Two Useful English Teaching Tips to Help Motivate Your EFL Language Learners to Speak in Class

Tired of Dialogues?
While we’ve been discussing some additional, unique ways of motivating your English as a foreign language or other foreign language learners to engage in oral discourse or speaking activities, here are two more ways you can use to deviate from the all-too-common “dialogues” so prevalent in today’s English and foreign language classes.

1. Give a Profile
Most people like to talk about themselves, fortunately or unfortunately – depending on the situation. You can then take advantage of this natural tendency to motivate your learners to speak in class, talking about themselves, their family, their friends or some other personal aspect which they’re willing to share. From a simple profile to a more extensive narrative, the field is open for their speaking practice. Just be sure to set time, language use or other constraints that may be necessary.

2. The “How to…”
Each of us as unique individuals has a distinct set of knowledge and skills. Another way to motivate our English language learners to speak is by encouraging them to explain how to do something that they may have a unique knowledge of or skill in doing. Can one of your learners paint, play chess or poker well, write computer programs or consistently win playing computer games? How about ride a horse, camel or elephant? Maybe fix cars or motorcycles, catch fish or train animals. Whatever special skill they might have, encourage them to talk about it just like the late radio and television actor Jack Webb (pictured above) used to do.

Allow Them to Choose

Using one of these formats, you can likely always get your English or foreign language learners to speak in class, provided you allow them to choose the format they prefer, you give them accurate, detailed guidelines on what is or is not acceptable for each format, and you allow them a reasonable amount of time to prepare. If possible, include some time to do a quick scan or review of their presentation before they present their material to help fine tune the work. This will bolster their confidence and help to minimize their fears of making serious mistakes in front of the other learners – their peers. Most learners are much more afraid of being “laughed at” or “mocked” by their peers than they are of you, the English teacher.

Try allowing oral discourse or speaking practice in your English or foreign language classes using a variety of different formats like these or others you may have in mind. By doing so you’ll probably have far fewer problems with getting your English language learners motivated to speak with more fluency in class.


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 80 countries. Get your FREE E-books,"If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" or "7 Techniques to Motivate Your English Language Learners and Make Your Classes More Dynamic" by requesting the title you want at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

Motivate Your English Language Learners Using Comedy, Anecdotes and Stories

Add These Suggestions to Your “Bag of Tricks”
Inherently, most people really do like to talk. That includes your English language learners too, although sometimes you have to literally pry the speech from their frozen lips by any means necessary. Have you tried using comedy, anecdotes, stories and fairy tales to lure them into speaking activities? If not, consider adding these five suggestions to your English or foreign language teaching “bag of tricks”.

1. Tell an Anecdote
Everyone has a personal store of humorous stories, happenings or anecdotes that they’re willing to tell. With learners and teachers alike, many of these might even originate in the EFL classroom. Family, friends, romantic interludes and vacation travels can also account for a number of these.

2. Tell a Story
In many countries there is a tradition of passing down stories, fables and history through a series of verbal sessions by “Griots”, or village story-tellers. Your learners may well a few of these they’re willing to share before the class. Why not open up this option to them? There’s no problem either, with using a few small, well-chosen props to aid in the story telling exercise.

3. Narrate a Fable
It’s not only children who love stories, fairy tales and fables. Whether the origin is European, African, Latin American or Asian, your learners can try their hand at relating a well-known, or not so well-known, story or fable they know. If it originates from a local culture, it could be quite interesting for you too and is an excellent way to help to delve more deeply into the local or national culture.

4. Re-Tell a Fairy Tale
The most popular fairy tales, in practically any country, are often ones you heard or learned as a child. Allow your English language learners to try their hand at telling or re-telling these fairy tales in English using their own words, idioms, expressions and language skills to do so. They needn’t stick to the “original” version either. A change of endings, modified characters and plot twists are most welcome, thank you very much.

5. Tell a Joke
Who doesn’t enjoy humor? Everyone knows a few good jokes or a joker or two who can give you a few good jokes to tell. Go onto the internet for a slew of these. Check out your local library for collections of riddles, jokes and humorous stories that might be used to stimulate speaking practice in English class. Did you hear the one about …

So if you haven’t tried using comedy, anecdotes, stories and fairy tales to lure your English language learners and reluctant students into speaking activities consider adding these five suggestions to your English or foreign language teaching “bag of tricks”. Remember, if you have any further questions, comments or assistance, just e-mail me. I’ll be happy to help.


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 80 countries. Get your FREE E-books,"If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" or "7 Techniques to Motivate Your English Language Learners and Make Your Classes More Dynamic" by requesting the title you want at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

Illustrate Varieties of English to Your EFL Learners Using These Six Easy Resources

Developing Listening Comprehension
While your English as a foreign language learners may only get to hear perhaps two or three, there are, in fact, more than a dozen distinctive varieties of spoken English. When you are working with developing listening comprehension skills it is frequently useful to demonstrate several varieties and variations in spoken English to your English language learners.

Six Useful Sources
Considering the vast differences which can exist among English language schools and institutions world wide in regards to available facilities, most will still have some access to one or more of these resources.

• YouTube and online videos
A virtual treasure trove of resources resides online at YouTube and a host of other online video websites. You can hear and see a throng of historic figures and famous personalities to sample their speech and mannerisms.

• Audio cassettes
There are literally millions of audio archives stored online for your listening pleasure or to aid in developing your listening comprehension skills. Personally, I like the Old Time radio broadcast websites which allow you to listen to news, programs of all types from the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and on to our present day. They even have the original commercials included with many old time radio program broadcasts.

• Popular Movie clips
Whether CDs, DVDs or VHS format, short three to eight minute clips from popular movies are an excellent way to illustrate some varieties of spoken English.

• Video clips
Documentaries, interviews, educational narratives and even newscasts can be a welcomed source for many difficult-to-find spoken English varieties.

• Online Radio
Like a giant octopus gone wild, the reach of the internet is constantly expanding, spreading and growing as if alive. Now more than ever before, you can listen to live feed radio stations from around the world.

• Online Television
With broadband internet access, web surfers are no longer limited to world wide radio audio broadcasts. Televised station programming, both pre-recorded and live, are now also widely available. Stations from the U.K., Canada, the USA, India, Africa and even Australia and New Zealand, among others, are available for free online around the clock.

Online or off, you can use any or all of these six highly useful resource suggestions to demonstrate several distinctive varieties and variations of spoken English. These can prove to be invaluable in developing the listening comprehension skills of your English as a foreign language learners. And they don’t have to travel abroad to do it.


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 80 countries. Get your FREE E-books,"If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" or "7 Techniques to Motivate Your English Language Learners and Make Your Classes More Dynamic" by requesting the title you want at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

Four Terrific Ways to Motivate Your English Language Learners to Speak in Class

Getting English Language Learners to Speak in Class

If the attitude of your English language learners is anything at all like mine, you need to provide some stimulation or motivation to get them to speak or give any extended oral discourse in English in class. Fear of peer criticism or fear of “making stupid mistakes” along with a decided lack of extensive speaking practice in English are three key factors which contribute to English learners’ reluctance to speak aloud in class. The same holds true with any other foreign language which the students might be learning. To help with this, I often assign or allow learners to prepare oral discourses using a number of different formats. This way, learners can get additional speaking practice using a format they feel more comfortable with.

Here Are Four Useful Speaking Practice Formats
The ten most useful formats I’ve found to aid in motivating my EFL learners to speak in English class are the following:

1. Reciting Poetry
Learners of English or any other foreign language just love poetry in many of its forms. Even Rap is a rhyming, poetic form of sorts. Though you might not have a taste for the late Tupac Shakur (pictured above) you should be able to find something useful. Your learners can be of help with this too. Give them a selection of poets, rap artists, literary works from which to choose or allow them to come up with something on their own and it’s a sure hit.

2. Reading Aloud
Any prose text from an encyclopedia listing to an article excerpt could prove to be useful for reading aloud. A short passage from any favorite story, novel, article or other written form of authentic English will do just fine, especially if pre-selected by the learner. Remember, these need not be lengthy. An oral discourse or reading lasting not more than two to three minutes is more than enough to make a start.

3. Giving a Narrative
A speech excerpt, a newspaper piece, wholly or in part, an essay or review given as a narrative is frequently a good choice made by the learners. An oral discourse of as little as two or three minutes will often suffice for extensive English speaking practice. Treading should be done though, with gestures and expressiveness to highlight, emphasize and lend focus to key parts of the narrative.

4. Performing a Soliloquy
With access to a play, or a screen play from Shakespeare’s “To be or not to be, that is the question…” to contemporary works, even dialogue from popular movies will often spark interest in the learners to “perform” a speaking activity in front of the class. Scenes from the “Dirty Harry” film series are perennial favorites. But lots of other film scenes and many other film genres get equal time too.

A true plethora of ways exist to help motivate your English language learners to speak with more frequency and fluency in class. These four will get you started. We’ll be examining some additional options for motivating English or other foreign language learners to speak as we continue in this theme in upcoming articles.


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 80 countries. Get your FREE E-books,"If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" or "7 Techniques to Motivate Your English Language Learners and Make Your Classes More Dynamic" by requesting the title you want at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

How Using Comedy Can Help to Boost Your English Language Learners Performance

An Interesting Case Study

In a research case study at the Jefferson Institute in Washington, D.C., a group of college students was given a problem solving task. The students were divided into two groups. One group listened to comedy tapes for ten minutes prior to being given the problem solving task. The other group got nothing prior to being given the same problem solving task.

The results?

From the group that received nothing prior to the task only 20% solved the problem.

From the group that listened to the comedy tape more than 80% solved the problem!

Interesting, isn’t it? Although almost everyone enjoys a good laugh now and then.

The Comedy Format

This seems to work using a variety of input modes. The input comedy can be in the form of listening to audio tapes or Cds. Reading funny riddles and jokes or other comedy in writing seems to be effective also. The effectiveness of comedy videos, whether TV or other video (visual) format is still under study and debate as additional factors are then introduced. I’m testing the use of short audio-visual segments prior to intensive input sessions and exams for the relative effectiveness of using comedy. So far, the results have been promising.

Another form of comedy input worth mentioning is the teacher. If the teacher can slip in a good, funny story, anecdote or even a mild joke or two it often seems to serve the same purpose of having a positive effect on the learners.

Where such is possible, you might also consider posting a short comic strip or panel in the class room, on a board in the teacher’s room or classroom, even sending one attached to a class e-mail or online class posting site. There doesn’t seem to be any reason why these shouldn’t have some positive effect as well.

Why Not ...

Why don’t you start looking through your favorite comic strips for a few especially humorous ones that might even be teaching – learning related? You could post these prominently to be read by your learners or other teachers. Look for humorous essays, articles and editorials too. Many are available online and from local newspapers, magazines or printed publications. I actually subscribe to having a daily comic strip delivered to my e-mail inbox each day and eagerly look forward to what the day’s quip will be. If you’ll try inserting a bit of comedy into your class routine (and your life) each day, at the very least, it’ll help brighten your day and that of many others, including your learners. As the studies show, it can even help to boost your English language learners’ performance.


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning and English language teaching texts used in more than 80 countries. Get your FREE E-books,"If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" or "7 Techniques to Motivate Your English Language Learners and Make Your Classes More Dynamic" by requesting the title you want at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

Four Simple Tips for Learning English as a Foreign Language Where Ever You Live

Where Are You?
If you’re living in a foreign country where English might not be spoken, undoubtedly you’re finding it difficult to learn and practice on a regular basis. Here are four simple tips for helping you to learn English no matter where you may live.

Photo: A Cuna Indian woman selling hand-sewn crafts in Santiago, Panama sips Coca-Cola during a pause in sales

1. Find a study Partner or Group
“Birds of a feather flock together” as the saying goes. Try to find an English language study partner or practice group – even one online. Look and post in forums, EFL teaching sites, chat rooms or just plain advertise for an English language study partner or group, preferably in your area. How about a family member, classmate or someone at a local store, shop, business or institute? Look in the classified of English language magazines too.

2. Learn to Accept Taking Many Small Steps
You’ve heard the expression, “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, haven’t you? Well if you haven’t, you have now. Learn to appreciate making small advances in developing your English language skills. Learning just a couple or even a few words a day will soon add up to a substantially increased vocabulary in almost no time at all. Work on just one verb’s forms this week. Next week move on to another, then another and another, etc.

3. Be Sure to Allow Yourself to Have Fun
You’re absolutely allowed to enjoy learning English too, you know. Play games online in English or find one or more of the numerous “activity books” available worldwide that allow you to practice vocabulary-building, letter or word unscrambles and a myriad of other verbal-linguistic English language skills. Board games will be a great help too. “Sorry”, “Scrabble” or “Monopoly” anyone?

4. Get Help Where ever You Can Find It
Whatever you do, don’t be bashful in looking or accepting help in acquiring English as a second or foreign language. It can be a long and lonely road to learning a foreign language like English, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be. Use as many different activities, exercises, techniques, strategies and methods as you possibly can. If you need more suggestions, further help or just want to practice your English language writing skills a bit, you can always drop me a quick e-mail and ask a question or two. I’m always happy to help.

Don’t Ever Give Up
Finally, don’t ever stop in your quest to acquire your new language. Nobody ever said that learning English, or any other foreign language for that matter, was an easy task. And if someone does tell you that – well, it simply isn’t true. Just keep plugging away and making progressive steps – great and small. You’ll continually improve your English language communicative skills faster and sooner than you might think.


For some of my greatest tips, tricks and techniques for quickly and easily learning virtually any of the world's 6912 living languages just go to:
http://www.escapeartist.com/e_Books/Learn_a_Foreign_Language/Learn_a_Foreign_Language.html

Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. For more information on the lucrative, fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, get your copy of his no-cost, full multi-media, hypertext-linked pdf ebook, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know” by sending an e-mail to lynchlarrym@gmail.com with "free ELT Ebook" in the subject line. Need professional, original content and photos or images for your blog, newsletter, e-zine or website? Want more information, have a comment or special request? Contact the author by e-mail for a prompt response.

Poorly Equipped or Untrained English Language Teachers and What We Can Do About Them

Poorly Equipped or Untrained English Teachers

For much too long a time, there was a disturbing tendency among English language institutes in a number of countries, to immediately contract as “English teachers”, anyone who showed up and could communicate in some way in the English language. This included even native English speakers who, although they were unquestionably English speakers, had little or no knowledge of teaching, and no skills or techniques with which to impart their native tongue to others. Simply being able to speak English doesn’t make you an English teacher as an untold number of EFL learners has found out the hard way. There simply are no shortcuts here. Teacher training of basically qualified practitioners is called for. Whether using INSET or external training media, teachers much continually become more professional and qualified to perform in-classroom tasks. Ultimately, responsibility falls on teachers, administration and the learners themselves to resolve issues in this area.

Low-Quality in Learning or Expectations

Another thorn in the side of the English or foreign language teaching and learning “industry” is the proliferation of “language schools” as a “cash cow” or “cottage industry” That is, a “language institute used for the sole purpose of cranking out “profits” from an expansive sea of English or other foreign language learners. Considered to be nothing more than a “side business” in many locales, there is absolutely no regard for quality, standards of teaching / learning or anything else except the collection of tuitions and fees. “Teachers” lacking knowledge or skills of any type are thrown in with learners desperate to acquire foreign language skills result in the detriment of the process to all. This is yet another area where responsibility falls on teachers, administration and the learners themselves to resolve issues. EFL and foreign language learners, don’t waste your time and money. Taking “classes” in a poor, low-quality institution serves none of your interests.

Your Ideas, Suggestions and Comments, Please

While it would be absolutely impossible to provide detailed answers to such critical, world-wide problems in the English language teaching and learning class room here, we can recognize our limitations and constraints, and collectively make an effort to address and overcome them. If you have ideas on any of these problem topics, feel free to share them in comments, e-mails, forums, ELT conferences and teacher meetings. Who knows, your voice may be just the one to break open the problem with a universally workable approach or solution.


For some of my greatest tips, tricks and techniques for quickly and easily learning virtually any of the world's 6912 living languages just go to:
http://www.escapeartist.com/e_Books/Learn_a_Foreign_Language/Learn_a_Foreign_Language.html

Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. For more information on the lucrative, fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, get your copy of his no-cost, full multi-media, hypertext-linked pdf ebook, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know” by sending an e-mail to lynchlarrym@gmail.com with "free ELT Ebook" in the subject line. Need professional, original content and photos or images for your blog, newsletter, e-zine or website? Want more information, have a comment or special request? Contact the author by e-mail for a prompt response.

Preparing Unique Flash Cards to Stimulate Your English Language Learners Vocabulary

Any Experienced EFL Teacher Knows

Any experienced EFL teacher knows that flash cards in several different forms are not only handy and useful in the English language learning classroom, but are highly effective, versatile and fun. They’re also cheap to acquire or produce and, in fact, could even be made by the learners themselves.

They can be used to drill learners in the English (or other foreign language) alphabet, placed face down for concentration games as well as being used to memorize vocabulary elements, images, phrases or even grammar aspects. Indeed, what class room could be considered to be fully equipped without at least one or two sets of language element-related flash cards? You can prepare digital versions of your favorites for use online.

Useful and Versatile

The usefulness and versatility of flash cards virtually assures that they will never become “outdated” as an EFL or foreign language learning didactic tool. But with a new twist, an added “spin” or two along with a dash of imagination, they leap to the fore as a welcome addition to the English teaching repertoire of any ELT professional. The idea is to “think outside the box” just a bit and come up with a deck of flash cards which is more creative than your current ones. What do your English language learners like? What are their interests, favorite actors, actresses, entertainers, comic book or cartoon characters and sports personalities? Who’s “hot” in the news or in the minds of your English learners? Your English language learners’ ages, grade levels and interests will determine what’s most useful for them. Why not try using these characters and personalities as flash card images?

For Example, How About …

How about something more intriguing like:

• “A” is for Angelina Jolie, Abraham Lincoln, Al Capone or Antonio Banderas
• “B” is for Batman, Barney, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis or Bart Simpson

There’s also Bill Gates, Bob Marley, Mr. Bean and Bugs Bunny – get the idea?

• “D” is for Princess Diana, Dare Devil or Dexter
• “E” is for Einstein, Evel Knievel, Elvis Presley or Elton John
• “F” is for the Fantastic Four, Felix the Cat, Fidel Castro or Frank Sinatra
• “G” is for George Clooney or George W. Bush
• “H” is for Homer Simpson, Halle Berry or Harrison Ford
• “I” is for Ironman
• “J” is for Julia Roberts, Juanes, James Bond or Juan Pablo Montoya
• “K” is for Kaliman
• “L” is for the Lion King
• “M” is for Michael Jackson, Malcolm X, Marilyn Monroe or Michael Jordan

There’s also Mickey Mouse, Mike Tyson, or Martin Luther King

• “O” is for Oprah Winfrey or 007
• “P” is for Pele, Pamela Anderson, Pokemon, Paris Hilton or the Power Puff Girls
• “S” is for Shakira, Shaggy, Superman, Spiderman or Snow White

There’s also Shakespeare, Salvador Dali or Stan and Oliver

• “T” is for Tupac Shakur
• “U” is for Underdog
• “W” is for Winnie the Pooh or Whoopi Goldberg
• “X” is for the X-men
• “Z” is for Zidane or Zorro

These are just some ideas for starters. Well, you didn’t expect me to do ALL the work for you now, did you? Surely you get the idea and your English learners will happily fill in the rest of these and many, many others for you. Don’t worry, this will truly be a snap. Try this with your English or other foreign language classes and you’ll have one or more sets of “celebrity” flash cards ready to use by this time next week.


For some of my greatest tips, tricks and techniques for quickly and easily learning virtually any of the world's 6912 living languages just go to:
http://www.escapeartist.com/e_Books/Learn_a_Foreign_Language/Learn_a_Foreign_Language.html

Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. For more information on the lucrative, fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, get your copy of his no-cost, full multi-media, hypertext-linked pdf ebook, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know” by sending an e-mail to lynchlarrym@gmail.com with "free ELT Ebook" in the subject line. Need professional, original content and photos or images for your blog, newsletter, e-zine or website? Want more information, have a comment or special request? Contact the author by e-mail for a prompt response.

Three Critical Problems in English Language Teaching and Learning and What to Do About Them

What Can You Do?
English language students, you can’t live with them, you can’t do without them. What’s a frustrated English as a Foreign or Second language teacher going to do? English language teachers, there are good ones, so-so ones and then there are those that justice would only prevail if they were permanently excused from the classroom. So what’s a near-desperate English as a foreign language learner to do?

Critical Problems
Here are the first three of the English language learning classroom’s most critical problems with comments on what might be done in dealing or managing each one. We’ll continue the discussion of the final two critical problems in ELT in a second article.

1. Lack of Learner Motivation
Students skip class, and when they do show up it’s likely due to fear of failure more than anything else. They may lack any semblance of attention during class, chatting with classmates, doodling in their note books or, (gasp!) in their textbooks. What experienced English or other foreign language teaching professional hasn’t faced the problem of reluctant, unmotivated learners? One key to increasing motivation is to use activities matched to the personalities, learning styles and characteristics of the learners as often as practically possible.

2. Insufficient Time, Resources and Materials
You know the old adage, “you can never be too rich, too thin or have enough English or foreign language vocabulary. So what can you do when charged with teaching English or a foreign language in only one or two hours per week? One of the only times that was ever successfully accomplished was with the pouring out of Holy Spirit on the apostles during Pentecost. (Acts 2:1 – 11) Add too little time to a decided lack of resources and virtually zero other resources in many third-world classrooms and you have a critical teaching / learning situation indeed. But there are ways, even on the lowest budget, of producing virtually free or very inexpensive English language teaching and learning aids for use in the EFL or foreign language classroom.

3. Over-Crowded English Classes
The number of learners in a class room can range from one, for those who teach individual private learners, to 15 or twenty learners in a typical classroom up to “multitudes of 35 or forty or even fifty or more learners packed into a language leaning situation. Forget anything even remotely resembling “individual attention”. Either the throng “gets it” or they don’t with little available to the teacher. When I’m faced with over-sized groups I immediately implement strategies using choral, small group and pair work to help in lessening the load on both me and my large group of learners. I also separate out a few of the more “advanced” learners to help me with group work elements. It doesn’t solve all the problems, but it’s a good start.

Your Ideas, Suggestions and Comments, Please
While it would be absolutely impossible to provide detailed answers to such critical, world-wide problems in the English language teaching and learning classroom here, we can recognize our limitations and constraints, and collectively make an effort to address and overcome them. If you have ideas on any of these problem topics, feel free to share them in comments, e-mails, forums, ELT conferences and teacher meetings. Who knows, your voice may be just the one to break open the problem with a universally workable approach or solution.

For some of my greatest tips, tricks and techniques for quickly and easily learning virtually any of the world's 6912 living languages just go to:
http://www.escapeartist.com/e_Books/Learn_a_Foreign_Language/Learn_a_Foreign_Language.html

Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while traveling for free. For more information on the lucrative, fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, get your copy of his no-cost, full multi-media, hypertext-linked pdf ebook, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know” by sending an e-mail to lynchlarrym@gmail.com with "free ELT Ebook" in the subject line. Need professional, original content and photos or images for your blog, newsletter, e-zine or website? Want more information, have a comment or special request? Contact the author by e-mail for a prompt response.

Five Top Tips for Learning English as a Foreign or Second Language

There are Many Ways
While there are almost as many combinations of ways to learn English as there are English language learners, one thing is for sure. That is that no single method or combination of techniques or methods is “best” for everybody. With that said, I’d like to offer you these top ten tips for learning English as a foreign or second language.

1. Immerse yourself in English whenever possible
If you’re trying to learn English while still living in a non-English speaking country or foreign environment, you’re already a bit “handicapped”. You need to try to surround and immerse yourself in English as often and as much as possible through music, TV, radio, videos, friends and whatever else you can.

2. Talk with other English speakers
Where are the English-speakers where you live? Where might English-speaking ex-pats “hang out”? Where ever and whenever you can seek out English speakers and engage them in conversations. Loin clubs, organizations or attend meeting and social gatherings where English speakers congregate or might be found.

3. Practice in some way each and every day
However you can manage to do it, you absolutely MUST practice everyday. You can easily use a wide variety of methods to accomplish this. Watch a video or television program in English. Listen to music on the radio, talk shows or news in English too. You can chat with an English speaker, native or not. Read the news, sports results or celebrity gossip online in English. Slide into an English language chat room or forum of interest to you, in English, of course.

4. Develop a Taste for the Culture
It’s almost impossible to separate language from culture, so use it to deepen you knowledge, skills and understanding of the English language. Do you know how to play baseball? How about hockey or Cricket? Well then, how’s your knowledge of Lacrosse, American football or even basketball for that matter? Are familiar with regional foods of the USA, Canada, the UK or Australia and New Zealand? Boning up on the culture will invariably get you to learn more English in context using content-based learning.

5. Don’t Emphasize Just One Skill
Contrary to what some schools, institutes and English language teachers advise, I don’t recommend “focusing on one particular” English language skill. When you practice speaking or reading aloud, your listening comprehension skills improve. If you listen and repeat a spoken discourse selection, your speech in English will also improve – sometimes dramatically in a relatively short time. Reading will improve writing skills and writing practice will aid your reading comprehension abilities.

Use These Tips
Use these tips to help springboard your English language learning efforts and you’ll soon begin to notice an increase in your communicative abilities. If you have any further questions, problems or need an additional “boost” just drop me a quick e-mail. I’ll be happy to help.


For some of my greatest tips, tricks and techniques for quickly and easily learning virtually any of the world's 6912 living languages just go to:
http://www.escapeartist.com/e_Books/Learn_a_Foreign_Language/Learn_a_Foreign_Language.html

Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. For more information on the lucrative, fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, get your copy of his no-cost, full multi-media, hypertext-linked pdf ebook, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know” by sending an e-mail to lynchlarrym@gmail.com with "free ELT Ebook" in the subject line. Need professional, original content and photos or images for your blog, newsletter, e-zine or website? Want more information, have a comment or special request? Contact the author by e-mail for a prompt response.

Make Your Own Dictionary to Help Yourself to Learn a Foreign Language Faster Than Ever

Make Your Own Personal Dictionary

If you can get your hands on a dictionary, a bilingual one or a target language only dictionary, you’ll be in the clover when learning English or another foreign language. Be sure to highlight new words you need from reading through a short target language magazine or newspaper article. Or you can make handy little flashcards with today’s group of words on one side and their meanings in English (or your Mother tongue) on the other side. Tuck a few of these in your pocket or purse to quickly refer to as you go through the day’s activities. You’ll pick up essential vocabulary on a daily basis. In scant weeks you’ll be using your flashcards less and less as you internalize the new vocabulary. When the first batch is “learned”, start another batch.

Remember, they say that you can never be too rich, too thin or have enough foreign language vocabulary.

Foreign language learner and British ex-pat Kate Peckitt now living and teaching in New Zealand relates, “When I was trying to learn Finnish it was just so different. I started making up one of those little spiral-bound note pads with new words and phrases from everywhere – from street signs to supermarket and store aisle labels, names and just anything I ran across in the course of my day.”

Be sure to include frequently-used phrases and useful sentences on your vocabulary flashcards too. Write grocery lists, appointments, diary entries, to-do lists and reminder notes in your new language. Keep at it. “Slow and steady always wins the race”, as Self-Improvement Guru Anthony Robbins quotes adding, “Most people over estimate what they can do in a year and they under-estimate what they can achieve in a decade or even a lifetime.”

He adds, “Most New Year’s resolutions fail because people tend to want to do it all overnight.”

Remember the tale of the Tortoise and the Hare? The key to success is taking small, but frequent and consistent steps.


For some of my greatest tips, tricks and techniques for quickly and easily learning virtually any of the world's 6912 living languages just go to:
http://www.escapeartist.com/e_Books/Learn_a_Foreign_Language/Learn_a_Foreign_Language.html

Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. For more information on the lucrative, fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, get your copy of his no-cost, full multi-media, hypertext-linked pdf ebook, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know” by sending an e-mail to lynchlarrym@gmail.com with "free ELT Ebook" in the subject line. Need professional, original content and photos or images for your blog, newsletter, e-zine or website? Want more information, have a comment or special request? Contact the author by e-mail for a prompt response.

How to Read Your Way to Better English or Foreign Language Proficiency

First stop, the Library

So, we’re improving our English or learning a foreign language are we? Then our first stop is the library. You’ll need to track down a decent grammar book in the target language and a variety of relatively short-length reading material in the target language too. Both of these resources may be readily on hand at the local library, and at little or no cost, as well. The grammar book will be a useful guide through those rough spots you’ll hit when the target language grammar differs substantially from English or your native tongue. But make no mistake, it’s not “the bible” and you shouldn’t overburden yourself with grammar rules and regulations. Your grammar book is a handy guide for occasional reference. Use it accordingly.

The Structured Type
“I’m an very structured type of person so I definitely needed to have a grammar book to help me with the structure of Dutch and then German which are very strict in their application grammar rules”, adds American ex-pat Kayleigh Garman now living and teaching English in Istanbul, Turkey. “That also let me go on to learn Danish using many of the same methods I’d picked up from studying and using my other foreign languages.” Kayleigh speaks seven languages now. He must be doing something right.

Cochimi or Kukapa, Anyone?
A copious variety of entertaining magazines exists in most major languages and unless you’re learning Cochimi or Kukapa, you should eventually be able to find something. Short, newsflash type articles are best at first. A newspaper, general interest magazine, the Bible, brochures, flyers, and even – oh yeah, comics can help you along the path to fluency in your new tongue.

Though you might be able to wade through one or more of these publications in a matter of a few minutes, your personal satisfaction at having done that will be priceless. Copies of foreign language magazines are available from newsstands, libraries, airline offices, consulates and embassies, bookstores, universities, language institutes, ethnic stores, shops, travel agencies and restaurants, by subscription and online.


For some of my greatest tips, tricks and techniques for quickly and easily learning virtually any of the world's 6912 living languages just go to:
http://www.escapeartist.com/e_Books/Learn_a_Foreign_Language/Learn_a_Foreign_Language.html

Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. For more information on the lucrative, fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, get your copy of his no-cost, full multi-media, hypertext-linked pdf ebook, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know” by sending an e-mail to lynchlarrym@gmail.com with "free ELT Ebook" in the subject line. Need professional, original content and photos or images for your blog, newsletter, e-zine or website? Want more information, have a comment or special request? Contact the author by e-mail for a prompt response.

How long does it take to learn English or Other Foreign Language?

Most people believe that to learn to speak a foreign language like English well, they need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars and pass through years learning grammar, vocabulary and practicing before they can develop any fluency.

How long does it take to learn English or another foreign language?
People think they need to struggle with long vocabulary lists, grammar rules and irregularities and memorization of irregular verb lists and language forms that only tend to distort, twist and confuse you. You are sheepishly led to believe that only after all this can you hope to "speak" any English, French, Spanish or whatever other foreign language you may wish to learn.

THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE.

Unfortunately, in many societies, many "institutions" use English or foreign language teaching only as a vehicle to make more and more money. Their interest is NOT in you learning English or a foreign language as quickly, fluently and easily as possible. Their interest is primarily in getting more and more of your tuition money for English language classes. They may not have native language speaking teachers or their teachers (native English speakers or not) may not be trained as English or foreign language teaching professionals.

This may help to explain why many people can "study English" or Spanish, French or another foreign language for two, three, five or more YEARS without any substantial progress. Why? Because if you ever do "learn English" or the foreign language you’re studying you won't need to pay them any more money. They won't make another peso or cent off of you.

So what?

Well …

They have bills to pay.
They have teachers who need a weekly paycheck.
They have company expenses.
They need profits to stay in business.

So then, what's their incentive to have you quickly become fluent in English or whatever the foreign language you’re studying is?

Think about that. Then answer the question for yourself.

Integrating into an English or Foreign-Language-Speaking Society
NEVER in my nearly 20 years of English language teaching experience have I had a student more than 10 months to one year. After that they really don't need me any more! They have the skills to continue, grow and develop their English language speaking skills for the rest of their life - for whatever reason they might need.

Many of my students don’t even need ten months or a year. They’re off – integrated into American or Canadian society after a much shorter time. Not with “perfect” English mind you, but with solidly-based English language acquisition skills that will enable them to continue on their own at their own pace for as long as they need.

Consider This

In much of Europe, many parts of Asia and on the African continent, many “ordinary people” like you can fluently speak three, four or more languages quite easily. They don’t need or take years of “studying” each language to develop conversational fluency either. If they did, it could be years before they could even “chat with the neighbors”! Even children in many parts of Europe laugh, talk and play together in two or three different languages while still being as young as five, six or seven years old. Are they any smarter or better than you?

Most certainly not!

If you truly want to learn and effectively communicate in English or another foreign language in the shortest possible amount of effort and time, you must be selective in how you go about it.

For some of my greatest tips, tricks and techniques for quickly and easily learning virtually any of the world's 6912 living languages just go to:
http://www.escapeartist.com/e_Books/Learn_a_Foreign_Language/Learn_a_Foreign_Language.html

Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. For more information on the lucrative, fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, get your copy of his no-cost, full multi-media, hypertext-linked pdf ebook, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know” by sending an e-mail to lynchlarrym@gmail.com with "free ELT Ebook" in the subject line. Need professional, original content and photos or images for your blog, newsletter, e-zine or website? Want more information, have a comment or special request? Contact the author by e-mail for a prompt response.

The Top Ten Reasons to Read “You Can Learn a Foreign Language”

How Embarrassing!

While traveling, studying or living abroad have you ever had to say:

“Excuse me, what did you say?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t speak any Togalog.” (or insert other foreign language here)

“Pardon me, can you tell me what this says?”

If you have any need whatsoever to make use of a foreign language, whether to read signs, labels, newspapers, magazines, business cards, notes or other written material posted all around you, take heart. If you need to speak in a foreign tongue, to neighbors, students, store keepers, at the market, grocery store, news stand or in the park to that attractive passerby, take heart. If you need to understand what’s coming out of the speakers of your TV, radio, stereo or someone else’s mouth whoever they may be (like a policeman, doctor or nurse perhaps) while they speak in their native language, take heart. If you have to write or read a grocery list, a letter or a love note in a language that isn’t yours - yet, take heart.

“You Can Learn a Foreign Language: Tested Techniques Anyone Can Use to Learn Any Foreign Language“ will help you to blow through the process of developing communicative fluency in a foreign language faster and more easily than almost anything else you may now have available. This is with the exception of having a foreign language speaking lover, of course. Here are the top ten reasons that you, yes you – should consider reading this full, multi-media, illustrated and hypertext-linked e-book at your earliest convenience.

1. You can learn in your own special ways

2. You can learn at your own pace

3. You will learn practical words, phrases and language you can use immediately

4. You practice you new foreign language in a variety of different ways

5. There’s NO need for you to worry about stilted grammar lessons

6. You can forget about boring vocabulary drills

7. You’ll improve your memory and recall of new words and phrases almost instantly

8. You will develop multiple language skills all at the same time

9. You can have fun learning and practicing your new language – starting from the very first day!

10. You can let our experience work for you so you speak and communicate in a minimum of time


No matter where you live or what you may need to learn a foreign language for, this affordable, easily-accessed publication can help you manage your foreign language fluency problems. As a foreign language learning professor and intellectual development specialist with nearly twenty years experience in helping thousands of “hopeless cases” develop communicative fluency in a foreign language, I can say no matter what your age or learning difficulty might be, you can get the help you need.

But hey, you don’t have to take my word for it, see for yourself with absolutely no obligation. Just click on the link or paste this link into your browser and go to: http://www.escapeartist.com/e_Books/Learn_a_Foreign_Language/Learn_a_Foreign_Language.html

These Additional Four Factors Can Also Negatively Impact English EFL or ESL Teaching and Learning

Additional Critical Impact Factors

Some of the key factors English or Foreign Language teachers face can include the following:

• Large class sizes

• Limited time

• Insufficient resources

• Mixed ability students

• Students with learning disabilities

• Behavioral problems

• Administrative demands

• Personal restrictions


In continuing, let’s consider the last four factors in turn and how they too can negatively impact an English EFL, ESL or foreign language teaching and learning class room setting.

Students with learning disabilities
On occasion, learners with have known or undiagnosed learning disabilities when they come to English class. They may be inadequately prepared or academically unprepared for the rigors and discipline they face when attempting to acquire a foreign language as young learners, teens or adults. This can strongly impact the teacher who may now be expected to compensate for deficiencies of learners while maintaining an “acceptable” pass rate of English or other foreign language acquisition skills.

Behavioral problems
While these can often be linked to external or motivational factors, behavioral problems can be highly disruptive in a foreign language class room setting. If behavioral problems result from learning disabilities, the disruption can be compounded beyond what the teacher may be able to successfully or practically cope with. Violence, inattention, excessive cross-talk with other learners, absenteeism, physically moving around the class room and other distractions are but a scarce few of the problems related to this category.

Administrative demands
“Enough is enough!” Teachers often cry when the necessity for completing numerous forms, surveys, permission slips, highly detailed attendance records or over-zealous “fund-raising” campaigns are required of them. A teacher’s job is to teach and while certainly, some administrative procedures must be maintained, all too often administrative demands wreak havoc in the EFL teacher’s lesson plans.

Personal restrictions
Each of us on occasion needs to attend to personal matters, go for medical or dental appointments. We get sick; catch colds or the flu, sprain an ankle, break a bone or suffer from one or more f a myriad of health or social problems. We suffer from stress, have family problems or even become distraught over the ailments of a loved one or pet. Any or all of these can affect our class room performance, unwilling though we may be to allow it to do so.

These final four factors that we have considered here can also have a substantial impact on the effectiveness of the English EFL or ESL language teacher. As stated earlier, with more and more students in fewer and fewer classes and even those classes are expected to be taught with less and less resources or fewer and fewer hours. The results however, both on the part of learners and the administration, is to produce better and better English language production skills. The need then still, is for solutions to an ever-worsening series of growing problems. This will require the full cooperation of both teachers, administrators and to some extent, the learners themselves.

Good luck to us all. We'll need it.


Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. For more information on the lucrative, fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, send for his no-cost, full multi-media, hypertext-linked pdf ebook, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know”. Send an e-mail with "Free ELT EBook" in the subject line to: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

These Additional Four Factors Can Also Negatively Impact English EFL or ESL Teaching and Learning

Additional Critical Impact Factors

Some of the key factors English or Foreign Language teachers face can include the following:

• Large class sizes

• Limited time

• Insufficient resources

• Mixed ability students

• Students with learning disabilities

• Behavioral problems

• Administrative demands

• Personal restrictions


In continuing, let’s consider the last four factors in turn and how they too can negatively impact an English EFL, ESL or foreign language teaching and learning class room setting.

Students with learning disabilities
On occasion, learners with have known or undiagnosed learning disabilities when they come to English class. They may be inadequately prepared or academically unprepared for the rigors and discipline they face when attempting to acquire a foreign language as young learners, teens or adults. This can strongly impact the teacher who may now be expected to compensate for deficiencies of learners while maintaining an “acceptable” pass rate of English or other foreign language acquisition skills.

Behavioral problems
While these can often be linked to external or motivational factors, behavioral problems can be highly disruptive in a foreign language class room setting. If behavioral problems result from learning disabilities, the disruption can be compounded beyond what the teacher may be able to successfully or practically cope with. Violence, inattention, excessive cross-talk with other learners, absenteeism, physically moving around the class room and other distractions are but a scarce few of the problems related to this category.

Administrative demands
“Enough is enough!” Teachers often cry when the necessity for completing numerous forms, surveys, permission slips, highly detailed attendance records or over-zealous “fund-raising” campaigns are required of them. A teacher’s job is to teach and while certainly, some administrative procedures must be maintained, all too often administrative demands wreak havoc in the EFL teacher’s lesson plans.

Personal restrictions
Each of us on occasion needs to attend to personal matters, go for medical or dental appointments. We get sick; catch colds or the flu, sprain an ankle, break a bone or suffer from one or more f a myriad of health or social problems. We suffer from stress, have family problems or even become distraught over the ailments of a loved one or pet. Any or all of these can affect our class room performance, unwilling though we may be to allow it to do so.

These final four factors that we have considered here can also have a substantial impact on the effectiveness of the English EFL or ESL language teacher. As stated earlier, with more and more students in fewer and fewer classes and even those classes are expected to be taught with less and less resources or fewer and fewer hours. The results however, both on the part of learners and the administration, is to produce better and better English language production skills. The need then still, is for solutions to an ever-worsening series of growing problems. This will require the full cooperation of both teachers, administrators and to some extent, the learners themselves.

Good luck to us all. We'll need it.


Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. For more information on the lucrative, fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, send for his no-cost, full multi-media, hypertext-linked pdf ebook, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know”. Send an e-mail with "Free ELT EBook" in the subject line to: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

Four Factors Which Can Negatively Impact English Language Teaching and Learning

Pity The Poor English Language Teacher?

The poor English teacher of today, with so many demands on their time and expectations. At times we hardly know where to turn. There are more and more students in fewer and fewer classes and even those classes are expected to be taught with less and less resources or fewer and fewer hours. The results however, both on the part of learners and the administration, is to produce better and better English language production skills.

Some Critical Impact Factors

Some of the key factors English or Foreign Language teachers face can include the following:

• Large class sizes

• Limited time

• Insufficient resources

• Mixed ability students

• Students with learning disabilities

• Behavioral problems

• Administrative demands

• Personal restrictions


Briefly, let’s consider each one in turn and how its negative impact on English or foreign language teaching and learning is felt.

Large class sizes
How many learners are in your EFL or ESL classes? 10, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50 or even more? Average class sizes continue to sneak upwards as administrators attempt to extract the maximum profits from gross institute or departmental revenues. The EFL or ESL teacher then is caught in the middle struggling to teach English or foreign language skills to a growing number of learners in each class group.

Limited time
Ouch! According to statistical data from language research institutes, the minimum number of hours for an English EFL, ESL or foreign language class to be successful is around five – that’s the minimum, they say. In an increasing number of universities, language institutes and primary / secondary schools, the class room contact hours are going down. Many such places now pose learners with only three hours or less per week of actual language instruction.

Insufficient resources
“How many of you have all the resources you need to teach your English classes?” When I posed this question to a group of my students in an EFL Teacher training course, none answered to the affirmative. Not only do they lack sufficient contact hours, but are lacking sufficient teaching resources as well.

Mixed ability students
No matter what level you may teach from pre-kinder to kinder, from primary to secondary school or at the university and adult levels, learners within a particular course group will be of varying or mixed ability. There is virtually no such thing as a “homogenous” group of learners in a class. Even when learners come from the same socio-economic background, are from the same country, ethnic or language group there are bound to be vast inequalities in their abilities.

These four factors can have a substantial impact on the effectiveness of the English EFL or ESL language teacher. With more and more students in fewer and fewer classes and even those classes are expected to be taught with less and less resources or fewer and fewer hours. The results however, both on the part of learners and the administration, is to produce better and better English language production skills. The need then is for solutions to an ever-worsening series of problems. This will require the full cooperation of both teachers, administrators and to some extent, the learners themselves. Some additional factors which can negatively impact the EFL or ESL class room, teaching and learning will be addressed in the next part of this series.

Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. For more information on the lucrative, fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, send for his no-cost, full multi-media, hypertext-linked pdf ebook, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know”. Send an e-mail with "Free ELT EBook" in the subject line to: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

Part 2 - Tools and Resources to Write a Thousand Articles This Year

Here are more key resources that are invaluable to almost every writer regardless of genre or topics. Let’s continue to look at what these additional ones are and then acquire them for our referral when researching information and writing a thousand articles (or more) in a year.

photo: ELT professional Pablo Lozano organized to write

4. An Almanac – For quick references to key facts and data on a broad range of topics and areas, you simply can’t beat an Almanac and Book of Facts. I even keep two or three older ones from previous years on hand for details regarding a specific year or time frame. I also take the time to tab index my copy for quick and easy reference to frequently-searched topics. Want to know how the population of a certain city or country has grown in the last few years? Need details on a cult figure of the 80s, 70s or 60s? Quickly researching this kind of comparative information is a snap with two, three or more back-issue year almanacs on hand. It’s especially easy if the almanacs are the same series.

5. An Encyclopedia – For a compendium of historic dates, facts and figures, you can’t be a concise encyclopedia. Whether on CD ROMs, online or in print, this essential reference is still useful and up-to-date if you’re using an online or digital version. There are many from which to choose, although one of my personal favorites is Encarta. It’s a good idea to have access to several different kinds of encyclopedias too. This will ensure adequate cover when quickly researching a topic for its principal facts.

6. Technical References – If you’re specialized at all, you’ll definitely need to pick up reference materials, likely on CDs, from a relevant professional organization or trade group. I’m an English as a Foreign language professor and Intellectual Development Specialist, so I need to have technical papers, research and articles on reference CDs acquired from TESOL, Inc. (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) and other trade groups in that field. Don’t forget to subscribe to a few key trade / technical or consumer magazines or periodicals you’ll need to help keep your finger on the pulse of things too.

7. English grammar and Other Reference Books – An assortment of specialized reference books can help you to, jumpstart ideas and topic lines as well as provide some good, general over view information. Writing references are always welcomed. As is a good English grammar book. This includes genre-related books too.

8. Online Resources – Not only are many of the above-listed resources available in print form, but are also available online. List and bookmark frequently-referenced websites including video sites, technical information sites,
writer’s resources and local, national and international news resources online.
Remember to include feeds for any foreign countries or cultures which are relevant to your writing.

Having any, most or all of these suggested resources available during your article-writing and production will greatly enhance your writing by providing you with ready access to key information you’ll need to craft, concise, informative articles. These are the types of articles that get noticed, get read and generate traffic and sales.



If you’d like to join my FREE “Write a Thousand Articles This Year” program, just contact me at writeathousandarticles@gmail.com and we’ll get you started, put you on track and keep you going along with the other dedicated writing professionals in our rapidly growing group. (I’ve just put some freshly re-charged batteries in my Uncle Buzzy’s cattle prod) Just think, a year or less from now, you’ll be the proud author of a thousand or more articles. And your “writer” friends? Gosh, they’ll just be sick with envy. And you? You’ll love every moment of it, you thousand-article-writing devil you.

Gather your Tools and Resources to Write a Thousand Articles This Year

We’re going to take our mammoth undertaking for this year, to write and publish a thousand new articles, and break it down into a number of smaller, non-intimidating, manageable process steps that will allow you to alter your current paradigms concerning what is possible for you to do. You may think of writing a thousand articles as a huge leap of skills, talent and accomplishment, which true – it is, but not so much so that you must feel it’s out of the question for you now. It’s most certainly is not. This can be critically important if you are involved in copywriting or article marketing.

An Important Early Step

Well up front you’ll need to set aside a place or space where you will consistently work. This was mentioned in a previous article. So you should have your writing nook ready. Now another important early step is to gather some of your most essential tools and resources together into or near your writing space for quick access. While exactly what these will consist of may vary a bit depending on what kind of writing you’ll be doing, there are some key resources that are invaluable to almost every writer regardless of genre or topics. Let’s take a quick look at eight of these are in parts one and two of this article and then assemble them for our frequent use and referral.

1. A Dictionary – You’re going to have to have not just one, but several dictionaries on hand for a variety of purposes. And not the little paperback ones either. I’m talking about full-fledged hard-bound volumes of American and British English. Toss in a Rhyming dictionary, too. If you work at all with another language or any vocabulary or cultural references to one, then you should also have at one good bilingual dictionary on hand.

2. A Thesaurus – Now another dividing point among many serious writers is their use of a word reference tool other than a dictionary. Some favor the old standby Roget’s Thesaurus, while more conventional, upbeat authors gravitate more towards a Rodale’s Word Finder. I have and use both, but definitely prefer the Rodale’s.

3. Book of Word Origins – This may or may not be commonly available, depending on where you live, but I’ve found this reference to be quite helpful on numerous occasions in writing for a wide variety of genres. This can provide some short, concise filler information to chip into a piece that might be initially too “thin” in some spots.

In the continuing part two of this article, we’ll suggest five additional resources which should prove invaluable in your quest to write a thousand articles (or more) in a year.


If you’d like to join my FREE “Write a Thousand Articles This Year” program, just contact me at writeathousandarticles@gmail.com and we’ll get you started, put you on track and keep you going along with the other dedicated writing professionals in our rapidly growing group. Just think, a year or less from now, you’ll be the proud author of a thousand or more articles. And your “writer” friends? Gosh, they’ll just be sick with envy. And you? You’ll love every moment of it, you thousand-article-writing devil you.

Part 3 Write a Thousand Articles This Year? Sure You Can! Here’s How

This is your final push out of the door towards your inevitable “Write a Thousand Articles This Year” success. I don’t doubt for a moment that you’ll have your one thousand articles in the bank before the end of this year. (Yessiree. I’m betting you will)

What You’ll Need

Yes Bunky, you’ll need some precise discipline. You’ll have to set up your “writing space” or a “writing place” if you don’t already have one. And yes, a cheering section (that would be me and my writing “Write a Thousand Articles This Year” group, Matey) and some peer writer coaching to help boot you over those initial rough spots will definitely be of help too. An additional great boost will be the use of a variety of article templates. If you’re fresh out of handy, dandy writing templates no problem, they’re available to members of our “Write a Thousand Articles This Year” group. I’ll bet you guessed that already though, didn’t you?

But writing a thousand articles in a year is a lofty but attainable goal that will do untold wonders for your business, for your writing career, for your article marketing campaigns, for your online or web presence and be an absolutely, undoubtedly stunning boost to both your writing skills and your self-esteem. Think of what will happen to your Google ratings with a thousand articles posted online! Hey, I won’t even mention the bragging rights you’ll have over your writer’s group and other friends. Aren’t you going to just love watching them turn slimy barf green with envy!

Finally …

Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking. You must be asking yourself, “What if I don’t or can’t “keep up the pace” for a whole year? Well, in that event all is certainly not lost. Sure, it’ll take a bit of grit to get going and get set firmly on track, but help is always available (via our free “Write a Thousand Articles This Year” program) if and when you need it. The overall schedule does not actually require writing every single day, nor must you produce three articles each and every time. Other possible scenarios are discussed within our program group. In an “absolute worst case” scenario, even if you don’t get your one thousand articles in one clip, you’re not exactly going to cry if you only reach seven or eight hundred articles, now are you? Certainly not!

There’s really no way to “fail” at this. Everything you produce goes “in the pot”. If you do slip in any way at all, you’ll only “fail forward!” Doing only half of the program will still net you five hundred articles – that’s right, five hundred articles! How could you possibly call the writing, production, editing, publishing and even the possible selling of five hundred articles a “failure”?


If you’d like to join my FREE “Write a Thousand Articles This Year” program, just contact me at writeathousandarticles@gmail.com and we’ll get you started, put you on track and keep you going along with the other dedicated writing professionals in our rapidly growing group. (I’ve just put some freshly re-charged batteries in my Uncle Buzzy’s cattle prod) Just think, a year or less from now, you’ll be the proud author of a thousand or more articles. And your “writer” friends? Gosh, they’ll just be sick with envy. And you? You’ll love every moment of it, you thousand-article-writing devil you.