ADV.14.6. LIFE ONLINE

I. LEARNING LANGUAGE FROM VIDEO CLIPS 

1. PREPARING TO WATCH A VIDEO CLIP

Using context clues

One way to increase your chances of understanding a video is to use any information, images, or graphics on or around the video before you watch it.

Using previous knowledge

Another thing you can do is think about the genre of the video. Is it a news broadcast? A comedy? A sketch? An interview? What does the genre typically consist of? How is it usually structured?

Using what you already know about a genre helps you understand a video better when you watch it.

2. EXTRACTING LANGUAGE FROM A VIDEO

Extracting language from a clip

A strategy you can use when watching video clips with complex language and concepts is: meaning, analysis, evaluation.

Meaning

Watch the clip first without subtitles and try to understand its general meaning. Don't worry about the words you don't know.

Analysis

Watch the clip again, using subtitles if you need to. This time, analyze the language in the video. What words and phrases do the speakers use to make their points? Are there any words you don't know?

Evaluation

Now you've identified the key language, evaluate it to decide whether it's useful to you. If it is, store it somewhere, for example by writing it down in a vocabulary notebook.

Approaching a video clip like this helps you not just understand it better, but learn new language from it, too.

II. FINDING INFORMATION ONLINE

1. EVALUATING SEARCH RESULTS

Using words with similar meaning

One strategy you probably use when searching on the internet is typing in a broad search term then evaluating the relevance of the results. You can make this easier by thinking about words with similar meaning to your search criteria. You'll need to make this as cost-effective as possible, as we've got a limited budget. Once you've identified the key phrases cost-effective and limited budget, you can expand your set of terms with other words like cheap or inexpensive. You can then look for these associated words as you skim through your search results.

2. FINDING INFORMATION IN A TEXT

Skim reading

You're probably already familiar with skimming – reading quickly to find the general idea of a text. One way to do this better is to look for topic sentences, usually the first or second sentence in a paragraph.

Scanning for information

What if you need to scan a document to collect information?

First, brainstorm a list of things you need to find in the document. Next, think about other words with similar meaning. Then, scan for these key terms, noting down useful information and rejecting anything that isn't relevant.

III. BEING EFFECTIVE IN ONLINE CALLS 

1. DEALING WITH TECHNICAL ISSUES

When there's a problem …

When you experience technical issues during an online call, it's important to let the other people on the call know what problems you're having. Sorry, the audio keeps cutting in and out. There's some pretty bad background noise. I dropped out for a second there. All I'm getting is distortion. I'm hearing some bad echo. There seems to be some delay on the line. Offering and asking for solutions   There are a few things you can do to solve the problem. Can we try hanging up and starting again? Would you mind muting your microphones? I'll try calling back from this end. If there's a delay, remember you can use polite expressions to negotiate who should continue.

A. Oh, I'm sorry, did I interrupt?
B. No, it's OK. Go ahead.
A. OK, I'll go first then.


2. FILLING IN THE GAPS

Filling in the gaps

If you lose some of what was said during a call, it may still be possible to 'fill in the gaps.' For example, what might the missing words be here?

OK, everyone. Please make (inaudible) that your (inaudible) are muted, so that we can avoid any echoes.

In this example, we're on an online call, and it's the beginning of the meeting. So we know this could be about the meeting agenda or about making sure everything is working properly.

You can also use the surrounding words. Please make indicates a request so sure would be a good guess as the next word. Muted and echoes are words associated with sound, so here microphones is a good fit.

OK, everyone. Please make sure that your microphones are muted, so that we can avoid any echoes.

Clarifying and confirming

It's also a good idea to confirm what you think you've heard. Here are some ways to do that. Sorry, all I got was 'and the plans for expansion.' Hilary, I heard the part about the new office in Nairobi. You said, 'give you guys some background.' Is that right? I'm guessing it was, 'stop while we investigate the problem.'

IV. WRITING APPROPRIATELY ON EMAIL THREADS

1. IDENTIFYING ISSUES

Identifying issues
Before responding to an email, it's a good idea to read it again carefully to make sure you have identified every key issue.
One way to do this is look at the structure. For example, a project update email might list each milestone under a heading, from most important to least important, and include a summary of progress as well as any problems.
	Introduction Milestone 1 Milestone 2 Milestone 3 Summary

Using key words
You can also scan for key words. For example, what kind of information might you find in a project update email? What words might give you this information? Here are a few:
	schedule on-track delay milestone issue complete incomplete

Interpreting tone
Remember also to interpret the email's tone. If it has a formal tone, the topic is probably serious and you should respond just as seriously. Look for long sentences with passive forms and complex clauses. Compare these two examples:
	Hi, everyone. Rob told me that you're having some big problems with the project … Dear all, It has been brought to my attention that there are some serious issues with the project …
Another way to gauge an email's seriousness is from the writer's use of adverbs and adjectives. Look at these two examples. Notice how the writer in the second one increases the intensity.
	Can someone tell me why this happened? This isn't very good. I would like an explanation as to why this has happened. This is absolutely unacceptable.

2. ANALYZING REGISTER SHIFT

3. REFERRING BACK TO WHAT WAS SAID

Referring back

As email threads get longer, you'll notice expressions like these that refer readers back to previous parts of the thread: Coming back to what Graham said in his last email, why don't we review the plan and make some adjustments? As Tom mentioned in his last email, there's still time to get the design finished. Summing up   You may also want to refer to what a number of people have said, or summarize a general opinion: As I can see from above, almost everyone is in favor of a change. There seems to be a consensus that we should delay the project and spend more time on planning. As many of you have commented, I think it's best if we celebrate the opening on the 12th. From what I'm seeing, most of the time we're wasting is on non-essential tasks. Having read all your responses, I want to set up a meeting for next week.

4. USING PARTICIPLES EFFECTIVELY

Participle clauses
Participle clauses are common in writing, allowing us to give extra information in fewer words. Look at the difference using a participle clause can make:
	I have read all of the emails in the above thread and I am still not convinced that there is a problem.
	Having read all of the above, I am still not convinced that there is a problem.
It's important you make it clear who or what is being referred to in a participle clause. In this statement, who voiced the concerns?
	Having voiced my concerns in staff meetings, only to have been ignored, I felt I had no choice but to take my complaint to the office management team.
In this case, it was the writer (I felt …), but the participle clause and the subject are quite far apart from each other in this sentence, and sometimes this can create confusion. Confusing clauses   Look at this example of a confusing participle clause. Who finished the project: the boss or the team?     Having finished the project, the boss was very impressed with our team.   For clarity, it's better to make sure the subject of the participle is also the subject of the main clause.     Having finished the project, our team really impressed the boss.