THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO READING AND WRITING EMAILS IN ENGLISH How to read difficult emails written by someone who writes English as a 2 nd language and How to write emails in English language like a pro A publication of How to understand “difficult to read emails” that have been written in English as a 2 nd Language, and How to write emails in English when English is your 2 nd language. Is this the right eBook for you? English for Emails comes in two levels of knowledge capacity. Review the two descriptions below to see if this eBook is the one the best matches your level of English language use. www.kaojaienglishschool.com info@kaojaienglishschool.com Introduction This eBook is designed give you some basic tools and tips to reading emails that have been written in English as a 2 nd language. Learn the secrets to writing emails in English that are easy to write, easy to read and easy to understand. Intermediate Intermediate is for students and professionals that have more experience using English language in written and spoken communications. This eBook will show you more advanced language use and communication techniques that will have you sounding like an English language pro! This eBook! THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO READING AND WRITING EMAILS IN ENGLISH By Brian McCarthy Brian McCarthy is a leading expert in English language communications coaching. Brian uses three unique specialties (language teaching, coaching and communications) in his training modules that make them easy to learn, simple to use and extremely FUN! You might be thinking… how much fun can an eBook be? This is true but when you’ve finished with this eBook you can take a free on-line (live) mini- course with Brian. This is where the rubber meets the road and you will soon discover just how much fun and effective training with Coach Brian can be! One of the things Brian has seen time and time with Companies he has worked for are issues with email messages that have been written in English when the writer of the message is using English as a 2 nd language. This problem is compounded when both the writer of the email and the reader of the email message are both using English as a 2 nd language. So Brian has developed the “English For Emails” training course that will have you and your staff communicating email messages (both inbound and outbound), with understanding and efficiency. As they say time is money and confusion is lost profits. www.kaojaienglishschool.com info@kaojaienglishschool.com Table of Contents Introduction 2 Intermediate 2 The Purpose and Benefit of this eBook 5 Getting Started 5 Email Structure 6 Sample of a well written email message: 8 Register 9 Using Polite Language 11 Talking About Deadlines and Taking Action 12 Colloquial Phrases and Contractions 13 Being Diplomatic 14 Prepositions of Time (Western Time Culture) 15 Reading “Difficult” Email Messages 16 Focus on the Message not the Words 16 When Less is More 18 Conclusion 19 www.kaojaienglishschool.com info@kaojaienglishschool.com The Purpose and Benefit of this eBook The purpose of this eBook is to help you to read emails that are “hard to understand” and to write emails in English that are “easy to understand”. The problem most people who speak and write English as a 2 nd language is writing an email that the other person (receiver) can understand. This problem is worse when the writer and the receiver of the email messages are both using English as a 2 nd language. This eBook will teach you the secrets to reading and understanding email messages that are written in English as a 2 nd language and show you how to write a clear response back to the person. Getting Started First, I would like you to take our short survey on our website. It’s free and you don’t need to leave an email address. After you complete the survey you will be taken to a page with a lot of “free” detailed information about the survey questions and writing emails in English. Here’s the link to the survey: English for Emails Survey You have our permission to share this eBook but you cannot edit or alter it in anyway. 4 www.kaojaienglishschool.com info@kaojaienglishschool.com “The main problem is when both the writer and receiver of a message are using English as a 2 nd language.” Email Structure One of the advantages of emails over normal mail (snail-mail) letters is that they are quick and direct. We send an email for a particular purpose and we expect a fast response or immediate action. For emails, whether formal or informal, to be most effective, it is a good idea to give them a clear, logical structure. Subject Line: This should be short and give some specific information about the contents of your message. Salutations: As in letter writing, the salutations can be formal or informal, depending on how well you know the person you are writing to. Dear Mr, Mrs, Ms - A formal form of address, also used when first contacting a person. Dear John - Less formal, either you have had contact with this person before, or they have already addressed you by your first name. Hi or Hello Mary (or just the name) - Informal, usually used with colleagues you often work with. In the U.S.A. and the U.K. also sometimes used at first contact. With no salutation - Very informal, usually used in messages which are part of a longer email exchange or thread. 5 www.kaojaienglishschool.com info@kaojaienglishschool.com This is how we build an email… Opening Sentence: This is used to explain why you are writing. Remember the opening sentence should always start with a capital letter. I’m writing to… More formal introduction to say why you are writing. Just a quick note to… Friendly, informal way to say why you are writing. More Information: This is where the body of your message goes… remember that less is more, which means… keep the body of the message short and to the point. Leave out emotion and unnecessary language. Conclusion: This is where you tell the reader what kind of response, if any, you expect. Looking forward to your reply More formal way to request a response. Hope to hear from you soon… Friendly, informal way to request a response. Hope to hear from you soon…. 6 www.kaojaienglishschool.com info@kaojaienglishschool.com Close: Like the salutation, this can vary from formal to informal. Yours Sincerely - Very formal, rarely used in email correspondence. Regards/Best regards/Best wishes - Most commonly used close, can be used in formal and informal emails. Bye/All the Best/Best - Friendly, informal close. James/Mary (blm) - Name only (or initials) is also common when writing to close colleagues. Sample of a well written email message: Subject Line: English for Emails Course Salutations: Dear Sir, Opening Sentence: I am writing to you about your English for Emails course. Message Body: I heard about you new course and would like to receive more information. Can you please email the information package to me? Conclusion: I am looking forward to your reply and the information about the course. Close: Regards, Brian McCarthy 7 www.kaojaienglishschool.com info@kaojaienglishschool.com Register The register of an email (how formal or informal it is) depends on the type of message you are writing and who you are writing to. So an email about rescheduling a meeting might be less formal than an enquiry or an apology. Similarly, an email to a new customer or the CEO of your company would probably be more formal than an email to an old customer or a colleague. You can tell how formal an email is by its … Salutation and Close: see the previous section regarding email structure for more information. Colloquial Phrases: These are phrases normally used in conversation which make an email less formal. Examples are: How’s it going? or How are you? or See you later. Vocabulary: The words and expressions used in an email can make it formal or informal. Some examples are: formal - to receive / to inform / to assist / to contact informal - to get / to tell / to help / to get in touch 8 www.kaojaienglishschool.com info@kaojaienglishschool.com Formal Email (very formal) Informal Email Abbreviations: The use of abbreviations and symbols (for example, info for information and & for and) are more common in informal emails, although some standard abbreviations used in letter writing like asap (as soon as possible) are also found in formal emails. Emoticons: These image forms of expression language are often used in informal emails to help the recipient understand exactly what you mean. 9 www.kaojaienglishschool.com info@kaojaienglishschool.com [...]... email message instead of reading every word can help you to find the keywords and understand the message much quicker Read less and understand more! Skimming: this technique is used to quickly find the key points of any written text Scanning: this technique is used to quickly find the detailed information that supports the key points found in skimming 17 www.kaojaienglishschool.com info@kaojaienglishschool.com... relationships and future business And of course there’s ways to “not” to ask questions and give answers too! Polite Language: Again filtering language that may not seem polite to you is the best way to understanding the email message Also remember that sometimes these words have different meanings in different cultures Whenever you’re reading a confusing email message first step is to pause and think about... at the end of the week / month at the Weekend (Australia, UK) at Easter / Christmas at the moment (not: in the moment) In time periods in the morning / afternoon in June / August in five minutes in the first / third quarter By deadlines by Friday / 4 p.m / next month (at the latest) We must finish the report by Friday (Not: until Friday) 14 www.kaojaienglishschool.com info@kaojaienglishschool.com Reading. .. language Focus on the Message not the Words Sometimes trying to understand the words in an email may not actually provide you with the true meaning of the message How do you “unlock” the secrets to understanding confusing email messages? Keywords: Learning how to filter out the keywords in an email message that is written in any language can save you a lot of time, prevent misunderstanding and even prevent... for the conference yet? Sorry, I haven’t written the report yet I’ve already sent in the registration form We’ve just received the order In American English the simple past is used instead of the present perfect with the signal words above There is no difference in meaning Did you send in your registration yet? The “will” future tense is used in replies to emails requesting action to say what the writer... email back to the writer to check for understanding Never say “I don’t understand your message” rather take a couple of the keywords and write back confirming what you believe the message is about Sometimes asking for more information can provide you with the information you need to fully understand the customer or colleagues email message Ask questions and give answers that keep the conversation in a positive... with customers, suppliers and colleagues Emotion: Filtering out the emotion of an email that is from an unhappy customer or an unhappy colleague can help you to not get emotionally involved and help you to protect the relationship you have with the other person 15 www.kaojaienglishschool.com info@kaojaienglishschool.com Questions and Answers: When you just don’t understand a message, it’s best to write... contractions as the meaning of the word or sentence could be changed It’s = it is, its = possessive, I’ll = I will, ill = sick 12 www.kaojaienglishschool.com info@kaojaienglishschool.com Being Diplomatic When things aren’t going to plan, an email exchange can become heated The use of diplomatic language lets you point out mistakes gently, without offending the person you’re writing to We have a slight / minor... Action The present perfect is used to talk about deadlines and whether or not they have been met It is also used to describe the status of tasks in progress Have you coordinated your team & their results yet? I’ve already contacted my team and they have just finished their sales figures Adverbs like yet, already, or just are often used with the present perfect in this type of sentence Have you sent in. .. still rather direct Please send me your current price list… Please give us your rates… The following phrases can be used in formal enquiries to first-time contacts However, they can sound too formal in emails to colleagues We would be grateful if you could send us… We would also appreciate some information on… 10 www.kaojaienglishschool.com info@kaojaienglishschool.com Talking About Deadlines and Taking . THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO READING AND WRITING EMAILS IN ENGLISH How to read difficult emails written by someone who writes English as a 2 nd. Learn the secrets to writing emails in English that are easy to write, easy to read and easy to understand. Intermediate Intermediate is for students and