Election vocabulary and news in English!

Whether or not you should vote is a very personal  decision. However, you can still think it over

and  MAKE UP YOUR MIND  on your candidate.

Once the second round of the election is just a few days ahead, I found these news videos would be  very good for students to practice their vocabulary and listening skills.

Roussef and Serra face RUN OFF in Brazil.

http://www.euronews.net/2010/10/04/rousseff-and-serra-face-run-off-in-brazil-election/ 

Brazil’s presidential election will see a run-off at the end of the month. The leftist ruling party candidate Dilma Rousseff has won the first round. But she failed to do enough to win outright at the first hurdle.

She will go into the second round as strong favourite to become Brazil’s first woman leader. But it seems some voters were turned off by a last-minute corruption scandal and Dilma’s reported views on social issues such as abortion – condemned by many Catholic voters.
Dilma Rousseff’s success is also that of her mentor.
Brazil’s economy is booming and she’s vowed to continue President Lula’s fight to reduce poverty.
After two terms in office he is bowing out a hugely popular figure.
His prodigy lacks his charisma. But for Dilma Rousseff it’s the end of a long political trail that began as a leftist guerilla fighting the country’s then military dictatorship – and saw her rise to become President Lula’s chief of staff.

Roussef keeps RUN OFF LEAD in poll.
http://www.euronews.net/2010/10/29/rouseff-keeps-runoff-lead-in-brazil-poll/
Brazil’s ruling party presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff holds a solid lead over rival Jose Serra ahead of Sunday’s runoff, according to a new opinion poll.
Rousseff has 50 percent of voter support in the survey by the online Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, compared with Serra’s 40 percent.
The career civil servant and former leftist militant appears to have regained momentum after a drop in support several weeks ago caused by voters’ doubts about her religious beliefs and her stance on abortion.
Serra, however, has one more televised debate on Friday to push his message that Rousseff has contradicted herself on moral values issues and has no experience as an elected official.
But so far Serra has successfully steered discussion towards the eight years of strong economic growth under her mentor, the popular president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose endorsement is considered the biggest factor in her topping the polls.

Find the best "teaching strategies and techniques" for your students language learning!!

It is always interesting to hear different opinions regarding the approach to the teaching and learning process of a second language.

Having recently discussed some aspects of its techniques and strategies for students, inspired me to go over this issue again.

We all know that a successful language learning process through either an one-to-one or a group private classes, can not occur without an effective teaching syllabus.

In my view, the syllabus applied for teaching these sort of classes, is the expression  of the personal characteristics , language knowledge and practical experience of the instructor, which are subjected to students analysis from the very first contact.

Therefore, some details such as the classroom where you teach , the language study material and the points you make to assertively connect and listen to your students needs, are parts of the atmosphere you create to show what they can expect from you .

Since students do like the language and commit themselves to improving their language skills, a substancial open field is ahead for a teacher wisely take into consideration each one’s individual peculiarities, and work  towards his goal.

Just to set an example, I had a 60- year- old student whose Portuguese grammar knowledge was poor  for having dropped out of school when she was to start junior school level. However,her limited schooling background did not prevent me from developing her  English speaking, listening, reading and writing skills ,in a way , it enabled her to communicate effectively in business and travel settings.

So, finding the most suitable approach for your students learning , is surely going to surprise you!

What's more, making it as simple as the old -fashioned blackboard , might be a tip for you.

Have fun and enjoy it in the first place!

Below a video on teaching strategies considerations I highly recommend!

   

Reserve "um tempo" para escolher um curso de inglês capaz de atender às suas necessidades!

Ultimamente tenho observado que as pessoas estão cada vez mais conscientes da importância de encontrar uma  metodologia eficaz para o aprendizado de uma língua estrangeira.

Penso que, os  pré requisitos atuais para almejar uma posição profissional de alto nível, aliada à falta tempo para o aperfeiçoamento das habilidades profissionais, contribuem para que as pessoas estejam mais exigentes e criteriosas ao escolher um curso de línguas. Além do mais, em um mundo globalizado e conectado  in real time através da internet , i-phones , celulares e outros, it is a common sense que falar e escrever uma língua universal, possibilita uma gama infinita de  novas oportunidades e escolhas até há pouco tempo inimagináveis.

Todos estes fatores influenciam no desejo de um aprimoramento  profissional que atenda às necessidades individuais dentro de um timing próprio que permita que pessoas se dividam em muitas em um curto espaço de tempo e consigam corresponder,não somente as suas  próprias expectativas, mas também as do mercado de trabalho .

Sinto-me feliz em ver meus alunos buscando caminhos novos e conquistando seus objetivos com grande satisfação. Porém, acompanho de  perto o malabarismo a que eles se submetem  para poder dar conta de todas  as suas atividades diárias.

Percebo que começar um curso ou qualquer outra atividade,está cada vez mais ligada a disponibilidade de tempo: tempo para comer.. tempo para dirigir... tempo para se divertir... tempo para dormir... tempo para  fazer ginástica ...tempo para estudar....tempo para não fazer nada, enfim , tempo para sentir falta de tempo...parar...pensar e não mais perder tempo e aproveitar o tempo que se tem para exercitar a criatividade e dedicar-se à empreitadas que valem à pena enquanto tivermos a sanidade de lembrar que as chances são "únicas" a cada minuto que  passa...

Foi também pensando nestas  observações durante estes anos no ensino da língua inglesa,  e acompanhando o desenvolvimento e necesidades individuais dos alunos, que nosso programa Viplli  http://www.viplli.com.br/  ,no Canadá , foi elaborado com o objetivo de oferecer aos alunos um aprendizado eficiente e adaptado ao tempo disponível que cada profissional tem para se ausentar do seu trabalho.

Assim como algumas pessoas já fazem, reserve um tempo para pesquisar e informar-se suficientemente para escolher um curso que proporcione ferramentas que desenvolvam suas habilidades , sejam elas speaking, listening, reading or writing e fazer valer o seu tempo e dinheiro investidos.

Pode não dar tempo de você aprender a falar inglês ,in time , para viajar por "trilhas nunca antes percorridas !!"

Make it worth !

 

Ps: Acabo de receber uma ligação de uma aluna que está parada no trânsito e não vai conseguir chegar a tempo para a aula ...rsrrsrs 

Ela está vermelha assim!! 

Como descrever em inglês o resgate dos mineiros no Chile!! Miners rescue!

É interessante o quanto uma mesma imagem ou fato podem trazer significados únicos em determinadas circunstâncias!!

It is amazing how significant a very same image or fact might be under certain circumstances!

While no post anterior eu  falava da lembrança que o "pocket watch" me trazia, agora eu olho para ele e apenas sinto vontade de interferir no ritmo da natureza do tempo e girar os ponteiros, hands, para fazer com que o tempo passasse mais rápido e todos os mineiros fossem brought up to the surface as if by magic, in no time !!! Just a thing none of us will ever be able to have any control over!

Likewise, the images of each miner being rescued not only incites a deep sigh of compassion and relief ,but also remind us of a saying once said:  "There is nothing else at the bottom of a well, other than a spring for bringing you up out of it!!" Fortunately and literally, they have been awarded with such blessing!!

I wonder what their life will be like considering this unthinkable survival endeavor might foster an immensurable impact on their feelings and attitude towards life. What's more, that makes me think whether or not this accident might have been a chance or even a shelter for some upcoming breakthrough discovery only known by some futurist people who could possibly be part of one of those "secret societies" described in the book "O Despertar dos Mágicos" de Louis Pauwels e Jacques Bergier.Who Knows??

Anyway, how long every fraction of a second  trapped under that dimmed rocky cave might have lasted to each one of them , is surely a total singular experience on the size of their individual capability to cope with extreme stress and difficulties in an unexpected allien condition  in which no "pocket watches" would ever be able to time !!

Exercises: Can you describe what has been going on the scene of the accident by using some of the words below ? ...Watching the videos will help you as well

• The miners who spent 69 agonizing days ....
• where they have been trapped for more than two months
• the men climbed into a slender cage ....
• pulled to the surface
• hoisted one by one
• missile-like escape capsule
• made a smooth ascent into fresh air.....
• each miner squeezed into a small cylindrical cage for the ascent to the surface, which took about 15 minutes on the way_a tense claustrophobic ride of more than 2000 feet
• they were monitored by video on the way up for any sign of panic...
• As it traveled down and up, down and up, the rescue capsule was not rotating ...

Below a link to some news on the miners rescue. Listen and practice your vocabulary!

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2010/10/13/rajpal.chile.miner.world.watch.cnn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijPLSh9pgBg