a person who buys the company’s products (good and services)both in retail and wholesale (e.g.”Our consumers were unhappy with the price hike.”).
End User. A noun that refers to a consumer who uses a product, instead of selling it (e.g. “The end user feedback was very positive.”).
Market Research. A noun that describes the process of collecting and processing information about customers, primarily concerning their feelings and attitudes about a particular product (e.g. “Market research indicates that consumers want more of the old version.”)
Public Relations. A noun that refers to the act of creating and maintaining a positive image for your company in the eyes of both customers and the general public.
November 20, 2009
Need to write a document in English, but your second language skills may not be up to par? Don’t worry all that much about it. There’s probably an editing service that can help you.
Editing services, especially those geared towards students and ESL speakers, are seeing increasing growth online. With English establishing itself as the international language for business and many other endeavors, it’s not surprising to see a rise in the number of people requiring editing services in the vernacular.
Fees typically range from $20 to $30 for minimal editing (basic proofreading for short documents) all the way to several hundred dollars for longer, more involved work. As you can see, it’s not cheap, making it less of an option for regular day-to-day correspondences and similarly mundane tasks.
For more important documents,such as when you’re a foreign national applying for a position in an American company, the price is absolutely warranted and we highly recommend you take advantage of them. After all, a well-written application essay really could make the difference in your application process.
With less-significant items, though, such as regular correspondences with American friends, you may want to hold on to that cash and invest in a language software for writing instead. These all-in-one English writing software can take your badly-worded, low-level English text and fashion it into something better. Sure, it won’t make you sound like a professional writer the way some editing services can, but it should iron out many of your mistakes.
Of course, you can always just call upon an editing service every time you need text run over. Prepare to spend a good amount of cash, though.
November 18, 2009
Cliches are the bane of many ESL speakers, especially when writing. Since they’re not attuned to the nuances of a language, many tend to misinterpret what many of these “clever-sounding strings of words” actually mean. As such, when you see them use it, the whole thing is often painfully taken out of context.
If you’re an ESL writer, we highly recommend staying away from using cliches in your work. While they make your writing sound “more mature,” they’re completely unnecessary. As someone whose English facility isn’t at the highest levels, it’s more important to express yourself in a clear and unencumbered manner. You can worry about sounding like a native later.
When you’re putting together emails or any form of writing intended to be viewed by other ESL speakers, it’s important to keep the same thing in mind. While cliches like “we’re on the same page” or “on the dot” makes sense to you, it might not read the same way to other non-Americans with a mere eight months of language software training under their belts.
At the end of the day, clear and direct writing will always trump clever word construction. If you want to be an effective ESL writer, stick to that and leave the fancy wordplay out of your arsenal until such a time when it’s warranted.
November 5, 2009
Many language experts say that English is one of the most difficult languages to learn. Its speech, in fact, combines eight different elements, each of which plays a part in forming statements that make complete sense.
These parts of speech are usually integrated into the first few lessons in ESL software lessons, as they’re among the most basic grammatical structures in the language. What are these eight parts of speech?
Noun. A noun is a word that can function as the object of a sentence or a phrase, frequently a person, place or thing (but could be something else).
Verb. A verb is an action word (such as drive, run or eat), but can also include occurrences, states of being and relationships that implies some form of action (even if it isn’t done overtly).
Pronoun. A word that substitutes for another word (usually a noun). Examples include “you,” “them,” “he” and “it.”
Adjective. This is a word that modifies a noun or a pronoun, changing their meaning in a descriptive manner. Examples include “red,” “amazing” and “quick.”
Adverb. This modifies words, much like an adjective. Instead of a noun or pronoun, though, they change the meaning of verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. Examples include “slowly,” “brightly” and “fast” (as in, “runs fast”).
Conjunction. Those long sentences that connect multiple clauses and phrases? They’re connected by conjunctions, a small group of words that are crucial to forming compound and complex sentences.
Interjection. Some words express emotions all on their own. Those are interjections. Examples includes words such as “hey,” “ouch” and “aww.”
September 5, 2009
Trying to improve your English grammar skills? As a second-language learner, it’s usually very tough to approach grammar the way it’s usually handled in a classroom setting. For many ESL students, the best way to see improvements is through natural means – letting the rules governing the language’s grammar to sink in, rather than force it.
Reading is one of the best ways to get this done. Both passive and active performance of the activity, coupled with the use of a good language software, can lead to gains that may surprise you. For active reading with the intent of improving grammar, we highly recommend keeping these tips in mind:
Avoid converting to your language. Make an effort to avoid translating any English text you read into your native tongue. It’s self-defeating and rarely helps your overall development when you do.
Focus on tenses and forms. If you’re studying English grammar, make it a goal to highlight the use of one particular tense or form in any English writing that you are perusing. The mere act of recognizing and marking them can help integrate it into your skillset over time.
Work on identifying particular elements of speech. One day, you can work on marking off main verbs in each sentence you read through; the next day, you can do the same for adjectives. Which elements you choose to focus on will probably depend on where you are in your grammar studies, but using the reading as an opportunity to reinforce the lessons will contribute immensely into your overall learning.
Find linking words. Some words like one sentence (sometimes, even one paragraph) to the next. Mark them in your readings over several sittings – they’re a particular stumbling block for ESL students and it will serve you well to get them down pat.
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