Expector Smith's Posts (219)
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"Mom, I wanna go diving into the sea."
"But be careful, honey. The waves can be too powerful."
"Don't worry, Mom. Nothing'll happen."
"Well, I'll just watch here on the beach."
Susan, a college student and fan of diving, was having her summer vacation with her mother at a seaside resort. Once again, she was begging to swim in the sea and knew her mother would agree as always. A few minutes later, Susan, the apple of her mother's eye, was in the sea, diving happily.
The waves were getting larger and larger.
"Help, help, help!"
"Oh, my God." Susan's mother, who was unable to swim, rushed to her daughter. But to her surprise, a man appeared and came to the rescue.
"Thank you so much for saving me," Susan said breathlessly, still trembling.
"What happened?" The young man asked calmly.
"I, I, I got a terrible cramp," Susan answered, resting in her mother's arms...
I would like to thank Zhi Yun, Suela and Forget-me-Not for sharing their fabulous photos!
"Sea View" by Zhi Yun
"Diving" by Suela
"Keeping an eye on us" by Forget-me-Not
Tags: Challenge, Diving, Expector, Picture, Story, Writing
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My Friend: Steve, a professor from England
How we became friends: He was a patient of mine. Steve never thought he would have to have an operation in a country far from his until he suffered from an acute abdominal condition when he taught in a university of China. He said it was my English that helped him decide to undergo surgery in another county.
Why we stayed friends: When he was in hospital, he found that I was not only a professional doctor, but also a very nice person. After he was discharged from hospital, he began to write to me. And we have corresponded regularly and been friends since.
My friend's best qualities: nice, knowledgeable, talented, considerate, sympathetic
Why my friend is like family: He liked my son and taught him English. He was always there whenever my son had some questions for him.
Friendship Highlight: When he was travelling in mainland China, he kept me informed of where he was and what he found was interesting.
The last time I saw my friend we: When he last visited China in 2005.
My note:
Dear Steve,
Greetings from MyEC. How are you, my friend? I apologize for taking so long to write to you again, but I've been very busy at the hospital, and you have probably known that I'm a voluntary moderator now for my. englishclub. com. I hope everything is going well for you and your family.
I'm taking a writing challenge - this message is part of it and also a tribute to you.
Take care,
Expector
PS: Sorry for failing to upload a photo here!
Here's my top ten tips on writing blogs (just for anyone who may want to write a good blog):
1. Make sure you really know why you want to write a blog. You may just aim to share your idea, thought, opinion, feelings and so on. Or, you're trying to introduce something (a special holiday, festival, food, etc) to us.
2. Choose a proper topic. A proper topic is something you're familiar with, that you think is fun, decent or not offensive. Avoid topics you are unable to cope with or control.
3. Make your blog clear and easy to read. Use simple words. Try to avoid complex or complicated ones. Use simple sentences. Also, avoid tricky words and ensure what you write really makes sense.
4. Pay attention to the length of your blog. Your blog is not expected to be too long or too short.
5. Don't worry about the mistakes you may make when writing. Please know we all make mistakes (spelling or grammar). But we can learn from our mistakes. Making mistakes is just part of learning. For more information, check out my blog: http://my.englishclub.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-learn-from-our-mistakes
6. Proofread or edit your blog before you post it. No one likes to read something full of spelling or grammar mistakes. You should correct the obvious ones and make your blog more readable. Sometimes you may need to rewrite or regroup your sentence.
7. Know something about paragraph 'unity and coherence'. Simply put, in one paragraph you just write about one thing. For example, just in this paragraph, I'm talking about 'paragraph unit' instead of 'grammar mistakess'. And, in a paragraph, you may need to use such words as 'first', 'second', or 'firstly', 'secondly'...
8. Try to learn some grammar. Grammar might be the answer to how to write well. For more tips on grammar, see my blog: http://my.englishclub.com/profiles/blogs/do-you-find-english-grammar
9. Try to read and write more. The more you read or write, the more you improve. 'Practice makes perfect'.
10. Never copy from the Internet and don't forget to tag your blog. No plagiarism. Check out Tara's and my blogs for more information: http://my.englishclub.com/profiles/blogs/plagiarism-pledge http://my.englishclub.com/profiles/blogs/why-and-how-to-add-tags-to
Hope it helps!
Could we improve our speaking skills just by writing? I think so. Let's write a dialogue/dialog to see if it works - it can be called a speaking challenge.
A dialog is just a conversation between two or more people. Here, we just try to write down what people may actually say in a conversation.
You can write a dialog:
·on any topic, as long as it's an acceptable one.
·between student and teacher, shopper and shop assistant, woman and man, patient and doctor, A and B, and so on. You just imagine a situation where a conversation occurs.
·in a colloquial/conversational way. You can even write 'cuz' instead of 'because', just like what you do in a chat room.
Your dialog may look like this:
Michael: Do you think it's a good idea to write a dialog?
Carol: Oh, yes, sounds like fun. I'll give it a try.
Note:
·Resist the temptation to copy another person's work (No plagiarism.) Make one of your own.
·Be sure to write a nice one - please know MyEC is a decent site (No abusive language.)
·Don't pay too much attention to grammar, although it's desirable to write a dialog with correct grammar and spelling.
·If you're unsure whether your dialog is natural or idiomatic, you just put 'Would appreciate a rewrite for me.' at the end of your dialog. Chances are some other members will rewrite the dialog for you.
Now, it's your turn to write a dialog in the comment section.
When you finish writing your blog, don't forget to add tags to it.
What does 'Tags' mean? Tags are just key words about your blog.
Why do you need to add tags? Some people may need to search for a topic before they begin writing their blog. Your tags will help them to do so.
How do you add tags to your blog? Just below the 'Entry' (where you're writing your blog), you can see the 'Tags' box. You can pick some key words from your blog and put them in the box.
My tags for this blog are: tag, blog.
What is English learning like in China? Why are there so many learners of English there? You will find all the answers in the video 'Insights from China' by Daniel Emmerson. Emmerson has produced several such documentaries and inspired learners here on MyEC to learn English. I have seen some of the documentaries and really enjoyed so much watching them.
China promised an open policy in 1978 and now it has one of the most successful economies in the world. Shanghai is the business capital of China and also one of the biggest cities on the globe. Shanghai has been regarded as cosmopolis - there are a lot of multinational companies in the city. English may account for the rapid economic growth of China. People here are eager to learn English. Just as the CEO of the Spring Airlines said, 'Learning English is very important.'. English means business opportunities there.
I like the video because it has helped us understand why there are so many learners of English in China. I also like the Chinese music and the beautiful pictures of Shanghai. I'd love to watch the film once again.
* * * * *
cosmopolis: a large city inhabited by people from different countries
account for: to be the reason why something happens
When we write or speak English, we may make all kinds of mistakes - spelling, grammar, or collocation. But we can learn from our mistakes. Then, how do we learn from them? My answers are as follows:
1. Reread what you wrote or recall what you said for possible mistakes. Be aware that you may have used some words or expressions incorrectly or inappropriately. We make mistakes even when we write a simple sentence or speak an easy word. English can be so tricky. It's not a breeze for learners to choose an appropriate word. If you realize mistakes may spoil communication and you are determined to spot the mistakes, you can reread or recall something you wrote or said. If you do so, chances are you'll find what you want to. Try to spot as many mistakes as possible. Your goal is to correct them and try to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.
2. Consult a dictionary or grammar book for a right answer. When you reread what you wrote or recall what you said, you may find something wrong or inappropriate, or you may be unsure whether you used a word correctly. You can consult a dictionary or a grammar book for the right answer to your question or doubt. A good dictionary or grammar book is absolutely useful and helpful. So always have a good dictionary and grammar books nearby in case you need to consult one. Personally, I usually consult 'Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English'.
3. Ask someone else to correct your English. The key is to find the right someone to correct you. It's desirable to find a native English teacher. I know many such teachers here are willing to help you.
What do you say?
Most people want others to comment on their blogs. When they finish and publish a blog, they will be expecting some comments on it. Usually, they expect something positive, encouraging or inspiriting. They check their blogs frequently to see if there are any comments and they'll do so first thing the next day. If there is no comment, they will feel a little frustrated or even sad. Anyway, they write blogs to express their ideas, thoughts or opinion and communicate with other people. With that in mind, people usually make an effort and try to comment on other people's blogs.
On the other hand, some people don't care whether their blog gets comments or not - they just keep writing. Even when their blog gets comments, they won't respond or write back. I have no idea why they just keep writing and totally ignore the comments their blog gets.
Do you want any comments on your blog?
Dear Shen and Zhao,
I'm a fan of yours and excited to know you two are on the list of athletes who were chosen to represent China at the upcoming Winter Olympics. I like figure skating and I really know you are one of the best figure skating pairs in the world. Athough you've already been Olympic gold medal winners and suffered so much from the injuries, you are definitely gold medal hopefuls of Vancouver Olympics.
What a coincidence! When the Olympics take place in Canada next week, we'll be celebrating Chinese Lunar New Year here in China. So, I'll take this chance to wish you a very happy new year and a gold medal of pairs figure skating at the Olymics.
I can't wait to watch your beautiful performance on TV.
Best wishes,
Expector
Some people may think English grammar is important. To make a grammatically correct sentence, you need to learn grammar such as verb tenses, prepositions, countable/uncountalbe nouns, collocations and so on - it definitely takes a lot of time and effort to learn all of them. And, if you want to pass an English test such as TOEFL, IELTS, you also need to learn grammar. Thus, people here (where I live) usually spend a lot of time learning grammar and they may start to learn it from the very beginning of their learning of English.
Some other people, however, insist that taking so much time to learn grammar is useless or just a waste of time. They reason that a child who lives in an English-speaking country can speak fluently and understand what others are saying very well, but they may not know much grammar.
I'm reading another English grammar book enthusiastically.
Do you find grammar important?
In order to write a good blog, you really need to:
1. know why you want to write one. You may want to express your feelings, thoughts or opinions about something. Or you may have a good idea, a short story or some information to share. Or you just want to write a blog for yourself.
2. make sure your writing is legible/readable. No one really likes reading anything more complicated/time consuming or full of mistakes. Make your blogs succinct/concise - using simplified sentences in short paragraphs. Pay attention to your spelling and grammar.
3. proofread and edit your blogs before you publish them. You should correct the obvious mistakes. If necessary, rewrite/regroup some of the sentences to let them make sense. And, last but not least, don't forget 'paragraph coherence'.
Good luck in writing!
1. Learners should only read the blogs by native English speakers? Learners want to learn standard English (AmE or BrE). They read and learn, but, if what they read is full of grammar, spelling or expression mistakes, what's the point of reading such blogs? Maybe you don't care who the blogs are by. Maybe you just want to communicate, not only to learn English, then it's fine. Maybe you'd say blogs by native speakers contain a few such mistakes, too. What's your viewpoint?
2. Do native speakers really want to come here and leave some comments for the learners? Imagine, if your mother tongue is Spanish and you see so many learners want to learn Spanish here, do you really want to take the time and respond to any questions? In doing so, what's the benefit you'd get? So, what could be the motivation for a native speaker to come here often? No wonder, learners often value the blogs by native speakers most! What do you think?!
All the possible comments are welcome and would be highly appreciated!
Hi Eveyone,
One more question for you: Now that you know I'm not a native English speaker, do you still think Expector's English is good enough to help you learn or improve English?
I know some of the members here are not interested in reading anything by non-native English speakers. They're afraid of learning mistakes non-native speakers may make. It's quite reasonable for them to think so or do so. I even suggest reading all the blog posts or comments by native English speakers. I admit that I read all the ones by Tara. But the problem is that most native English speakers do make mistakes now and then, and it's hard for learners to spot all the ones. Tara once said 'Don't be afraid of learning others' mistake'.
