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‘Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.’ Henry James.

What are the most beautiful words in the English language? The answer to this subjective question will obviously vary from person to person depending, as it does, on the meaning, the sound, the context, and the connotation of the word or words in question.

‘Words strain,

Crack and sometimes break, under the burden,

Under the tension, slip, slide, perish,

Decay with imprecision, will not stay in place,

Will not stay still.’

T.S. Eliot, ‘Four Quartets’

And yet if you scan the works of the most fastidious and discerning writers you will find certain words that are almost universally accepted as ‘beautiful’.

‘You can stroke people with words.’ F. Scott Fitzgerald, ‘The Crack-Up’

Here is Part 1 of my list of ‘beautiful’ words. Are there any words you would remove from or add to this list? Let me know what you think.

autumn

beloved

blandishments

blossom

butterfly

cadence

caress

carol

champagne

chime

crimson

crystal

darling

dawn

delicious

delight

desolate

dream

dulcet

dusk

echo

eglantine

enchant

eternal

ethereal

glistening

goblet

golden

gossamer

harmony

harvest

idyllic

languid

languorous

laughter

love

lullaby

lustrous

magic

Email your suggestions for ‘The Most Beautiful Words in The English Language’ to: assignmentsplus1@aol.com

Gerard McLoughlin is the author of ‘15 hours To A Powerful English Vocabulary’.

To view this course, please visit http://www.assignmentsplus.com/vocabularycourse1.html

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It seems that the Spanish translation industry is rapidly expanding, with more and more people needing professional translation services. However, some people are still reluctant to hire a Spanish translator and would rather turn to free Spanish translation engines and websites rather than pay a professional Spanish translator.

There are a ton of reasons for this, but I’d like to mention one of those here in this article, which is that people are unwilling to pay translators for their services believing that translation is not difficult and simply consists of copying the original document down in another language.

Many of these people look at all of the free Spanish translation tools that are available online and think to themselves, “Why do I need to pay a professional when I can have it done automatically for free?” Little do they realize the true cost of free Spanish translation services.

A business is always under the scrutinizing eye of the public. Everything you write, from emails that you send to customers, to quarterly financial reports, all demonstrates the pride you have in your company. If you conduct your correspondence in English, but pay no attention to grammar or the words you use, you won’t be in business much longer. The same is true for your foreign language correspondence.

Why would you for a second believe that a potential client reading your marketing material in another language would not be turned off by a sub-par, or even a ridiculous translation? However, that is exactly what you are getting by using a free Spanish translation service you would find online, such as Google’s or Altavista’s.

You will not only be costing your business future revenue, but also, if word of you trying to pass off your materials in another language by using a free Spanish translation tool gets out to your English-speaking clients, they might believe you are not serious about your business and sever their relationship with you. I don’t know about you, but that’s a pretty high price I wouldn’t be willing to pay.

So what are these free online Spanish translators good for? Well, the only thing I think they are good at is giving you a main idea of what the text is about. Let me give you a brief example.

I ran the first paragraph of an article I found in a Mexican newspaper through the free Spanish translation tool at Google’s website. Here’s the resulting English exactly as it was rendered:

The man assassinated in the bar Capon’s, turned out to be an ex- municipal police, informed the police authorities. The victim was identified with the name of Luis Antiga Hernandez, of 35 years of age.

…and here is what the English should be:

Police authorities have reported that the man assassinated in Capon’s Bar was a former municipal policeman. The victim was identified as 35-year-old Luis Antiga Hern

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Do your English or foreign language learners like to play games? If they’re at all like my students, of course they do. Are you looking for a short, fast-paced, dynamic activity your language learners will love? While you’re at it, do you want them to practice their language skills too? Here are two adaptable games that work just great in my EFL classroom. I think they can work well for you too.

“Tricky”

Also known as Tic-Tac-Toe in some countries, you can adapt this game in a number of ways to elicit spontaneous practice on the part of your English or foreign language learners. Divide a table, desk, the board, a sheet of paper or even a portion of the floor into a nine-square, three by three grid pattern using a marker or masking tape. Ask a question or give a short task to a student or group of students. A correct answer allows them to place a marker (or one of themselves) into a square. An incorrect answer rolls the turn to the next student or group. The students or groups take successive turns giving answers (or completing short tasks) or responses, trying to get three in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Things can heat up quickly with this game activity.

BINGO

B-I-N-G-O, a dynamic alternative or variation of “Tricky”, this seemingly age-old favorite uses five (or any number) in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally to determine a “winner”. Use grammar in context, vocabulary, synonyms, definitions, antonyms, questions - answers, short dialogues or whatever else you want your language learners to practice in context. The first student or small group to score five in a row is declared the “winner”. To continue to involve even more students or time, continue playing with a second or third place winner. You can also play until everyone has “won”.

Learners practice their English or foreign language skills, turn-taking and cooperative learning strategies while having a blast. As a board game, use nine different-colored squares on a table or desktop with plastic figures or the learners’ personal items (keys, key rings, pens, coins, buttons, small objects, etc.) as markers. For a more Total Physical Response (TPR) approach, mark off the floor with masking tape and the students themselves become the “markers”. Use markers on the white board to write in the learners’ or team names for larger groups. But try one or both of these simple, quick activities to jazz up a slow-starting class or as a “wake up” dynamic for longer class sessions. Then judge for yourself how your learners respond.

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an ELT Teacher Trainer, English language learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. He has published more than 350 articles and academic papers and presented at numerous EFL teacher training and TEFL conferences throughout North America, South America and Europe. For comments, questions, requests, to receive more information or to be added to his free TESOL articles and teaching materials mailing list, e-mail: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

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