Improve your English Writing
English writing is super important for business. I can really see it more now than ever before.
Aside from China232, Add and I do some online consulting work for international brands. We work from anywhere in the world on our computers and we communicate mostly via email.
Often these emails go to the CEO, Marketing Director, and several other important people in the companies. These people care much more about the quality of ideas than about good grammar or vocabulary.
Some of the people in these companies speak English as a second language. Their English is quite good too. Many people have their MBA and have lived in the USA, Canada, or England for a few years. They speak and write in English everyday at work. There is still a problem…
I hate to say it, but it’s really easy to see who is a native speaker and who isn’t from reading only a few sentences of one email. Often these very intelligent people get ignored by the top people in the company because of language. As I said, their English is still pretty good, it’s just not quite good enough to really get noticed and move higher in the company.
It’s sad but it’s the truth. I keep seeing these hard working people earning less money than they should just because of their English. It’s weird. The bosses are not trying to be unfair, it’s just the way it works. The only solution I can see is to get better at English writing and communication.
Most (I think over 99%) of English learners get up to a certain level in English and then they stop trying to improve. People can understand their main ideas and no one corrects their mistakes anymore. The problem is that this level usually isn’t good enough for the real business world. Once you are in a company, which university you went to means almost nothing. It’s mostly about the “office politics” and the relationships you can form with other “major players” in the company. This is true with both big and small companies. If you want to build a good relationship and get respected from these people, you need to make sure that your writing is clear enough to really make people think. This isn’t easy since you are going to compete with native speakers. It’s possible, it’s just going to take some work.
We’re including a VIP writing section here to help with this important part of English learning. It’s no extra cost, just included in the $37 USD VIP fee that the members pay once a year. We’ll be here to push you and help you improve. I’ll make interesting writing assignments for you guys. I’ll read what you write and point out common mistakes that people keep making. Often these mistakes are quite small and subtle. If you promise to try your best and learn from my personal and honest advice, I guarantee you will improve a lot. This will really make a huge difference in your current or future career.
I’d love to hear your experiences and opinions about this topic. Don’t worry about making mistakes either, just write first. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. Confident people lead better lives anyway. Just try your best and learn from your mistakes.
July 12th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
A writing section is an excellent idea. Believe or not, I was thinking about a similar idea for myself for a while, something like creating a blog somewhere on the Internet to practice English writing and for personal fun. I don’t know how you envision your writing section but I believe a multicultural blog written by your English-learners can be a unique, interesting, and useful thing. However, I’m looking forward to using the writing section, regardless how it will eventually function.
And, yep. You highlighted a big sad true that I have to face every day, even though I have lived in Toronto for 7 years and I speak a decent English: most of second-English speakers speak and write differently from the native people. The non-speaking English people speak weird in the ears of the natives. And the language barrier starts here…It’s like how we Romanians feel when we meet a Moldavian person from Republic of Moldova: we understand them but, on the other hand, they speak weird, and it’s not about their accent. Some of the reasons would be the incorrect spelling, wrong word order in sentence, and wrong choice of words. I couldn’t overcome this language barrier here in Canada so far, many of us live most of the time in our predictable communities, because it’s easier to express ourselves in our native language and culture… anyway, I stay positive!
July 13th, 2011 at 3:12 am
but I hate to say it, you should be a bit more responsive. you should have someone answer to all your messages. The most enthusiastic fan will give up eventually if there’s not enough interaction. many people look for interaction and communication on Internet.I hate to talk to a blank page. you are very cool but you need a bit of improvement in customer service area
however, I am planning on writing the wackiest outrageous things about varoius cultures, including my original culture! eventually, everyone will hate me and I’ll love it!
July 13th, 2011 at 3:55 am
Hey Delia. Thanks for your comments and your honesty. I’d have to agree with your points as well. It’s hard to know where we should be putting our efforts. We make the 232 but we don’t actually use the product. In many ways, you guys know the website better than we do. I’m excited for the writing section. I want it to be a place to share new ideas and get to know each other better. I’ll be able to help you guys with writing, but at the same time, your ideas and opinions will be amazingly useful for helping us make the website better and more targeted for the real fans.
By the way, we were in Toronto this past weekend visiting some friends. What do you think of the city? Honestly…
July 13th, 2011 at 4:48 am
hmm, I’m getting some extra attention, I’m overwhelmed (of course I don’t mind!)
Yes, I like Toronto for a couple of reasons. For instance, it’s a big city and you can discover new things and places all the time. You can’t get bored. I enjoy walking for hours by myself on large streets like Yonge up and down while I listen to music or podcasts (surprise, your casts are my favorite!:) At the beginning the city is overwhelming, after a while you feel amazing wandering around…Comparing to my hometown where you bump into various individuals that you don’t want to meet, Toronto is a pleasure. Of course, these big distances can be annoying when you want to get home as quickly as possible after a hard day, but overall I like it. I like variety, I never get bored. I can’t complain…am I very indiscreet if I asked where do your parents live? I presume somewhere around Toronto.
July 13th, 2011 at 5:14 am
July 13th, 2011 at 5:41 am
good question…. I like big cities, not necessarily Toronto but I would trade any city for a sunny beach in Carribean Paradise in a split second.
July 13th, 2011 at 7:07 am
Hi Add,
When you have time, could you please post a blog about how to emigrate into Canada ? Your first blog post on this topic could give a momentum for other ones to post their comments and opinions on the subject. It is really helpful for many fans here, I guess, who is from non-English speaking countries and hope to move into more civilized and developed countries. Thank you
July 13th, 2011 at 10:06 am
Couldn’t say it any better myself. There’s always communication barriers with non-native English speakers in every company abroad. Most of the time people cannot communicate properly and express themselves the way they wanted to due to lack of self-confidence (worried about their pronunciation/accent and grammar) and limited English vocabulary.
By the way, I love reading your blog, it’s informative and entertaining. Keep it up
July 13th, 2011 at 11:37 am
It’s a brilliant idea!
Can’t wait to see the new section in action!
July 13th, 2011 at 3:46 pm
Hey Delia,
My family is from Grimsby. It’s about a 50 minute drive to Toronto. It’s on the lake and near Niagara Falls.
It’s funny, I always thought Toronto was a big city until I moved to Shanghai. Now it seems like a little town in comparison. I wish the weather was like this all year long! I might stay if that was the case.
July 13th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
Hey Charlie,
Which country are you from? I think there are different rules depending on where you are coming from.
I’m not an expert on the subject but I think that there are a few ways to do it.
One way is loan the Government just under half a million dollars for a few years.
Another way is to have a PhD or some valuable skill for working here.
Another way is having a relative or friend here who will “sponsor” you. Just call the Canadian embassy in your country and they will tell you everything you need to know.
One important thing I can say is that it’s a really big decision. I would recommend coming here first on a trip and seeing what you think of it. Some people love it, some people don’t. It’s going to be different so you need to be sure about this decision before making the move I think. If anyone else has this experience, please give some advice or share your experience with Charlie.
July 13th, 2011 at 6:11 pm
You are right, Andy, Shanghai is a huge city. Population of Shanghai is even larger than population of my native country, Romania…In fact, one of the things that I liked about you guys, aside from your English podcasts, is this move: you, as Canadians, you didn’t need to struggle with language, schools, you could find easily a great job in a company, build huge house, become the “pillar of the society”, you know, the regular stuff…:) It takes a lot of guts and poise to move to…China, a country where you can’t even read or understand a single letter! I did a similar thing when I moved to Canada, but I didn’t have the courage to come by myself, and anyway English is a universal language, at least you can understand the basic words, but you did is much more courageous. The weather is not always great here in Canada. This wonderful summer is not something you experience every year…that’s why I often dream (I lie myself) about retiring and moving to a Caribbean country. Escaping from reality is a affordable way to survive those horrendous winters!
Hmm, Grimsby you say, near Niagara Falls? I haven’t been to Grimsby but my husband and I went to Niagara Falls the other day. Surprisingly, we found the same crowds staring at the waterfalls for hours, having picnic with large families, taking pictures, the usual things…
. Like two middle-aged childless bored people that we are, we walked around a bit, we ate some pasta, we bought an outrageous quantity of chocolate from Fudge Factory and went back home. However, because now I know someone from Grimsby, next time when we go to Niagara Falls we will sure take a ride around! If you guys ever are in the mood for meeting new people, let me know.
P.S. Just to let you know a small thing: While I am logged onto the website and I write this message, when I key in y, the cursor types z instead y and the other way round. While I type this message on my computer, the keyboard types the letters y and z correctly. Add, please don’t kill the messenger…!
July 13th, 2011 at 6:51 pm
oops, I apologize. my keyboard is the cause.
July 13th, 2011 at 7:37 pm
…which reminds me that a delete button would be a good thing in a writing section
July 13th, 2011 at 7:57 pm
I was just wondering, the expression choke artist is applicable for sports only ?!?!?
July 14th, 2011 at 1:22 am
Charlie, if you don’t mind, I’d like to answer your question too, in case you are interested in some information on how to emigrate to Canada, there is a link below:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp
Moving to a better country from your native country is a huge thing. You might not like the new country, you might miss familiar faces and places. It takes time to get used to it. Eventually, is a big challenge but also a big opportunity to achieve great personal things and to grow. What I personally like the most about living in a different country is your mind gets open and you enjoy the world’s diversity.
July 14th, 2011 at 3:26 am
Hey Delia,
It actually wasn’t that difficult to move to China. I did it to escape work. After I graduated University, one of my closest friends and I moved there so we could teach for a year and have a hilarious and relaxing lifestyle. One thing led to another and here we are.
And “choke artist” can be applied to other things but I often hear it with sports. Choking is used all the time though. Even failing in a job interview because of being too nervous is choking. I guess you could call some regular person a choke artist if they fail when nervous all the time
July 14th, 2011 at 4:54 am
hm! interesting…very interesting! majority of the people I know had hard time at the beginning, start from the scratch, difficulties finding a decent job, language barrier, etc. my husband (bachelor at tha time) came here by himself, he didn’t know anyone, only his computer and some borrowed money that he needed to return…which was one of the things I liked about him, he’s a tough guy, I’m exactly the opposite, I’m the spoiled one.for me was easier when I moved here. I have already had a decent level of comfort. even though I had a roof and food etc, first two years my brain was either spinning or frozen
but I’m alive.
my top expressions learned from your podcasts: choke artist, peanut gallery, and number oneeee cattle class. my husband likes the expression too. he went to Amsterdam recently and before he left, came to me and complained about his difficult situation: oh shit. 11 hours, cattle class… when I listened to that podcasts, I wanted to share some nice experiences about travelling by plane (I love to fly) but that black background between comments and the feeling I talk to myself kept me from writing little stories. now, because the black background can be removed and you guus are really alive, I am again in the mood for writing wackiest things. your website is a useful toy.
July 14th, 2011 at 10:04 am
It’s a great idea. I think this is one of the best decisions you guys have made so far. But do you think you two guys would be able to take care of all the mistakes made by all the learners? I mean it’s gonna be cool if you give all the learners an opportunity to get involved with the correction process and help each other. Maybe a forum or something. It’ll give you more time to concentrate on giving practical advices on more prevalent mistakes made by non-native English speakers. You know what are they, because you’re dealing with them all the time. So what do you think?
July 14th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Hi Brian,
Ya, good question. Obviously we have to be efficient and smart with this. Here’s the thing; basically, non native speakers make very similar mistakes when they write. I’m going to read everything and choose random things to correct for the group to comment on. I can’t correct every single bit of writing from every person, but that’s not necessary. Add and I will be a very active part of the private writing community and anyone who joins will be able to read useful writing tips daily as well see some of their own work corrected. We’ll make it so that everyone is challenged, having fun, learning a lot, and certainly improving their English. I’m sure we can accomplish that goal. I’m also hoping that the community will be able to communicate with each other and help them out. I’m confident that will happen. We have amazing members from all over the world. Very smart people with good English and different experiences. It’s going to be fun and useful on many levels.
July 14th, 2011 at 7:03 pm
Hey Delia,
I forgot all about cattle class. That is a hilarious term for sure. I learned it from a Canadian guy who’s living in Shanghai. It’s one of those phrases that gets people laughing.
July 15th, 2011 at 12:14 am
Hi Andy, I’m from Vietnam. I don’t really know what people from other countries on all over the world think about when they hear the two words Viet Nam, but I hope someday I get a chance to escape here. Yep, Andy is right, it’s the big decision to make especially for I’m from a non-developed country and non-English speaking country. Delia’s Daddy was great with the courage he had when he moved into Canada which I doubt about myself. Andy easily moved into Chinese and taught English there, and I guess that is the lucky you guys have, all the native English speaking people out there.
Andy, I can’t wait to see writing section in action. For me, English is not only a must-have things to improve so as to improve mylife, but also a hope, a secret joy now. Always, I want to speak and write the way the English speaking natives do.
Thanks for good job, China232, and please keep up good works. It’s been almost a year now and I’ve been your big fan Add and Andy. To you guys, I feel you are really out there to help us to improve and it’s not only just about teaching English. Thanks
July 15th, 2011 at 12:20 am
Ah Andy, one more thing. I think it would be great if you find a way to make all people here more active and they keep on exchanging information together besides learning English to connect with each other. If you can do it, then I’m sure this English learning site will be the greatest English learning site in the internet
July 15th, 2011 at 2:15 am
Hi Delia
I’m really sorry if you read my message and find I mistakenly mentioned between your husband and your daddy. It’s really a busy day at work now, I just have a few minutes to have a quick glance messages and I don’t know why it is your daddy but not your husband who moved into Canada in my mind until I read messages slowly again. That’s shame of me….!. I hope you don’t mind. By the way, thanks for your link and your tips on emigrating to Canada. It really helps for me
July 15th, 2011 at 3:06 am
hi Charlie!
don’t worry about it. actually I liked the idea 
…and I made a mistake before you, so welcome to the club 
that’s why I hope Add will be so generous and give us a delete button once in while
July 15th, 2011 at 4:40 am
Hey guys,
Add is working his butt off making the writing section as good as possible. It’s going to be great for VIP members, and us of course, to communicate with each other.
This site seems to attract a pretty high level group so it’s going to be pretty sweet when this thing really gets going. A lot of the communication really depends on the people involved, and you guys are fantastic. We’ll just keep talking on here and hopefully more people will join in on the conversation.
I hope to hear from even the shy people.
July 15th, 2011 at 5:03 am
Add, pretty pretty please make a delete button and a minisection for a blog for talkative and annoying people like me! pretty pretty please! a place where I can write without worrying about my English mistake but where I can get a bit of attention once in a blue moon…I’ve been dreaming about a place like this for a long time…
pretty pretty please with a cherry on top!
(yep, I’m spoiled brat… including when everyone thinks it’s not the case!)
July 15th, 2011 at 5:18 am
that’s the magic of the Internet: you can be anyone with little or no consequences. shy people, come forward, it’s our world.
July 15th, 2011 at 7:29 pm
after my last comment, some people might not want to post after me because they might be considered “shy”
July 16th, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Hi all,
Nice to know about the writing section here at 232.com. I hope there is a path to really improve our writing skills, sharing new ideas, and maybe, make new friends. When the new section starts?
Luiz
July 16th, 2011 at 7:36 pm
Hey Luiz,
The writing section is almost up and ready. I’m thinking less than 10 days away. We want to make it pretty sweet and easy to use before we launch it so we’re just making some last minute improvements.
July 17th, 2011 at 12:05 am
Hello Andy,
This writing section for VIP only it’s a great thing because:
1. When I found your website, I liked your podcasts from free section, then I paid to enter the VIP section quickly. Even though I didn’t finish listening all the free podcasts, I was very curious to enter the “VIP room” and I was a bit disappointed. First, the number of podcasts in the VIP room was almost the same with the free section (around 100). Second, it looked similar to the free section. You can’t blame me for being a dreamer!
I expected a bit more than that. When you say VIP it means you want to see a bit of difference. Therefore, I could have stayed in the free section for a long time, without worrying about paying anything, like the non-VIP members. Now, because it’s going to be a new writing section only for VIP, it makes sense the “VIP” title and “VIP room” expression. It’s just a personal opinion/perception, of course. This “curiosity” I had at the beginning can be definitely used in your advantage in the future, and “that magic room” should live up to the expectations of the potential VIP customer.
2. I get bored going on a website and seeing the same things. I might get bored with podcasts. That’s why I like portals, the information keep changing every day. I like websites with “life” in them. Bringing something new like new writing section, pictures, videos (I still waiting for the promised HD videos!) and even people’s comments and your feedbacks are new things. They are good enough for me to be curious and stick around.
3. Another personal suggestion: you should include in the VIP room a unique file like you did on the other site. That unique file should look like an index and should include all the phrases, expressions, idioms, with examples, listed in alphabetical order. It can help you refresh your memory without wasting too much time. It happened to me many times not to remember the phrases or examples and it took me a long time to find them in so many files.
Of course, these are just my personal comments. Anyway, this website has huge potential to become a big hit, bigger than it is now!
July 17th, 2011 at 1:11 am
Hi Delia,
I agree that the VIP writing section is going to “sweeten the deal” and I’m really looking forward to it. I appreciate your honesty but I’m a bit surprised because we’ve only heard really great feedback from our VIP members so far. I guess we’ll have to keep working harder and harder to make things better and better. That’s certainly our plan. Since it’s just the 2 of us making the site, it’s a lot of work and sometimes things take longer to finish than they would in bigger companies.
I hope no one reading the comment before is worried about being “disappointed” because I think it’s pretty sweet. Anyway, Add and I are fair guys, so if anyone doesn’t love it, we’ll refund your money with no questions asked. Fo sho!
Andy
Andy
July 17th, 2011 at 3:10 am
well, I’m a picky, detailed-oriented customer, but as you (probably) already noticed, I’m also a big fan… Not only a online ESL fan but also a fan of your business itself, the brilliant idea of teaching online in a fun modern way. I was anyway ready to buy any stuff you guys were going to create in the future. There is just one thing: isn’t a bit boring to be praised all the time?
If I were you, I’d be bored hearing only superlative things.
And about the wording “being disappointed”, please don’t try to make me feel guilty
and please don’t take it out of the context 
When I said “a bit”, or, (as I learned from your lessons, “a tad”), I really meant it. I know that educated Canadians are much more “delicate” or “subtle” when criticize someone, but what are you expecting from me?:) I’m just a fucking immigrant 
Plus, I don’t want to become obedient and tamed just for sake of adjusting to my new country/culture. I like to speak my mind and I love when various circumstances offer me the freedom to speak my mind. But anyway, I’ve just had my extra free lesson: next time I will say “a bit confused”, or even better, “surprised”, instead “disappointed”. It’s a better choice of words, a more “Canadian” choice. 
Your website is a very useful toy. These written dialogues here make me brush up on my vocabulary, collect my thoughts, and express my ideas in a clearer manner.I really appreciate and enjoy them. All my shitty jobs I had so far in Canada didn’t give me much room to develop coherent intelligent sentences.
July 17th, 2011 at 3:24 am
Hey Delia,
We’re proud and happy to have you as a fan and member.
I actually want you to speak your mind. (But as funny as this may sound, I don’t mind being praised all the time either. I’m the first born child so I’m a bit of a baby still) Lol.
Bottom line is we’re trying to keep improving this thing for you guys and for us. It’s getting more and more fun too now that we seem to have more real fans who are getting active on here.
Before we had to spend all our time on marketing efforts to be able to pay the stupid rent. Now we can really focus our energy on making this thing kick ass! I can’t wait. The best of the 232 is still ahead of us!
July 17th, 2011 at 7:24 am
hahaha, after a bit of “underground” research, I solved the mystery! you giys are both Aquarius like me! the most free-spirited ones, great communicators, no wonder I felt comfortable talking to you from the very beginning. no wonder I like your choices, your way. I had a piece of a bad news for you: now I know we will become good friends sooner or later in real life, against your will
probably later than sooner because I’ m comfortable as I am now, but it will happen somewhere in the future. btw we have another thing in common: I was journalist, radio reporter, I used to have my own radio show, mostly political etc in my hometown…and I still have a weakness for good voices and good sound, a third reason why I am a big fan of your podcasts and of you as surprisingly pleasant appearances in my Internet research.
July 17th, 2011 at 7:28 am
kids
July 17th, 2011 at 11:40 pm
If I’m normal, civil, logocal, I get bored.
July 18th, 2011 at 12:43 am
ok, maybe I’m wrong.
July 18th, 2011 at 1:46 am
Hi Andy
In this comment section, you use the phrase “Add is working his butt of making ….” and “sweeten the deal”. please explain the meaning, and how to use the phrases, plus some examples. Thanks for your help
July 18th, 2011 at 2:04 am
Hey Charlie,
What’s up?
I said “Add is working his butt off” not “of” Anyway, that just is a slang way of saying he’s working really hard.
“Sweetening the deal” is just making something better.
For example, if I invited you to dinner you might at first say no, but then if I told you that all beautiful girls will be there and they really want to meet you, you might say, “well, that certainly sweetens the deal. I’ll go”
July 18th, 2011 at 2:07 am
I’m thinking the phrase “working someone’s butt off making something” means someone is really busy doing something with almost no time doing anything else. Not sure if that is what the phrase mean, how often the native use it, and if it is more common to use “work someone’s butt off making sth” than “is really busy doing sth” ? Need help, Andy.
July 18th, 2011 at 4:03 am
Hey Charlie,
Ya, “working someone’s butt off” means they are working really hard. Therefor they will be really busy at that time.
Another example is after a hard workout in the gym someone could come home and say, “what a great workout, I was really working my butt off in there”
Andy
July 19th, 2011 at 12:25 am
thanks for the explanation, Andy
July 19th, 2011 at 3:55 am
Hi guys! I’ve been studying with your lessons for 3 months and I feel I´m finding my feet; I´ve studied English for 3 years but currently I´m not capable of expressing many ideas of the top of my head. The problem I have to deal with all the time is that I
don´t have any chances to practice my spoken skills. The way I try to improve is by listening every podcast you upload hundreds of times, then, when I feel I got new vocabulary I start talking to you or to myself. I don´t know what else to do. If you have any pointers that could help me practice, please let me know.
I´m looking forward to starting practicing my writing in your new section; I have a lot of troubles with it too.
Thanks for your commitment and support.
Juan camilo Pérez H
July 19th, 2011 at 8:04 am
Camilo
you speak for my problem too. I’ve been learning English for too long, long ago but still get trouble speaking, although writing is much easier for me to do. Sometimes, i wish i had a chance to live in English speaking country such as Canadia or the US for one or two years to improve my spoken English
July 22nd, 2011 at 11:07 am
That’s absolutely true!
You will never speak second language as well as you speak your native one. Nothing can help you
And that is why people who had moved to another country always have stayed foreigners. It happens even in a such polite and tolerant country like Canada for example. And that is why such people will be always less appreciated by bosses and they always will earn less money than locals. And at least that is why it is a bad idea in my opinion – a move to another country.
Yes, it’s very good to learn English to know more about world, to meet new friends, to make new business and for this reason it’s enough to have even intermidiate level like me
I know someone can say that there are good countries and bad countries and it’s possible to be happy in someplace different than you homeland. I think it’s a bullshit! In this life we don’t choose a few things: our parents, our country and something else. But nobody will say: I don’t like my parents, it would be better to have Bill Gates as my father!
July 22nd, 2011 at 7:21 pm
Agenobarb, I couldn’t agree more: you will never speak second language as well as you speak your native one. You can’t compare 20 years with 8 years of doing something every day. But I also have to disagree with your statement that people who had moved to another country always have stayed foreigners (what an absolute and a bit depressive attitude!). I’ve been living in Toronto for more than 7 years and even though Canada is not a perfect country, my home is now Canada, not my native country. Who knows, I might move back to Europe if a better opportunity arises! I don’t feel foreigner at all, even though at the beginning I felt a foreigner. On a contrary, I feel out of place in my native country. As a woman, Canada offers more future opportunities compared to my original country. And yes, some (I repeat, some) bosses prefer the locals because of their language and because of the cultural similarities. It’s a human nature thing: it’s more comfortable to be with someone like you. On the other hand, I have many friends from my native country that after years hold very high positions in big companies and own big houses, and their English language is good enough to lead good lives. They have never thought they are discriminated; they simply learned, moved, and found a better workplace for them. It means they are appreciated by their bosses and they don’t feel foreigners anymore. Anyway, I would be very happy to read more comments on this interesting topic.
Btw, tomorrow I celebrate 8 years of Canada. I don’t regret my choice. This move opened my mind and the whole world to me. Cheers!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Eb651s_o1Q&feature=autoplay&list=PLCF261A40FC806F38&index=1&playnext=3
July 23rd, 2011 at 3:11 pm
Here is an example of potential writing section, Andrew, in case it helps you with some ideas.
http://forum.dupablogurilegri.ro/
this is an old forum in which I used to write a while back, in Romanian language. They have so many sections including blogs for users. I stopped writing on that forum for a long time ago but they seems to have active users. This is a community initially created around a radio show personality but eventually they moved and created their own forum. It was moderated by the users. They deleted the spam. Surprisingly, even though the forum is not as active as is used to be, it was a big hit at that time. I wish I could write the story of that forum. I hope I will have the chance to write about that interesting community.
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January 27th, 2012 at 12:13 pm
Yay I won Burt’s Bee’s lip balm only my second try! : ) I think I’ll enter some more! : )
February 2nd, 2012 at 5:51 pm
Almost all of what you point out happens to be supprisingly appropriate and it makes me wonder why I hadn’t looked at this in this light before. This article truly did switch the light on for me personally as far as this topic goes. But at this time there is actually just one issue I am not too comfortable with and while I attempt to reconcile that with the actual central idea of the issue, let me observe what the rest of the visitors have to say.Nicely done.
June 3rd, 2012 at 3:12 pm
It seems to me that this website doesnt load up in a Motorola Droid. Are other people getting the same issue? I enjoy this webpage and dont want to have to skip it when Im gone from my computer.
June 13th, 2012 at 9:00 pm
We appreciate all this!.!!
August 26th, 2012 at 3:53 pm
hello Add and Andy!
I started listening to your podcasts in the free section and decided to register on your VIP’s. I enjoy your lessons!thanks!
August 27th, 2012 at 11:16 am
I can agree with you but i do also disagree with you, English can really move one to a higher position and it can definitely change one’s life professionally.
November 16th, 2012 at 1:08 pm
Hi everyone, just want to share my story with you, as I’ve been learning English for a last 10 years or so and I have to say that it was a bit of a journey. Despite a lot of effort that I’ve put in it, even now after all this time I’m still struggling. Over a course of 10 years I have used many different methods of learning, most on my own, and not even single one I found to be effective, i guess partly due to my dyslexia which drive me absolutely crazy. Only last week I’ve found China232 and I’ve been listening to the podcast repeatedly for the whole week. It’s probably to early to see any improvement but I have to say that I am impressed so far and hope that finally I found something that will help to address all my English problems like confident and fluent speaking. I know I am a bit off the topic here but reading and writing is also my problem, therefore I’m looking forward to a writing section that will help me with my every day life as I use written English at work and probably looking at what I wrote above there is a lot to improve.