LEARNING LANGUAGES, MOVIES AND (A BIT OF?) HISTORY

Hello everyone!

Some time ago Lúcia Palomo wrote some invaluable words on learning English no matter one’s age.  In her text, she emphasised the importance of trying new routes to get adjusted to one’s learning pace and style.

Today she writes about what she learned along 2013 and how fascinating and extremely rich films have been when it comes to learning languages.

The interesting aspect of her text is that many of the films she saw this year were spoken in other languages, not only in English. Still, she took advantage of their theme to go deeper into what came to the fore. Diligent and willing as she is to new ideas and perspectives in learning, she ‘stumbled over’ new approaches that, somehow, were in keeping with her interests and language interests. Obviously she may come up with other  ideas for 2014, but rather than the old adage: grammar and practice, she knows that learning is beyond it.

Feel free to comment on her text and share your learning experiences with us.

English Exams

LEARNING LANGUAGES, MOVIES AND (A BIT OF?) HISTORY

By Lúcia Mara Palomo

Some time ago I wrote “why someone at my age should learn English” and I concluded that despite the different methods of teaching languages, adults in general have more difficulty in learning a new way to communicate because the mother tongue is strongly engraved in their brains.

Despite all the difficulties I continue studying English and, gradually, my teacher and I were improving methods to turn them into more effective and pleasurable learning. After several attempts, we found a productive way in several aspects. Let me explain: we started to study through movies and cinema, enjoying the entire contents of the world’s history that many movies give us.

We started with the movie The Iron Lady, a British biographical film based on the life of Margareth Thatcher, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdon in the 20^th century. I had the chance to learn more about MT’s history and events of those times.

The following film was ARGO with which we learned something about the CIA and the memorable rescue of American journalists in Iran with the partnership of Canadians.

Then, before a trip I would make to Germany and Poland, we studied Katyn, The Wave and Hanna Arendt films. Watching them was sheer learning. We reviewed considerable part of Germany’s history, Nazism, persecution of Jews and discussed the consequences of these episodes in the current times.

We continued with the same issue with two more films, Calm at Sea and Lore. I had the opportunity to learGuy Môquet’s story more deeply. He was a young Communist militant executed by the Germans on 22^nd  October 1941 who left a famous letter, later on a symbol of  the French resistance against the Nazis.

I’m pretty sure I got double learning and, needless to say that it has been perfect!!

 

 

Life in Canada: using English in this country

Quebec CANADA

Hello everyone,

We feel honoured to share with you a text sent by one of our ex-students. Telma is now discovering new paths off the beaten track, far away from Brazilian routes. Having decided to go on her further education in Quebec, Canada, she has kindly written her views on studying and living abroad.

Her words are inspiring to those who believe studying any language as well as experiencing a different culture can be fun and an incredible way to develop one’s sense of community.

We hope you enjoy reading her words on her life in Canada.

 

English Exams

 

Life in Canada: using English in this country

By Telma Palomo

Traveling or living abroad provides many things to your life: meet many people, enjoy and understand many cultures and places and learn a new language. However, much more than all this is provided to you: a better understanding about YOURSELF. It gives you the opportunity for reflection, how you deal with different things, cultures, languages in life. It makes you think about what you want or don’t want for your future life; it brings a mixed feeling of fear to move on, but at the same time the fear to go back.

It allows you to miss people from your background and learn how to deal with the distance in the same context. It makes you help those you meet along the way and learn lots of things from them. Yet, more than anything else, it allows you to live, to make mistakes, to make it right and to keep trying… In summary, traveling is a state of mind, a state of life; it is to explore, to discover and to interact with other languages and different cultures.

For me, living in Canada is all what I described above. And more specifically, in the province of Quebec, where the mixture between English and French is the best way to interact and play with your brain to become a multicultural person, I am able to communicate in many languages.

Freezing winter

 

LIFE IN THE FUTURE

Hello everyone!

Nathalia, a very young language lover, has sent us an interesting
text on the future. Robots, 100% clean technology, air cars, more
advanced computers... It's up to your imagination. According to 
this learner, anything is likely to happen in two centuries. 

Enjoy her words! Should you feel like commenting on the topic, 
please be our guest. 

English Exams

What will life be like two hundred years from now??

I can’t see the future, so I don’t know how the future will be; I just know that we can choose and change it. However I think that our life will be very modern two hundred years from now.

First, I think that we’ll have robots that will clean the house and do the others house chores. Also we’ll have holograms, so there won’t be any more computers, books or TVs. The part of the books is very sad!

There will be 100% clean technology, because today we have some, but it isn’t 100% clean. Scientists will discover a cure for the most terrible sicknesses and they’ll also invent an * ‘air car’. I just hope that there won’t be traffic in the air.

I believe we’ll have new jobs, but we won’t have some we have today; I hope that we’ll have a lot of new jobs to the poor population.

These are my predictions about the future. I don’t know if they’re right or wrong, but I know that all is possible, and if it happens it’ll be very cool.

By Nathália Gidali

1. * Nathalia meant ‘flying car’ here. There is the compound noun air car, which means a car powered solely by compressed air.

 

 

FUNNY TONGUE TWISTERS

Hello everyone,

Tongue twisters are a funny and tongue-twisting way to learn new sounds and practise them in another language. In English, as in any other language, there are many of them. They can give your tongue a hard time, especially when it comes to repeating some specific sounds (th, thr, sh, ch, ee, oo). 

Inspired by such wacky poems, Fernanda, one of our youngest students, put pen to paper and came up with some funny lines. They may hopefully push you into creating your own.

We hope you do get your tongue twisted.

English Exams

Tongue twisters

By Fernanda Gidali

The cat wears a red hat.

The cat loves rats!

The cat eats big fat rats.

 

                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                           

The snake eats cakes.

The cakes are on the lake.

The snake loves cakes on the lake.

 

The dad sleeps on the bed.

The dad is under the bed.

The dad sleeps in bed.

 

                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                               

The dog loves logs.

The dog jumps the logs.                                                                                                                            The dog is on the logs.

The pig wears a wig.

The pig loves the wig.

But the pig is allergic to its wig.

Poor pig!

No wig!

 

                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                   

The mouse loves the house

But the mouse can’t enter the house

Because in the house there’s an ugly fat cat                                                                                      That would love to eat the mouse.

 

HOW I BECAME A “CARLESS”

Hello everyone!

This text was written by one of São Paulo’s dwellers who has decided to take the other way round in terms of moving around this gigantic and puzzling city.

Read Tatiane’s text and find out what she’s done to get rid of hefty fines, hours wasted stuck in traffic and, above all, the daily STRESS.

English Exams

 

How I became a “carless” in São Paulo

By Tatiane Vilaça

I was about to move to São Paulo when my car was stolen. I received the money from the insurance company, but I decided to wait for a while before buying a new one. So I arrived in the big city carless. . I could borrow a car and then I faced the “famous monster “, the city traffic. However, I need to confess that this was not the worst thing. What upset me the most was that I didn’t know the city: if I was at Paulista Avenue and needed to go to Consolação, I didn’t know if it was nearby or on the opposite side! Some advised me to study the city map, the regions, the main streets, … in order to learn the ways. On the other hand, another one suggested I should buy a GPS. Instead, I started using the subway. It was much easier to move around. By this way, I discovered that it is easy, clean, safe, cheap and fast. I need to confess that I had some luck:  most of the times I use the green line (probably the emptiest one) and in the counterflow (comfortable!). When I tell people that I don’t have a car, most of them are surprised. Some ask me how I can live without a car. I answer that I use public transport, mostly subway, and when I need I take a taxi. As I don’t spend money on taxes, parking, insurance, maintenance, … I can fairly pay some taxi. In fact, somebody told me that she had calculated how much she spends on her car monthly, and I realized that I am saving money, even paying for taxi rides as I need. I noticed that people have some prejudice against using public transport. I have less of it: I lived sometime abroad and used the subway there. So why won’t I use my country’s subway? Sometimes, on rainy days, when I get wet walking in wet streets I think I should buy a car. Then I look to the cars stalled in the traffic, and the thought goes away.  I am also contributing to the traffic (one less car in the streets!) and also to the environment. For me, not having a car is an option, not  lack of it. And I hope that the governmen invest more in public transport, making it a priority. I believe that if we have better conditions, more people will be able to make the same choice as I did.

 

POETRY IN ENGLISH

Hello everyone!

Please read the inspiring words by one of our students, Hideco Harada. Powerful, written from the bottom of her heart, they question our current political scenario. 

Enjoy her poem!

English Exams 

NEGLECT…

                                            By Hideco Harada

Is it  fiction , nightmare or imagination?

Country of many  differences  of  ideals  and  luck.

Suffering  people

Sadness  faces  and  hunger faces.

Where there are dreams and hope.

Corrupt men, no prison!

Country of pure injustice

Individualism , greed…

Where are dignity , respect  and rights?

Live, no survive

Tremble with indignation.

People cry out aloud,

Truths silent

For so long…