WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:05.500 Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast 00:00:05.500 --> 00:00:18.920 number 42. You're listening to English as a Second 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:26.480 Language podcast number 42. I'm Dr. Jeff McQuillen 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:29.780 from the Center for Educational Development. 00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:35.259 Coming to you today from Los Angeles, California. 00:00:36.299 --> 00:00:40.359 Visit our website for more information about 00:00:40.359 --> 00:00:54.640 this podcast at www .eslpod .com Today we are 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:59.899 going to talk about writing a formal email message. 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:05.500 and what some of the expressions that we use 00:01:05.500 --> 00:01:10.180 in more formal writing. This could be for business 00:01:10.180 --> 00:01:16.239 or this could be for school. Today we're going 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:26.780 to use a school example. Let's get started. Dear 00:01:26.780 --> 00:01:34.469 Dr. Lee I don't know if you'll remember me, but 00:01:34.469 --> 00:01:40.129 I introduced myself to you after your keynote 00:01:40.129 --> 00:01:46.370 at last week's conference. As I mentioned to 00:01:46.370 --> 00:01:52.370 you, I have read all of your journal papers and 00:01:52.370 --> 00:02:00.090 I am a great admirer of your research. Your article 00:02:00.090 --> 00:02:06.390 in the top journal, Language Learning, was groundbreaking. 00:02:08.270 --> 00:02:13.849 The reason I am contacting you is that I would 00:02:13.849 --> 00:02:17.969 like to come to your university to study with 00:02:17.969 --> 00:02:24.610 you. I met some of your students at the conference. 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:30.000 and they couldn't stop singing your praises as 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:37.539 a professor and as an advisor. I don't know if 00:02:37.539 --> 00:02:43.580 you are accepting any new students for the next 00:02:43.580 --> 00:02:50.259 year, but if so, I hope you will consider me. 00:02:51.080 --> 00:02:57.099 I have included two attachments to this email. 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:07.479 I am sending a copy of my CV and I am also including 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:14.719 a research paper I completed this year. I hope 00:03:14.719 --> 00:03:20.460 that these will give you an idea of my qualifications 00:03:20.460 --> 00:03:27.199 and experience. Please let me know if you need 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:34.060 more information or more samples of my academic 00:03:34.060 --> 00:03:41.300 work. It was a pleasure and a privilege to meet 00:03:41.300 --> 00:03:46.680 you at the conference and I hope to hear more 00:03:46.680 --> 00:04:03.649 about your research at a future conference. We 00:04:03.649 --> 00:04:11.189 listened today to a formal email by Lucy. I want 00:04:11.189 --> 00:04:16.470 to talk first about some of the expressions that 00:04:16.470 --> 00:04:21.490 we use in a formal letter or a formal email. 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:29.199 The format or the way a formal email is organized 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:36.819 is very similar to a formal letter. The difference 00:04:36.819 --> 00:04:42.560 is that when you have a paper letter that you 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:47.519 send someone, you include your physical address 00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:54.490 where you are as well as the date. In a formal 00:04:54.490 --> 00:05:01.269 email, we usually just begin with the title or 00:05:01.269 --> 00:05:07.009 name of the person. A title is something like 00:05:07.009 --> 00:05:14.810 Mr. or Mrs. or Doctor. Lucy begins her email 00:05:14.810 --> 00:05:23.050 by saying Dear Dr. Lee. Dr. Lee is the person 00:05:23.050 --> 00:05:28.550 she's writing. Dear is a common expression we 00:05:28.550 --> 00:05:34.470 use to begin a letter. After writing Dear Dr. 00:05:34.629 --> 00:05:40.850 Lee, you can put a comma or you can put a colon 00:05:40.850 --> 00:05:47.939 to A colon is, you probably know, one dot above 00:05:47.939 --> 00:05:52.600 the other, like two periods stacked one on top 00:05:52.600 --> 00:05:57.339 of the other. If it's a formal letter, we usually 00:05:57.339 --> 00:06:03.259 use a colon. If it's an informal letter, we usually 00:06:03.259 --> 00:06:08.800 use a comma, at least in the United States. Lucy 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:15.149 begins her email by saying, to Dr. Lee, I don't 00:06:15.149 --> 00:06:20.269 know if you'll remember me, but I introduced 00:06:20.269 --> 00:06:25.870 myself to you after your keynote. That first 00:06:25.870 --> 00:06:30.529 expression, I don't know if you'll remember me, 00:06:30.930 --> 00:06:36.050 we use a lot when we have met someone, perhaps 00:06:36.050 --> 00:06:41.319 a long time ago, and now we are trying to write 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:47.060 them or talk to them again. We start by saying, 00:06:47.420 --> 00:06:52.360 I'm not sure if you'll remember me. I don't know 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:58.120 if you'll remember me. The idea here is that 00:06:58.120 --> 00:07:03.439 we're being a little humble. We are not assuming. 00:07:04.019 --> 00:07:09.519 We're not thinking that the other person will 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:13.620 remember us because we're so important. So to 00:07:13.620 --> 00:07:17.860 be more humble, to have a little more humility, 00:07:18.360 --> 00:07:21.899 we would say, I don't know if you'll remember 00:07:21.899 --> 00:07:27.660 me. Lucy said that she introduced herself to 00:07:27.660 --> 00:07:33.759 Dr. Lee after her keynote at last week's conference. 00:07:34.259 --> 00:07:41.660 A keynote in business or in the university is 00:07:41.660 --> 00:07:48.319 a formal address. It's a formal speech that someone 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:55.019 gives to a large group of people. Usually we 00:07:55.019 --> 00:07:59.000 have a keynote at a conference. A conference 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:03.069 is a big meeting. where many people come together 00:08:03.069 --> 00:08:06.149 to talk about something they're all interested 00:08:06.149 --> 00:08:13.610 in, for business or for university related topics. 00:08:14.449 --> 00:08:18.110 There can also be political conferences. Any 00:08:18.110 --> 00:08:22.129 big meeting of people where you have lots of 00:08:22.129 --> 00:08:25.089 different speeches and speakers is often called 00:08:25.089 --> 00:08:30.699 a conference. Lucy then says, as I mentioned 00:08:30.699 --> 00:08:35.779 to you this expression as I mentioned to you 00:08:35.779 --> 00:08:39.740 we used to remind the other person of the conversation 00:08:39.740 --> 00:08:46.960 we had you could also say as we discussed and 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:51.200 then go on and say what you discussed what you 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:54.820 are doing here is reminding the other person 00:08:54.820 --> 00:09:02.000 of what your previous conversation or communication 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:07.399 was. We often use in a formal business letter 00:09:07.399 --> 00:09:14.960 if we are responding to a question or a request 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:20.740 from someone for information, we use the expression 00:09:20.740 --> 00:09:28.190 per your request, per PER. per your request, 00:09:28.730 --> 00:09:35.070 comma, I'm sending you the catalog that you wanted 00:09:35.070 --> 00:09:39.470 me to send you. So when we respond to someone's 00:09:39.470 --> 00:09:43.629 request, we use that expression per your request, 00:09:44.610 --> 00:09:49.470 in a business letter particularly. Lucy said 00:09:49.470 --> 00:09:54.090 that she had read all of Dr. Lee's journal papers 00:09:54.700 --> 00:10:00.539 Journal papers are scientific publications in 00:10:00.539 --> 00:10:05.919 an academic or university research magazine. 00:10:06.200 --> 00:10:11.179 A journal is a type of magazine. Research, you 00:10:11.179 --> 00:10:15.159 already know, are scientific investigations. 00:10:15.779 --> 00:10:19.960 People who do research, like on medical research, 00:10:20.860 --> 00:10:25.779 you can do economic research and so forth. Lucy 00:10:25.779 --> 00:10:29.360 mentioned she had read an article by Dr. Lee 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:34.299 in a top journal. When we say something, use 00:10:34.299 --> 00:10:39.240 the adjective top, we mean one of the best. He 00:10:39.240 --> 00:10:43.399 is a top basketball player, means he's one of 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:49.500 the best basketball players there is. Lucy said 00:10:49.500 --> 00:10:55.220 in her second paragraph, the reason I am contacting 00:10:55.220 --> 00:11:00.799 you is that and Then she went on to say why she 00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:05.039 was contacting or communicating with dr. Lee 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:10.100 This is again a common expression that we use 00:11:10.100 --> 00:11:12.940 in American business letters or formal letters 00:11:12.940 --> 00:11:19.379 of any sort Letters in English are very direct 00:11:19.820 --> 00:11:26.179 In some countries, in some languages, we use 00:11:26.179 --> 00:11:30.440 a lot of different phrases and sentences before 00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:33.659 we get to the main reason why we are writing. 00:11:34.259 --> 00:11:39.000 But in American English, in particularly business 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:44.379 English or formal English, we get right to the 00:11:44.379 --> 00:11:48.279 point. We get right to the main reason. And we 00:11:48.279 --> 00:11:52.940 say, the reason I am writing you is that I want 00:11:52.940 --> 00:11:57.320 you to do something, for example. You can also 00:11:57.320 --> 00:12:04.480 say I am contacting you to ask you for a favor. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:09.820 Lucy says the reason I am contacting you is that 00:12:09.820 --> 00:12:13.639 I would like to come to your university to study 00:12:13.639 --> 00:12:18.000 with you. So she states the reason for her letter 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:23.220 very soon after the beginning. The first part 00:12:23.220 --> 00:12:26.960 or first paragraph of the letter or email here, 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:31.580 it's an email, she reminds Dr. Lee that they 00:12:31.580 --> 00:12:37.500 met before and then she says, here's why I'm 00:12:37.500 --> 00:12:42.620 writing you. Lucy used the expression in her 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:48.690 email that The students of Dr. Lee couldn't stop 00:12:48.690 --> 00:12:54.350 singing her praises. To sing someone's praises 00:12:54.350 --> 00:12:59.590 means to compliment them, to talk about how wonderful 00:12:59.590 --> 00:13:07.710 they are. My father was singing my praises to 00:13:07.710 --> 00:13:12.970 my uncle saying he was Saying some wonderful 00:13:12.970 --> 00:13:17.309 things about me Probably not true, but there 00:13:17.309 --> 00:13:23.090 you go Another expression that Lucy used several 00:13:23.090 --> 00:13:28.730 times in the email is I hope She says at the 00:13:28.730 --> 00:13:32.370 end of the second paragraph. I hope you will 00:13:32.370 --> 00:13:40.169 consider me I hope that is a polite way of asking 00:13:40.460 --> 00:13:43.940 or requesting something from another person. 00:13:45.320 --> 00:13:48.059 And she uses that a couple of different times. 00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:53.779 In the third paragraph of her email, Lucy says 00:13:53.779 --> 00:13:58.960 that she has included two attachments. This word 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:05.700 attachments is a special word for email. An attachment 00:14:05.700 --> 00:14:10.679 you probably know is a document or a file, an 00:14:10.679 --> 00:14:15.460 electronic file that you put onto an email to 00:14:15.460 --> 00:14:20.059 send someone else. It could be a Microsoft Word 00:14:20.059 --> 00:14:26.419 document. It could be an MP3 audio file. We call 00:14:26.419 --> 00:14:30.460 all those things attachments and you include 00:14:30.460 --> 00:14:35.470 an attachment with your email. or to your email. 00:14:37.289 --> 00:14:40.429 Lucy said she was sending the professor a copy 00:14:40.429 --> 00:14:47.909 of her CV. CV, the letter C and the letter V, 00:14:48.529 --> 00:14:53.529 stands for curriculum vitae. And a curriculum 00:14:53.529 --> 00:14:59.350 vitae is a Latin word. It means a list of your 00:14:59.350 --> 00:15:04.529 jobs and experiences and education. We often 00:15:04.529 --> 00:15:10.889 sometimes use the word resume. A CV and a resume 00:15:10.889 --> 00:15:16.769 are basically the same thing. Lucy sends her 00:15:16.769 --> 00:15:23.110 CV because she wants to give Dr. Lee an idea 00:15:23.110 --> 00:15:28.070 of her qualifications and experience. To give 00:15:28.070 --> 00:15:32.269 someone an idea means to give them information. 00:15:32.909 --> 00:15:39.549 I want to give you an idea of how cold it is 00:15:39.549 --> 00:15:44.289 in Minnesota. It means I want to give you information 00:15:44.289 --> 00:15:49.990 about how cold it is. Lucy says at the end of 00:15:49.990 --> 00:15:54.250 her third paragraph, Please let me know if you 00:15:54.250 --> 00:15:58.950 need more information. Please let me know is 00:15:58.950 --> 00:16:03.500 a polite formal way telling the other person 00:16:03.500 --> 00:16:08.799 that it's okay for them to call you or email 00:16:08.799 --> 00:16:13.980 you to get more information. A similar expression 00:16:13.980 --> 00:16:20.740 would be feel free to call me or feel free to 00:16:20.740 --> 00:16:26.399 email. That means I want you to or it's okay 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:33.360 for you to email or contact me in some way. Lucy 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:39.940 also uses the expression academic work. Academic 00:16:39.940 --> 00:16:46.820 work are publications, articles, research articles 00:16:46.820 --> 00:16:52.480 that a university person, a professor would publish, 00:16:53.100 --> 00:16:59.200 would put into a journal. Lucy closes her letter 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:04.059 or her email by saying It was a pleasure and 00:17:04.059 --> 00:17:09.519 a privilege. This is again a formal expression. 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:13.619 It is a pleasure to something that is a pleasure. 00:17:13.940 --> 00:17:17.140 It means it was good to you. You felt it was 00:17:17.140 --> 00:17:25.319 good. A privilege is a special opportunity that 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:31.000 only a small number of people get to have. It 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:38.700 is a privilege to meet the Secretary General 00:17:38.700 --> 00:17:43.019 of the United Nations. Very few people get to 00:17:43.019 --> 00:17:48.740 meet him or her, and that's a special opportunity. 00:17:49.019 --> 00:17:52.019 We call that a privilege. It's always a good 00:17:52.019 --> 00:17:57.259 thing. So Lucy uses the expression, it was a 00:17:57.259 --> 00:18:02.150 pleasure and a privilege to meet you. And she 00:18:02.150 --> 00:18:06.910 says, I hope to hear more about your research. 00:18:07.690 --> 00:18:11.630 Once again, that expression, I hope to, I hope 00:18:11.630 --> 00:18:15.670 something. It's a formal way of saying that I 00:18:15.670 --> 00:18:22.490 would like to, I am looking forward to. Lucy 00:18:22.490 --> 00:18:28.549 closes her email by saying, sincerely, comma, 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:34.799 and then her name. Sincerely is how we close 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:39.440 a letter or an email, a formal email. You can 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:44.960 also use the word cordially. Cordially, comma, 00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:49.319 and then your name. Of course, in an email, you 00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:53.880 don't sign the email. You don't put your signature 00:18:53.880 --> 00:18:58.420 like you would on a letter. You just state your 00:18:58.420 --> 00:19:03.980 name or put your name. That's going to do it 00:19:03.980 --> 00:19:06.920 for today's English as a Second Language podcast. 00:19:07.740 --> 00:19:11.079 Remember the scripts for our podcasts are now 00:19:11.079 --> 00:19:16.740 available on your iTunes feed or on our website. 00:19:18.420 --> 00:19:21.680 Email us and tell us who you are and where you 00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:24.119 are listening from. We would love to hear from 00:19:24.119 --> 00:19:34.490 you. Our email address is eslpod at eslpod .com. 00:19:35.289 --> 00:19:38.190 I'm Jeff McQuillan from Los Angeles, California. 00:19:39.029 --> 00:19:54.440 We'll see you next time on ESL Podcast. This 00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:57.099 podcast is copyright 2005.