Of the many TESOL 2024 sessions on AI, Kyle Butler of Ohio University offered the most unique approach that would likely resonate with those still wary of the new technology. With sensitivity and relatable humor, he tapped into our sense of vulnerability and fear of being expendable in this fast-changing landscape of language instruction. On…
Category: Writing
Developing the Right Mindset for Using AI
TESOLers in Tampa had a myriad of sessions on AI to choose from. Presenters approached the subject from different angles and explained how they had been using ChatGPT and other AI tools in their classrooms over the past year or so. In the context of academic writing, the consensus is that both teachers and students…
Reducing Repetition in Writing
Some of my students are discovering how ChatGPT can assist them, but I’m pleased to see they are still keeping themselves in the driver’s seat, so to speak, generating their own writing and having the final say in what wording captures their meaning and desired tone best. For example, a student might feed an email…
When to Be and Not to Be Formal
Native and non-native speakers alike may feel greater comfort writing at a certain register. For some, it’s not challenging to write in a conversational tone; they generally write like they talk in everyday English. Others prefer to adopt a more formal style whenever they respond in writing. At a recent YouTube livestream, I stressed the…
Reinforcing Collocations in Email
A number of my private students work on email skills, from general accuracy with vocabulary and grammar to the tone and register. A couple of students recently benefited from a review of collocations. For example, it was important to remember that the verb “regret” is very often followed by a gerund, but in a formal…
Fleeing the Weight of Wordiness
A number of my advanced students have been working on reducing wordiness. This is a skill every writer should hone. How do we balance the desire to articulate our ideas intelligently with the need to be clear and concise? Sometimes we may consider using weightier structures to avoid repetition of simpler ones. Other times, we…
Flexibility in One’s Writing
Helping advanced students gain skill with conjunctions and transitions. PDF included.
Nailing Down FANBOYS
Short writing practice with the coordinating conjunctions FOR, YET, NOR. PDF included!
What We Say but Don’t Write
I recently shared a lesson on common uses of “again.” (Watch video.) They include the question “Come again?” and the humorous or cantankerous observation “Here we go again!” I noted that all the expressions are conversational in nature. What does that mean exactly? It means you might possibly use the expressions when texting or messaging…
Think Before (and After) You Type: Correcting Mistakes
The other day I corrected my son’s grammar mid-conversation, and I thought to myself, The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. My father used to correct me. He’d insist on subject pronouns in comparative structures whenever I’d say something like “taller than me.” At the time, I didn’t know the terms “prescribed” and “descriptive”…
Is the Art of Email Teachable?
If I didn’t believe it was possible to teach students how to write email, I wouldn’t have made a full playlist of lessons on the subject. However, video tutorials take learning only so far. The most success I’ve had helping students improve their skill in writing email is through live instruction. Being able to discuss…
Writing with Variety
Members in my Patreon program voted to focus on sentence structure and sentence variety. We first reviewed sentences according to their purpose. I explained how much of their writing will be made up of declarative sentences. However, the strategic use of interrogative, exclamatory, and imperative sentences can spice up a text. Seeing models hit this…
English with Jennifer 