Modals

          One of the hardest things to learn in English is modals, their meanings and when to use them.  Modals are sometimes called modal verbs, or helping verbs. In my opinion, it's better not to refer to them as verbs, because they are really not verbs. Verbs express actions (like eat, talk,  go),  phenomena (like rain, believe, live), and states (like be, have, sit).  Modals are those words that we put before verbs to express our attitudes, beliefs, and feelings about the verbs, such as degrees of certainty, politeness, expectation, necessity and advisability. Most modals are one word (like must, might, can, should, and would), but there are also phrasal modals that consist of more than one word (like have to, have got to, be able to, ought to, and would rather). One tricky thing about modals is that one modal can have several different meanings and uses, such as would. For example, would like is a polite way to say want, would rather expresses a preference,  would can be used for a  polite request, such as Would you mind helping me?, and talking about something that you did repeatedly in the past, such as I would ride my bike every day when I was a kid. 

          Many ESL students think that the only modal we use to express necessity is must. Actually, we don't use must very much at all when we speak, and only when we are referring to rules that you must follow or in legal written documents, such as You must pay your rent on the first day of  each month (in your rental agreement). Otherwise, when we refer to necessities, we use have to, or in more informal speech, have got to.

          Some ESL students are surprised to learn that we give advice with both should and ought to. It probably doesn't help that in normal, fast speech we say otta instead of ought to, just like we say wanna instead of want to. So should and ought to (otta) mean the same thing and they are equally common.  Learning how to use modals is more like learning words than learning grammar. You learn how to use them best by listening to how native speakers use them and in what situations.

Writing Basics: To write better, keep writing--and reading!

Writing is a skill, and like any other skill, it takes practice to improve. Writing and reading are closely related skills. So read and write as much as possible. Try to write and read something every day.

Think about writing a daily journal, or diary, recording your thoughts each day. If possible, set aside a few minutes (no more than 15) and a special place to write every day. Make it a comfortable place, where you feel good and won't be distracted by people or noises. Have a cup of coffee or tea, or whatever you like to drink, while you are writing. The idea is to make it an enjoyable experience, more like play than work. Just write your thoughts down as they come into your mind. Don't worry too much about spelling, grammar and punctuation. Remember, this writing is just for you, unless you decide to share it with someone else.

You have many other opportunities to write. Write an e-mail to an American friend. Texting is a form of writing. You'll need to learn all the abbreviations used in texting, like LOL, BFF, BTW, OMG, and so on. Write a letter to someone. Think about writing an essay or poem to publish in the Ivy Tech newspaper, The Campus Insider, or the Ivy Tech student publication, New Voices.

Reading and writing are closely related skills. Good writers usually like to read a lot. When you read good books and articles, you see what good writing looks like, and you can "imitate" it. Good writers have good vocabularies, grammar, and punctuation, so they are good models of those aspects of writing. Studies have shown that ESL students who read the most have the highest levels of English skills. It doesn't matter what you read; read a book, article, newspaper, magazine, or comic book. Read articles on the Internet. Read blogs. The important thing is to read daily and to read about something you are interested in. When you read, try not to use the dictionary too much. Try to figure out the meaning of new words from their context. Only look up a word if you absolutely cannot understand what the author is writing without knowing that word. The more you read, the more you will enjoy reading. And the more you read, the more you will learn.

So my advice to you is to keep writing and reading to become a better writer. Good luck!

Writing Basics: Easy as 1-2-3

Throughout history, many people in different cultures have attributed special, even mystical powers to the number three. Numerologists call it a powerful number. Maybe they are right. Think of all the different places that three pops up: triangles, pyramids, ABC, the trinity, and so on.

In writing, three is an important number. When you write, you need to keep this principle in mind. The basic unit of writing is the paragraph, which has three parts; introduction, body and conclusion. Essays also have the same three parts. Many colleges ask students to write a five-paragraph, three-part essay as part of their application, with an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph. So you see, writing is as easy and one, two, three!

Henry David Thoreau, the great American author and naturalist, wrote, "I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society."

Writing Basics: The power of proofreading

Proofreading your own writing is important. After you have written something, don't submit it to the teacher if it is an essay, hit the the send button if it is an e-mail message, or "publish" it as I will do after I finish this post and hit the "Publish" button until you have re-read your writing, checked for meaning, grammar, and punctuation, and run the spell-check to check for spelling mistakes. Sometimes, especially if the written piece is very important, it's a good idea to have some else read it and give you feedback and suggestions for possible changes. Be sure to ask someone who will be honest and tell you if they see any mistakes or things that need to be changed. A second pair of eyes can be very valuable. Don't be in a hurry. If you have time, lay your draft aside and come back and read it the next day with fresh eyes. You might spot an error you missed the first time, or decide to change the wording for better clarity. Now you are reading to finalize your draft and submit it.

Writing Basics: Comparison-Contrast Essays

One common type of essay is the comparison-contrast essay. You can always find similarities and differences when comparing any two things, countries, people, and so on. Comparison-contrast writing lends itself to a six-paragraph essay with the following paragraphs; introduction, first difference, second difference, transition sentence introducing the similarities, first similarity, second similarity, conclusion. An outline for an essay comparing and contrasting the U.S. with another country might look like this.

I. Introduction
Thesis Statement about differences

II. Body
A. Differences
1. Culture
2. Language

II.i Transition statement about similarities

B. Similarities
1. Political Structure
2. Economies

III. Conclusion

Writing Basics: Cause and effect writing

Cause and effect writing is used to express the cause(s) of something, the effect(s)of something, or the cause(s) and effect(s) of something. For example, you could talk about the causes and effects of smoking. The causes could be: nervousness, anxiety, needing to do something with your hands, the feeling you get when you smoke. The effects could be: smoker's breath, yellow teeth, coughing, respiration problems, high blood pressure, enphysema, and cancer of the mouth, throat and lungs.

When you do cause and effect writing you will use certain words: because, due to, since, as a result of, and so on. You can organize your writing in different ways, to focus on the cause(s), effect(s), or both cause(s) and effect(s).

Writing Basics: From paragraph to essay

If you have been writing paragraphs, and your writing instructor asks you to write an essay, you might try the following method. Think of an essay as an expanded paragraph. Like a paragraph, an essay has an introduction, body and conclusion. In a paragraph those parts are sentences. In an essay those parts are paragraphs; an introductory paragraph, two or more body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. In an essay, the introductory paragraph usually begins by "setting the stage" about your topic, provides interesting information to grab the reader's attention, and ends with a Thesis Statement, which tells the reader what your essay is about and your perspective on the topic. Essays usually range from four to six or seven paragraphs, depending on how many body paragraphs your essay will have.

Essays can be fun to write if you take the time to think about what topic you want to write about and what you want to write about that topic. Many colleges require students to write a five or six paragrph as part of the application processs. They want to find out how well you write since writing is such an important skill for academic wrrcess.

Writing Basics: Process writing

Process writing is an important type of writing used for different purposes: how-to manuals, describing how to do or make something, processes and procedures. In process writing, you write about steps in chronological (time) order. Many things you might purchase that require assemmbly will come with assembly instructions; this is process writing. When you buy a new car, it will come with a User's Manual, which describes how to operate the car and how to fix little things that don't work.

Whether it is a paragraph, recipe, essay or manual that you are writing, you will use process writing. As always, you will begin with an introduction, then describe the things (ingredients, utensils, tools, parts, etc.) needed, and then describe the steps to the reader or user. You fill use signal words, like first, second, third, before, then, after that, finally, to help the reader follow the steps of the proces you are describing.

This is an important type a academic writing and many types of professional writing. Imagine writing a report on the steps and results of a chemistry experiement, or of how to operate a new machine in a work shop. Process writing.

Writing Basics: KISS

KISS is an acronym that means "Keep it short and simple." This is a good thing to remember when you are beginning to write. Keep your words short. Try to stick to vocabulary that you already know and not use a lot of big fancy words to impress the reader. You might use the big words incorrectly and confuse your reader. Keep your sentences short, simple, and to the point. If you use long sentences with a lot of commas, the reader might forget the beginning of the sentence by the time he reaches the end! Keep your paragraphs short and on the same topic. Paragraphs should be only a few sentences long, probably not more than ten sentences (like this paragraph!). If you follow the KISS principle in your writing, your readers will be more likely to understand and enjoy what you have written. And that's what it's all about, right?

Writing Basics: Journal Writing

Here is an easy way to improve your writing on a daily basis. Keep a journal. Every day write for 10-15 minutes about whatever you want: what you are doing, thinking about, planning for the future, thinking about the past...whatever crosses your mind. Don't worry about making mistakes, grammar, spelling, etc. Just write. If you want to share your journal with someone,or your instructor, go ahead and do that. That's up to you. If you do it every day, your writing will improve. It takes discipline, but how much do you want to improve your writing in English?

Writing Basics: To Improve your writing, write

Writing is similar to any other language skill (reading, speaking, listening); to improve the skill, you need to practice the skill. For writing, that means writing as much as possible, different types of writing, as often as possible. That's why many writing/composition teachers ask their students to write in a daily journal. It gives students a reason to write every day, about something, whatever they want to write about. And the journal is usually not corrected, or corrected very lightly, by the teacher. If you want to play the piano, practice every day playing the piano. If you want to write well, practice writing every day. And work on improving your writing a little every day, using new words, grammar, expressions, that you have learned. Read what you have written and ask yourself how you could have written it better. Re-write what you wrote making necessary changes. Ask a native speaker to read your writing and give you some feedback about it, and how you could have written it better. To write better, write more often.

Writing Basics: Writing resources

Writers have many resources to help them improve their writing skills. At Ivy Tech Community College, students can go to the new Learning Resources Center for free help with their writing from a qualified writing tutor or instructor. After spending some time with a tutor, students can go to the new library only a few steps away to check out a book, read a newspaper or magazine, or just find a comfortable place to relax and hang out.

One of the best online resources for writers is the Online Writing Laboratory (OWL) from Purdue University, OWL where many resources to help writers can be found. Click on the ESL link on the left-hand side of the homepage to access the ESL resources. Check it out!

Of course, one of your best resources is your writing instructor, who will always be eager to help you improve your writing skills.

Writing Basics: Write about what you don't know

If you are an ESL student, when you first start writing in English, it's good for you to start writing about what you know: your country, classmates, experiences, job, family, and so on. After you become used to writing in English, start writing about what you don't know. Why? This will help you learn to do research, it will help you gain new and valuable knowledge, and it will be fun. It's fun to learn new things, right? And, you will get better grades in your classes!

An easy way to start doing research on a subject that you don't know about, or don't know much about, is to use the Internet. We all have access to the Internet. There is so much information there. But be careful. Not everything that is on the Internet is true or even factual. So choose your sources carefully. Make sure that what you have found on the Internet is not just someone's opinion. If you do use some information you have found on the Internet in your writing, be sure to give the reference so your readers can find where you got the information on the Internet.

Keep on reading, writing, and learning!

Writing Basics: Sleep on it

Here is a suggestion for the thinking/pre-writing step of writing. Before you go to sleep, think about what you want to write and write your thoughts down. All of them. Then go to sleep. While you are sleeping, your subconscious mind will think about what you wrote down. You may even dream about it. When you wake up the next morning, you will be able to write about you subject, because your mind has been thinking about it for eight hours, or however many hours of sleep you are able to get. You may even wake up suddenly in the middle of the night with a brilliant idea. Keep your list and a pencil by your bedside so you can write down the idea because you may not remember it in the morning. A brilliant idea is a terrible thing to waste!

Writing Basics: Who are your readers?

When you sit down to think about writing anything, a very important step in the pre-writing stage is to think about who you are writing for. If you are journaling or writing in a diary, your audience is you. You will be the only person reading your journal, or maybe your teacher, so you need to worry too much about your readers. For all other types of writing, you need to think about your reader(s)and ask yourself some questions such as:

Who, besides my writing teacher, are my readers?
How much do my readers know about my topic?
What will grab my readers' attention?
What don't they know about my topic? How can I teach them something new?
What do my readers expect from my writing? Do they want to learn something new about the subject, be entertained, find out my opinion(s) about the subject?
What is the educational level of my readers?
Do the readers have any biases or strong opinions about the subject that I should take into account in what I write?

If you take the time to really think through these questions, and have answers for them, you will have a clearer idea of what your readers expect from your writing and be able to organize and shape your writing to be of more interest to them. After all, if you are going to take the time to write something, you want your readers to be satisfied after reading it.

Writing Basics: Thinking and writing

Thinking is the first step of the writing process. Everything (including writing) begins with a thought. This stage of writing is sometimes referred to as pre-writing or brainstorming. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself before you start writing, and have clear answers in your mind. This will make the writing go much better. Don't hurry or skip this step.

What is my topic?
What am I going to write about that topic?
What do I already know about the topic and what research do I need to do?
Who are my readers? Who is my audience?
What do my readers already know about the topic and what might they be interested in learning from me?
How can I grab my readers' attention from the very beginning, whether I am writing a paragraph, essay, article, or book?
What unique perspective can I bring to the topic based on my own knowledge and experience?

After you have answered all these pre-writing questions and jotted down some notes to capture your thoughts, you are ready to start organizing your thoughts in the form of an outline.

Writing Basics: Have something to say

When I teach writing skills to ESL students, one of the first things I tell them is that they need to have something interesting or valuable to say before they start writing. We all have different knowledge and experiences to share with readers. If we can write something that helps the reader learn something new, or think about something in a different way, we have done our job as writers. Because ESL students come from many countries, with different cultures and languages, they have different perspectives that will be interesting to read about.

So start with what you know!

Getting Back to Language

Most of my recent blogs have been about soccer because I am so interested in the World Cup games. In today's blog I will return to language, English specifically. One of the most commonly used words in spoken English is "get." It is very common, especially in informal speech, and it seems that it has many meanings, but really all the different meanings of "get" can be classified in three groups.

(1) "Get" is used instead of "be" in passive sentences. So we can say, "My wallet was stolen" or "My wallet got stolen" and both sentences mean the same thing.
(2) "Get" means this: 0 <------. Something or someone goes towards something or someone or is received by something or someone. "I got a present from my friend" means the same as "I received a present from my friend."
(3) "Get" means "become." "I got tired" means the same as "I became tired." Or "She got pregnant" means "She became pregnant."

If you are learning English as a Second Language and having trouble understanding all the different uses and meanings of "get," this explanation might help you to understand and use "get" better.