Frank DiSalle's Posts (60)

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Writing Rules! Advice From The N Y Times on Writing Well

Posted by Frank DiSalle on September 21, 2012

The Times has recently published a few features that we consider gifts to English teachers everywhere, including a summer “How To” section of the Sunday Book Review, and a new series, called “Draft,” on the art of writing, which features essays by grammarians, historians, linguists, journalists, novelists and others [More Here] :: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/writing-rules-advice-from-the-new-york-times-on-writing-well/?nl=learning&emc=edit_ln_20120920

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Why English?

Posted by Frank DiSalle on December 3, 2010
Why is it important to learn English? Why does it seem English is spoken everywhere?I gave those questions very serious thought, and even asked other people. I forgot who suggested it, but the idea that the British had a worldwide empire certainly contributed to the fact that English is nearly universal. But even though the British Empire began to fade after World War II, it is still an important language, and it is still spoken in its former colonies.This story will introduce yet another reason English spoken almost everywhere: Once, at a scientific conference, a French scientist complained, "Why are these conferences always held in English? Why do we always have to talk about science like Americans?" An American scientist walked up to him, and said, "Because if it wasn't for us Americans, we'd be having this conference in German!" I'm talking about the American soldier...Everywhere soldiers go, they make friends with children. They borrow words, and leave word behind. American soldiers have been almost every single place on earth. Since the 1890's, in war and in peace, the American soldier has visited probably every single country in the world. Did you know that the most popular - most used - foreign word in the world is "OK", an American word?Who introduced world wide telegraph, radio and television? The Americans. So, of course, their language would spread the fastest. Americans didn't invent the movie, but they did spread movies and movie making around the world. The same goes for automobiles. The inventor of the phonograph was an American, as was the inventor of the telegraph, the telephone, and the radio. So, being responsible for all these communication devices, it should come as no surprise that the English language is spoken almost everywhere.I'd like to hear what you all think of this. So I will wait to tell what I think is the final piece of the story of how English became so popular.
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Ogden's Basic English ...

Posted by Frank DiSalle on November 30, 2010
Once again, I have found an interesting site for lovers of the English language. And it's a new one for me! I'm not sure I can even describe it, but it is called Ogden's Basic English. It is based on the idea that for the most part, you can get by with 850 words, and less than a dozen rules of grammar.I like systems that make things simple.Here you will find the Word ListHere are the 10 Rules of GrammarYou'll even find The Light Side of LanguageThis site is full of information, and will provide you with hours of enjoyment!The standalone URL is http://ogden.basic-english.org/basiceng.html
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Let's Go To The Movies ! ...

Posted by Frank DiSalle on November 26, 2010
It occurred to me that you could improve your English by watching American movies, but I wasn't sure where to begin. Well, I have found something for you: An Introduction for ESL Learners: The Movie as TeacherThe movie guides are language guides, and as such, the words that are included are merely my best estimate of the vocabulary and cultural references that many advanced ESL learners would not fully understand. Obviously, every learner will have a different set of words that he or she already knows. And given this, I fully expect that many of the more advanced learners will already know a great deal of the vocabulary discussed.Here are the Movie Guides.All movie guides are available in PDF, HTML and WORD formats (PDF is best for printing).Here is the standalone link for the Movie Guides:http://www.eslnotes.com/synopses.htmlSee you at the Movies !!
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Tomorrow Is Thanksgiving Day in America ...

Posted by Frank DiSalle on November 24, 2010
Americans have celebrated Thanksgiving Day for so long, one has to be a historian to trace its roots. Now, on the fourth Thursday in November, family members come from miles around to sit down to an elaborate dinner, reminisce about family memories, and most importantly, express their gratitude.America, some people think, is a rich and prosperous country. Many people think they should be grateful for their possessions and wealth, their homes and jobs.But America is also a spiritual and religious country, and many people are grateful to their God for the happiness and peace and goodness that is in their lives.Finally, many people in America are poor or alone on Thanksgiving Day, and these people struggle to be grateful for what little they have. They try to be grateful that they are alive and well, and have food to eat, and have a roof over their head.What do you have to be grateful for? Does your country have a Thanksgiving Day, or something like it?
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Here's An Idea ...

Posted by Frank DiSalle on November 24, 2010
That should be fun and educational...I would like you to tell me what you would like to see and do, as soon as you arrive in America. Imagine you have landed in a plane, or stepped off a boat. You have a hotel room all set up for you. You have showered and eaten. You are in your preferred destination.Now what?Where do you want to go first?What do you want to see first?You'll have to tell me what city you're in, where you want to go, and what you plan to see there. Now here's the fun part: How are you going to get there? Is your English good enough? Do you know what to say, and who to say it to? Good luck!
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A Verb Tense Tutorial

Posted by Frank DiSalle on November 18, 2010
On English Page, you will find a Verb Tense Tutorial."Verb tenses are tools that English speakers use to express time in their language. You may find that many English tenses do not have direct translations in your language. That is not a problem. By studying this verb tense tutorial, you will learn to think like a native English speaker."Here is a standalone link to the Verb Tense Tutorial http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html
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A Dictionary of Medical Terms

Posted by Frank DiSalle on November 15, 2010
Medical terms are useful if you get sick or you are injured while you are in an English speaking country. Also, most medical terms come from Latin or Greek, so they teach us about the origins of many other English words.MedTerms medical dictionary is the medical reference for MedicineNet.com. Doctors define difficult medical language in easy-to-understand explanations of over 16,000 medical terms.Medterms online medical dictionary provides quick access to hard-to-spell and often misspelled medical definitions through an extensive alphabetical listing.
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A Treasure Trove of Resources For Help Learning English ...

Posted by Frank DiSalle on November 7, 2010
In the Language Directory, you will find links to free language courses, grammars, newspapers, online TV and radio stations.The link points to the English language page, but you may choose from several dozen others, so you can use your own language as a reference.Other English language resources can be added.I wonder if My English Club would be interested in adding their name to the resources?
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A Web Site For Advanced English Speakers ... and Those Who Want to Be!

Posted by Frank DiSalle on November 6, 2010
Michael Quinion is a very talented British citizen. "[He] concentrates on World Wide Words and on providing citations and advice for the Oxford English Dictionary. He also wrote a third of the entries for the second edition of the Oxford Dictionary of New Words and compiled a weekly New Words column in the Daily Telegraph."I want to draw your attention to World Wide Words . "World Wide Words tries to record at least some part of this shifting wordscape by featuring new words, word histories, the background to words in the news, and the curiosities of native English speech." It focuses on British English, but because so much of American English comes from British English, its word histories are very useful - and fun to read!So, check it out, and, if you are up to it, you can subscribe to the regular emails.Enjoy!
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Did you know ... ?

Posted by Frank DiSalle on November 3, 2010
... how easy it is to get Definitions on the Internet?If you use the Mozilla Firefox browser, you can find a definition by typing "dict" and the word you want to define, with one space in between.Ex: dict dread gives you http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?gwp=13&s=dreadIf you use the Google search engine, you can type define: and the word you want to define with no space in between.Ex: define:dread gives you http://tinyurl.com/2ced4x8Finally, to find Dictionaries of all types, using the Google Search Engine, in the Google window, type intitle:directory +dictionaryEx: intitle:directory + dictionary, using the Google Search Engine, gives you http://tinyurl.com/2cmhhonHappy Hunting !!!
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