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I think both of the words are usually used in daily conversation and easily confused. FYR.

join
1 group/organization

[transitive] to become a member of an organization, society, or group:

I want to join the Happy English Club. (Hah....)
When did you join the Labour party?
I decided to join the army.
You can enjoy a sport without joining a club or belonging to a team.

2 activity

[transitive] to begin to take part in an activity that other people are involved in:

I want to join all the activities of Happy English Club. (Haha..)
Many sacrificed their weekend to join the hunt for the missing girl.
the benefits of joining our pension scheme
Church leaders have joined the campaign to end fox-hunting.

3 go to somebody

[transitive] to go somewhere in order to be with someone or do something with them:

I am going to join the members at the next meeting of Happy English Club. (Hahaha...)
She joined her aunt in the sitting room.
The immigrants were soon joined by their wives and children.
! Do not say 'join with' someone. Join is followed by a direct object: Will you join me?

4 do something together

[intransitive and transitive] to do something together with someone else, or as a group

I want to join the members of Happy English Club to practice English conversation!~
join somebody for something
I invited them to join us for a glass of wine.

join (with) somebody in doing something
I'm sure you'll all join me in thanking today's speaker.

join (with) somebody to do something
Parents have joined with health experts to produce a video for bereaved families.

join together
Three police forces have joined together to buy a helicopter.

attend

1 [intransitive and transitive] to go to an event such as a meeting or a class:

I'd like to attend the next meeting of Happy English Club!~
Only 12 people attended the meeting.
Please let us know if you are unable to attend.

2 [intransitive and transitive] to go regularly to a school, church etc:

I am the first child in my family to attend college.

-- Adapted from LDOCE online: http://pewebdic2.cw.idm.fr/

Here comes the related idiomatic expression:

"Be there or be square!"

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_boar ... s/210.html

在 daily conversation 中我不常用attend這個字,因為...太正式了:lol:,在口語很難說出來

如果有人問我昨日有沒有去開會
我會回答 I was in there yesterday, 而不會說 I attended this meeting yesterday

E-mail 中或文字記錄也不常用attend...因為我喜歡用participate

hotima 寫:在 daily conversation 中我不常用attend這個字,因為...太正式了:lol:,在口語很難說出來

如果有人問我昨日有沒有去開會
我會回答 I was in there yesterday, 而不會說 I attended this meeting yesterday

E-mail 中或文字記錄也不常用attend...因為我喜歡用participate

根據Oxford, Collins Cobuild, 及Longman這三本字典，attend在用做”參加”（go to an event）之意時，不是正式的用字，在當做”伴隨”(accompany)時才是正式的用字．

我會說I went to the meeting yesterday. 用be動詞表示狀態；用一般動詞表示動作．

又：根據Longman字典，在口語時多用go to少用attend，在書面語時多用attend少用go to．

又：根據Longman字典，participate是正式用字，因此，不宜用在口語．

What is casual and what is formal, it's all very subjective.
If being "casual" is your cup of tea, there is nothing more casual than "show-up" with or without wearing a pajama.
Also, please note that,
One can attend without participating,
and participate without attending.

euphorian 寫:What is casual and what is formal, it's all very subjective.

When Hotima said,"在 daily conversation 中我不常用attend這個字,因為...太正式了," I'd say he is subjective. This is not personal, only that he did not look it up in the dictionaries for the register level of the word. On the other hand, I don't think lexicographers or the authors/editors are subjective too. Dictionaries like Oxford, Collins Cobuild, or Longman can not be said of being subjective and thus are reliable. At least I trust those lexicographers more than those non-expert individuals.

I don't have a copy of Longman, but the word "participate" seems to be too common not to be used in daily conversations. Besides, I don't recall any English teacher (or anybody) warns that a particular word is too formal and shouldn't be use as such. Than again, English teacher loves to encourage big word usage.

There are ways to make "formal" words sound more casual. But the point is formality usually does not hinge on any particular word, but operates more on the level of wordings and phrases.

http://www.michbar.org/journal/article. ... olumeID=33

I guess this is what you are talking about.
http://esl.about.com/od/advancedspeakin ... gister.htm

Different professions and fields do have their own jargons and style, and that takes years of direct and indirect training. The guide line above seems to be more analytical than practical. Not to mention that there are overlaps and gray areas.

Although not to be mistaken as the path to popularity, but isn't it more okay to use "formal" words in informal situations than other way around. Therefore, formal or not, I think any word found in the newspaper/magazine is a fair game.

But, big words are so much fun.
Especially, when the intention is not to confuse but to enrich and clarify an on going conversation.
I am not an expert on reading material selection for English learner. Isn't that a matter of trial and error? A learner will eventually find certain reading material that he or she felt comfortable with. Main stream newspapers are excellent choices. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water.