Better at English writing contest - win an Amazon gift certificate!

Posted on August 1, 2007
Filed under Writing skills, contests |

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A listener recently emailed offering some constructive criticism about my voice in the Better at English podcasts. I’m always grateful for tips on how we can improve our shows, and I am quite sure that she meant to be helpful. However, because of the language she chose, her critique sounded rather harsh. If I didn’t know how difficult it is to express yourself in a foreign language, I probably would have been offended. Luckily, I DO understand how difficult English can be for EFL and ESL learners, and am thankful for the advice :-)

Being too direct and harsh when giving (constructive) criticism or making requests is a very common problem for the EFL / ESL learners that I teach, so I’ve decided to use this authentic email as a writing contest for you.

contestTASK
Your task is to rewrite the email below to get the point across more tactfully. Of course your spelling and grammar should be good too. Make it your most beautiful English!

DEADLINE
The deadline for your entries is 00:01 UTC Tuesday 7 August.

HOW TO ENTER
Post your rewritten text as a response to this topic on our forum. (You’ll have to join the forum, but it’s easy. And FREE.) I’ll choose the submission I think is best.

PRIZE
The prize is a 25-Euro gift certificate from Amazon. We had some generous donations to BetterAtEnglish this month, so it’s nice to be able to give something back to our dedicated listeners!

REWRITE THIS

Hi Lori

It would really help me and I’m sure a lot of others like me, if you’d speak with your natural voice, not so high pitched. I was listening to the phrasal verbs on your website ( the episode about spending money) and I was really turned off by your animated speaking.

Good luck!

P.S: I agree with the critique. My delivery in the early “2-minute English” shows SUCKED bigtime :oops:

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