Happy New Year to all of you too!!!

A more amorous year among people!

Lyrics and tradução: http://letras.terra.com.br/michael-jackson/64241/traducao.html

Merry Christmas to all of you !!!

Much energy ... a feeling of contentment and a loving Christmas !!!

A bit about me! sorry!!! just a little too long......

Eu estava procurando um Template para meu blog e eis que encontro este cuja cor vermelha é a mesma que eu escolhi para ser a marca do AVZM- based listening and speaking method .
Além disso a figura lá no topo da página se parece muito com dois lugares muito significativos para mim os quais chamaria de"Templo"pelo o que eles representam em minha vida. Em ambos vivi e vivo uma história de onde tenho muitas histórias para contar.

Mas o que importa aqui é falar daquele onde minha vida profissional começou e deu origem ao AVZM: é o Hospital Sírio Libanês!!

Não sou médica nãooo... mas acho que já devo ter sido !! São quase 20 anos desde que fui apresentada por um médico cujos filhos eram meus alunos, ao meu "Student number 1"( médico do hospital) que como muitos outro ainda faz o curso , é fluente, mas continua na esperança de poder aprender alguma coisa!!!!rsrsrs... He can't survive without the" forever maintenance classes"! Twenty years!!!!! CUREI o trauma dele!! " In our first class"suas primeiras palavras foram: "tenho trauma de Inglês” , e eu respondi: "eu de Física!" Estávamos quites : "Nobody is perfect!"

Deste primeiro aluno vieram vários outros aos quais sou grata por terem se tornado meus médicos , amigos e também professores ao me permitir exercitar a arte de ensinar e aprender o melhor caminho para suprir suas necessidades individuais no aprendizado da língua inglesa.

Foi com eles que desde o início pude comprovar o que a minha vivência com minha querida "host family" nos Estados Unidos tinha me ensinado:" aprender um segundo idioma , era acima de tudo adquirir o conhecimento da língua em um nível de assimilação comparável ao que desenvolvemos quando aprendemos nossa língua nativa". Apesar da escrita e da leitura deles serem excelentes , não eram suficientes para que pudessem se comunicar com fluência, segurança e naturalidade . É  crucial praticar muito o listening activity para desenvolvê-lo da mesma maneira como uma criança o faz antes de pronunciar suas primeiras palavras.

Por esta razão sempre fui muito” picky” quanto a um único homework required from todos: Listen to the tape, pleaseeee!! e hoje eu peço: Listen to the MP5!!rsrs..
Para minha felicidade eles sempre me ouvem !!! Quando muitos me encontravam nos corredores do hospital  já iam me respondendo antes mesmo de eu começar a implorar: "I am listeniiiiing, teacher!" Good boys!!!
Algumas enfermeiras me contavam que alguns médicos ao dar um break na rotina estressante do dia a dia, escutavam a fita durante o free time entre pacientes. Eu nem acreditava que eles estavam se conscientizando da importância desta atividade a ponto de acharem enjoyable e desafiante rewind the tape milhões de vezes para compreender os textos antes de lê-los.

Houve um aluno que no seu primeiro dia de aula me disse: “não quero saber desta coisa chata de ficar ouvindo!” E eu falei: "então não poderei dar aulas para você!"Mais uma vez... quites!! Ele stepped back! Depois de sua primeira viagem após o início do curso foi muito fun quando ele falou que eu não estava mentindo e que tudo que eu estava ensinando era verdade, pois ele não só ouviu o que os Americanos falavam como também compreendeu corretamente as palavras.Consequentemente sua comunicação oral melhorou muito e hoje se eu não der a ele

“the listening activity” primeiramente he gets very angry!

Naquela época escutar a fita era um dos poucos recursos disponíveis e eficazes para desenvolver a escuta em inglês. A TV a cabo e a internet estavam para chegar e se tornar nossos melhores “live teacher's assistants”.

Era o meu sonho ter um dicionário mágico como o (Babylon dictionary) e não ter que carregar o dicionário "tijolo" da Longman e perder minutos e minutos procurando o significado de algumas palavras que me fugiam à memória .

Sem estes on line dictionaries atualmente teríamos que carregar uma mala só de livros para conseguir traduzir a quantidade de palavras desconhecidas e assuntos variados available on the internet.
Falando em informação, eu recorria à banca Cidade Jardim para comprar o New York Times e oferecer aos alunos algo mais para ler além dos textos e diálogos dos livros didáticos . Eu também assinava a Gazeta Mercantil em inglês para as aulas de business .

Atualmente uso tanto todas as ferramentas da internet para listening and writing activities que preciso me controlar para não passar o dia enviando aos alunos os " tailor-made - news e-mails". Sei que a caixa de entrada deles "get packed with them" mas sem dúvida os mantém updated e prontos para conversar sobre qualquer assunto atual com um estrangeiro. Acredito ser esta a melhor forma de enriquecer o vocabulário, ou seja, lendo e falando sobre assuntos atuais e de interesse pessoal cujo contexto facilita a memorização das palavras que naturalmente são expressadas através da elaboração racional do pensamento e do sentimento de cada um.

Focando sempre neste interesse individual, acabei escrevendo um Wine Manual inspirado em uma pergunta e dedicado à este Aluno que sempre "acerta nas palavras" cujo significado não me lembro no momento!! "Thank you so much!"Me ajuda muito!! Mas recorro aos"universitários", aqui, ao Babylon que não me deixa na mão! Fui pesquisar a palavra e lhe entreguei um manual. Surgiu então a idéia de fazer um outro : Cooking Manual , dedicado à minha querida Aluna gourmet, the best in town ,que não vem para a aula sem me trazer a piece of cake ou the best rice pudim ever!!!

Estas são algumas pequenas histórias dentre muitas outras que me proporcionam uma grande satisfação pessoal por fazer parte de uma história onde todos estes "long lasting bonds" profissional e de amizade me motivaram a querer cada vez mais aprender e oferecer um serviço que pudesse atender não somente às necessidades dos alunos mas também às exigências do mundo atual.

O Espaço AVZM é nosso.... a home for the antigos, novos e futuros alunos .Quando ouvi a palavra "Mestra" de um especial "Mestre" me convidando a entrar, senti que este era “O lugar”, aquele onde eu iria pendurar a reprodução de um quadro que eu havia comprado em Nova York há 10 anos atrás e que ainda estava embrulhado  esperando para ser colocado no lugar dele,(aqui),na posição onde um dia imaginei estar! Também senti que seria um espaço onde muitas novas idéias para o aprendizado da língua inglesa iriam nascer. I am so thankful to you,"Mestre", for letting me in!

Minha ex- aluna e tradutora Virgínia Delamuta que há anos vem atendendo aos meus alunos veio agregar conhecimento com seu trabalho excelente de tradução . Minha amiga e teacher Carla Pucci Leite também compõe nosso quadro, trazendo sua vasta experiência in the teaching English field. It is very nice to have you here!

E finalmente para completar toda esta trajetória, a Viplli - English Vip Immersion Program nasceu com a parceria entre a AVZM and NK  Coaching de Daniela Mendes Leite, minha querida amiga, such special prima e profissional, que possui um conhecimento sem igual na área de International English Students Program . Tenho muito orgulho em ter uma pessoa com a idoneidade, competência e seriedade profissional para estar junto neste projeto. Se parceria for também sinônimo de bom humor e " work around the clock", teríamos que pagar ao MSN pelo uso de um de seus serviços: os "risadas emotions"! We simply have a lot of fun!! Agradeço aos Deuses por ela ter voltado do Canadá! Thanks a million dear cousin!

Assim como o quadro, a Viplli - também estava esperando a AVZM e a NK se encontrarem para realizar este programa de extensão que sempre tive em mente proporcionar aos alunos e oferecer o que há de mais eficiente para adquirir a fluência do idioma: a vivência de uma experiência com nativos através de um programa diferenciado e personalizado às suas necessidades .

O blog vai ser mais um recurso do qual faremos uso para estar em contato com os alunos e colegas, a kind of “corner”, onde ficarão disponíveis toda e qualquer informação útil e interessante que nos permita compartilhar e trocar idéias para o aperfeiçoamento das habilidades do aprendizado e ensino do idioma.

Gostaria de poder falar de todos outros Alunos (businesspeople, lawyers,pharmacists,nurses) os quais já tive e tenho o prazer de ensinar and cure o "listening and speaking skills ". Como não é possível, só posso agradecer from the bottom of my heart a todos that cross my way !Em especial, agradeço e homenageio os alunos Palmeirenses fanáticos, Médicos , Físicos , Dentistas e Amigos do Serviço de Radioterapia (com todo o respeito aos "bambis , peixes e gaviões") for being my "second home "e sugerindo à eles que cliquem lá em cima do lado direito da página em (options) e vejam como é fácil pintar "the life picture" com as cores that"best please us"!

I swear to God it was a surprise to me too!!

Enfim, back ao assunto do início deste post, se não fosse o primeiro "Templo" (onde cresci ) a me ensinar que alone não dá para construir uma história, eu não estaria repetindo tudo aquilo que me serviu de exemplo e estar falando de todas estas "pessoas queridas" that "color my life" and fazem parte da minha história até aqui.

Happiness is real when shared!!! ("Into the wild" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4Pq8q4QVug&feature=related)

More than anyone else, I thank my "Parents and Family" for my

"colorful life picture"!

Ps:Por motivo de configuração, tive que mudar o "template" do blog recentemente.

Jason Mrazzzzzzz! Such nice rhythm!!!

http://www.letras.terra.com.br/jason-mraz/1408813/traducao.html

Let's party !! "but let me teach you some expressions":

Expressions with the word "party":

• a party of British tourists: GROUP: company, body, gang, band, crowd
• the left-wing parties: FACTION: political,group, junta
• don't mention a certain party: PERSON: individual, somebody, someone
  

Julie & julia using "my cooking manual!!!"rsrsr

Pleasant, fun and tasty!! but just a warning: do not watch this film on an empty stomach!!!

I had not seen this movie when I posted the video here. I just found it appealing to people who enjoy mastering the art of cooking by cooking special dishes on special occasions. Actually, some of the movie scenes reminded me of my newly-married student who almost set fire to her house!!rsrssr...

So, I went to see the picture. Throughout that, I had to eat almost a whole bag of popcorn to make up for the savory, mouth-watering dishes it shows!! Even so, in the end I was hungry!!

Well, Meryl Streep's performance is again indescribable! She has this flair of embodying a character in a way we forget the actress behind it.

The romantic filming in France in the 50's was gorgeous and inviting!!!The costumes and the scenery were just enchanting. Meryl Streep, Julia Child, is always dressed up on a stylish, classic, feminine outfit that matches her happy inner self!

It is agreeable and fun to watch Julia and Julie looking for ways to fulfill their lives by doing something they are really pleased with . Not to mention both are pretty happy to be sharing their "new adventure" with their supportive mates and fans!!

If you want to see a "sweet movie", "get a taste of it "!........... It is literally "eatable"!

Ah! it is a good practice for your English!! It focus on dialogs most of the time!

Below some details on the movie :

Julie & Julia, which opens in Ottawa Aug. 7, is expected to be the chick-flick (a film which appeals to young women)hit of the summer.

1) - Julie & Julia is a comedy-drama film written and directed by Nora Ephron. The film depicts events in the life of chef Julia Child in the early years in her culinary career, contrasting her life with Julie Powell, who aspires to cook all 524 recipes from Child's cookbook during a single year.
Ephron's screenplay is adapted from two books: My Life in France, Child's autobiography, written with Alex Prud'homme, and a memoir by Julie Powell.
In August 2002, Powell started documenting online her daily experiences cooking each of the 524 recipes in Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and she later began reworking that blog, The Julie/Julia Project. Both of these books were written and published in the same time frame of 2004 to 2006. The film is the first major motion picture based on a blog. Ephron began filming Julie & Julia in March 2008. Meryl Streep portrays Julia Child, and Amy Adams appears as Julie Powell. The film officially premiered on July 30, 2009 at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City and opened throughout North America on August 7, 2009. Meryl Streep and Amy Adams previously starred together in the critically acclaimed.

Jingle bells!!...childhood time!!

Dashing through the snow

In a one horse open sleigh

O'er the fields we go

Laughing all the way

Bells on bob tails ring

Making spirits bright

What fun it is to laugh and sing

A sleighing song tonight


Cavalgando pela neve
Em um trenó aberto com apenas um cavalo
Sobre os campos nós vamos
Rindo por todo o caminho
Sinos presos no rabo de cavalo
Fazendo os espíritos brilharem
Que divertido é cavalgar e cantar
Uma canção,andando de trenó, hoje a noite!

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh

Jingle bells, jingle bellsJingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh

Soem, sinos! Soem, sinos!
Soem por todo o caminho!
Ó, que divertido
É cavalgar
Em um trenó com apenas um cavalo!

A day or two agoI thought

I'd take a ride

And soon Miss Fanny Bright

Was seated by my side

The horse was lean and lank

Misfortune seemed his lot

We got into a drifted bank

And then we got upsot

Um dia ou dois atrás
pensei em andar de trenó

E logo a senhorita Fanny Bright

Estava sentada ao meu lado

O cavalo era magro e sem pelo

Parecia fadado ao azar

Nós rolamos a ladeira

e então ficamos chateados

White Christmas

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

Just like the ones I used to know

Where the treetops glisten, and children listen

To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

With every Christmas card I write

May your days be merry and bright

And may all your Christmases be white

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

With every Christmas card I write

May your days be merry and bright

And may all your Christmases be white

Teachers and students!!!!

After years of experience in the Teaching English as a Second Language field for individual students, I have come to realize the importance of the interaction between a teacher and a student for a successful learning.

A student whose target and interest in accomplishing his goal is a striking feature of his personality.... may naturally find a teacher to fulfill his needs.

A teacher whose approach is to provide students with the opportunity to progress to a maximum level of competence ....may easily meet with a student who will be willing to do so.

To this end, I believe we should keep in mind some factors which greatly contribute to an effective communicative relationship between teachers and students:


will power
clear strong target
responsibility
confidence
communication
discipline
perseverance
encouragement
understanding
patience
humbleness
flexibility
humor
fun
respect
care

The "learning and teaching" process involved in this personal psychological plane will surely enable teachers to develop students’ self-confidence and help them to find their own way.

What is Christmas like today?

Where did it come from?
Where is it going?
In many countries of the world, the celebration of Christmas on December 25th is a high point of the year. But why? Can it have any real meaning for us today? Is there a 'real' Christmas message?
Christmas celebrations in the West today
From November onwards, it is impossible to forget that Christmas is coming. Coloured lights decorate many town centres and shops, along with shiny decorations, and artificial snow painted on shop windows.
In streets and shops, 'Christmas trees' (real or plastic evergreen 'conifer' trees) will also be decorated with lights and Christmas ornaments.
Shopping centres become busier as December approaches and often stay open till late.Shopping centre speaker systems systems will play Christmas 'carols' - the traditional Christmas Christian songs, and groups of people will often sing carols on the streets to raise money for charity. Most places of work will hold a short Christmas party about a week before Christmas. Although traditional Christmas foods may be eaten, drink (and plenty of it) means that little work will be done after the party!
By mid-December, most homes will also be decorated with Christmas trees, coloured lights and paper or plastic decorations around the rooms. These days, many more people also decorate garden trees or house walls with coloured electric lights, a habit which has long been popular in USA.
In many countries, most people post Christmas greeting cards to their friends and family, and these cards will be hung on the walls of their homes. In UK this year, the British Post Office expects to handle over 100 million cards EACH DAY, in the three weeks before Christmas.

Christmas cards
The custom of sending Christmas cards started in Britain in 1840 when the first 'Penny Post' public postal deliveries began. (Helped by the new railway system, the public postal service was the 19th century's communication revolution, just as email is for us today.) As printing methods improved, Christmas cards were produced in large numbers from about 1860. They became even more popular in Britain when a card could be posted in an unsealed envelope for one half-penny - half the price of an ordinary letter.
Traditionally, Christmas cards showed religious pictures - Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, or other parts of the Christmas story. Today, pictures are often jokes, winter pictures, Father Christmas, or romantic scenes of life in past times.

The old man with the sack
'Father Christmas' (or 'Santa Claus') has become the human face of Christmas. Pictures will be seen everywhere of the old man with long white beard, red coat, and bag of toys. Children are taught that he brings them presents the night before Christmas (or in some countries on December 6th - St. Nicholas' Day), and many children up to the age of 7 or 8 really believe this is true. In most countries, it is said that he lives near the North Pole, and arrives through the sky on a sledge (snow-cart) pulled by reindeer. He comes into houses down the chimney at midnight and places presents for the children in socks or bags by their beds or in front of the family Christmas tree.
In shops or at children's parties, someone will dress up as Father Christmas and give small presents to children, or ask them what gifts they want for Christmas. Christmas can be a time of magic and excitement for children.
Who was he?
Father Christmas is based on a real person, St. Nicholas, which explains his other name 'Santa Claus' which comes from the Dutch 'Sinterklaas'. Nicholas was a Christian leader from Myra (in modern-day Turkey) in the 4th century AD. He was very shy, and wanted to give money to poor people without them knowing about it. It is said that one day, he climbed the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the chimney. It landed in the stocking which a girl had put to dry by the fire! This may explain the belief that Father Christmas comes down the chimney and places gifts in children's stockings.
Boxing Day
In English-speaking countries, the day following Christmas Day is called 'Boxing Day'. This word comes from the custom which started in the Middle Ages around 800 years ago: churches would open their 'alms boxe' (boxes in which people had placed gifts of money) and distribute the contents to poor people in the neighbourhood on the day after Christmas. The tradition continues today - small gifts are often given to delivery workers such as postal staff and children who deliver newspapers.

Making sense of Christmas
Today in the West, not many people consider the religious meaning to Christmas. Most people in UK or Europe will not go to a religious church meeting, even at Christmas. It has become a busy race to spend money on presents, and get ready for the Day. In UK, our shops stay open till late Christmas Eve and often open again on Boxing Day with the cut-price 'sales'. (Not much holiday for the poor shop workers!) A visitor from another world would think that Christmas was a festival to the gods of money and shopping.

What do you want from Christmas?
Many people do hope for more than presents at Christmas.
We want to somehow return to a time in our childhood (or some other good time in the past), when life was simpler and made more sense, before the troubles of adult life arrived.

We feel sure that behind all the fun and decorations, there must somehow be a message, something more, some key to life, hope and happiness.

Halloween History ,Customs and Traditions!!

                                                                                
The history of Halloween goes back more than 2,000 years. The earliest celebrations of Halloween were among the Celtic people who lived in the areas which are now Great Britain and Northern France.


The Celts were people who worshiped the beauty of nature. They worshiped a Sun God and believed that without him, they would not live. They also worshipped Samhain who was the lord of the dead and of the cold, dark winter season. They believed that on October 31 Samhain would call together all of the dead and these souls would take on the shape of an animal. They believed that all creatures wandered the Earth on that night. This was called the Vigil of Samhain.

The Druids, which were the priests of the Celtic people, would build fires on the hilltops in belief that the large fires would help to strengthen the Sun God, and give him power enough to overcome the lord of darkness so that the sun season could continue.

They believed that the fires were sacred, therefore they burned dried crops and sacrificed animals to help strengthen the Sun God. At midnight they stop worshipping the Sun God and start to worship Samhain because he will be the ruler for the next six months.

This is the starting of the new year. They perform ceremonies through the night to ask the spirits to tell the future of the upcoming year. In the morning each household receives an ember from the fire, this ember is used to start fires in their own homes with the belief that it will ward off evil spirits in the new year.

The Celts continued with their ceremonies until they were conquered by the Roman Catholics. The Roman Catholics brought with them their own customs and traditions.

They had established All Saints Day or All Hallows Day on November 1. This was a day in which all saints who did not have their own declared holiday were honored.The church had hoped that by establishing this holiday, it would do away with the Vigil of Samhain and the other ceremonies and celebrations held on October31 through November 1.

But this was not so. Soon witchcraft came about, and October 31 was renamed Night of the Witch. It was believed that the devil and all of his followers (demons, witches) would come out on this night to perform unholy acts to make a mockery of the All Hallows Day celebration.These ceremonies and celebrations continued and October 31 was then called All Hallows Even. It was a night for superstitious beliefs and mystery. Through the years the name was shortened to Hallowe'en and then to Halloween.Visit this site for more on Halloween:  http://www.halloween-website.com/history.htm