четверг, 13 марта 2014 г.

Teaching English with Infographics

What are infographics?
They are visual graphic representations of information.  Their aim is to present information (no matter how complicated it may be) in such a way that it could be understood easily and quickly.

Why use infographics in teaching English?

Obviously, because there are so many  complicated things in English that are to be understood, learnt and remembered by students with the teacher's help.
Infographics are really useful  for English teachers as they help visualise any material be it grammar, vocabulary, syntax, spelling etc. thus making it easier to understand and to remember.
The most grateful fans of your infographics are going to be visual learners and those who are just too lazy to  read long texts and study huge volumes of information.

Where do you take infographics to meet your needs?


 One way is to surf the Net. I just can't help sharing one infographics collections with you.  It's from Grammar.net.  Here is their infographic  that deals with the differences between British and American spelling. You can find much more if you go to Grammar.net.

Grammar.net [Infographic provided by Grammar.net]
 The otherway is to creare your infographics yourself.
For this you can use such tools as Infogr.am and Piktochart that are free. You can find a list of other free infographics tools here.

вторник, 11 марта 2014 г.

Small Talk (Informal)

We know by now how to greet people and how to introduce yourself and others in informal relaxed situations. But what do people usually say after the initial greetings? How do they keep the conversation going?

Let's have a look at  some useful topics and  handy expressions that you might use in a friendly informal situation after you said hello.

1) Say how long it's been since you last saw the person.
- I haven't seen you for ages!
- It's been a long time!
- I can't believe it's been so long!

2) Ask what the person is doing or has been doing.
- What are you up to?
- What've you been up to?
- What are you doing around here?
Possible answers:
- Oh, this and that.
-  Just the usual!
- Just popping into the shop.

3) Comment on your surroundings.
- This house is gorgeous!
- I really like this pub!
- It's a lovely hotel, isn't it?

4) Ask about the journey to meet you.
- Did you get here by car?
- How was the traffic?
- How was the journey?

5) Talk about the weather.
- It's a lovely day today, isn't it?
- What awful weather we are having!
- Isn't all this sunshine great?
- It's turned very cold suddenly, hasn't it?

6) Say something nice about the person's appearance.
- Your hair looks great!
- I love your dress!


суббота, 8 марта 2014 г.

Formal Introductions

All you need to introduce people informally is to give names. 

 Introducing yourself you say: 'I'm...' or 'My name's...' 
When introducing someone else you use phrases like 'This is...' or 'Meet...' 

But things are a little bit different if you are introducing people in a formal situation and trying to be very polite. Before saying 'I'm...' or 'This is...' you have to use some formal expressions. 

Introducing yourself formally you say something like this:
 - I just wanted to introduce myself. My name's...
 - I don't believe we've met before. I'm...
 - I don't think we've actually met formally yet. I'm ... 
 The formal introduction of others requires saying the following: 
- I'd like to introduce you to...
- There's someone I'd like you to meet. This is... 
- Have you met...?

There's a little more in the video below.

пятница, 7 марта 2014 г.

Formal Greetings

When you greet someone formally you try to show respect, and be very polite. That's why it's better to use longer sentences and more complicated structures. For example, instead of 'hi' you say 'good morning' and instead of 'thanks' you say 'thank you'. Besides, you can use such words as 'Sir' and 'Madam' that serve to give extra status and importance to the person you are talking to. This video shows the most useful expressions to greet someone formally.

Informal Greetings

In English there are lots and lots of phrases and expressions that can be used to greet a person in an informal, friendly situations. Here is a presentation of the most popular and useful ones as stated by the BBC presenter Jackie Dalton.