Some differences between Written and spoken English

Where do we most often find written English?

• in everyday chats

• on phone calls

• in books and on websites

• in quick voice messages

Written language often uses …

• short slang words

• long descriptive sentences

• many emojis

• lots of pauses

Which sentence shows a feature of written English?

• “Hey, what’s up?”

• “I’m good, thanks.”

• “The sun sank below the horizon, painting the sky with brilliant hues…”

• “See you later!”

In spoken English, sentences are usually …

• very long and formal

• short and simple

• full of rare words

• never repeated

Which phrase is typical of spoken English?

• “conversational and casual”

• “complex sentence structures”

• “vivid picture in the reader’s mind”

• “brilliant hues of orange, pink and purple”

Which example comes from spoken language?

• “Did you have a good day at school?”

• “The stars slowly emerged in the inky darkness.”

• “Authors often use long sentences.”

• “Written language uses complex structures.”

Spoken language is called “immediate” because it …

• is recorded on paper

• happens and disappears quickly

• uses long descriptions

• is always correct grammar

Written words can be …

• heard only once

• forgotten in one minute

• read many times in the future

• spoken faster than typed

Written language is more permanent because …

• it disappears after one second

• people forget it quickly

• it can be kept and read again

• it is always spoken aloud first

If you tell your friend a secret aloud, your friend must …

• print it on paper

• remember it in their mind

• send it back to you

• read it again tomorrow