WORD SURFING

WS for * TESL * TEFL * TESOL * ESL * EFL * ESOL * and other languages

Guidelines for Learners and Teachers.

Please note

* The Vocabulary Forum is for learners of English as a second or foreign language.The aim of the forum is to create a quality Vocabulary Builder that is based on the ideas of learners of English – rather than being written by native speakers.

* Learners may also want to introduce themselves when posting their suggestions. They may want to write something like this…

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hi , my name’s Monica and I live in Budapest Hungary. I’m 21 and have been learning English for 10 years now. I would like to suggest the following word.

Tree(1)cw – wood, forest, leaf, twig, branch, trunk, bark, root, bird, family es – Leaves fall from trees in autumn.
es – There is an apple tree and a pear tree in my garden.

By the way, if anyone wants to write to me in English I’ll be happy to reply … I need the practice!

Thanks, Monica >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

* The grading of the chosen words - e.g. tree (1) – will be checked by a teacher before it is included in the Vocabulary Guide . (1) = Beginner. (2) = Lower Intermediate. (3) = Intermediate. (4) = Upper Intermediate. (5) = Advanced. * cw = connecting words ( See WS Books for details and examples) * es = example sentence

* The words that learners choose to practice in this forum should only be ones that are not already included in the current Vocabulary Builder

* The words should be described in the same way as the example above.

* Suggested words may be (i) single words (ii) compound nouns (e.g. junk food, zebra crossing, traffic lights … etc) or (iii) phrasal verbs ( get up, put on, look after … etc)

* “Connecting Words” and “Example Sentences” should be original ideas. They shouldn’t simply be copied from another book – but learners can, of course, get their ideas from reading other books … or talking to other people. In fact, they are encouraged to do so!

* Each suggested word should be followed by between 1 and 10 “Connecting Words” - and between 1 and 4 “Example sentences”

* “Connecting Words” should have a relationship with the main word(s). They should help others to expand their vocabulary by using a dictionary … or asking a teacher for an explanation.

* Learners should try to make example sentences short and simple. They should also try – if possible - to check their grammatical correctness with a teacher before sending them to the forum.

* Sentences that don’t clearly demonstrate the meaning of words – and those that contain a lot of grammatical or spelling errors - will not be used in the Vocabulary Builder. Interesting suggestions with only one or two minor mistakes will be corrected prior to inclusion in the Vocabulary Builder.

* Learners should give their name and country of birth at the end of their postings.

* Learners are asked not send more than one suggestion per day – and not to send in more than a total of 20 suggestions. It is hoped that this request will help the Vocabulary Builder to be created by a larger number of learners - (and their friends) - from different countries.

* All contributions may later be used within a published book. By contributing to the WS Vocabulary Forum learners are also agreeing to freely share their contributions with others should it be selected for inclusion within any such book.

* In the event of any WS Vocabulary Builder being published commercially as a result of these contributions, all royalty payments will be donated directly to VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) and their language teaching services. It’s a charity worth supporting, I think. … ( and hopefully a published book will do that at some stage)

* TEACHERS!!! This is a collaborative project – and I’d really appreciate a couple of volunteers to help me make it possible …. so please send a short e-mail to will@wordsurfing.co.uk. if you could spare a little time. Basically this voluntary “work” would involve

(a) checking suggested contributions in the forum

(b) compiling a list of selected entries and

Pictures that paint a thousand words can be seen at THE ART OF SURFING

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