WRITING INFORMAL LETTER B1

I. Form
- Dear Lan,
- Greetings:
How are you? I felt very glad to receive your letter. I apologise for not being in touch for such a long
time because I’ve been so busy with my English study at university.
Thank you for your letter which arrived several days ago. I have not written to you for ages because I am
really busy with my tight schedule. I am writing to tell you about .......
- Comments on your friend’s letter
It’s great to hear that you are going to visit my country this summer holiday.
I’m so pleased to know that you are going to study at my university.
- Answer the questions of the task
In your last letter, you wanted me to describe / advice…..
I’m writing this letter to….
About the accommodation, I think that you can live with my family, which is a great chance for you to
practise more Vietnamese besides class time.
- Ending the letter
Well, that’s all for now. Please convey my warm regards to your parents. Thank you again for your
kindness and great help. Hope to hear from you soon. / I’m looking forward to hearing from you soon.
- Best wishes
II. Useful structures

Beginnings - Sorry for not writing earlier but …..

- Thank you/ Thanks so much for your letter
- Thank you/Many thanks for your (recent/last) letter/postcard.
- It was good/nice to hear from you recently.
- I’m sorry I haven’t written/been in touch for such a long time.
- It’s ages since I’ve heard from you. I hope you’re/you and your
family are well.
- How are the things? / How are you? / How’s it going?
Ending - That’s all for now.
- Hope to hear from you soon.
- Looking forward to hearing from you.
- Give my regards/ love to ….
- Best wishes/ Love from ….
III. Sample letter
Task 1
You received an email from your English friend Sarah, who is planning to study in Hanoi. Read part of
her letter below.
…I’m going to study at Vietnam National University in Hanoi for 3 months. This is the first time I’ve
been to Vietnam, so I’m quite nervous about everything there. I’m thinking about homestay to learn more
about your culture. Can you help me to find a host family?
Also, I’d love to know more about the weather so that I can bring suitable clothes.
I have a spare week after the course, so can you suggest some places to go?...
Write an email responding to Sarah.
Sample letter:
Dear Sarah,
I felt very glad to receive your letter. I apologise for not replying your letter promptly because I’ve been
so busy with my English study at university.
I am very pleased to know that you are planning to study in Hanoi, which is the capital of our country.
There are a lot of beautiful places and interesting activities in this city. I’m sure that you will have a lot
of fun here.
You asked me about the accommodation, I suggest that you can live with my family. My parents are very
easy-going and hospitable, so you can get on well with them. You can share my room and we can study
together. I hope that you can support me and help me in my English study. Besides, it is a great chance
for you to explore local customs in a Vietnamese family.
About the weather, I think that you can easily adapt to the new living places. Now, it is the autumn in
our country. It is cool and windy, so you can bring your casual clothes including T-shirt, jeans or some
blazers, etc.
By the way, I’ve got an interesting idea. We can go on a tour around Hanoi to discover some famous
places here. You can visit the Old Quarters to buy the hand-made and traditional goods from local
residents or taste the traditional food here. Besides, Sword Lake is also a fantastic destination for you
with beautiful sights and lots of activities.
Well, I have to get back to my study now. I hope that you will have a happy time in my country. Please
send my best regards to your parents. Hope to hear from you soon.
Warm wishes,
Vocabulary:
Attend interesting activities: tham gia các hoạt động thú vị
Easy-going: dễ tính
Hospitable: hiếu khách
Bring casual clothes: mang quần áo thông thường
Discover famous places: khám phá các nơi nổi tiếng
Eat traditional food: ăn các món ăn truyền thống
Sample 2 – Part time jobs
You received an email from your American friend Sarah in San Francisco. This is the end of Sarah’s last
email to you.

Write back soon and tell me all about your part time job recently. I’d love to hear about your job
responsibilities, your working place and your boss too.

Best wishes,

Sarah

Dear Sarah,
How are you? Many thanks for your letter. It was really nice to hear from you again. It’s been such
a long time since we wrote to each other. I hope everything’s OK.
Recently, I have got a part-time job as a receptionist in an international company. I chose to work
4 hours a day in the morning because I had to study at university in the afternoon. My company is located
on the fifth floor of Lotte center. It is well-equipped with modern devices such as computers or projectors,
printers, etc. The working condition is quite comfortable with the air-conditioning system, etc. In this
job, I had to welcome the guests to the company, answer phone calls, take messages and arrange
appointments for the director. I used English a lot in this job because I needed to communicate with
foreign guests in English. Sometimes, I was required to translate the documents into English for the
managers.
I really like this job because I can work in a dynamic working environment. I can learn a lot of
valuable experiences from my colleague. My manager, who is quite friendly, responsible and warm-
hearted, gave me a lot of useful advice and showed me the way to complete the job effectively. I am
really grateful to his kindness and enthusiasm.
Working part-time brought me a lot of benefits. It was a great opportunity for me to improve my
practical skills and obtain more valuable experience. I can apply what I learnt at university into the real
working world. Furthermore, this job helps me to become more financially independent and have some
money to pay for my tuition fee and living expenses.
Now I have to get back to my study. I hope you can try to find a part-time job and gain a lot of
benefits. Write to me if you have some good news. Look forward to hearing from you soon.
Best wishes,
TASK 3:
Write a letter to your friend to describe a course that you attended. Why do you attend the course? What
is the content of the course? What do you like or dislike about the course?
Sample letter
Dear Jane,
I felt so glad to receive your letter. I apologise for not replying your letter promptly since I’ve
been so busy with my English study.
Recently, I’ve attended an English course in the center. I would like to learn English to prepare
for the B1 examination which takes place in HN University. At my school, students are required to
achieve B1 certificate to graduate from university.
Regarding the content of the course, it aims to provide learners with useful knowledge about
VSTEP. Teachers who were well-qualified and enthusiastic assisted me a lot in my learning process.
They not only explained the lessons clearly but also instructed me to do some practice exercises. I learned
how to express my opinion in English and use some useful tips to complete listening and reading
exercises. Although I was not good at speaking English, teachers showed me the effective method to
improve my pronunciation and speaking skills.
What I like most about the course is the interactive learning environment and the assistance from
teachers. During my learning process, I have plenty of opportunities to work in groups and express my
opinion in English. Besides, whenever I encounter some problems, teachers are always ready to help me
and answer my questions. On the other hand, I do not feel satisfied with the length of the course. I hope
that we can spend more time studying in class to have more practice of the language.
Well, I have to get back to my study. I hope that you can tell me about a training course that
you’ve attended recently. Hope to hear from you soon.
Warm wishes,

Vocabulary:
- Attend the course: tham dự khóa học
- Prepare for examination: chuẩn bị cho bài ktra
- Require SB to do ST: đòi hỏi, yêu cầu ai làm gì
- Provide SB with ST: cung cấp cho ai cái gì
- Assist SB in doing ST: trợ giúp ai trong việc gì
- Explain lessons in more details: giải thích bài học chi tiết
- Express my opinion: thể hiện quan điểm
- Interactive learning environment: môi trường học tập tương tác
Task 4:
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
You receive an email from your English friend, Jane. She asked you for some information about one of
your friends. Read part of her email below.
I have just got an email from your friend, An. She said she’s going to take a course in London this
summer. She asked if she could stay with my family until she could find an apartment. Can you tell me
a bit about her ( things like her personality, hobbies and interests, and her current work or study if possible
)? I want to see if she will fit in with my family.
Write an email responding to Jane. You should write at least 120 words.
Dear Jane,
It was so good to hear from you after such a long time. I’m sorry for not writing to you earlier. I have
been really busy these days, you know. I’m going to take the entrance exam for a course in psychology,
which is my minor at university.
I’m so pleased to hear that An is going to stay with your family this summer. I think that she can get on
well with the members in your family because she is really a kind and wonderful girl. She is a sociable
and funny girl. She enjoys talking to other people and making new friends. She also has a good sense of
humor. She can make you laugh a lot with her funny stories. In addition, she is really reliable. You can
always rely on her and ask her for advice when you have some troubles in your life.
In her free time, she likes trying out all recipes she reads in cooking books. She has a great passion for
cooking. She feels very pleased to see others enjoying the food she prepares. Besides, she is also
interested in reading classic novels. It would be great if you could spend some time discussing your
favourite books with her.
About her occupation, An is a final year student at University of Economics. Her major is Finance and
Banking. She would like to take a Business course in England to acquire more in-depth knowledge about
managing a company. I hope that you will assist her and provide some useful information during the time
she stays there.
All in all, An is a nice girl, who can easily fit in with your family. I believe that you won’t have any
trouble when putting her up for a few days in London. Well, I have to get back to my study now. Give
my best regards to your parents. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Best wishes,
Vocabulary:
- Get on well with SO: …………………………………………….
- Have a good sense of humour: ………………………………….
- Be interested in doing ST: ………………………………………
- Have a great passion for: ………………………………………..
- Assist SB in doing ST: ………………………………………….
- Provide useful information: ……………………………………..
- Acquire in-depth knowledge: ……………………………………
TASK 5
You are a second-year student at Vietnam National University. You’ve received an email from your
English friend, Julia. Read part of her email below.
“…. I’m going to spend four weeks in Hanoi in a student exchange program with Vietnam National
University. In the program, I’m going to help first year students with their English study. This is the first
time I’ve been to Vietnam, so I’m very excited. Can you tell me a bit about first year students in your
university ( things like their study, personalities, their English proficiency). I hope that I get on well with
them! Also I heard that Vietnamese food is delicious. Can you suggest some typical food to try?...”
Sample letter:
Dear Julia,
How are you? Many thanks for your letter. It was really nice to hear from you again. It’s been such a
long time since we wrote to each other. I hope everything’s OK.
It’s great to hear that you are going to take part in an exchange program with my university. It will be a
great chance for you to visit famous places and find about culture and tradition in my country. I hope
that you will have a wonderful time here.
At my university, students study different majors such as technology, economics, foreign languages, etc.
Most of them try to study hard to get the best results. Sometimes, they also organise some conferences
to exchange their learning methods and share experiences. Besides, they are quite smart, dynamic and
energetic. They often participate in extra-curricular activities to improve their soft-skills and broaden
their relationship. Moreover, they always want to improve their foreign languages skills, which are
helpful for their future jobs. Therefore, they will be very excited to meet exchange students from your
university to practise their English speaking skills. However, some of them who learn English as a non-
major subject may not be good at speaking English. They rarely have opportunities to communicate with
foreigners. Therefore, I think this exchange program will be necessary for them to enhance their English
skills.
By the way, I’ve got an interesting idea. We can go on a tour around Hanoi to discover some tourist
attractions here. You can visit the Old Quarters to buy the goods from local people. I can take you to
some food restaurants to taste the traditional food in my country such as rice noodle, spring roll, which
are really delicious.
Well, I have to get back to my study now. I hope that you will have a happy time in my country. Please
send my best regards to your parents. Hope to hear from you soon.

Warm wishes,