English writing
Jul 18th , 2011
From underdog to hero: Dyslexic Tom wins UK’s The Apprentice
Last night, on BBC ONE, the unexpected happened. Tom Pellereau, a 31-year-old inventor who was on the losing side a record eight times during the series, was chosen by Alan Sugar to become his new business partner in ‘The Apprentice’ … Continue reading
Posted in Dyslexia, English writing, Learning disability | Tagged dyslexia, The Apperentice
Jul 11th , 2011
Your most frequent mistakes according to Ginger
I had a look at Ginger’s most frequent error report the other day and was quite surprised. Other than popular typos and your other usual suspects, the mistake that occurs most frequently is when users confuse ‘is’ with ‘are’ (and … Continue reading
Posted in Archive, English learning, English writing, Grammar | Tagged frequent errors
Jun 15th , 2011
School children produce better texts with Ginger
Great feedback all around at our visit to The Norman Howard School in Rochester, NY A couple of weeks ago, Miki, our VP of US operations, visited one of the schools that use Ginger and saw the students and Ginger … Continue reading
Posted in Dyslexia, English writing, Grammar, Learning disability, Proofreading, Spelling, Text to speech | Tagged Ginger at School
May 3rd , 2011
Calling all beta lovers
All you Ginger users out there already know the famous Ginger drawer, F2 key and correction window. Behind the scenes, we have been working on creating a much lighter interface. Our goal was to develop a straightforward tool that will … Continue reading
Posted in English learning, English writing, Grammar, Proofreading | Tagged beta, seamless
Jan 9th , 2011
Business English – Why Is It Important Today?
Business English is the general term used for English related to international commerce, finance and industry. In the global environment, it has become common for non-native English speakers to study business English as a specific tool, with the aim of interacting with English-speaking countries, or with companies that use English as a shared language. In this atmosphere, business English is what one is required of in order to join, communicate and compete in the international market. This is why the importance of good business English can no longer be underestimated in the age of the new global business market.
The English language is currently estimated as the third largest mother tongue in the world. However, it is unquestionably the first and most popular second-language. In fact, most of the information that circulates in our world – mail, radio, cable, internet, etc. – is in English. This language has become the working language or bridge language of our time. There is even a specific rubric for Language Skills in any standard résumé template, with the level of English generally being what is examined. This dominance plays a part in the wide range of effects of what is called globalization.
As a purpose-specific tool, the central goals of business English is to carry the message across and to reach agreement. This is why it demands a business-oriented English vocabulary and a bunch of skills. These skills can include English letter writing, delivering presentations, negotiating or plain small-talk. With this in mind, such skills are already considered to be a prerequisite of modern-day international cooperation, and an important key for global business.
Posted in English writing | Tagged business english, business english online
Jan 9th , 2011
Business Writing
Business writing skills are essential in today’s competitive work environment. Letter writing, email writing, texts for power point presentations and many other writing assignments that involve business writing skills are necessary, on a day to day basis, in every office. Business writing can be enhanced by an automatic English correction tool that offers grammar tips tips and corrections.
Business writing is no different than any other type of writing, the more instructions you receive and the more chances you have practiced, the better your business writing will become. Therefore, choosing the right software for English business writing improvement and making sure that it will provide you with useful writing tips is extremely important.
Let’s examine some of the ways in which your business writing can be improved by a context-sensitive writing correction tool. Let us say that you need to do some business writing while you are on your way to an important meeting. You need to write an important letter and your letter writing skills are not that good. You have just a limited amount of time to write the letter and send it by email, and no one to check your spelling and grammar for you. The business writing correction tool that you need will be able, not only to locate your errors while you write and point them out to you, it must also be able to determine whether your word usage is logical in a contextual sense. You do not want to be embarrassed by corrections that confuse the original meaning of your intended sentences and therefore context sensitivity in your business writing correction tool is an absolute must. With a single click of a button, your business writing correction tool must be able to show you your errors, both grammatical and contextual, and offer you logical alternatives.
Now let’s talk about improving your business writing. It’s not enough for your correction tool to be able to correct your mistakes, it must also be able to point out your strengths and weaknesses and pave a way for you to continuously improve your business writing. Writing and learning will then become one integrated process. Your letter writing, or any other type of business writing, will continue to improve and at the same time you will always have that invisible friend that makes sure your letters, emails and power point presentation texts will turn out just right.
Posted in English writing | Tagged business english writing, business writing
Jan 9th , 2011
English Writing for the ESL Student
One of the best ways to teach English grammar, spelling and other essential skills is by teaching students proper English writing techniques.
Grammar is one of those controversial subjects for teachers in the ESL classroom. The adult learner seems to feel more comfortable learning grammar rules in isolation, while the younger student may prefer to simply absorb them through the lesson material. Regardless of learning style, most students expect to learn grammar, along with English vocabulary, idioms, spelling and other compulsory topics.
For the English teacher, the dilemma is how to teach it, and how much grammar to teach. Some teachers love teaching grammar, and rely on it for a huge chunk of class time in their lesson plans. Others are less enthusiastic about teaching grammar, and concentrate on speaking, reading and writing in their lessons.
One way to approach the topic is through teaching grammar in use – going beyond drills and exercises to teach students English grammar in a way that is more natural and useful for their daily lives. If a student wants more in the way of drills, there is a wealth of online grammar activities to choose from.
However, the study of English is about more than just grammar. One often encounters students who have studied English for years in their native countries and cannot speak the language at a basic conversational level, yet are capable of making highly detailed distinctions on minor, esoteric grammar points.
To study English properly, a student should develop a broad set of skills which allow him or her to master the technical aspects of the language, while developing fluency, accuracy and a comfortable familiarity with the language which will allow him to communicate on a natural level.
One way to combine grammar and spelling skills with natural familiarity and fluency is by learning how to write well in English. In today’s world, good writing skills are an absolute necessity, in school, in the workplace and in performing simple, day to day tasks.
One good exercise for students is letter writing. Students can write letters to their friends and family in their home countries, detailing their experiences interacting with their new surroundings and comparing them to those back home. Another good writing exercise is to keep a personal diary.
By practicing writing skills on a regular basis, supplemented by an interactive editing process, students can become capable communicators, while mastering the technical aspects of the language at the same time.
Posted in English writing | Tagged English Writing, ESL