English, baby!

Sincerely Yours

Date: Aug 17 2007

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

When is the last time you sat down and wrote a letter by hand? If it’s been a while, you should try it. There’s something nice about putting ink to paper. You can do it outside or in an easy chair without the glow of the computer.

It’s also much more personal to open an envelope and unfold a letter. When Kevin left the country for a while, he found the best way to stay connected to his friends was to write letters and send them snail mail.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Kevin

Mason

Kevin: So you know I know that everyone uses email and that’s all people want to do…

Mason: I, like, don’t even use paper anymore.

Kevin: ...and text messages. I was definitely going down that path for a number of years and then about two years ago when I was working in Japan, I just…I was really far from all my close friends, so I started to send them letters…

Mason: From Japan?

Kevin: Yeah.

Mason: Wow.

Kevin: Just, like, it was nice to send one and get one and one of my best friends loves to write letters so he was really excited that I loved to write him letters so I’d send him a letter every week and he’d send me one, and it was awesome.

Mason: That’s so classical. I like the [def ]romantic[/def] idea of it, but I don’t know if I’d be patient enough to wait for the interchange of an overseas letter.

Kevin: But if you know that it will come like every week, like you send one and get one back that same week, it’s fine, you know. And it’s kind of exciting. It just means a lot more than an email.

Mason: I completely agree with that, but I gotta say my handwriting is terrible.

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Discussion

People usually communicate electronically now that most everyone has an email address and mobile phone. Mason says he hardly uses paper anymore. Perhaps that’s what makes him so surprised when Kevin says he likes to write letters. In this day and age, writing letters is a rare thing to do.

Kevin started writing letters when he was in Japan. One of his good friends was really into it and the two of them exchanged letters every week. This regularity made up for how long it takes to send a letter overseas. Mason’s not sure if writing letters sounds like fun to him. He agrees it’s a significant gesture, but complains that his writing is bad.

When is the last time you wrote a letter? Can you think of anyone who would like to receive one?

Comments

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lionspa

Egypt

i have never write a letter by my hand and i think that u have to get good hand writing .its rare when i see any one write aletter .from the other hand i think that writing a letter is so good for any one who dont want to sit in front a cube of light .

FeiFei

China

I an sorry,I an afraid I hardly do remember when the last time i sat down and wrote by hand is.I like this way to connect with my friends. It can make me recall the time of middle school ,in that time everyone had many handwriting friends.

Océane

China

i’d like to hear from my friends,the fact is i haven’t hear from them 5 or more years.

stellatse

China

“I gotta say my handwriting is terrible.”
haha_{me too}

explorer143

Pakistan

Practise Makes the Man Perfect.

flyinsky

China

I always want to return the traditonal way to communicate with my friends ,but the fact is we chat online….

no idea about the turth

flyinsky

China

I always want to return the traditonal way to communicate with my friends ,but the fact is we chat online….

no idea about the turth

Indiagitana

Brazil

I’ve always sent letters to relatieves and friends (who live far). The emotion of receiving their letters with their hadwriting, drawings, etc is unique.

Orhwolarbi

Nigeria

I like to write letter with pen and mail to friends, but most people these days thought the system is traditional and obsolete. I still prefer it and I hope to have friends that would love to communicate through this mean.

saeedsirtex

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

well, the computer come and internet make it complately.all of thing grown up and go header so if we want to stay and don t move to the front .i think it is a crazy work.

i ll agree with you that we don t use the letter hand more than before and also it gets lower but this work can help us to save our time.

in this case is a iranaian idom that said about time:

time is gold ,don t sell it cheap.

mert.tekin

Turkey

my name is hamit ı am turkısh ı am learnin englısh ılive in istanbul ıwork a company ı am 33 years old ı am maried ı have one dougter she is 3 years old ı like this side take your care by

explorer143

Pakistan

Writting letter by hand was good tool, but it was costly. Todays traffic world it would not be enough, therefore by writing messages using mobile or messanger are fast and cheap technology.

But I Really Miss Those Technology!

explorer143

Pakistan

ummmmm, well! I’m not sure that what was the day that last time i had done this, I think that i wrote letter to my cousin, 7(seven) year ago.

An'an

China

Yeah. I haven't written a letter for 13 years ago. I like to write an email although my handwriting is good.Because snail mail is too slow, however the email or instant messenger is very fast. You can communicate each other at anytime and anywhere.

eva christine

China

yes,i think handwrite letters are more romantic than email or other contancted methords. i feel my friend is sitting beside me and we are chatting just face to face whenever i read the letters he wrote to me.

Echo Wang

China

For i long time i had tried to send snail mail to my
friends. But everyone laughed at what i was doing.
Yeah, it's very exiting to reciived a "real"letter, i
like it. Now, i want to write letters to my friends,
but i don't think they will reply me with snail mails.

-Natalie-

China

The last time I wrote in a paper is for my boyfriend's birthday. I think he would like the birthday card rather than I bought.I wrote it by colorpencils and also drawn some lovely pictures.He love it. And I think this way is so great and so sweet!

hudengkui

China

oh,wow….i am so sorry, i am afraid i hardly do remember when the last time i sat down and wrote by hand is.maybe, it is time to write sth by hand to my parents ,my love and my friends!now,it^s time!at the same time, writing by hand ,i think,is not only a unique skill that transmits the information,but also a way that interchanges minds,enhances comphrehation.

i love writing byhand and insist it would last by fgtg!

mmc18

Turkey

it was 3 years ago that i wrote a letter by hand. A letter is a lot more meaningful than an email and Intance Message from application such as MSN. So technologhy used in the past is always more meaningful for the people. For instance when people were using a way of writing letter , a way of using bird was a lot more meaningful than letter.

by the way nowadays Technology offers me write an email by hand

chrisyao

China

I missed my last leter becasue I wrote to my first girlfriend. I always remembered that I was very exicting when I got my girl friend letter. It was really good memory.