Formal and Informal Letters or Emails

Credits: ESLBuzz

English is weird...

Punctuation Marks We Should Be Using

image credit: mental_floss

Email Writing Tips

Let's Get to Know Each Other powered by eTwinning

The eTwinning project "Let's Get to Know Each Other" was developed in the English classes at Zarco Secondary School, through an online partnership with schools of Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, Poland and Hungary, with a total number of 246 students and 14 teachers from 7 different countries across Europe.

The students created an e-magazine on different aspects of each country's identity. Together with the crucial intercultural contact, a special motivation for written tasks in English has been created by using the Twinspace as a web 2.0 tool for active learning.

You can see all the project clicking here:  https://twinspace.etwinning.net/30405.

The Life and Works of Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl, who was born almost 101 years ago, has sold more than 250 million books worldwide. What made his writing so successful?

How to build a fictional world

Some Tips for Email Writing

The evolution of storytelling

Click to enlarge and explore more infographics like this one on Graphs.net.

Setting true goals for school tasks

To check some ways of really doing it, as far as ELT is concerned, please visit:
- Writing Tasks;
- British & American Festivals and Holidays.

The Origins of Writing

This video could be part of a warm-up to any writing task. It might also be of interest to History or Art teachers to approach topics, such as, the development of civilizations, typography and calligraphy. 

Do you want to say... 'good'?

Recycling old blog posts

image credits: SearchTempo

If you’ve been blogging for a while, you’ve probably had a day where you thought, “I have nothing to blog about! I’ve blogged about everything I can imagine already!” It happens to everyone.

So what can you do? You could try clearing your head to come up with new blog post ideas or taking a break from blogging until you’re inspired again.

But those two options are passive—you’re waiting for the good idea to come to you. If you don’t have the time to wait around for inspiration, reworking some older posts to be current and relevant is a great way to get blogging again.

If you’re recycling an old post, you need to find a way to keep the content current and engaging. 

How to make your new content better than the old

1. Use analytics to see what’s working. Before picking any old post to rework, pause to reflect on what your analytics already tell you. Which posts have done the best for you? Then take a deeper look at the content in those posts—are there any common topics or formats that your readers best respond to?

By using your analytics to figure out common threads in your most popular posts and then applying them to your recycled post, your new post will be much more likely to succeed.

2. Listen to feedback from your readers. Besides checking out the numbers associated with previous posts, read through successful old posts’ comment sections for ideas on how to rework the post. Through comments and shares on social media, you may find new angles or ideas for the reworked post you wouldn’t have thought of on your own.

If you end up using reader feedback for the post, be sure to thank them—they’ll be pumped to hear that you’re listening just as much as they are.

3. Use Google Trends (formerly Google Insights). You can also use Google’s search data to spice up your content. Can your old post be seen differently in light of a current news story or trend? If you’re expanding on a topic you only briefly covered before, is it still relevant to people today? Google Trends will help you figure out just how fresh your post is and how to make it even better.

Ideas for awesome reworked, reused, and recycled posts

So now you know how to make your new posts better than your old, but what types of posts do best as reworked forms of their old selves? Here are a few ways to do it:

1. Follow up with Part 2. Have a post that did really well or drew out an intense debate? Breathe life into that old post by continuing the story or addressing unanswered questions in a new post.

2. Create a themed series. If you notice that a post format has done tremendously well, try turning it into a series. Whether you make the series a weekly post or just one that pops up from time to time, continuing a theme builds anticipation and regularity for your readers—a great way to establish a solid reader base.

3. Pull back the curtain. If you can take a personal spin on a post you’ve already written—do it! For example, if you’re a food blogger and have written a recipe that rocked, try putting together the process behind finding that recipe.

4. Reflect and add more info. You can also update an old post with new information, especially if there is a lot of time between the two.

5. Create The Ultimate Guide to Something. After blogging for a while, you probably have a ton of posts that could fit nicely together…so why not round them up into an Ultimate Guide? Ultimate Guides are great ways to get readers to discover more of your posts since you’re linking to them all in one place.

6. Get visual. Try using the same content in a new medium. Make a video explaining the post more in-depth or add an infographic to download for free. For example, if you’re a fitness blogger, you could do a video workout and a one-sheet guide of all the moves you’re doing. Your readers will enjoy seeing your awesome content in a new light.

By Ginny Soskey, in How to Reuse, Rework and Recycle Old Blog Posts, (slightly abridged) via Shareaholic

Speaking & Writing Diagnostic Activities

One of my biggest concerns with the diagnostic activities format (as with most activities in general) is how I might make the practice of speaking/writing accessible and familiar to my students so that they would recognize it as something they do, not merely an artificial exercise deployed in order to perform well in class. So I thought of creating an informal social network page through which students could communicate with me and with each other in a comfortable, quick-and-easy medium. The board seems too impersonal and “academic” for my purposes, so I'll use an imaginary page that each student will have to fill in and then present to class. 

My plan is to incorporate class discussion during those presentations, even though I assume most students won't feel comfortable enough to start their own topics...

This type of activity can be used in almost all proficiency levels with variable approaches, for example, for low intermediate/ intermediate students, I will start by showing a similar page of an imaginary student so that they can grasp for some examples and feel more confident about what they are doing.

I am convinced that creating links between course material and students' social space promotes the demystification of writing, speaking and studying the language in general. If we are facing digital natives, why not explore their natural skills?

However, I'm totally aware that this type of activity does not replace a grammar diagnostic, which tests students on their grammar knowledge and skills and informs the teacher of what aspects of grammar their students are already familiar with and what they still need to learn. Most of the times, grammar diagnostics only allow one right answer per question, are easy to mark and can be tailored to cover any level, from elementary school to the 12th form. But these assessments can be misleading: sometimes students with formal grammar training will excel on these kinds of tests, but their actual writing will be rife with grammatical errors. This is because they can recognize grammatical errors in closed situations such as a test, but when they try and construct more complex sentences on their own, they struggle to express themselves within the rigid grammar rules they know; additionally, the nature of multiple choice questions engenders the possibility of students guessing right answers by chance. This is why I prefer to engage students in a different way during the first classes: they get to know each other and they practise the four skills without even noticing it!

Funny classifieds

We have to pay attention if we are really 'saying' what we mean... Otherwise, we run the risk of joining the 'funny' section, like the following ones:

found ad @ redhotpogo

# Used Cars: Why go elsewhere to be cheated? Come here first! 
# Wanted: Hair-cutter. Excellent growth potential. 
# Wanted. Man to take care of cow that does not smoke or drink. 
# Our bikinis are exciting. They are simply the tops. 

# Auto Repair Service. Free pick-up and delivery. Try us once, you'll never go anywhere again. 

# Wanted: Preparer of food. Must be dependable, like the food business, and be willing to get hands dirty. 

# Illiterate? Write today for free help. 
# For sale: an antique desk suitable for lady with thick legs and large drawers. 
# Dog for sale: eats anything and is fond of children. 
# Lose all your weight, only $49. 

# For sale by owner. Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica. 45 volumes. Excellent condition. $1,000 or best offer. No longer needed. Got married last weekend. Wife knows everything.

# Stock up and save. Limit: one.

What is WIKI?

found pic @ ucview

Wiki is in "Ward" Cunningham's original description: "The simplest online database that could possibly work."  Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly. The first ever wiki site was created for the Portland Pattern Repository in 1995. That site now hosts tens of thousands of pages. Originally it was wikiwiki, the Hawaiian expression for "fast" or "quick" but language users tend to simplify words, therefore only wiki remained.

Wiki is unusual among group communication mechanisms in that it allows the organization of contributions to be edited in addition to the content itself. Like many simple concepts, "open editing" has some profound and subtle effects on Wiki usage. Allowing everyday users to create and edit any page in a Web site is exciting in that it encourages democratic use of the Web and promotes content composition by nontechnical users.

In ELT the uses for a wiki are incredible. You can get students to practise reading, writing, looking for information, organising it, looking for the adequate images, checking their pairs' written production and self-correcting their work. Most importantly it is an incredible tool to motivate students, less engaged in FL tasks, because they feel they are not so exposed to the class and to the teacher, having also some models/ examples online to follow or get some inspiration. To create a wiki you can use Google sites, wikispaces or any other available on the Web. In a future post, I will explain how you can adapt the collaborative spirit of a wiki so that you can evaluate written tasks individually. 

Here is an example I used with my 12th grade students:

Written Tasks 4 Professional Courses

Fast & Furious on Text Messaging

Currently the virtual colloquies are characterized by abbreviations. These abbreviations are normally used in emails, chats, instantaneous messages, and text messaging between mobile users. The virtual chat and meeting are not limited to a country or region, in this context, is important to not only know the new forms of social and linguistic interaction in the Portuguese language, but also in English.  Beyond the fast and instantaneous communication to be, the users normally talk with more than a person at the same time, therefore, the abbreviations derive from the necessity of being fast and efficient. The abbreviations try to gain time in the digital communication, an approach of the time of say. You can see below a list of the most common abbreviations in English while you are surfing the cyberworld.

AAF - as a friend AAMOF - as a matter of fact AAR - at any rate AAS - alive and smiling AATK - always at the keyboard ABT2 - about to AFAIK - as far as I know AFK - away from keyboard AFN - that’s all for now AKA - also known as AISI - as I see it ALOL - actually laughing out loud AND - any day now ASAP - as soon as possible A/S/L? - age, sex, location A/S/L/M/H? - age, sex, location, music, hobbies AYSOS - are you stupid or something B4 - before B4N - bye for now BAK - back at the keyboard BBBG - bye bye be good BBIAB - be back in a bit BBIAF - be back in a few BBIAS - be back in a sec BBL - be back later BBML - be back much later BBN - bye bye now BBS - be back soon BBSL - be back sooner or later BCNU - I’ll be seeing you BD - big deal BF - boyfriend BFF - best friends forever BFN - bye for now BKA - better known as BR - best regards BRB - be right back BRH - Be Right Here BRT - be right there BTA - but then again Btw - between you and me BTW - by the way CMF - count my fingers CNP - continued (in my) next post CP - chat post CRBT - crying real big tears CSL - can’t stop laughing CU - see you CUL or CUL8ER - see you later CUNS - see you in school CUOL - see you online CUZ - because CWYL - chat with you later CYA - see ya CY - calm yourself CYL - see you later CYO - see you online CYT - see you tomorrow DBEYR - don’t believe everything you read DEGT - don’t even go there DETI - don’t even think about it DF - dear friend DGA - don’t go anywhere DGT - don’t go there DIKU - do I know you? DIY - do it yourself DKDC - don’t know don’t care DL - dead link DLTM - don’t lie to me DMI - don’t mention it DNC - does not compute DQMOT - don’t quote me on this DUST - did you see that DYFM - dude you fascinate me E123 - easy as 123 EAK - eating at Keyboard EM? - excuse me? EMA - what is your E-mail address EMFBI - excuse me for butting in EOM - end of message EOT - end of thread EZ – easy F2F - face to face FAQ - frequently asked question(s) FAWC - for anyone who cares FC - fingers crossed FISH - first in, still here FITB - fill in the blanks FOAF - friend of a friend FOCL - falling off chair laughing FOFL - falling on floor laughing FTBOMH - from the bottom of my heart FUD - fear, uncertainty, and doubt FWIW - for what it’s worth FYI - for your information GA - go ahead GAL - get a life GF - girlfriend GFN - gone for now GGOH - got to get out of here GIWIST - gee, I wish I’d said that GL - good luck GMTA - great minds think alike GOL - giggling out loud GR - got to run GRRRR - growling GTR - got to run GTRM - going to read mail GTSY - glad to see you H&K - hug and kiss HA - hello again HAGD - have a good day HAGD - have a great day HAGN - have a good night HB - hurry back HHIS - hanging head in shame HTH - hope this helps HHOK - ha ha only joking HHOS - ha ha only being serious IAC - in any case IAE - in any event IANAC - I am not a crook IANAL - I am not a lawyer (but) IB - I’m back IBTD - I beg to differ IC - I see ICBW - I could be wrong ID10T - idiot IDGI - I don’t get it IDK - I don’t know IDKY - I don’t know you IDTS - I don’t think so IFAB - I found a bug IGTP - I get the point IHA - I hate acronyms IHAIM - I have another instant message IHNO - I have no opinion IIRC - if I remember correctly IIWM - if it were me ILU - I love you IM - instant message IMHO - in my humble opinion IMing - chatting with someone online IMNSHO - in my not so humble opinion IMO - in my opinion IMS - I am sorry INMP - it’s not my problem IOH - i’m outta here IOW - in other words IPN - I’m posting naked IRL - in real life ISS - I said so IWALU - I will always love you IYKWIMAITYD - if you know what I mean and I think you do IYKWIM - if you know what I mean IYO - in your opinion IYSS - if you say so IYSWIM - if you see what I mean J/C - just checking JAS - just a sec JBOD - just a bunch of disks JIC - just in case JK - just kidding JM2C - just my two cents JMO - just my opinion JT - just teasing JTLYK - just to let you know JW - just wondering K - okay KEWL - cool KFY - kiss for you KIR - keep it real KIT - keep in touch KOC - kiss on cheek KOL - kiss on lips KWIM - know what I mean? L2M - listening to music L8R - later LD - later, dude LDR - long distance relationship LHM - lord help me LHU - lord help us LLTA - lots and lots of thunderous applause LMIRL - let’s meet in real life LMSO - laughing my socks off LOL - laughing out loud LSV - language, sex, violence LSHMBB - laughing so hard my belly is bouncing LSHMBH - laughing so hard my belly hurts LTM - laugh to myself LTNS - long time, no see LTR - long term relationship LTS - laughing to self LULAB - love you like a brother LULAS - love you like a sister LUWAMH - love you with all my heart LY - love you LYL - love you lots

M/F - male or female M8 - mate or mates MA - mature audience MHBFY - my heart bleeds for you MIHAP - may I have your attention please MKOP - my kind of place MOOS - member of the opposite sex MOSS - member of same sex MSG - message MTF - more to follow MTFBWY - may the force be with you MUSM - miss you so much N1 - nice one N2M - not to mention NADT - not a darn thing NAZ - name, address, zip NBD - no big deal N-E-1 ER - anyone here? NE1 - anyone N-E-1 - anyone NG - new game NIMBY - not in my back yard NM - never mind NOYB - not of your business NP - nosy parents N/P - no problem NRN - no reply necessary NTK - nice to know NT - no thanks NUFF - enough said NW - no way! OBTW - oh by the way OF - old fart OIC - oh I see OL - old lady OLL - online love OM - old man OMDB - over my dead body OMG - oh my god ONNA - oh no, not again OT - off topic OTF - off the floor OTH - off the hook OTOH - on the other hand OTP - On the phone OTTOMH - off the top of my head OTW - on the way P2P - peer to peer P911 - my parents are coming! PA - parent alert PAL - parents are listening PANB - parents are nearby PANS - pretty awesome new stuff PAW - parents are watching PDA - public display of affection PDS - please don’t shoot Peeps - people PIR - parent in room PLZ - please PM - private message PMJI - pardon me for jumping in PO - piss off POAHF - put on a happy face POS - parent over shoulder POV - point of view PPL - people P-ZA - pizza QL - quit laughing QSL - reply QSO - conversation QT - cutie R&R - rest and relaxation R/t - real time RBAY - right back at ya RBTL - read between the lines RL - real life RLF - real life friend RMLB - read my lips baby RMMM - read my mail man ROL - raffing out loud ROFL - rolling on floor laughing ROTFL - rolling on the floor laughing RPG - role playing games RSN - real soon now RTBS - reason to be single RTFM - read the flipping manual RU - are you? RUMORF - are you male or female? RUUP4IT - are you up for it? RX - regards S4L - spam for life SCNR - sorry, could not resist SED - said enough darling SEP - somebody’s else’s problem SETE - smiling ear to ear SF - surfer friendly SFX - sound effects SH - same here SITD - still in the dark SLIRK - smart little rich kid SMAIM - send me an instant message SMEM - send me an E-mail SN - screen name SOMY - sick of me yet? SOT - short of time SOTMG - short of time, must go SPST - same place same time STR8 - straight STW - search the web STYS - speak to you soon SU - shut up SUP or WU - what’s up SUYF - shut up you fool SWDY - so what do you think? SWL - screaming with laughter SYL - see you later SYS - see you soon TA - thanks again TAFN - that’s all for now TAS - taking a shower TAW - teachers are watching TCOB - taking care of business TCOY - take care of yourself TFH - thread from hell TFX - traffic TGIF - thank God it’s Friday THX - thanks TIA - thanks in advance TIAIL - I think I am in love TIC - tongue in cheek TILII - tell it like it is TLK2UL8R - talk to you later TM - trust me TMI - too much information TNT - ‘till next time TOM - tomorrow TOPCA - ‘til our paths cross again TOT - tons of time TOY - thinking of you TPS - that’s pretty stupid TPTB - the powers that be TRDMF - tears running down my face TTFN - ta ta for now TTG - time to go TTT - thought that too TTTT - these things take time TTYL - talk to you later TU - thank you TWHAB - this won’t hurt a bit TWIWI - that was interesting wasn’t it? TYVM - thank you very much U-L? - you will? UV - unpleasant visual UW - you’re welcome VBG - very big grin VBS - very big smile VEG - very evil grin VSF - very sad face WAD - without a doubt WAI - what an idiot WB - welcome back or write back WC - welcome WC - who cares? WDALYIC - who died and left you in charge? WDYS - what did you say? WDYT - what do you think? W/E - whatever WEG - wicked evil grin WEU - what’s eating you? WFM - works for me WIBNI - wouldn’t it be nice if WT? - what the or who the WTG - way to go WTGP - want to go private? WTH - what/who the heck WUF - where are you from? WWJD - what would Jesus do? WWY - where were you? WYCM - will you call me? WYRN - what’s your real name? WYSIWYG - what you see is what you get WYSLPG - what you see looks pretty good X-1-10 - exciting XME - excuse me XOXO - hugs and kisses YAA - yet another acronym YBS - you’ll be sorry YDKM - you don’t know me YG - young gentleman YGBK - you gotta be kiddin’ YHM - you have mail YKW? - you know what? YNK - you never know YL - young lady YM - young man YOYO - you’re on your own YR - yeah right YSYD - yeah, sure you do YS - you stinker YTTT - you telling the truth? YVW - you’re very welcome YWIA - you’re welcome in advance YW - you’re Welcome YYSSW - yeah, yeah, sure, sure, whatever ZZ - Sleeping, Bored, Tired

The feeling for this Easter break is...

found pic @ zackhayhurst

World Poetry Day - March 21

World Poetry Day was declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) in 1999 and is celebrated today. The aim is to promote the reading, writing and teaching of poetry. According to UNESCO: "World Poetry Day is an invitation to reflect on the power of language and the full development of each person’s creative abilities."
If you are a teacher and want to encourage your students to read or write a poem, check The Guardian Teacher Network's suggestions and resources, follow this link:
The Guardian Teacher Network
photo credit: Olivander via photo pin cc

Have you already posted your Valentine's message?

Saint Valentine's Day has already begun at Pinheiro School! Access the site - Saint Valentine's @ Pine Tree - and write your Valentine's message... It's easy and an excellent way to express yourself and practise your English!

Follow this link: https://sites.google.com/a/ebspinheiro.net/st-valentines-pine-tree/ and have fun!!!