Happy National Punctuation Day!

                                             Happy Punctuation Day!

Did you know that September 24th has officially been declared as a celebration of the lowly comma, correctly used quotation marks, and other proper uses of periods, semicolons, and the ever-mysterious ellipsis?  Well, now you do, so let the party begin!#$?!  

Here at Workplace ESL Solutions, this is a national holiday we can truly sink our teeth into!  We're kind of grammar geeks that way.  In fact, we love grammar so much that we offer a Business Writing class for professionals to help them improve their skills at the office.  Our words, both spoken and verbal, really affect our brand and how others perceive us.

The ninth annual National Punctuation Day®, the September 24 holiday that reminds America that a semicolon is not a surgical procedure, will celebrate the 2012 presidential election with a literary challenge — vote for your favorite Presidential Punctuation Mark in one, highly punctuated paragraph!

The rules: Write one paragraph with a maximum of three sentences using the following 13 punctuation marks to explain which should be “presidential,” and why: apostrophe, brackets, colon, comma, dash, ellipsis, exclamation point, hyphen, parentheses, period, question mark, quotation mark, and semicolon. You may use a punctuation mark more than once, and there is no word limit. Multiple entries are permitted.

In short, persuade them that your favorite punctuation mark should be the official punctuation mark of the President of the United States.  Contest entries must be received by September 30 to be considered for prizes. The winner(s) will receive a box of punctuation goodies, including a National Punctuation Day® T-shirt. Send entries, including name, address and phone number, to National Punctuation Day® headquarters at Jeff@NationalPunctuationDay.com.

In 2011, 220 entries in their paragraph contest were received from the United States, the Netherlands, Malta, Canada, England, and India.  In 2010, 356 people from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Italy (in Italian!) submitted more than 3,000 entries in our haiku contest, including 73 from a certain New York State employee who shall remain nameless.  

Have a great punctuation day!

When the World Comes Together

 

If you've ever been to the Ground Zero site, then you've felt the reverent feelings of resolve and remembrance the area claims.  Tourists have to book tickets far in advance and then stand in very long lines for admittance.  And they do.  Thousands of people a day go to pay their respects. 

 

The park-like memorial is both peaceful and busy at the same time. A quiet calmness fills the air, as well as the productive sound of busy cranes working nearby to build the new structures that will occupy the neighborhood and stand as a tribute to the American spirit.

 

As we reflect on the 11th anniversary of the September 11th tragedy, we remember when the whole world came together.  America was attacked viciously and families were torn apart by the cruel acts of terrorism.  The world was shocked and mourned with America.  After all, we're all just families trying to be happy and successful in this life.

 

At Workplace ESL, we focus on coming together and celebrating the differences and similarities in our cultures.  In a single ESL class you can see students from South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle-East and remote islands across the globe.  We love our international students!  There is much we can all learn from one another.

 

Despite cultural and language differences, we can all speak the same language of kindness and friendship.  At Workplace ESL Solutions you'll find mutual respect for one another as new languages and skills are taught.  Our Spanish classes spotlight a different country each week so that students can learn to appreciate the subtle differences of the Spanish-speaking world. 

 

When our students graduate from our classes, it is truly a celebration.  We're so proud of our learners who make the effort to communicate in new ways, improving their personal lives and their work environment for the better.

 

To learn more about how you can hire Workplace ESL to come to your workplace and teach your business professionals, please visit our web site and allow us to customize a course just for you!

 

 

 

Good Grammar Tells

Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.

— William Strunk Jr.
in Elements of Style

Do you write for your company?  Newsletters?  Emails? Grants? Copy for collateral?  If so, then everything you write reflects upon the company.  Our words, both spoken and written, create images that either build or hurt our brand. 

Good grammar can instill confidence in your customers and employees.  We all make mistakes, but don't worry that the Grammar Police will arrest you or fire you.  Just pay attention to what you write before you send it out. 


Below are a dozen words that are commonly used incorrectly.  Just a quick review of your writing can avoid embarassing mistakes.  Feel free to print this out and keep it by your computer for future reference.  And by the way, Workplace ESL Solutions also offers a fun two hour workshop for companies who want to improve their writing skills! 

 

1.    The verb “accept” means “to receive” or “to believe”.  The preposition except means other than.  The conjunction means “unless” and the verb means “leave out.”

a.    Tim accepted Jeff’s reason for being late for work.

b.    Everyone – except Chris and his supervisor – had remembered to switch to daylight savings time.

c.    Only in rare cases are employees excepted from the policy on punctuality.

2.    Adverse means “hostile, unfavorable, or harmful.”  Averse means “to have a definite feeling of distaste.”

a.    Adverse weather conditions grounded all airplanes.

b.    The tired staff was averse to the idea of working till midnight.

3.    Advice is a noun that means “recommendation or information” and advise is a verb meaning “to counsel or recommend.”

a. Ralph advised me to value good advice.

4.    Affect is a verb that means “to influence.”  As a noun, effect means “the result”; as a verb it means “to bring about.”

a.    Your performance in the coming year will directly affect the amount of your bonus.

b.    The effect of the economy is hard to predict.

c.    The new procedure will effect significant savings in time and cost.

5.    Anxious indicates that one is worrying; eager, that one is gladly anticipating something.

a. Sarah has never been anxious about speaking in public, but she was eager to play the old hag in Snow White last month.

6.    Beside is a preposition that means “next to.”  Besides is an adverb that means “in addition to.”

a.    Put the file cabinet beside the desk.

b.    Besides the new cabinet, we need a new computer.

7.    Complement means “to complete or go well with.”  Compliment means “to give praise.”  Both words can also be used as nouns.  The adjective complementary means “serving to fill out or complete.” Complimentary means “given free as a favor.”

a.    That was a nice compliment for a job well done.

b.    A fine grape jelly is a complement to any peanut butter.

8.    A conscience gives one the capacity to know right from wrong.  Conscious means “awake or alert, not sleeping or comatose.”

a.    Your conscience will guide you.

b.    Earl needs two cups of coffee to be fully conscious at this hour.

9.    Imply means “to suggest, hint, or communicate indirectly”; infer means to “deduce or conclude from.” (Writers and speakers imply.  Readers and listeners infer.)

a. I thought she was implying that I would receive a raise; apparently I inferred incorrectly.

10.  Lay means “to put or place something.”  It must be followed by a direct object. (lay, laid, laid)

a.    Please don’t lay that report there.

b.    Jerri’s assistant laid down the new carpeting yesterday

      Lie means “to rest or recline.”  It does not take a direct object.  (lie, lay, lain)

c.    Tim likes to lie down for a nap after lunch.

d.    He lay down Monday at 12:30, but often he has lain down by 12:15.

11.  To precede means “to go or come before,” while proceed means “to move on or go ahead.”

a. A note that preceded today’s meeting told us to proceed with part two.

12.  “Than” indicates a comparison and “then” refers to time.

a.    Kevin didn’t know any more about this than I did.

b.    First write your resume.  Then look for a job.

b.    The tired staff was averse to the idea of working till midnight.

 

 

Keep Those Happy Testimonials Coming!

For over 20 years Workplace ESL Solutions never did any advertising because terrific word-of-mouth referrals kept us so busy!   Our excellent reputation is what continues to make us grow and succeed, but now with all this fun social media like this blog and Facebook, we just have to share!

Here are just a few kind words some previous customers had to say about us.  We'd love to hear from YOU too!

The classes were very well structured and provided great information and study materials. The instructor was magnificent and very engaging with our entire staff.

Sherri Ohanian-Ulrich
Vice President of
Human Resources
Monte Carlo Resort & Casino

The level of competence and professionalism displayed by your instructors while presenting both Workplace Spanish and Intermediate Workplace Spanish is certainly noteworthy. You and your staff should be applauded as you are truly deserving as one who “exceeds” the standards.

Eddie V. Bryant
HR Training Manager
City of North Las Vegas

Some of our corporate clients who highly recommend us are:

• MGM Resorts International
• The Cosmopolitan Hotel
• The City of Henderson
• The Station Casinos in Las Vegas
• The Aladdin Hotel and Casino  
• Par 3 Landscaping
• Cover-All Flooring
• Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors
• LeapFrog
• Mirage Hotel & Casino
• Ryland Homes
• Hampton Inn
• Terra Contracting
• The Palms Hotel & Casino
• Lake Las Vegas
• Aristocrat Technologies, Inc
• City of North Las Vegas
• PBS
•  Monte Carlo Casino

 Thank you to all of our wonderful customers!  What can we do to add YOU to the list?  Check out our services and feel free to call us for a free consultation on how you can improve your company with our help!  We also offer FREE workshops of various kinds so you can watch us in action and decide if our style is right for your company or business. 

10 Tips for Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn for your Business

Here at Workplace ESL we're all about helping employees become more successful at their jobs.  We train managers and supervisors to be better leaders and motivators.  In fact, on our web site you'll see our mantra "Workplace ESL: Making Success the Common Language!" 

We like to teach employees and managers about tools that improve communication, so it would be natural for us to talk about LinkedIn, a social networking tool online where professionals can gather and discuss solutions to common problems.

Below is our list of the Top Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn effectively with your company:

 

  

• 1. Make sure your profile is public, so that even non-LinkedIn-users can find you.
• 2. Publish your LinkedIn profile on business cards, email signatures and your website.
• 3. When you invite people to connect, don't use the generic personal note supplied - write your own unique invitation to more effectively engage a connection.
• 4. Use relevant keywords throughout your profile.
• 5. Frequently answer question posts from other users; this helps to brand you as a knowledge leader in your field.
• 6. Offer to write recommendations for your connections - don't just ask for them. It's more sincere, and more effective for gathering positive recommendations.
• 7. Don't connect with people just to get something from them or to ask a favor; offer to do something for them, like make introductions, write recommendations, etc. Sincerity counts, even online!
• 8.  Join some of the terrific industry groups to connect with even more people in your field. 
• 9.  Keep it professional; share your personal pictures on Facebook or some other social network. 
• 10. Be sure to "friend" our Workplace ESL Solutions teachers and staff!   

For more ideas on how you can improve the effectiveness of your business, go to: 
www.WorkplaceESL.com 

Workplace ESL is getting even more social!

Learning a foreign language is a very social enterprise.  It involves the desire to communicate with others, and then lots and lots of practice!  Our classes are VERY interactive because you just can't learn a language effectively out of a text book.  Each class is filled with games, contests, discussions, role-plays, songs, and all kinds of fun activities to keep the students SPEAKING their new language!

I love that our theme is "Making Success the Common Language."  Our goal is to get students speaking and communicating fast!

Workplace ESL Solutions is now even more social because you can find us everywhere online!

We'd love for you to LIKE us on Facebook!   https://www.facebook.com/WorkplaceESL 

If you work in a hotel, you know how crucial it is to be able to communicate with customers, vendors, and staff.  Workplace ESL offers language courses in Spanish and English.  We've also created a fun new LinkedIn group to discuss the  challenges that are unique to the hotel industry.  We'd love to have you join in on the discussion at:    http://www.linkedin.com/groups/HotelESL-4397121?trk=myg_ugrp_ovr

Check out our new YouTube channel, where you can learn more about what Workplace ESL Solutions is all about, plus see some of our teachers and students in action!

To learn even more about us, check out our home page at www.WorkplaceESL.com

Welcome to the Workplace ESL Solutions blog!

Welcome!  We're so glad you found Workplace ESL Solutions!

We're excited about our new blog and the opportunity we'll have to keep you posted on the latest scoop at Workplace ESL, as well as in the language learning industry!  What we're REALLY excited  about is for YOU to post comments and let us know what's on YOUR mind.

For those of you who don't know us, here's a little schpeel on who we are and what we do...and we do it with PASSION!

Workplace ESL Solutions is dedicated to helping companies achieve employee language education goals.  No matter what your industry, you can rely upon Workplace ESL Solutions to deliver:

• Rapid results:  Students emerge with greater language skills to enhance your business
• An expert staff of educators to lead your students towards language proficiency in the workplace
• Proven course content and delivery methods that have benefitted thousands of customers
• Custom-tailored solutions to meet your business’ needs, with both on-site classes and materials to support your own programs

Since 1992, we’ve worked with hundreds of clients from the civil service sector to the hospitality industry, transforming businesses one by one by breaking down communication barriers.

Whatever your industry, Workplace ESL Solutions will tailor a workplace language education solution specific to your needs, employees, and time constraints. 

About Our Founder

Ronna Timpa founded Workplace ESL Solutions in 1992, and is a noted author and educator.  As a nationally renowned expert in ESL and SSL training, Ronna has successfully led the company in improving the lives of thousands of people in hundreds of workplaces and communities.  Her methodology and customized programs are known throughout the country as well as internationally. 
Actively involved in each company’s program design, delivery, and implementation, she is dedicated to improving the communication in your workplace:  one employee at a time.