Part 2 - Dramatically Improve Your Article Writing Almost Immediately Using These Five Easy Ways

When the Preliminaries Are Completed
After the preliminaries had been completed; choosing a topic, narrowing the article focus and outlining the format of the article, we looked at our first two writing improvement target areas. These were using English language spell check and grammar check to aid in avoiding the kinds of errors that tick editors off and send readers scurrying for the delete button – or worse. We’ll continue our how to listing of five easy ways to dramatically improve your article writing with number three.

3. Add Relevant Quotes
There are examples of quotes everywhere. Whenever you watch the news on TV, hear it on the radio or read an article in a newspaper or magazine, they’re all conspicuous for their use of relevant quotes. He said, she said, they said – all lend authority and substance to virtually any prose. So, who’s an “authority”? Anybody can be: your family, your friends, witnesses, neighbors, co-workers, classmates, even your learners. “Am I really an authority?” asked sixth grade teacher, Sonia Ruby Cortez. Absolutely, when it comes to what goes on in her class room she’s an absolute authority, and can express her personal opinions as such as well. Don’t forget, you’re an authority too. Be sure to brush up on the “Reported Speech” elements of English grammar.

4. Add Related Facts and Statistics
Almost nothing else lends an air of authority and depth to a written or spoken piece like the judicious use of relevant facts and statistics. This holds true for oral and written discourse in almost all of the world’s 6912 languages including English. You can easily scoop up relevant facts and statistics from newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs and of course, online from literally camel-loads of websites. You really should maintain a generous set of ready references near your writing place or computer. There are numerous excellent available online references which are free and easy to use as well.

5. Compile Re-Useable References
Whenever you reference an article, statistic, fact, quote or other “fair and best use” of other works, you must always copy and save the source of the information. Not only will this aid you in compiling a list of bibliographical references, but provide you with a starting point for delving into additional work at a later time when researching similar or related topics in the future. This source listing includes images, photos and other graphics too. Some editors will ask for them outright, but whether they do or not, you should be professional enough and organized enough to maintain your references listings as you research, draft and write your article.

So Finally
If you’ll make a concerted effort to have and use the above mentioned references and writing aids, your articles and other writing, whether professional, academic, personal or casual can improve most dramatically by eliminating the most common causes of English errors and mistakes that occur in most forms of writing. The only other problem now is the writing or article content, and that my friend, is still solely up to only “you-know-who”.


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

Dramatically Improve Your Article Writing Almost Immediately Using These Five Easy Ways - Part 1

Is Your Writing Ready Yet?
You’ve chosen a topic, narrowed down the focus, perhaps drafted an outline to keep your writing organized and now you’re ready to write. How well the finished piece, whether an article, essay, paper, editorial, composition, report, letter, ad, blog posts or other copy in English “comes out” will depend on a few additional key aspects. If you don’t want editors ticked off, or your reader heading for the hills, you’ll need to consider these improvement aspects to fine tune the “details” of your writing.

How to Dramatically Improve
You can dramatically improve your article and other writing almost immediately in these five easy ways.

1. Use Spell Check
Sometimes, even most of the time, it isn’t your fault. The keys stick on the keyboard, you miss a key strike, you stumble over a frequently misspelled word or you simply make a mistake. We all do it. It’s no big deal, but it ticks off editors and readers alike when a string of misspellings mars our writing. On occasion, my computer software will change a word from what I’ve typed in to another, incorrect, one. Does that ever happen to you?

How to Avoid Bad Spelling
Bad spelling whether from a mistake or uncertainty is avoidable though. How? By using the spell check function in MS Word or other word processing software. Whenever those squiggly little red lines show up under a word, check the spelling option on your computer. Don’t forget, as a writer you should have a good dictionary or two on hand too. Sometimes, the computer will not “know” a perfectly good word like “blog”.

2. Use Grammar Check
Alright, so I’m a university level English language professor and a grammarian, but you don’t have to be. If you have gaps in your English grammar skills or knowledge (don’t we all), then don’t worry. There’s an easy cure. Use the spell check function of MS Word to keep an eye on things for you. Whenever those squiggly little green lines show up under a phrase or sentence, it’s time to look at the suggested correction or whip out your English grammar text reference. If you don’t have a good one then it’s time for a trip to your local bookstore. Capiche?

In part two of this two-part article, we’ll look at the use of relevant facts and quotes, statistics and references to boost the authority of your writing and provide an added measure of improvement to your 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

Why Your English Language Learners Listening Comprehension is Bad and What to Do About It

"Teacher, I don't understand."

“Huh?”, “What?”, “Can you repeat that, please?” “What did he say?”, “Teacher, we don’t understand.” Do any of these sound familiar? Undoubtedly they do.

When English EFL language learners have listening comprehension problems it can be frustrating. If you use videos, CDs or audio cassette tapes, or even perhaps when speaking your learners can have their lesson input interrupted by a lack of listening comprehension skills. Comprehensible input (Krashen, 1989) is an integral part of any English or foreign language class.

Contributing Factors

These seven factors can directly or indirectly contribute to your learners’ listening comprehension skills and comprehension.

1. Vocabulary
ELT author, researcher and lecturer Scott Thornbury said, “… count one hundred words of a (reading) passage. If more than ten of the words are unknown, the text has less than a 90% vocabulary recognition rate. It is therefore, unreadable.” (S. Thornbury, 2004) The same then is likely true for a listening passage. Remember, “You can never be too rich, too thin or have enough foreign language vocabulary” as the old saying goes.

2. Rhyming Sounds
Have you ever taught or learned poetry? If so, you’ll remember that there are several types of rhyming patterns which can be used. Alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance and consonance, simile, metaphor and allusion, among others, all lend their particular ambience to written or spoken language in English.

Note: If you’d like or need a quick refresher on these poetic elements, you should read, “How to Evoke Imagery, Emotions and Ideas in Writing Poetry That Captures Your Readers Imagination” and “How to Write Poems That Capture the Heart and Imagination of Your Readers” by the author. (L.M. Lynch, 2007)

3. Idioms and Expressions
In every language there are frequently-used idioms and expressions that allow its speakers to convey nuances of thought to one another effortlessly and with greater clarity that simply “explaining” everything verbally. Not only is it helpful to know as many of these as possible, but if you don’t, the meanings of many conversations or spoken exchanges may just be “lost” to the listener.

4. Pronunciation
Everyone speaks differently and uses forms of connected speech in distinctive ways. Elements including elision, contraction, juncture, liaison, register, accommodation, aspect, intonation and others, affect pronunciation and speech patterns on an individual basis. When learners are unfamiliar, or even ignorant of, these elements, listening comprehension can be significantly impacted.

5. Regional or National Accents
The same sentence when spoken by people from different first language (L1) backgrounds, regional locations, or ethnic backgrounds can be decisively varied. Unfamiliarity with such on the part of EFL learners can cause a definite lack of listening comprehension or “comprehensible input” as mentioned earlier.

6. Grammar in Context
When grammar and its aspects are taught as “separate” themes, that is, outside of a relevant context, learners can be “handicapped” as it were by not understanding just how and when particular grammar structures are used by native speakers during an oral discourse or verbal exchange. So when they, the learners, hear a grammar structure that they “know”, but learned “out of context”, they can often “miss it”, misinterpret it or simply not understand what they’re hearing.

7. Language Rhythms
One of the big differences between English and say, Spanish, is that one language is “syllable-based” while the other is “accent-based”. This accounts for non-native speakers sounding “funny” when speaking a language other than their mother tongue.

With epithets like, “oh, she luv-ed him but chew-no it wuzn’t not no guud, mahn for demm boat.”

These types of epithets derive not from a lack of English or other foreign language skills in particular, but rather from pronunciation based on using an “incorrect” spoken language rhythm.

In the next segment, we’ll briefly consider what approaches might be taken to address these and other related problems in developing fluent oral discourse and spoken exchanges in English or other foreign languages.


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

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