At Your Disposal

Some speakers, perhaps because of their familiarity with the word disposal in connection with trash, seem to have trouble with the polite idiom “at your disposal.” 

For example, I saw this comment on a Yahoo forum: “If you are at their disposal, it is derogatory and demeaning.” 

Disposal and its different forms descend from Latin disponere, “to set in different places, to arrange.” The verb has more than one meaning, including the following:

• to place or arrange things in a particular order
• to make fit or ready
• to make arrangements
• to get rid of

The noun disposal can mean the action of disposing of something. In the expression “at one’s disposal,” it means “the power or right to dispose of, make use of, or deal with as one pleases.” The notion that the person “at one’s disposal” is “under the command of another” is doubtless the reason for objections to the expression by literalists.

Language has its polite conventions, and most people can tell the difference between convention and sincerity. Literalists, however, object to addressing a letter “Dear Sir” and signing it “Yours faithfully” on the grounds that the language is “too intimate” to use with a stranger.

Taking the quotation a little out of context, I’ll let Dr. Johnson explain the difference between sincerity and social convention:

you may say to a man, “Sir, I am your most humble servant.” You are not his most humble servant. You may say, “These are sad times…” You don’t mind the times. You tell a man, “I am sorry you had such bad weather the last day of your journey, and were so much wet.” You don’t care six-pence whether he was wet or dry. You may talk in this manner; it is a mode of talking in Society”

Speakers who object to putting a person at someone’s disposal can still use the idiom in regard to an object or a facility. Here are some examples of current usage:

Rest assured that Alotta Properties, Inc. will be at your disposal for as long as you need us.

Anecdotal evidence is great and it’s even better the more of it you have at your disposal.

But, my good sir, why do you come to me? Your motive is most excellent, but an honest employment is the last thing at my disposal.

Source: Daily Writing Tips

Phrases from the Oxford Dictionary online:

at one's disposal

Available for one to use whenever or however one wishes: a helicopter was put at their disposal

at someone's disposal

Ready to assist the person concerned in any way they wish: I am at your disposal until Sunday

Is “positivity” a real word?

A reader questions the acceptability of the word positivity:

Is “positivity” a real word? I have found it on a couple of on-line dictionary sources, but it sounds so wrong and makes me cringe every time I hear it. I feel that people think that if negativity is a word, then the antonym must be positivity, and not positiveness.

Until I received this query I’d never questioned the reality of the word positivity. Afterwards I discovered that the question appears to be a common one on the Web. I don’t understand why this should be so.

The suffix -ivity occurs in a great many common English words. A few of the most familiar:

activity
captivity
conductivity
creativity
festivity
sensitivity
nativity
negativity
objectivity
receptivity

The suffix -ivity is added to an adjective to make it into an abstract noun. The suffix appears in borrowings and adaptations of Latin and French words from the end of the Old English period; it becomes common after the Norman Conquest: nativity (1225), captivity (1380). When the adjective ends in -il or -le, the suffix -ility is added to the adjective: humility (1315), durability (1374), ability (1398).

The suffix -ness is the more usual suffix used to form abstract nouns nowadays, but -ivity is still used in scientific contexts to form abstract nouns denoting a specific property of a material: incendivity, elastivity.
According to the OED, positivity predates negativity in English by 167 years. In 1659, the reference is to the “positivity of sin”; in 1826, Coleridge speaks of the “Spirit of Negativity.”

The reader quoted above feels that positiveness is the “real” word and that positivity should not be used at all. Many speakers do use the word positiveness to mean the quality of looking on the bright side, but others see a difference in connotation between positivity and positiveness.
For speakers who see a difference, positivity means the quality of looking on the bright side:

If you approach the day with enthusiasm, positivity and openness, usually you’ll get the same back.

Positiveness, on the other hand, is seen by some as a synonym for dogmatism:

These relations are so extensive, that positiveness, or dogma, is scarcely anywhere free from the liability to contradiction.

As far as I can tell, there’s no reason to despise the word positivity.
According to the Google Ngram Viewer, positivity is far more common in print than positiveness. Indeed, every example of the word positiveness in the Word file of this article has a red line under it.

Source: Daily Writing Tips

Fed Up with your Job?

Are you fed up with your job? Can’t see a good future where you are? Ready for a complete change? Just graduated and want to do something meaningful? Well, here’s something to think about…

There are thousands of jobs available overseas to people who are either native English speakers or who have a good knowledge of the language and who want to teach English to children or adults , and - you don't have to already be a teacher!

Below are some of the thousands of current jobs. These are from one source. There are many such sources. When you register for our TESOL course, we will show you where to find teaching positions in many countries:

Here are the latest teaching jobs from around the world as of May 12, 2014. Bear in mind that this represents only a small portion of all the jobs out there.

Current Database Status (country/jobs):

Argentina[1], Azerbaijan[1], Brunei[1], Bulgaria[2], Cambodia[1], Chile[1], China[61], Czech Republic[3], East Timor[1], Ecuador[1], Egypt[1], France[1], Germany[4], Greece[1], Hong Kong[6], Indonesia[10], Italy[12], Japan[4], Kazakhstan[5], Kuwait[1], Latvia[1], Libya[3], Malaysia[1], Malta[1], Myanmar[2], Poland[5], Russian Federation[26], Saudi Arabia[17], Singapore[1], Slovakia[1], South Korea[6], Spain[33], Taiwan[1], Tajikistan[2], Tanzania[1], Thailand[4], Tunisia[1], Turkey[5], United Kingdom[162], United States[2], Vietnam[5], Worldwide[15]

Wherever you want to go, teaching jobs are likely available but it is harder to get hired in some places. Western Europe is a tough nut to crack. Eastern Europe has many opportunities as does South America. Still atop the list of areas that desperately need a huge number of English teachers is Asia.  It is tougher to get a teaching job in Hong Kong and Japan but South Korea, Thailand, China and Indonesia offer many opportunities. Be flexible and prepared to go where the jobs are to gain experience.

All it takes is a degree and a TESOL or TEFL certificate . Most schools will even reimburse your airfare! WAIT! No degree? Contact us through our web site! We can help you!

There couldn't be a better time to get started than right now! You could be teaching in one of these countries within a few weeks. Some of our students are hired even before they complete their TESOL course and we are delighted to forward their certificate to their new school!

Go to our web site and get started today on a course that will change your life very quickly! Jobs are tough to get at home. Not so overseas. All you need is a willingness to accept other cultures, a degree in any discipline and our TESOL certificate.  Then you’ll be ready to start 2014 with a new career!

Click on the link to start on a whole new adventure and life experience!

Dr. Robert Taylor

Dean of Studies                      

Sunbridge Institute of English

Efforting to Remain Calm

I have a reader to thank (to blame?) for telling me about a coinage that is new to me.

It may have begun with television announcers, but it’s spreading. Since I began looking for it, I’ve even found it in a book on sociology published by W.W. Norton.

The word is efforting. Here are some examples of its use by television announcers:

We are efforting to restore the signal from Fort Hood.
We are efforting her report. –Brian Williams, NBC
we are efforting, trying to get a reaction from Georgia’s President. –Tony Harris, CNN
we are efforting to get an interview with General Tommy Franks…

Here it is in some Web headlines:

Rugby Canada/USA Rugby efforting to get second half on EPN July 11
Solution efforting seems to fall in a gap between teams
Strong Efforting Team to Avoid Letdown
Group efforting signatures to repeal transgender law

The genius of English word formation is responsible for keeping the language supplied with new words for new ideas, and I rejoice in it. But I have to admit that I cannot see what new idea this strange new verb expresses.

It seems to me that one would try to restore a signal. Couldn’t one attempt to get an interview with someone?

Before verbing the noun effort, consider whether one of the following might serve your purpose:
attempt
endeavor
exert oneself
make an effort
try
strive
venture
work at

Source: Daily Writing Tips

7 Survival Skills For Modern Teachers And Students

Walk into a school, airport, shopping mall, or even a church and the image is always the same, teens and tweens have their heads down, ear buds on, and a mobile device in their hand. This generation is commonly referred to as Generation Z and they are coming of age with a new set of rules, expectations, and mannerisms. Born between 1995 and 2009, the oldest of this generation is coming of age this year and headed off towards adulthood. What can they expect of their future work experiences? What will employers expect of them? What can educators continue to do? What can teachers do to better prepare them?

Does Gen Z Learn Differently?

There is plenty of research and articles circulating around out there about how this generation learns and what the future workforce will hold for them. In an online article entitled “Workforce Preview: What to Expect From Gen Z” by Dennis McCafferty in April 2013 he shared the following statistics:
• 60% of this generation like to share knowledge online, a sign of collaborative skills
• 64% contribute to websites because they like learning about new things
• 76% feel that online experiences help them reach goals
• 66% say that technology makes them feel like anything is possible

The Pluses Come With Minuses, Too.

But just as technology has provided this generation with many strong technical attributes it has also produced its share of negative traits. Generation Z lacks the ability to effectively communicate ideas, share an opinion, or debate an issue. After spending the majority of their formative years in front of a computer this generation of employees are unfamiliar with collaborative teams, face-to-face discussions, and public speaking. Instant feedback and immediate response to inquiries also limits the coping skills of this generation to problem solve.

The skill to explore multiple solutions for a problem is not as mature in this generation as in previous generations. “Yvonne Sell, Hay Group’s director of leadership and talent in the UK, believes that Generation Z will have a desire for change, stimulation, learning and promotion that will conflict with traditional organizational hierarchies.

'Generation Z will want to be heard no matter how junior they are, and perhaps may have little tolerance for working with those who don’t share their views.’ Sell warns that organizations need to be aware that Generation Z may have less concern for responsibility, accountability and understanding of consequence.”

In just a few years there will be five generations in the workforce. That diversity alone in how employees view their job stability, relationships within the workplace, and the education needed to get the job has started to change the way businesses advertise for new hires and the environment in which they will potentially work. Yet the skills needed to succeed in the transformative knowledge era are still lacking in many of the students known as Generation Z.

Bubble sheets and multiple choice exams have robbed our students of the ability to explain, defend, and elaborate on their understanding of a topic. In addition a highly compact curriculum with little time to “brew” over the material also imparts little of the self-directed and intellectual curiosity skills that will be demanded of our students.

Unfortunately, these are the very same soft skills that employers are looking for in their future employees.

Seven Survival Skills (For the 21st Century)

Tony Wagner’s Seven Survival Skills as defined by business leaders in their own words should be the focus on how educators should be teaching. These include:

• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence
• Agility and Adaptability
• Initiative and Entrepreneurship
• Effective Oral and Written Communication
• Accessing and Analyzing Information
• Curiosity and Imagination.
• Educators should model and hold as a standard these survival skills.

There is a lot of information to be gleaned from the Internet and a lot of tools to help educators in communicating and putting into practice these skills. A good place to start is with a familiar tool like the KWL chart and start having students produce answers using the upgraded KWHLAQ chart.

Just starting with “H” can lead to more depth of a subject and not just a superficial glance of a web page. How do I find out? How will I know when I have found the right answer? How does this apply to the real world? How will this change the way I look at or feel about something? Followed by the “A” – What action will I take? Will this action change my opinion? Will this action change my answer/understanding? What is the consequence of this action? And all of this should end with the “Q” – What new questions do I have?

Technology and information will continue to grow and evolve. Mobile devices and that sense of connectedness are here to stay. So while educators can’t change the hardware that their students use they can influence and model the behavior, expectations, and soft skills that employers expect of their employees within the workforce.

Author: By Karen Van Vliet on April 24, 2014
Source: Edudemic.com via Feedspot
http://www.feedspot.com/?dadi=1#feed/f_35027/article/1016526055?dd=19957787 

NOTE: Whether these are first or second language learners, the message applies equally well. 

Particular vs. Specific

A reader asks if there is a distinction to be made between the words particular and specific.

In some contexts, the words are close synonyms, but not in all. 

Both particular and specific mean “distinguished in some way among others of the same kind,” so the following sets of statements would have the same meaning:

Do you have a particular company in mind?
Do you have a specific company in mind?
Do you have a particular movie you want to see?
Do you have a specific movie you want to see?

To me specific has a more formal connotation than particular. Although the meanings are identical in these examples, I’d probably choose specific in the business context and particular in the leisure context.

Specific has several technical uses. It can mean “pertaining to a distinct species of animals or plants. For example, “Gaspard Bauhin, a Swiss botanist of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, designated plants by a generic and a specific name.” In medicine, a “specific remedy” is a remedy supposed to act on a particular ailment or part of the body.

In the study of logic, a statement that is true of all of a group is a universal statement, while a statement that is true of a certain kind of thing is a particular statement. 

For example, “All fish live in water” is a universal statement; “Goldfish are often kept as pets” is a particular statement.
In general usage, the two words are used interchangeably when referring to plans:

Did you ever have any particular plans at the beginning of your career, any particular vision of where performing would take you?

The Barons did the show and, as an amateur group without particular plans,

Asked about the future, Paul Simon says he has no particular plans.

Source: Daily Writing Tips

Bespeak, Bespoke, Bespoken

Insight into a set of words you may hear occasionally.

A reader has asked for a discussion of the word bespoke:

I keep reading it in articles, and at least half the time I see it I end up looking it up because it just doesn’t seem correct to me.

Bespoke is an adjective that comes from the archaic English verb bespeak. One of the meanings of the prefix be- is “about.” When miserly Samuel Pepys dreads that a man wants him to be his son’s godfather–an honor that would require some outlay of cash–he says,

[The man] who I feared did come to bespeak me to be godfather to his son.

That is, “who he feared had come to speak to him about the prospect of his standing godfather.”

In early usage bespeak could also mean “to speak out,” “to ask for,” “to tell about,” and “to predict,” as well as the meaning that has survived in the bespoke of the reader’s question: “to engage beforehand; to order goods.”
Bespoke and bespoken are past forms of bespeak. For example,

A new set of chains was bespoke. (A new set of chains was ordered.)
She had arranged or bespoken to have him killed. (She had talked about a hit.)

In its current use as an adjective, bespoke refers to custom-made goods in contrast to goods that are ready-made. The adjective can also refer to a person who provides such goods, (e.g., “a bespoke tailor”).

In England the expression “bespoke suit” is a common way of referring to a tailor-made suit. In the context of conspicuous consumption, bespoke seems to have something to do with the desires of hedonists who don’t know what to do with their money.

Watchmakers look to bespoke design to court the super-rich:” We will offer a bespoke service where the customer has a say on everything: the material, the case, the dial, the hands,” said Thierry Andretta, president of the firm where prices for custom-made watches start at 100,000 Swiss francs ($113,000).
Gourmet dining, private flights, bespoke safaris, slimming clinics and art auctions emerging as top status symbols
The Privileged World City: Private Banking, Wealth Management and the Bespoke Servicing of the Global Super-Rich

American speakers of less extravagant means and tastes are more likely to refer to the things they special-order as “custom-made.”

Source: Daily Writing Tips