#0515 – Starting a Blog, - Ang, mater, ESL Podcast McQuillan Jeff mp3+PDF
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English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 515 – Starting a Blog
GLOSSARY
blog –
a special kind of website or a part of a website that has a lot of
information about a particular topic, with the newest information appearing on the
top, and that gives other people the opportunity to write their opinion about what
they have read
* Since we like to eat out, we read a blog that reviews restaurants in our town.
blogger –
a person who regularly writes new information for a blog, usually once
a day or a few times a week; the owner of a blog
* The most popular bloggers are knowledgeable, informative, and entertaining
when they write about their favorite topics.
to take the leap –
to begin to do something, especially if it is new and unfamiliar
* Did you hear that Drake has finally decided to take the leap and open his own
business?
template –
a model for creating other documents on a computer so that they all
have a similar appearance, organization, and layout
* Where can I find some good templates for fax coversheets?
to customize –
to change something so that it meets one’s needs and is slightly
different than anyone else’s
* When we bought the car, we customized it by painting it bright orange and
installing really big stereo speakers.
flavor –
a particular taste, style, or characteristic
* Her novels have an interesting regional flavor that reflects her childhood in the
Deep South.
to launch –
to begin something for the first time, especially an important project
or adventure
* They launched the organization in 1984 and were pleasantly surprised by its
rapid growth.
post –
one entry in a blog; a small section of text that is added to a blog all at
once for other people to read and comment on
* Did you read the last post about nuclear energy?
to update –
to add the most recent information, making something current and/or
complete
* Please update the sales report with these revised figures.
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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 515 – Starting a Blog
to catch on –
to become popular and well-known or used by many people
* Once cell phones became less expensive, they caught on very quickly.
blogosphere –
the group of all blogs on the Internet
* The blogosphere keeps growing every day as more and more people start their
own blogs.
self-promotion –
efforts to draw attention to oneself or one’s work, trying to get
other people’s interest and admiration
* When you apply for a job, your cover letter is an opportunity for self-promotion,
so use it to tell the company why you’d be a great employee.
search engine –
a website and computer program that helps you find other
websites or specific types of information
* Google, Yahoo, and AltaVista are some of the most popular search engines.
to swap links –
to exchange URLs; for website A to agree to show the link to
website B when website B agrees to show the link to website A
* Nashwa has a travel website, and he’s trying to swap links with websites for
airlines and hotels.
hit –
the moment when someone lands on (visits) a website
* Hessea’s website gets about 3,000 hits each day.
to take (something) to heart –
to listen carefully to what someone says, believe
it, and seriously consider doing it
* When his music teacher told him that he should be a professional singer, he
took it to heart.
comment –
a message written by someone who has read a blog post and wants
to add his or her opinion or additional information
* The Washington Post has some interesting blogs, but the comments are much
more interesting, because people have very strong opinions and like to argue
with each other online.
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2009). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 515 – Starting a Blog
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. What did Traver give him?
a) Topic ideas for the first few posts.
b) A website that he can adapt for his blog.
c) A tool to count the number of hits.
2. What does it mean to increase hits?
a) To attract more website visitors.
b) To have more comments on a blog.
c) To get more media coverage of a website.
______________
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
post
The word “post,” in this podcast, means one entry in a blog, or a small section of
text that is added to a blog all at once for other people to read and comment on:
“On this website, anyone can add a new post, as long as it’s related to the
current topic.” A “post” is also a strong, tall piece of wood or metal, usually used
to hold something up: “I wish there wasn’t a post in the middle of the living room.”
Or, “They’re putting two posts in their backyard so they can hang a rope between
them and dry their laundry outdoors.” The word “post” is often used in the name
of a newspaper: “Which newspaper do you prefer: the Washington Post or the
New York Post?”
hit
In this podcast, the word “hit” means the moment when someone lands on (visits)
a website: “The Red Cross website has an increased number of hits in the days
and weeks after a major disaster.” A “hit” is also something that is very
successful and popular, especially in entertainment: “That song was one of the
greatest hits of the 1980s.” Or, “The fancy birthday cake was a big hit with all the
kids.” A “hit list” is the list of names of people whom an organization or group is
trying to hurt: “After the police arrested the murderer, they found his hit list of
other people he had been planning to attack.” Finally, a “hit man” is someone
who is paid by another person to kill someone: “They tried to hire a hit man to kill
their boss.”
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2009). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 515 – Starting a Blog
CULTURE NOTE
The blogosphere is “growing by leaps and bounds” (growing very quickly) as
more and more people and organizations start their own blogs. Sometimes it
doesn’t seem like there can be enough topics “to go around” (enough topics so
that each blog has a different one), but people are always finding something new
to write about.
Blogs can “cover” (be about) almost any topic, but three types of blogs are most
“common” (most often seen): personal, technical, and political blogs. Personal
blogs have information about someone’s daily life. Many people start personal
blogs when they go on an interesting trip or have a new baby and want their
friends and family members to know what is happening in their life.
Technical blogs are usually about computers, the Internet, or business. Many
technical blogs help people learn about new “developments” (important changes)
in information technology and “troubleshooting” (ways to solve technical
computer problems). Other technical blogs give businesses ideas for improving
their “profitability” (the amount of money a company makes), finding more
customers, or opening other offices. Some technical blogs are written by
individuals, but others are written by companies that want to “interact”
(communicate) with their customers.
Political blogs are used to discuss politicians and their “platforms” (the ideas,
plans, and things politicians believe in), as well as specific “policy” (laws; rules)
decisions. Other blogs are created so that the author can share his or her
political “commentary” (opinions and reactions to current events). Political blogs
play an important role in American elections, and most “candidates” (people who
are trying to be elected for a particular job) have a blog on their website.
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – a
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2009). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 515 – Starting a Blog
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 515: Starting a
Blog.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 515. I’m your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in
beautiful Los Angeles, California.
This podcast has its own website. You may know it, it’s eslpod.com. Go there to
download a Learning Guide for this episode that will help you improve your
English even faster. You can become an ESL Podcast member on our website.
We’re able to provide this audio for you for free because of our members, so do
consider becoming one by going to eslpod.com.
This episode is called “Starting a Blog.” It’s a story that uses a lot of common
vocabulary that we use when talking about weblogs or, as they’re commonly
called, blogs. Let’s get started.
[start of story]
I’ve been thinking about starting a blog for a long time now, and after talking to
my friend Traver, a popular blogger, I’ve decided to take the leap.
Traver got me started with a basic template, but I wanted to customize the blog
to give it my own flavor before launching it. I already have my first few posts
ready to go, and I plan to update it a few times a week.
Traver told me that it may take a little time for my blog to catch on and become
known in the blogosphere. He suggested I do some basic self-promotion. He
told me to register my website with the major search engines and to swap links
with other bloggers writing on similar topics. He gave me some other advice to
increase hits and I’m taking it all to heart.
I can’t wait to get my first comments and to start talking to other people about our
common interest: Our love of cats!
[end of story]
Our story begins with me saying that I’m thinking about starting a “blog,” a
special kind of website that has information that you can easily update – you can
easily put on the website. Blogs usually have content that is added at least a
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2009). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
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