And she did it!

Successful Brazilians abroad

📣 (3-min reading 📰)

Hey dear, good afternoon! How are you? 🌹

Maybe you don’t like her songs/style/whatever, but she’s been the first Brazilian to get VMA’s prize. And this is BIG. 🏆

The reason why I’m here is to say that she’s always reinforced how important it was for her to start studying English when she was so young and keep on practicing it throughout her life. This is, without a shadow of doubt, the most powerful resource she has in order to manage her career independently.

And here is a friendly reminder: practicing English is part of the routine of everyone who wants to achieve fluency. 😃🤝🏽 10, 15 minutes a day makes a HUGE difference. Let’s start TODAY! 🤩

What did you think of that? Leave your comment! 😊

Have an inspiring week!

The language of lying

Hi, dear! How are you doing today? 😀

Let’s face it: people lie. They lie to each other and to themselves. Is there a deeper reason why they do it?

We hear about 10 to 200 lies a day. We’ve spent much of our history coming up with ways to detect these lies, but all these methods have proved unreliable. Watch this video that illustrates how we might use communications science to analyze the lies themselves.

Reported speech

Hey, you! 🙂 What’s up?

This time we are considering a really important grammar point in English: reported speech, also called indirect speech. But, how and why do we use it?

Rotating skyscrapers

Hey, you! 😀 How are you doing today?

Have you ever heard of rotating skyscrapers? I read this news on World Economic Forum’s page on Facebook yesterday and I decided to share it with you.

According to the Daily Mail, the Dynamic Tower Hotel, which has been in the works since 2008, will finally be built in 2020. It will be able to rotate 360 degrees, so the view will change endlessly for residents inside, rotating independently around the structure’s concrete center at the command of voice-activated control.

Chunks

Hi, dear! How’s it going? 🙂

Today I am bringing the topic: chunks of language. But what do they mean?

Really simple to explain: a chunk of language is a sequence of words that native speakers of a language feel is the natural and best way of expressing something.

Here you go some chunks in the videos below. Keep in mind there are several examples in the English language, and that the best way to learn them effectively is to read, listen… I mean, to get in touch with them as much as you can!

See how it becomes natural after a while? Please, leave a sentence in the comments section using one or more chunks!

Off we go!!! 😉

 

How to start a conversation: 5 things to say after “HELLO”

Hey, you! How are you doing? 🙂

You are about to talk to an English speaker and you don’t know what to say? Don’t worry! In this video, you’ll learn easy ways to start a good, useful conversation. You’ll learn how to choose topics for conversation and how to keep it flowing. Let’s learn!

Understand phone conversations in English

Hey, you! 🙂

How are you doing this afternoon? This lesson is going to help us a lot!

If you get nervous about having conversations over the phone in English, you are not alone… (Actually, I would say this explanation is also highly valuable for conversations in person.) This is a common challenge all people face while getting confidence in learning a new language. 

Indirect questions

Hi, everyone! What’s up? 🙂

Now is the time to learn a bit more about Indirect Questions or Embedded Questions.

There are two kinds of questions in English – direct and indirect. We use indirect questions if we want to sound more formal or polite, especially when we are talking to people we don’t know.

When we create indirect questions, we use introductory phrases such as:

Can/could you tell/show me …? / Do you know …? / Would you mind telling/showing me …? / Have you any idea …? / I wonder … / I wonder if you would mind telling/showing me …?

Examples:

1) (direct question) What time is it?

(indirect question) Could you tell me what time it is?

Ordinary Love

Hey, you! How are you doing? 🙂

Today I am bringing “Ordinary Love”, song by Irish rock band U2. It was written to honour Nelson Mandela and is included in the biography film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. It was released on 29 November 2013, less than a week before Mandela died.

U2 had been friends with Nelson Mandela for several years, having played concerts in South Africa.

Games

Hi, everyone! How are you today? 😀

Using games is one of the most important way to teach efficiently in a language class. Games mean a lot to students. It does not matter when and where they are played, we can not deny their importance.

If students learn with games and have fun, it means that you have reached your goals. Games strengthen language skills. Besides, learners develop social skills and good relationships while they interact with each others.

This post will be under construction. I will always add some information, as time goes by. I also count on your suggestions out there! 🙂

I hope you have a happy learning!