Writing a Business Email

In Monday's class (3 October) we practiced writing a business email.  Below are some language suggestions for business emails and writing.

The Start

Dear Personnel Director:

Dear Sir or Madam: (use if you don't know who you are writing to)

Dear Dr, Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms Smith: (use if you know who you are writing to, and have a formal relationship with - VERY IMPORTANT use Ms for women unless asked to use Mrs or Miss)

Dear Frank: (use if the person is a close business contact or friend)

The Reference

With reference to the job advertisement posted on usajobs.gov
With reference to your phone call today,
Thank you for your letter of March 5 ^th .

The Reason for Writing

I am writing to inquire about...
I am calling to apologize for.. .
I am calling to confirm...

Requesting

Could you possibly...
I would be grateful if you could...

Agreeing to Requests

I would be delighted to...

Enclosing Documents

I am enclosing...
Please find enclosed...
Enclosed you will find...

Closing Remarks

Thank you for your help.

Please contact me if there are any problems.
Please contact me if you have any questions.

Reference to Future Contact

I look forward to hearing from you soon.
I look forward to meeting you next Tuesday.
I look forward to seeing you next Thursday.

The Finish

Best wishes,

Best regards,

American Idioms

Here are links to some American idioms for you to learn and use.

http://www.idiomsite.com/
http://www.idiomconnection.com/
http://www.eslcafe.com/idioms/id-list.html

If you use any in your daily conversations, tell us about it in class!

Welcome to a new semester!

Welcome, students, to a new semester at The Falls Church's ESOL program!  We hope this blog will provide a space for students and teachers to post their ideas, questions, thoughts, and examples.  Please comment and share any interesting articles or links!
--Michelle

Photos from the Square Dance from Cinthia

		pictures VER PRESENTACIÓN DESCARGAR TODO AGREGAR MÁS FOTOS Este álbum en línea tiene 14 fotos y estará disponible en SkyDrive hasta 02/07/2011.

Article about the growth of the Hispanic and Asian population in Virginia

I read an article entitled "Virginia.'s numbers of Hispanics and Asians skyrocket as white population dwindles" in the Washington Post and thought that you would be interested in it. It's really your story!  Here's a link to the article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/03/AR2011020304604_2.html?sid=ST2011020805933.

The article tells how the population of Virginia is changing as many immigrants come to live here.  After you read it, write your reactions or thoughts.  It has a lot of "jargon"--so just try to get the general idea.  If there are some words in it that you would like to learn, please bring them to class (maybe "skyrocket" and "dwindle" from the title).

Semester Goals

What are some of your goals for this semester?