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

Old-fashioned pocket watch !!! What does that remind you of?

 Watching one of the scenes on the previous post on "Seabiscuit" movie video, reminded me of the time I used to see my grandfather pull his watch out of his pocket to look at the time!!

I can still remember this harmonious ritual perfectly in syntony with the old times' slow pace of life !... Who would ever think of someone, nowadays, taking the time to do so ??....


So, in order to make my students have a break and not  to be listening to their watch ticking out the time  for their scheduled daily activities, I suggest taking this time to improve their English while bringing back memorable times when their grandpa might also have walked down the street on a respectful well-dressed suit and hat showing that dangling shiny chain out of  his pocket...

Instructions for Wearing a Pocket Watch

By Susan Reynolds, eHow Contributor

I want to do this! What's This? Pulling out a pocket watch is elegantly old-fashioned.

A pocket watch is an accessory normally worn by men. Pocket watches were popular among wealthy men at the turn of the twentieth century, before wrist watches became widely available. Wearing a pocket watch today gives an outfit a formal look. There are many styles of pocket watches, from genuine antiques to more modern, industrial designs. The instructions for wearing pocket watches follow traditional rules.

1-Choose a chain that suits most of your outfits. It could be a thick gold chain, a thin silver one, or a brass one. A rule of thumb is to match your jewelry metals, that is, don't mix gold and silver.

2-Hook one end of the chain to the loop on the pocket watch, and connect the other end to a T-bar.

3-Place the T-bar behind one of your jacket or vest buttonholes.

4-Slide your watch into an inner vest pocket on the same side as your non-dominant hand.
Read more: Instructions for Wearing a Pocket Watch

eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_6675298_instructions-wearing-pocket-watch.html#ixzz10wlMqWr4

Maestro Zubin Mehta at Ibirabuera park !

My mind and heart had not even quieted down from Yanni's concert when I found out  the Munich Phylharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta would be held at Ibirapuera park . There was I again on the rithm of the musician's instruments to  enjoy such breathtaking time!

Unlike Yanni's concert, it was an outdoor spectacle, in harmony with a gloomy weather and in fact, warm for the contagious music which surely might have called in Saint Peter to award us with a rain break.

The crowd was awfully small for a show of this scale but enough to applaud bright names like Zubin Mehta, the conductor, and  the japenese violonist Mayuko Kamio.

Below a video from a a live concert in Siena , Italy, cheered by a distinguished audience. It is BELLO!!! I wish I had been there!

Zubin Mehta was born into a Parsi family in Mumbai, India, the son of Mehli and Tehmina Mehta. His father Mehli Mehta was a violinist and founding conductor of the Bombay Symphony Orchestra. Mehta is an alumnus of St. Mary's (ISC) High School, Mazagaon, Mumbai and St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. Zubin initially intended to study medicine, but eventually became a music student in Vienna at the age of 18, under Hans Swarowsky. Also at the same academy along with Zubin were conductor Claudio Abbado and conductor–pianist Daniel Barenboim. Mehta's first marriage was to Canadian soprano Carmen Lasky in 1958. They have a son, Mervon and a daughter, Zarina. In 1964, they divorced. [1] Two years after the divorce, Carmen married Zubin's brother, Zarin Mehta, now the Executive Director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. In July 1969, Mehta married Nancy Kovack, a former American film and television actress. [2]Mehta is a permanent resident of the United States, but retains his Indian citizenship

For more go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zubin_Mehta

What was Yanni's show like in São Paulo??

I do not know where to start….

Simply “divine’’ was the concert last night!! The place was not comparable to Radio City ,which is undoubtedly more suitable to welcome  and host such magnificent show.

However , for all the fans who have kept track of Yanni’s trajectory and brought with it special memories of their  life moments  when his music was present, the place was not an issue, but a delight moment to revive them and to see him live for the first time.

Yanni has that "shine" peculiar to those whose eye look can tell more than anything else .Yet, he can magically express his soul through his music.

He does not look as young as a few years back . It does not matter, obviously!!!

In my opinion, he will always be this handsome!! He still owns that same long lasting energy able to attract everyone’s heart forever ! He knows it comes from "the sky"!!  rsrsrs...

His life history tells about his and Charlie Adam’s dream of accomplishing something in life through what they did best : music. They were young when they joined their gifted skills towards this dream. They made it!! Their strong bond, the mortar of anyone’s achievements, has taken them there.

Delightedly, we can feel Yanni’s self- satisfaction while he plays and conducts all the other musicians for giving their best to the music. They all perform trying to please one another in unison and making it clear the orchestra would never be that outstanding without everyone’s instrument and part in the show.



As a matter of fact, Yanni not only has been looking for new talents to join his orchestra , but also working on them.

For me, such devotion and love could not result in anything else other  than a "unique orchestra"!

São Paulo Credicard  Hall 2010

It is a pity that such extraordinary artists and music do not get our country's  media attention in a way a greater number of peolple could be entitled to this heart's fulfillment !!!

What does meeting your music idol feel like?




Show in São Paulo
I got very close again!

Not till you unexpectedly get yourself completely thrilled by getting close to someone you look up to, will you know what it feels like!!! Passione!!! That is it! You  fall head over heels and find out why so many people freak out on these occasions... Like a child, nothing else matter but being close to your  "idol" and showing him"how unique" he is, even if  he can not take any notice of you in the middle of the crowd!! And when  it happens that "with the help of the angels your dream come true", I will tell you, it trully is a memorable and magical time in your life!

I have no idea if tonight I will be awarded such honour again!I do not care, since I am so proud I have already been through this experience and know Yanni's music will always be there for me and everyone else whose soul are touched by such indescribable melody...NOT A CONVINCING EXPLANATION??
HONESTLY, like all passionate fans, I wonder what is to happen later on!!rsrsrsrsrsssssss