Archive for July, 2010
Cómo Escoger un Curso de Inglés en el Exterior
Puede ser difícil aprender inglés como segunda lengua, pero es imprescindible hacerlo si deseas tener acceso a los mejores trabajos, educación y oportunidades culturales.
Es por esto que muchos hispano hablantes deciden tomar un curso de inglés en el extranjero. Estos cursos se llaman “ESL programs” o “English as a Second Language programs”, que quiere decir ‘programas de inglés como segunda lengua’.
Hay cursos individuales o en grupo, y los mejores pueden ser caros, así que aquí te damos una guía de cómo escoger el mejor curso de inglés para que le saques el mayor provecho a tu inversión:
1. Confirma la experiencia del profesor
Cuando visites sitios de escuelas de inglés en Internet o veas anuncios sobre cursos de inglés, debes investigar a fondo y averiguar todo lo que puedas acerca del programa, quién lo enseña y su experiencia en el campo.
Pon atención y averigua si el curso es dirigido por un voluntario o por alguien que está certificado para enseñar el inglés como segunda lengua.
Una persona certificada ha sido entrenada y conoce muchos, si no todos, los retos que un estudiante de inglés puede encontrar. Por supuesto, esto no quiere decir que un voluntario hará un mal trabajo, sin embargo, un profesor certificado incrementa la posibilidad de que tu experiencia en el aula sea muy enriquecedora.
2. Pide referencias
Una vez que tengas varios programas en mente, pídele al profesor o a la escuela que te envíe referencias. No dudes en pedirlas, pues si estás pagando por el programa tienes derecho a saber si este lo vale.
La mayoría de escuelas y profesores tienen una lista de antiguos alumnos que están dispuestos a hablar con clientes potenciales sobre su experiencia con los programas. Contáctalos y pregúntales sobre el profesor y cómo el curso los benefició. Estas personas inclusive te pueden dar información valiosa sobre la comunidad donde se encuentra la escuela y sobre la cultura del lugar.
3. Analiza cómo aprendes mejor
Es importante considerar en qué tipo de ambiente aprendes mejor.
¿Eres el tipo de persona que trabaja mejor sola, fuera de un aula? Si es así, te conviene más trabajar con un profesor particular o tomar un curso de inglés virtual, sin embargo, esto puede resultar más caro, por lo que debes considerar tu posición financiera antes de decidir.
Hay también opciones de grupos muy pequeños y espacios tranquilos como bibliotecas y salas de conferencia; todo esto es importante porque mucho ruido y distracciones pueden entorpecer el aprendizaje.
4. Busca alternativas económicas
Dependiendo de donde vives, puedes encontrar alternativas más económicas a un programa de inglés, por ejemplo, grupos comunitarios o iniciativas gubernamentales. Estos van a resultar mucho más baratos que un profesor o escuela privada, sin embargo, probablemente no vas a recibir el mismo tipo de atención.
Si realmente deseas aprender el inglés profundamente, vale la pena invertir en un buen programa, en una ciudad donde se hable la lengua diariamente y donde puedas experimentar la cultura de habla inglesa en su totalidad.
5 Formas de Practicar el Inglés Escrito
Una vez que alcanzas cierto nivel de escritura en inglés vas a querer comprobar que te puedes comunicar efectivamente con otros.
Desafortunadamente, si vives en un área o país donde pocas personas leen en inglés, va a ser difícil que recibas retroalimentación acerca de lo que necesitas mejorar.
Por suerte, ahora hay muchas otras formas de practicar y mejorar tu inglés escrito, y aquí te presentamos 5 de ellas:
1. Utilizando una pizarra
Habrá ocasiones en que desees practicar escribir en inglés pero no necesariamente guardar lo que escribiste. Si escribes en una pizarra, podrás escribir cuanto quieras sin necesidad de gastar papel, y además es una gran manera de practicar tu ortografía.
Al mantener una pizarra siempre a la mano podrás hacer anotaciones rápidas acerca de diferentes temas antes de escribir una composición más formal.
2. Escribe un diario en inglés
Algunas veces sentirás la necesidad de practicar escribir en inglés pero no quieres compartir lo que escribiste.
En un diario puedes escribir tus pensamientos y crear un ambiente donde no te preocupa el resultado. Puede que inclusive descubras que te encanta escribir en tu diario y lo conviertas en una práctica diaria.
3. Lleva un blog
Eventualmente, vas a querer compartir tus ideas y puntos de vista en inglés, pero puedes sentir que no estás listo para enfrentarte a un público de carne y hueso.
Un blog es el balance perfecto entre un diario privado y un grupo de personas.
El blog está abierto al público en general y muchas personas lo leerán. Si alguien desea hacer un comentario lo puede hacer y tu te verás beneficiado con la retroalimentación.
No es necesario que te involucres en ninguna conversación en tu blog si no lo deseas.
4. Inscríbete en un club de inglés
Los clubes de inglés son muy populares, los hay de todo tipo y son el complemento ideal de una “ESL class” (clase de inglés como segunda lengua).
Al escribir junto a otros que desean mejorar su inglés, tienes la oportunidad de practicar el tuyo.
Aquí puedes compartir lo que te resulta difícil y entender porqué es así, a la vez que recibes consejos prácticos para mejorar.
5. Únete a un grupo virtual de crítica de escritura
Hasta los que nacieron hablando y escribiendo el inglés como lengua nativa desean mejorar su estilo. En estos grupos puedes encontrar desde personas que desean ser escritores hasta las que simplemente quieren aprender a comunicarse mejor en diferentes medios.
Ya que estos grupos se dedican a ayudar a otros a mejorar su estilo, vas a recibir retroalimentación muy honesta y directa sobre lo que necesitas mejorar.
Hay muchas formas de practicar el inglés escrito y las que te convienen dependen de tu nivel de aprendizaje. Conforme avanzas, es importante que empieces a compartir con personas que escriben en inglés como primera lengua, sin embargo, una mezcla de escritura privada y pública te puede ayudar a cumplir metas específicas.
4 Great Ways to Practice Business English
Nowadays, no matter where you are in the world, business is mainly done in English; thus, if you own or manage a business most probably you will have to talk in English and you will have to make sure the rest of your staff does too.
Whether you just need to create an ad for the local newspaper or negotiate a difficult international contract, it is vital that you understand how to do business in English; and you can’t wait until the business deal is imminent to put yourself into the perfect situation to learn business English.
Fortunately, there are many ways to practice business English in your daily life, here we show you 4 of the best:
1.Try out and share materials created by you
If, for example, you have to get better at creating a flyer to promote your business, begin by designing and writing one in your native language.
Once you have the ideas clear and organized, translate the flyer to English. When you’re done, find a native English speaker and ask him or her to check it for you.
If you repeat this over and over, you will eventually get a better understanding of the language rules and flow.
2.Go to town and city meetings
If you live in a country where the main language is English, you should go to town and city meetings regularly.
Even though these gatherings are mainly planned to talk about local government issues, you will discover that it is common to hear about money and contract negotiations too. Consequently, you will listen to words and vocabulary related and common to different business fields.
Don’t worry if you get lost in the discussion, you will still be able to see the body language and hear the tone in which people are saying the words.
3.Watch business videos
There are tons of videos that can help you learn business English, and we’re not talking about ESL videos. You can look for videos created to train salesmen and distributors; these give you a great opportunity to practice comprehension of sales and business conversations.
4.Join Internet business groups
Most probably there’s a part of the business you like more than others; it could be marketing, sales, accounting, or any other. Well, look for Internet groups and forums that specialize in that area you like and join the ones that are written in English.
This is a superb opportunity to practice words and phrases that are normally used in your industry, and also to talk about your own experiences.
To learn business English you have to practice and devote yourself to learning its nuances.
Based on your interests and goals, and to complement your ESL lessons, you can find means of practicing that let you participate in conversations or that just allow you to listen and observe. No matter what, in the end, you will find yourself talking business English fluently and with confidence.
If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention our ESL blog as the original source).
The 10 Best Questions to Break the Ice and Practice English
The following 10 questions will help you start a casual conversation in English and keep it going along an interesting line.
The first five questions will help you get to know people. These are simple questions that require simple answers and that give you information so that you can keep asking.
The last five questions will help you maintain a conversation and discover more about the person’s likes and dislikes.
1. What’s your name?
This is a basic question that can prompt an interesting exchange of information.
After the person answers, you can reply:
- “It’s a pleasure to meet you”
- “Where are you from?”
- “That’s an interesting name. Is it French, Indian, Russian…?”
2. Where do you live?
To keep the conversation going, you can ask:
- “How long have you lived there?”
- “Do you like it there?”
- “Do you live in an apartment or a house?”
3. What do you do?
You can find common ground with other people when you know what they do. After breaking the ice, you can follow with something like this:
- “Which company do you work for?”
- “How long have you had that job?”
- “Do you like your job?”
- “What’s the best/worst thing about your job?”
- “What do you like the most/least about your job?”
4. Are you married?
If the person answers “yes”, other questions to ask are:
- “How long have you been married?”
- “Where did you get married?”
- “What does your wife/husband do?”
- “Do you have children?”
If the answer is “no”, you may ask:
- “Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend?”
- “Do you like single life?”
- “Would you like to get married someday?”
5. Where are you from?
It is always interesting to know where other people come from, even more so if they are foreigners. Keep the conversation going by asking:
- “Where is …?”
- “How long did you live there?”
- “What is … like?”
- “Do you like it here?”
6. What do you like to do in your free time?
This is a great question to discover common interests. You can ask:
- “How often do you (eat out in restaurants, play video games, go to the opera, etc.)?”
- “Where do you (eat out in restaurants, play video games, go to the opera, etc.) in town?”
- “Why do you like (eating out, playing video games, going to the opera) so much?”
7. Can you play soccer/ tennis/ basketball/ etc.?”
Ask about any sport you personally like and are a fan of. Keep it going with:
- “Do you enjoy playing soccer/ tennis/ basketball/ etc.?”
- “How long have you played soccer/ tennis/ basketball/ etc.?”
- “Who do you play soccer/ tennis/ basketball/ etc. with?”
- “Would you like to get together sometime to play soccer/ tennis/ basketball/ etc.?”
8. What kinds of films/ food/ vacations do you enjoy?
This topic offers great opportunities to learn new things. Keep asking:
- “What’s the best place to see/ eat/ go on vacation?”
- “What’s your favorite kind of films/ food/ vacation?”
- “How often do you watch films/ eat out/ go on vacation?”
9. What do you do on weekends?
You can find new ways to have fun and even make a new friend. Keep the conversation going along the lines of:
- “Where do you go to …?”
- “Can you recommend a good place to (go shopping/ take my children for a swim/ go dancing)?”
- “How long have you done that?”
10. What kind of music do you like?
Find out more by asking:
- “Where do you go to listen to music?”
- “Do you play a musical instrument?”
- “Have you been to many concerts lately?”
You can use all of these questions in one conversation or use them separately to practice English outside of your ESL class, but remember that the most important thing when meeting people is to keep an open mind and enjoy the experience. This is the best way to learn!
If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention our ESL blog as the original source).
Business Idioms You’ll Want To Know: Part One
Even as a student of Business English, you might get confused when common business idioms are used and you are unaware of their meaning. The following terms are ones that have been used by United States English speakers during business meetings or conferences. Note what they are and you’re sure to be a step ahead during business conversations.
1. Across the board
MEANING: Including everyone or everything
EXAMPLE: There was an internal restructuring across the board.
2. At a loss
MEANING: To incur a financial loss / To lose money
EXAMPLE: We may be forced to sell the remaining products at a loss.
3. At loggerheads
MEANING: In disagreement
EXAMPLE: The company owners are at loggerheads over how to proceed with our request.
4. An old hand
MEANING: Someone with long experience at something
EXAMPLE: He is an old hand at dealing with customer complaints.
5. Ball park figure
MEANING: A rough estimate or figure
EXAMPLE: We have a ball park figure for the cost of the supplies.
6. A calculated risk
MEANING: An action that may fail but has a good chance of success
EXAMPLE: We’ll have to take a calculated risk when introducing our new product to customers.
7. Cold call
MEANING: Call or approach a potential customer who has had no previous contact with the business
EXAMPLE: You’ll have to make cold calls to market our product.
8. Carve out a niche
MEANING: To find a special position to monopolize
EXAMPLE: We aim to carve out a niche among the elderly market of our customers.
9. A ‘Catch 22′ situation
MEANING: A situation that will never work
EXAMPLE: The contract we signed has placed us in a ‘Catch 22′ situation.
10. Computer bug
MEANING: A computer software corruption
EXAMPLE: Our new computer system has encountered a computer bug.
11. Deliver the goods
MEANING: To succeed in doing what is expected
EXAMPLE: If we work extra hours, we’ll be able to deliver the goods.
12. Double check
MEANING: To review a second time to make sure something is correct
EXAMPLE: It is important to double check every entry you make on the spreadsheet.
13. Face value
MEANING: The official worth or trust of something
EXAMPLE: The face value of the product is not much but the demand from customers will push it higher.
14. Gain ground
MEANING: To go forward/ To make progress
EXAMPLE: Our company has been gaining ground with the youth market.
15. Get a break
MEANING: To get an opportunity or a good deal
EXAMPLE: We got a break on the cost of the wheels we ordered.
16. Get off the ground
MEANING: To launch or start something successfully
EXAMPLE: We did not manage to get the product off the ground so we may have to wait until next year.
17. Hacker
MEANING: Someone who has gained access to or interfered with computer information without permission
EXAMPLE: We have a computer security system to prevent a hacker from accessing our files.
If you are interested in improving your business English, consider signing up for ESL classes in the USA to teach you everything you need to know to be successful with your business matters. Executive English courses last from three weeks and equip you with the English you need to know for every business situation.
If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention our ESL blog as the original source).
Get Ready To Negotiate (Part One): Important Business Terms You’ll Want To Use
If you need to negotiate a matter in the business world, you’ll want to equip yourself with good vocabulary to make yourself understood and help you understand many important negotiating terms.
Read, understand and learn the following words which you’re likely to hear during business negotiations:
1.Agent
MEANING: A person that acts for or represents a company
EXAMPLE: The company will send an agent to discuss our wishes with you.
2.Alternative
MEANING: Another option
EXAMPLE: You’ll have to find an alternative for the initial plans you had.
3.Arbitration
MEANING: The addressing / resolving of a conflict using a third impartial party
EXAMPLE: We will have to resolve this matter using arbitration if we do not reach an agreement.
4.Bottom line
MEANING: The lowest or final position someone is willing to reach
EXAMPLE: I’ll accept a 7% raise as a minimum. That’s my bottom line.
5.Bedrock price
MEANING: The lowest possible price
EXAMPLE: We want to sell you our products at bedrock price.
6.To bargain
MEANING: To try and change someone’s mind about their position
EXAMPLE: I’d like to bargain with you on that point.
7.Collective
MEANING: Together
EXAMPLE: We need to reach a decision collectively.
8.A commitment
MEANING: A pledge or promise of oneself to something or to doing something
EXAMPLE: I have a commitment to meeting your needs.
9.Compromise
MEANING: To reach an agreement with someone by both parties complying in some way to the other’s wishes
EXAMPLE: Let’s see if we can reach a compromise.
10.A condition
MEANING: Something that has to be fulfilled or given first in order for something else to happen
EXAMPLE: We will employ you once these conditions are met.
11.Consensus
MEANING: An agreement by all
EXAMPLE: It’s important that there is a consensus on this issue.
12.Contract
MEANING: A written and legal agreement between two or more parties
EXAMPLE: After our discussion, we will draw up a contract.
13.To cooperate
MEANING: To work together
EXAMPLE: Let’s cooperate on this business proposal.
14.A counter offer
MEANING: To present an alternative offer in response to an initial offer
EXAMPLE: I have a counter offer you might want to listen to.
15.Counter-productive
MEANING: Something that has the opposite effect to the one intended or needed
EXAMPLE: If we lower the price, that will be counter-productive to us.
16.A deal
MEANING: A business agreement
EXAMPLE: Let’s reach a deal on this issue.
17.Discount
MEANING: A reduction in price
EXAMPLE: We’ll offer you this product at a good discount.
If you are interested in mastering your business English, opt to take an intensive ESL program in the USA to teach you everything you need to know to be successful with your business matters. Executive English courses last from three weeks and equip you with the English you need to know for every business situation.
If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention our ESL blog as the original source).
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