Why Is Writing More Difficult Than Speaking?

For many English learners learning to write fluently in English is much more challenging than learning to speak fluently. Even for advanced level learners, written communications can come much more slowly in English than spoken communications. There are a number of reasons for this:

Written Communication is More Formal

Writing in English needs to follow rules of grammar much more closely than in spoken English.

For example, if someone says 'Please borrow me your pen' in conversation, it's clear from the context that the speaker intended to say 'Please lend me your pen'. In written communication, words are even more important because they lack visual context. Especially if you are working in a business setting, making mistakes can cause miscommunication which might lead to problems. In conversation, you can smile and make a good impression. With writing, all you have are your words. 

Spoken Communication Allows for More 'mistakes'

Imagine if you're at a party. You might have a conversation with someone and only understand a few words. However, because you're in the context of a party, you can make al the mistakes you want. It doesn't matter. Everyone is having fun. When it comes to writing, there's not so much room for error.

Less Reflection Goes into Spoken English than Written English

Spoken English is much more spontaneous that written English.

It's loser and mistakes don't necessarily stop communications. In writing, it's important to think about how to write to the intended audience. You need to understand who will be reading your writing. it's takes time to figure these things out. 

Expectations are Much Higher for Formal Written English

We expect more of what we read.

We expect it to be true, entertaining or informative. When there's expectation, there's pressure to perform well. With speaking, with the possible exception of giving a presentation, there's not nearly so much pressure—unless you're closing a business deal. 

Teaching Written English Skills—Tips

It is important when teaching written English skills - especially for business English - to be aware of the challenges that learners will face when learning to function in a written English environment.
The following points can be helpful when considering how to teach English writing skills:

• Acquiring speech is an unconscious act, whereas learning to write takes a conscious effort on the part of the learner. One reason why many individuals find it difficult or impossible to write is because of the necessity of learning a mapping skill in order to use written language.
• Written language must be filtered through some sort of system, this system can be phonemic, structural or representative, etc. The individual must not only learn to recognize the meaning of words orally, but also go through a process of transcribing these sounds.
• The process of transcribing sounds requires the learning of other rules and structures thereby cognizing a previously unconscious process.

Finding the Right Voice—The Hardest Trick in Writing

Another reason some individuals might find it difficult or impossible to write, is that written language takes on many different registers depending on the function of the written word. Often, these functions are totally foreign to spoken language and can thus be considered 'artificial' to the speaker. These functions are often only used in written speech and are therefore even more abstract to some individuals than the already difficult transcription of simple spoken language into an alphabet. These layers of abstraction, beginning with the transcription of oral sounds into a written alphabet and advancing to solely abstracted functions of written language, are daunting to many individuals who then understandably become frightened of the process.

In the worst cases, where individuals do not possess or do not have the opportunity to learn certain cognitive skills, an individual might become fully or functionally illiterate.

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/why-writing-more-difficult-than-speaking

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Heroic Couplets

Are you teaching advanced students? Here is a good lesson on a poetry form… 

Learn all about heroic couplets and see examples by famous poets 

by Liz Wager

Heroic couplets are paired, rhyming lines of poetry (usually iambic pentameter) found in epic/long narrative English poetry/translations. As we’ll see, there are a variety of qualities that distinguish heroic couplets from regular couplets.

What Is a Heroic Couplet?

Let’s back up a little. First of all, what is a couplet? A couplet is just two lines of poetry right next to each other. And, generally speaking, they are related, or together make up a complete thought or sentence.

Their thematic or syntactical connection is more important than their physical closeness. This example from Romeo and Juliet is a great example of a couplet:

Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow
That I shall say good night till it be morrow.

These lines from Phyllis Wheatley's "On Virtue," however are not a couple.

But, O my soul, sink not into despair,
Virtue is near thee, and with gentle hand…

This example is just two lines pulled from the middle of her poem.

So, while all couplets are two consecutive lines, not all two consecutive lines are couplets. To be a couplet, the lines have to be a unit, generally self-contained and complete.

What distinguishes a heroic couplet from a regular one? A heroic couplet is always rhymed, and usually iambic pentameter (although there is some variation of the meter). The heroic couplet is also usually closed, meaning that both lines are end-stopped (by some kind of punctuation), and that the couplet is a self-contained grammatical unit.

If this be error and upon me prov'd,
I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.

This quote from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 is a great example of a rhymed, closed, iambic pentameter couplet. It’s still not heroic, though.

Which brings us to the final qualification: context. For a couplet to be heroic, it needs a heroic setting. This is obviously a bit subjective, but in most cases, determining if a poem is "heroic" is fairly easy. 

Examples of Heroic Couplets

Here are some good example of heroic couplets from poets and poems you may have heard of.
From John Dryden's translation of Virgil's The Aeneid:
Soon had their hosts in bloody battle join'd;
But westward to the sea the sun declin'd.

Intrench'd before the town both armies lie,
While Night with sable wings involves the sky.
So let's go through our little checklist:

1. Couplets? Yes. Pairs of lines that are "closed" grammatical units.
2. Rhyme/meter? Check and check. These lines are tight iambic pentameter, and rhymed (with a slant rhyme between "join'd" and "declin'd."
3. Heroic? Yep. Nothing is more heroic than The Aeneid.  

Here's another one:
And he bigan with right a myrie cheere
His tale anon, and seyde as ye may heere.

1. Couplet? Yes. Two closed lines.
2. Rhyme/meter? Yes. Rhymed lines of iambic pentameter.
3. Heroic? These lines are from the Prologue of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. Definitely epic.

So the next time you're wondering if what you're reading are heroic couplets, just check for these three things, and you'll be all set.

The Mock Heroic and Alexander Pope

As with all influential and important literary movements and concepts, the heroic couplet has its own parody—the mock heroic, most commonly associated with Alexander Pope.
Mock heroic poems are thought to be a response to the deluge of epic, pastoral, heroic poems that were being written in the 17th century. As with any cultural trend or movement, people were looking for something new, something that would subvert the established aesthetic norms (think Dadaism or Weird Al). So, writers and poets took the form and context of the heroic/epic poem, and played around with it.

One of Pope's best known poems "The Rape of the Lock" is a quintessential mock heroic on both the macro and micro levels. Pope takes a minor transgression--the cutting of a young woman's hair by suitor, who wants a lock of her hair as a keepsake--becomes a narrative of epic proportions, complete with myth and magic. Pope mocks the heroic poem in two ways: by elevating a trivial moment into a kind of grand tale, and by subverting formal elements, namely the heroic couplet.

From the Third Canto, we get this oft-quoted couplet:
Here thou, great Anna! whom three realms obey,
Dost sometimes counsel take—and sometimes tea.

This is, in essence, a heroic couplet (closed lines, rhymed iambic pentameter, "epic" setting). But there's something symbolic happening in the second line, as well. Pope is juxtaposing the high language and voice of the Epic with everyday occurrences. He sets up a moment that feels like it belongs in Greek or Roman mythology, and then undercuts it with "and sometimes tea." By using "take" as a pivot between "high" and "low" worlds—one can "take counsel" and one can "take tea"—Pope uses the conventions of the heroic couplet and bends them to his own, comedic design.

Closing Thoughts

In both its original and played-upon forms, the heroic couplet is an important part of poetry's evolution. With its driving rhythm, tight rhyme, and syntactical independence, it mirrors the subject matter it portrays—tales of adventure, war, magic, true love, and yes, even a stolen lock of hair.

Because of its history and tradition, the heroic couplet is usually very recognizable, letting us bring a further context to the poem we're reading. If a work uses heroic couplets, what does that do for the poem? Are we supposed to read it "straight," and take the poem as part of an Epic tradition? Or are we meant to see the form contrasted with the subject matter, poking fun at conventions? Either way, being able to identify heroic couplets in a poem allows us to see how those couplets influence and shape our reading and interpreting experiences.

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/heroic-couplet

Everyday Word Collocations You Should Know

A collocation is made up of two or more words that are commonly used together in English. Many words sound plain wrong when used without their counterpart. How many can you think of?

by Kenneth Beare

 

A collocation is made up of two or more words that are commonly used together in English. Think of collocations as words that usually go together. There are different kinds of collocations in English. Strong collocations are word pairings that are expected to come together. Good collocation examples of this type of word pairing are combinations with 'make' and 'do'. You make a cup of tea, but you do your homework.

Collocations are very common in business settings when certain nouns are routinely combined with certain verbs or adjectives. For example, draw up a contract, set a price, conduct negotiations, etc.

Collocation Examples

Here are a number of common collocations in English:

make the bed -> I need to make the bed every day.
do the homework -> My son does his homework after dinner.
take a risk -> Some people don't take enough risks in life.
give someone advice -> The teacher gave us some advice on taking tests.

Here are some business collocations. These collocations are used for specific situations in business.

open an account -> Would you like to open an account at our bank?
forgive a debt -> Do you think the bank would forgive a debt?
land a deal -> We landed a deal worth $3 million.
receive a discount -> If you buy three computers you'll receive a discount.

Verb Collocations

Some of the most common collocations involve verb + noun collocations used in everyday situations.

Here are some examples of the types of verb collocations you will need to learn as you continue learning English.:

to feel free
to come prepared
to save time
to find a replacement
to make progress
to do the washing up

Please feel free to take a seat and enjoy the show.
Make sure to come prepared for the test tomorrow.
You'll save time if you turn off your smart phone and concentrate on the lesson.
We need to find a replacement for Jim as soon as possible.
We're making progress on the project at work.
I'll do the washing up and you can put Johnny to bed. 

Business Collocations

Collocations are often used in business and work settings. There are a number of forms including adjectives, nouns and other verbs that combine with keywords to form business expressions.  Here are some of the collocation examples you will find on these pages:

to key in a PIN
to deposit a check
hard-earned money
to close a deal
write up a contract
counterfeit money

Just key in your PIN at the ATM and you can make a deposit.
I'd like to deposit this check for $100.
Once you get a job, you'll know what hard-earned money really is.
I closed a deal on a new account last week.
Let's write up your contract.
Be on the lookout for counterfeit money in circulation. 

Here are two pages that provide a wide range of collocations include examples. 

• Collocations with Money
• Collocations with Equipment

Common Expressions

Collocations are often used as short expressions to describe how someone feels about a situation. In this case, collocations can be used in the adjective form, or also as emphatic expressions using an intensifier and a verb.

Here are a few examples using some of common business collocations:

positively encourage someone to do something
deeply regret the loss of someone / something
to be in an utter fury over something
to go to great lengths to do something

We'd like to positively encourage you to buy this stock.
I deeply regret the loss of your loved one.
Tom's in an utter fury over the misunderstanding with his wife.
He went to a great length to explain the situation.

Learn more of these common expressions.

• Common Adjective Collocations
• Emphatic Expressions - Strong Collocations

Get a Collocation Dictionary 

You can learn collocations from a number of resources. Academics and teachers like to use collocation databases to help study common collocation uses. However, for students one of the best tools is a collocation dictionary. A collocation dictionary is different from normal dictionaries in that it provides you with collocations commonly used with key words rather than a definition. Here is an example of a few of the collocations used with the verb 'progress':

Progress

Adverbs: nicely, satisfactory, smoothly, well  - You are progressing smoothly in this course.| further - As you further progress, you will learn more. 

Verb + Progress: fail to - He's failing to progress at work.

Prepositions: beyond - She failed to progress beyond high school. | from, through - Students should progress from this class with an improved knowledge of the subject. 

I highly recommend using the Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English published by Oxford University Press to begin using collocations as a means of improving your vocabulary skills in English. 

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/collocation-examples

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Overseas Teaching Jobs - May 30, 2017

Here are the latest English as a Second Language (ESL) * teaching jobs from around the world posted on our job board for the week of May 30, 2017. A ‘v’ after a number indicates a ‘volunteer’ position…likely unpaid. All others are presumed to be contracted and salaried positions.

Austria 2, Azerbaijan 2, Brazil 1, Bulgaria 1, Cambodia 2, Chile 5, China 200 +, Colombia 6 + 2v, Costa Rica 3, Czech Republic 7, Dominican Republic 8, Ecuador 6, France 105 +, Germany 8, Honduras 6v, Hong Kong 20 +, Hungary 1, Indonesia 12, Iraq 1, Italy 50 +, Japan 16, Kazakhstan 4, Malaysia 2, Maldives 1, Malta 1, Mauritania 3, Mexico 4v, Morocco 1, Myanmar 6, Netherlands 1, Oman 4, Poland 20 +, Portugal 5, Qatar 6, Romania 2, Russian Federation 20 +, Saudi Arabia 20 +, Singapore 4, Slovakia 2, Slovenia 1, South Korea 20 +, Spain 100 +,  Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, Thailand 10 +, Tunisia 1, Turkey 12, Ukraine 2, United Arab Emirates 1, Vietnam 24 +.

744 is the magic number this week. Spring-summer is the heaviest recruiting season for new teachers. The school years throughout Asia start in the spring. Elsewhere summer schools are ramping up and recruiting for the fall season is already underway. If you would like to teach overseas, now is absolutely the best time to dust off your resume or CV, update it and throw it in the ring. You never know what offers will come your way. If you have a degree and a good command of the English language, I can almost guarantee that you will have a selection of offers coming your way. Be sure to add anything to your resume (such as other languages spoken) that would make your experience and education attractive to schools. Remember…we can have you TEFL certified in 4-6 weeks for only $350 USD!

* Included in the jobs are also other subjects besides teaching English. The sciences, math, history, etc. are all there in some of the above locations so whatever you are good at teaching is probably available.

Most schools will reimburse your airfare, salary, medical coverage, a settling in allowance, and possibly free or subsidized accommodation, meals, Internet access and language lessons. Besides helping students and adults to learn English, what a great way to boost your own knowledge and understanding. International experience looks great on your resume, too!

What are you waiting for? Click our link today! The overseas teaching job market is Hot! Hot! Hot!

Dr. Robert W. Taylor

Dean of Studies

Sunbridge Institute of English

“Our US and Canadian registered language institute has been training people like you to teach overseas since 1998!”