Here’s the problem with my approach: Web pages have lots of things on them besides (other than, in addition to) the text I want to read.  There are links, graphics, photos, menus – all things I don’t need to print out or even have on my screen in order to read the actual article.  Wouldn’t it be great if there were a way to look at a web page and have just the actual text (words) of the article I wanted to read, without all of the other things on that page?

Now there is.  It’s called Readability, a free web service that magically gets rid of (eliminates) everything on the web page but the words of the article you want to read.  It’s an amazing service! I’ve been using it for about three months.  Whenever I want to read something online or (more likely) print something out to read from a web page that doesn’t have a “printer-friendly” option (the ability to print out only the article, without all the extra stuff on the web page), I just click on a special link on my browser and the page appears with just the actual article.  I can then read it online, print it, or email a link for that page to a friend.

How do you use this service?  There is an excellent explanation in simple English here from Warren Ediger’s website for ESL students, SuccessfulEnglish.com.  Take a look at how it works and an example of the magic Readability can perform.

One more thing: Readable means “able to be read,” or “something that can be read without difficulty.”  Readability is technically the measurement of how easy something is to read, often expressed in school grade levels (for example, when we say something is at a “second-grade reading level”).  While Readability won’t make the English easier to read,  it will make it easier for your eyes to see what you want to see on the page.

~Jeff

P.S. Thanks to listener Pedro who told me about this service several months ago.

When I was a professor at the university, students would sometimes–maybe, often–get distracted (not give full attention) by other things and not pay attention to the class discussions. I’m sure my boring lectures (educational talks) were the cause.

These days, there’s something else distracting students: their laptops. Most American universities now have WiFi or wireless Internet access across the entire campus (space and buildings of the university). This means that students with laptop computers can bring them to class and surf the web (go to and look at different Internet pages) during class. As you can imagine, many professors don’t like this very much.

Professors at some universities are retaliating (fighting back). Some are banning (not allowing) laptops in their classrooms. Other universities allow professors to flip a switch (cut the electrical connection) to turn off WiFi in their classrooms. Professors say that it makes a huge difference. Students pay attention more and there is a better connection and better communication between professors and students. On the other hand, some students say that if professors were more interesting, they wouldn’t get bored and surf the web during class in the first place (to begin with).

Are laptops allowed in the university classrooms in your country? Are they allowed only for taking notes or for accessing the Internet as well?

~ Lucy

These videos audio lectures are especially good for those of you studying for the TOEFL or IELTS exams, since you will get a lot of native speaker speech on topics similar to those found on the tests.  Of course, you want to start with a subject you know something about, and (with luck) a professor who speaks clearly.

For some useful advice on how to use iTunes U, take a look at Warren Ediger’s Successful English website where he has a special section on the TOEFL.

~Jeff

How to use this site: Warren Ediger, one of the best ESL classroom teachers and online tutors I know, has detailed suggestions on how you can use this site to help improve your English. Warren gives you specific steps on how to make the best use of the articles and stories you will find on the CDLP website.

Warren’s website, SuccessfulEnglish.com, also has other good ideas on learning English through reading, on preparing for the TOEFL, and on some common questions related to English learning and teaching.

Take a look at both the CDLP and SuccessfulEnglish.com today for some good resources.

~Jeff

Some people suggest writing an email to the person who has you on their distribution list (list of people who receive a message or something else) to ask them to remove you. This is one example:
. . .
Cate,

Thank you for thinking of me with the jokes and quotations of the day (words said in the past by someone else that are funny, interesting, or inspirational). I’ve appreciated you sending them to me. Right now, though, I am trying to get a handle on (to manage; to keep in good order even though it is difficult) my email, and I am asking people to remove me from their distribution lists for the time being (for a short time).

Would you please remove me from your distribution list?

Thank you very much.
. . .
This note is polite enough and I might send something like this to someone, but I haven’t done it yet. Right now, my strategy (plan) is to continue deleting (erasing; putting in the trash) those messages from my inbox.

What do you do with unwanted email from people you know, people you don’t want to offend (upset)? Would you write someone directly to ask them to remove you from their distribution list?

~ Lucy

The New York Times has an article this morning on this idea of finding people with your name, and actually contacting them to meet! The article is entitled “Names that Match Forge a Bond on the Internet.” To forge a bond means to make a connection, to get to know someone better.

So if you haven’t looked for your Googleganger yet, then read this article and you may decide to make friends with your namesakes (people who have the same name as you).

~Jeff

I admit that for many, many years, I never backed up my data, even after more than one of my computers crashed (stopped working completely). I don’t know if I liked living dangerously, believed it would never happen again, or was too lazy to back up. I think it was probably all three reasons. Now that I work on the podcast, I have to do back ups or else all of our work is in jeopardy (danger). But some days, even though my computer is set to automatically back up, I forget to turn on the extra hard drive where the files are stored. I guess I’m still as lazy as I’ve always been!

~ Lucy

Nowadays (currently, now), we have computers in our cars which can talk to us and tell us where to go, almost like a real human being. The Learning Guide for ESL Podcast 309 has a Cultural Note about these types of computers, GPS navigation systems, which help drivers know exactly where they are, usually on a screen map in their car. But will we in the future have even more “intelligent” cars? I just saw this article about a new center (place of research) at the University of Michigan called the Center for Intelligent Vehicles. They are studying the possibility of connecting cars to a larger network or system which could help control traffic and even prevent traffic accidents.

Soon, you may not need your mother in your car, just a computer.

~Jeff