Teaching English in the City of Torreon

THE CITY OF TORREON:


The city of Torreon with a population of about 900,000, isn’t exactly what you’d call a tourist town. The does have an Office of Tourism, however, located on Matamoros between Vicario and Corona. Their telephone number is 712 – 3829. Reputedly there are English-speaking staff members, but the key word here is “reputedly”. Torreon is actually part of a trio of cities. Ciudad Lerdo with approximately 110,00 inhabitants is on the other side of the Rio Nazas while Gomez Palacio, populated by around 300,000. The statue of Christ that overlooks the city is the second largest in the hemisphere. Only the one in Rio de Janeiro is larger. Although the temperature soars to well over 100 degrees F during the Summer months and remains in the high 70s to low 80s most of the rest of the year, surprisingly there are Winter days which can plummet the thermometer to below freezing. So, you’ll need to pack some warm clothes for living here too.

GETTING THERE AND AWAY:
Starting from the U.S. border, just take the first thing smoking South …

Some approximate travel times and first-class bus prices…

BETWEEN AND: TIME: PRICE:
Torreon Chihuahua 6 hours 180 pesos
Torreon Durango 4 hours 90 pesos
Torreon México City 12 hours 370 pesos
Torreon Monterrey 5 hours 120 pesos
Torreon Matamoros
(across from Brownsville, Texas) 8 hours 30 mins. 250 pesos
Torreon Nueva Loredo
(across from Laredo, Texas) 8 hours 210 pesos

As mentioned in previous posts, you can’t beat the Traveling by Bus in Mexico website, in English, which contains almost everything you need to know about traveling in Mexico by bus. So be sure to visit the site for more detailed information at:
www.differentworld.com/mexico/common/pages/bus_info.htm

A WORD ABOUT GUERRERO NEGRO:

Usually, this town in Baja California is visited for only one Reason; it's near Parque Natural de Balena Gris (Gray Whale National Park). From November through March, gray whales breed near the shores of Scammon's Lagoon. Take binoculars if you go there, and pay the small fee for one of the boat tours. It's worth it to get out closer to the whales.

Another destination in the area is San Ignacio, a small oasis town 90 miles (145 km) to the southeast, and the nearby San Ignacio Lagoon, home of the "friendly whales." For whatever reason, many of the whales there seem better disposed toward humans and some will even swim close enough to be petted. Puerto San Carlos on Magdalena Bay, which is farther south on the peninsula, is another great spot for whale watching. Local tours are available. There are also cave paintings nearby, accessible only on horseback. The area is 375 miles (600 km) south of San Diego, California.

SOME WEBSITES FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Start with Torreon at: www.torreon.gob.mx/ where you’ll find the official website of the city government (in Spanish)

One of the best local information preview sites – in English no less, is Colegio Americano de Torreon’s information-packed site located at:
http://www.cat.mx/newt/torreon2.html Here you can bone up on what to do and see, additional places to eat, local shopping and cultural events. Also listed are tips for getting around town and handling a variety of money matters.

www.wunderground.com/global/stations/76382.html
Underground site giving accurate weather forecasts and information for the area

The Hispanic Culture Center in Torreón maintains a site at:
www.hcfoundation.org/Torreon.htm

www.tourbymexico.com/coahuila/torreon/torrfram.htm is the Tour By Mexico site for information on the "haps" around town and the region.


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 125 countries worldwide. Get your FREE, pdf format report on CD or via e-mail, "Creative, Dynamic Ways to Motivate and Teach English as a Foreign Language to Diverse Groups of Reluctant Learners" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

A Thanksgiving Dinner Gone Wrong

Famous Last Words ...

“Good job, Mauricio*”.

As we left, I complemented the unofficial cook who had prepared the Thanksgiving dinner turkeys for a group of about 35 teachers from the USC Language Institute and their families. It was dark at just after 8:00 pm and we were riding in the car of one of my peers. The number of cars transporting people to the semi-suburban home location of one of our co-workers had to be kept to a minimum. Few of us knew the location and parking was very limited. The house itself was large and spacious enough, situated high on a southern foothill of the Farallones mountain chain that borders the eastern side of Cali.

Just over forty teachers typically work at the Santiago de Cali University Language Institute, where up to eight languages are taught. The most popular of these is English as a foreign language, of course, but also available are French, German, Italian, Spanish for foreigners, Japanese and Portuguese. Previously, Mandarin Chinese was on the roster when Chinese exchange students were at the university a couple of years ago.

“At 5:30 pm we should be eating.”

That was the key announcement Mauricio* made when plans were being drawn up for the annual dinner. This year was different though. We were actually going to have Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. Virtually every other year it’s after the official holiday and as late as early December before we finish the semester and are able to have the dinner. Each year in a different location.

We Never Saw the Turkeys That Did Us In

We never saw the roasted turkeys that did us in. When the meal was served buffet style, the turkey was already carved into slices loaded into a rectangular cake pan. A few people acted as “hosts” to pre-serve plates loaded up with mashed potatoes, gravy. Mixed rice and dressing to speed up the process. You then added you own vegetable and salad servings, scooped up a carbonated beverage and returned to your seat to feast. Dessert was chocolate cake and Tiramisu. The ride back home was ten minutes.

We weren’t home long before Doris complained of stomach cramps saying that she also felt nauseous. I was still okay at this point, but she has a bit of a reputation for a "queasy" stomach. Minutes later she was vomitting full throttle. All her meals that day were purged in less than ten minutes. I began feeling an “urge” too and went upstairs to the bathroom adjacent to my home office. One moment I was fine, the next I collapsed on the bathroom floor and was projectile vomitting like it was an olympic sport. I now had bloody diarrhea to add to my symptoms. This was a holiday list I didn’t want or need.

In a state of utter dis-array, clothes half-thrown on, shoes but no socks, the taxi called to our house ran traffic signals and went the wrong way down one-way streets to deposit us at the ER door twenty-five or so blocks away. Now shivering uncontrollably from dehydration and shock, we needed to be put on IVs. We had to insure that mine was saline and NOT Dextrose. I’m a type 2 Diabetic. A Dextrose infusion could have killed me.

“That happened to a co-worker of mine” Doris reminded me later. “She was a diabetic, went into an ER and they gave her a Dextrose IV. It killed her.”

The Ivs contained medicines for vomitting, stomach cramps, and diarrhea in addition to serving for providing us with large quantities of lost body fluids. With a blood pressure so low the tech couldn’t get a vein to insert the IV, it took three tries to get it right. I didn’t have the strength to curse, but I knew it wasn’t his fault. My hands and feet were so cold, it even put the doctors and other attending staff on alert. I couldn’t stop shivering uncontrollably. We each got two IV bags and got adjoining rooms. It was after 4:00 am before we were stabilized and left the ER ready to go back home to bed. Doris has a week’s worth of medications to take. Due to my Diabetes, I’ll be on meds for nearly a month.

Food Safety Tips

Basically, there are four principal food safety tips which came out of this experience. They are invaluable for preparing foods to prevent all manner of food poisoning.

• Wash everything in hot soapy water before, during and after preparing each food item
• Keep raw meats and poultry seperated from cooked foods. Rinse all vegetables under running water and clean cutting boards, knives and utensils thoroughly after each use
• Cook all foods, especially meats and poultry, thoroughly
• Refrigerate meat or poultry as it defrosts; DO NOT let it thaw on the countertop. Store these foods promptly and DO NOT let them stay out on the table.

For more information on food poisoning read, “Keep Food Poisoning off Summer Menu”. Be careful, be safe, don’t spoil your next holiday meal with un unwelcomed hospital visit. Be sure to check out the Salmonella slide show too.



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 125 countries worldwide. Get your FREE, pdf format report on CD or via e-mail, "Creative, Dynamic Ways to Motivate and Teach English as a Foreign Language to Diverse Groups of Reluctant Learners" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

8 Reasons You Get Stuck with Unmotivated EFL Learners

Motivation and Rapport are Key English Language Teaching Elements

No matter what English as a foreign language level you teach. No matter what EFL learner profile your students are. No matter what your educational level and teaching background are. And no matter what teaching environment you might have, if you lack a genuine rapport with your EFL learners, they’re going to be unmotivated. Unmotivated learners do amazingly poorly at learning – anything. Motivation and rapport are key elements in teaching English as a foreign language. We’ll even take a couple of lessons from U.S. President Elect Barack Obama.

Here are Eight Reasons You Get Stuck with Unmotivated EFL Learners

1. Lack of Self-esteem

In all probability, you learners lack a good level of self-esteem. When English language teaching and learning expectations are low or highly limited, both sides can be negatively impacted. If everything in English class is simple and easy, requiring no thought, little effort and minimal application on the part of the learners, their – and your self-esteem can go south – fast.

2. Not Trying Alternatives

If what you’re presently doing in the EFL classroom isn’t working the way you’d like and your English language learners aren’t responding, then you need to do things differently. Try some alternative strategies. Change up methodologies and inject a string of new activities and didactics into your English as a foreign language teaching. There are a ton of free-to-use EFL teaching and learning websites out there on the world wide web. Check out a few to get new ideas, lesson plans, and activities to inject some new life into your teaching.

3. Not Having Distinct Teaching and Learning Goals

If you’re working for an established educational institution, likely you’ve been provided with extensive outlines of course curriculum and structure. But if you don’t have enough details to successfully “fill-in” the day-to-day English language teaching activities for your needs, you can get bogged down quickly. Ways to pull out of the quicksand are to:

• Talk with other teachers for some ideas
• Attend EFL teacher focused workshops, seminars and conferences
• Read technical publications on English Language Teaching techniques
• Participate in online EFL teaching forums and subscribe to ELT information blogs and websites
• Try out as many new ideas, suggestions, activities and didactic techniques as you can possibly manage. Then stick with those that work.

4. Defending the Status Quo

Oh, but it’s all too easy to just sit back and say, “This is the way we have to do it”. Or, “We’ve always done it this way”. How about the dreaded, “This is what my EFL learners expect”. Remember the axiom, “Nothing happens until something moves”? No matter what the status quo, if it’s not working, then it’s time for a change. Like U.S. President Elect Barack Obama, just say, “It’s change we need” when asked for your reasons. (Hey, if it worked for him. It surely could work for you too, right?)

5. Fear

Are you a “but” person? Do you find yourself often saying, “I’d like to try this, but ...”? This is a direct manisfestation of fear. You’re afraid to be different. You’re afraid to “muddy up” the waters. You’re afraid your EFL learners won’t do what you want. You’re afraid of this, you’re afraid of that. You’re afraid to fail. Get over it. Sure, some new things may bomb. Some however, are going to be successful. You won’t know which is which though, until you try them out. So just get to it. Plan your EFL teaching work, then work your EFL teaching plan. It could well be as simple as that.

6. Lack of a Cooperative Attitude

“My EFL learners won’t work with me on anything”, you say? Whiner. Who’s the teacher in the classroom, you or them? Who’s in charge of the situation, you or them? Who’s ultimately responsible for what happens – success or failure – in your English as a foreign language classroom, you or them? Now that we’ve settled that. Get to work and take charge. When your EFL learners truly see that you’re personally invested in their learning and developing English language communicative skills, they WILL “get with the program”, I promise you.

7. Perfectionism

Are you one of those English language teachers who says, “Oh, I want everything to be just perfect for my classes”? Okay, so nobody wants to bomb a class, but let’s face it – things happen that you don’t expect. True, I’m somewhat of a recovered perfectionist myself, but once you realize that it’s not really necessary to be “perfect”, worlds open up to you. You can face your English as a foreign language learners and enjoy them and your EFL teaching. Besides, who wants to continue in a job in which they’re stressed-out seeking constant perfection? Not me, and I hope not you either.

8. Lack of Will-Power

You’ve heard it before, now you’ll hear it again, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”. It’s not just idle banter. If you truly want something to happen, only you can make it so. Put a plan of action together: based on help, contributuions and feedback from your peers, administration and your EFL learners too. Then put that plan into action. Yes, there WILL be results. What kind of results? Well, you’ll just have to try it and see. I think, that’s what Barack Obama is going to do. How about you?


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 135 countries worldwide. Get your FREE, pdf format report on CD or via e-mail, "Creative, Dynamic Ways to Motivate and Teach English as a Foreign Language to Diverse Groups of Reluctant Learners" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

Is It an EFL Teaching Scam or Not?

Recently, a reader wrote, “… I recently came across your blog on ESL teaching scams. I am considering a move to Korea to teach English for a year. I have been in contact with this program, ESL Park. I have spoken with a women (sic) their (sic) named Asia and she has been guiding my (sic) along the process. My only concern, is that they want me to send all of these documents for my visa processing to Korea. How do I know I am not just sending my life away? Anyways (sic) was hoping you could give me a little advice.

Name Withheld for Privacy


Here’s how I responded:

Greetings … ,

So far, the scenario you've mentioned is not necessarily an EFL teaching scam - yet. I think that you do need more information from them. For starters, I'd ask them what are the next steps after sending the documents. I'd also contact the nearest Korean consulate and outline your situation. They'll be able to tell you if there have been any other complaints against this school (or agency). The embassy or consulate can also check on the legality of the organization. Even if you need to spend some money for a long-distance call to the consulate or embassy, it's worth it for your peace of mind at least.

If at any point before starting to work in Korea, you are asked to fork over any serious funds - then I'd balk. This is not normal in the teacher hiring process of most countries I'm familiar with. You should also be able to get a copy of the contract to review while you're still in the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia (or your home country, whichever it may be).

Be sure to check on EFL teaching forums and sites for any information other ex-pat teachers may have on this organization or on the process of teaching in Korea.

Finally, if you really are uncomfortable about dealing with this or any other organization, then just let it go. There are literally hundreds of thousands of ELT jobs worldwide. To say you'll get several other good offers if you go after them would be a moot point. Don't let yourself fall victim to EFL teaching scams. The school or organization where you got your ELT certification should be foremost in helping you land a good overseas position where ever you may want to go. You can have jobs coming out of your ears if you need some selection to prod you on.

A Post Note: You haven't mentioned whether or not you do have a TEFL, TESOL or CELTA English teaching certification. If you don't, then that's FIRST on your agenda before you do anything else. Uncertified ELT prospects are almost always the very first people to fall victim to EFL teaching scams.

I hope I've helped. Please let me know if you need anything else. For your added information, I'm attaching a copy of my free e-book, "If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know". This free e-book is available to any practicing or prospective EFL teacher on request by e-mail.

ATTENTION, Please: If any readers have information or knowledge of this organization or procedures for applying for an EFL teaching position in Korea, please contact me ASAP.


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 125 countries worldwide. Get your FREE, pdf format report on CD or via e-mail, "Creative, Dynamic Ways to Motivate and Teach English as a Foreign Language to Diverse Groups of Reluctant Learners" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

How English as a Foreign Language Exams Affect EFL Learners

What Affects English as a Foreign Language Learners During Exams

Lina Maria Lopez* squirmed in her seat for the fiftieth time, scratched her scalp until it was nearly raw and sighed repeatedly. A mechanical pencil in one hand and a bright red lollipop in the other, she struggled abysmally with her final exam in English as a foreign language. Only in her second semester of English, the “lights” still hadn’t “clicked on” yet. Not a good university student across the board in her major, English as a foreign language was still her worst subject. She gazed around the room, at other learners’ papers, at the EFL teacher and reluctantly, at her EFL test paper.

“Tap, tap, tappity, tap, tap”. Luis Felipe Rodriguez* drummed on the desk, tapped his well-worn sneakers, hummed a Salsa beat and turned around to look behind him at the poster-plastered classroom wall for “inspiration”. “Da, da, dada, da, da – dat, dat dada, dum.” His English as a Foreign Language level two exam paper was still nearly blank. More than half the final exam allotted time had already passed. It he failed this exam too, he’d almost surely have to repeat the English level next semester. It had already taken him an extra semester just to get this far. “What time is it?” he asked the teacher, tugging on the bill of his baseball cap. But, it really didn’t matter.

The Functional Needs of the Brain

EFL teachers should know that the human brain needs three key elements to function at peak efficiency. These are: oxygen, water (fluids) and sugar (preferably from complex carbohydrates). Both immediately before and during an exam, it’s not uncommon to see English as a Foreign Language learners eating chocolate, hard candy, lollipops or even packets of raw sugar. I draw the line at chewing gum, largely due to its “tendency to wind up” stuck under the desks. It’s because of the brain’s need for sugars that I allow “eating” of high-carbohydrate and high sugar content “foods” before, during English as a foreign language exams.

Some "Causes" of Cheating on English as a Foreign Language Exams

When EFL learners openly or frequently “cheat” on exams, highly probable “causes” are typically one or more of these motivation-related factors which include:

• Lack of English as a foreign language grammar and theme study
• Poor English class attendance
• Failure to understand or apply English as a foreign language skills promoted in class

• Insufficient English as a foreign language skills practice / repetition to successfully internalize the skills and materials
• Ineffectively focused teaching methods
• Deficiency in English language classroom materials
• “Chemical addiction/dependency” problems (i.e., caffeine, nicotine, etc.)
• Personal or family problems
• Not taking English as a foreign language studies seriously enough
• Poor language-learning aptitude
• Learning disabilities
• Lack of sufficient or effective English as a foreign language learning preparation resources

This is certainly but a “partial” list of the possibilities. These can affect not only English as a foreign language skills development, but the overall intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of the EFL learners.

EFL Teacher-Affective Factors

Then, of course, as English as a foreign language teachers, we often endure a multitude of additional factors which directly or indirectly impact and affect the intrinsic / extrinsic motivation of our EFL learners. How many of you, for example, are negatively impacted by:

• Large EFL learner class groups
• An excessively low number of English as a foreign language contact hours per week
• Behavioral problems on the part of your English as a foreign language learners
• Excessive administrative demands
• Lack of resources, equipment and / or materials
• Extremes of mixed ability in English language knowledge and skills among your EFL learners

• Lack of sufficient, on-going governmental, administrative, or parental support
• Personal problems of your own

Certainly, the list could go on, but you get the point, don’t you?

What Can You Do, If Anything?

In upcoming article posts in this series, we’ll continue to consider some possibilities which English as a foreign language teachers and EFL learners have available to address, minimize or eliminate many of the aforementioned intrinsic and extrinsic affective factors. Doing so will undoubtedly improve our EFL learners’ motivation. With these incorporated into ourm curriculums and daily schedules, we should be able to generate some improvement and more success in our EFL classrooms and our English as a foreign language learners themselves.



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 125 countries worldwide. Get your FREE, pdf format report on CD or via e-mail, "Creative, Dynamic Ways to Motivate and Teach English as a Foreign Language to Diverse Groups of Reluctant Learners" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

A Simple Approach to Write an Essay for EFL Learners

Can Your EFL Learners Write an Essay in English?

“Teacher, if we have to write an essay and it’s going to be a problem for us.”

“No problem, I’ll show you a simple format you can use to write an essay in English.”

Thus began an intermediate course in Writing for my EFL learners. What about your English as a foreign language learners? Do they have problems with writing in English?

A Natural Tendency with Foreign Language Learners

A natural tendency with foreign language learners is to write in the same way they would – in their first language (L1). While this may on occasion be a good thing, for the most part it can be the root of a string of serious problems when you write an essay. A foreign language is not a “translation” of English. Neither is English a “translation of a foreign language, even if they are in the same language family. This can even be true for varieties of English. In the “Queen’s English”, written structure can and often does differentiate composition and structure. Sure, an American can easily read a British English composition, but would most likely NOT write a composition or essay of their own in the same way. The Queen could certainly read an essay written by an American, although it would almost certainly be done in a far different style than issues forth from Cambridge or Oxford.

The Spanish Language

The Spanish Language is one case in which distinctive differences in writing clearly emerge. If you were to read a translation of “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez, (pictured above) you’d immediately note, even in English, a substantial style deviation from say, Ernest Hemmingway in his “The Old Man and the Sea”. Not just the writing style, but lexis, grammatical structure, syntax and means of expression are all so clearly different that you would most probably know these two men are not from the same culture. Nonetheless, clarity and organization are important when you write an essay. But I digress.

A Simple Format to Write an Essay for EFL and ESL Learners

A simple format for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) learners to write an essay, is none other than the old standby, “The Five Paragraph Essay”. This writing structure is, of course, based on writing on a topic using five paragraphs. Briefly, here’s how it is set up.

Paragraph One – When you write an essay, the first paragraph provides the introduction to the essay or composition. It tells what is to be discussed and why. Your main points or arguments are briefly introduced. This paragraph need not be a lengthy one, four to five sentences will usually suffice.

Paragraph Two – In the second paragraph more background information is provided in more detail. Your first, often strongest main point or argument is expanded upon. This second paragraph is usually longer than the first or introductory paragraph. There is a topic sentence, three to five sentences of information, then a summary or concluding sentence which is used to allude or transition to the next paragraph’s content.

Paragraph Three – The third paragraph provides your second key point or argument and ties it into your theme, when you write an essay or composition. Frequently, it is similar in length to the second paragraph. Information, support and background for your second key point or argument are the main content here. Once again, the last sentence of the paragraph transitions to the content of the forth one.

Paragraph Four – In this fourth paragraph, you’ll present your third key point or argument. More in-depth information and background on this point is provided here. Be sure to relate this point to your composition or essay topic. Also, add quotations, statistics, facts, examples and other relevant data to support this third point or argument. As before, the last sentence is a transitional one.

Paragraph Five – The fifth and final paragraph is used to summarize or conclude when you write an essay or composition. It shows how the three key points or arguments you have presented compare or relate to each other. It also clearly re-states your initial position from the introductory paragraph.

Final Points to Write an Essay in English

Some additional, final points to remember when you write an essay of five paragraphs are:

• Do not use contractions
• Do not use the first person, “I” unless told that this is allowed
• Use simple or compound sentences only – NO complex sentences should be used
• Keep your writing well organized
• Use quotations, examples, statistics, facts and relevant supporting data in each paragraph

“The Hazards of Moviegoing” by John Langan is a good five paragraph essay sample.


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 125 countries worldwide. Get your FREE, pdf format report on CD or via e-mail, "Creative, Dynamic Ways to Motivate and Teach English as a Foreign Language to Diverse Groups of Reluctant Learners" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

Comments On: “Should THAT Be Allowed to Stand In for WHO?”

Author: Grace

Comment:I prefer the use of "who" when the writer is referring to a person. However, my Gregg Reference Manual allows the use of "that" in certain sentences:

"Who" and "that" are used when referring to persons. Select "who" when the individual person or the individuality of a group is meant and "that" when a class or type is meant. Examples: She is the only one of my managers who can speak Japanese fluently. He is the kind of student that should take advanced math.

In the case of the "offending" sentence mentioned in DWT above, I suppose "that" would be the word of choice--but it would probably have "caught my ear" as I read it, and I would have made a (personal) mental correction.

By the way, Gregg also says to use "which" and "that" when referring to places, objects, and animals (distinction based on essential or nonessential clauses), but notes that "'Who' is now often used when an animal is identified by gender or a pet is identified by name."

On the other hand, I work as a proofreader in the print business, and the customer always has the final word. I have learned to be very diplomatic about how I word "corrections" questions, and persistent only if I believe the wording does not convey what the customer intends. So, "flags," yes; "crazy," no.


Author: Cassie Tuttle
Comment:
The use of "that" instead of the personal pronoun "who" is one of my all-time biggest pet peeves.

Though such usage may not "break the rules," it's one of those phrases that hurts my ears. I've taught the "person who" versus the "person that" to ESL students and to in-house legal staff who attended my Grammar & Usage courses.

Sometimes, it's just a matter of principle.

Author: motormind
Comment:
It's funny that I always use the word "that" with "girl". Somehow "the girl that" tends to sound smoother than "the girl who"