Be tuned to the American Presidential Elections 2016! NOw it's the Democrats Debate of Oct.13th, 2015!

Click here to get to know who is who in the next USA Presidential Elections of 2016
On this site, below each picture, you'll see a link-sentence: What ...(name)....would need to do to win. 
Click there and read a little more about the candidates.

Hello, dearest students.

Hope you are all fine.

Let's warm up the cold weather in September by taking part in this discussion. Everyone knows how important the American economy is to us and the choice of the right president will make a big difference to all of us. Do you agree with me?

So, I propose this post in order to have your view on the American candidates and discuss which ones - Democratic or Republican - will be better for the USA as well as Brazil and the rest of the world.

FYI, this is the US map by states supporting either party:

The blue states are Democratic and the red ones, Republican

Below, you'll see some links which will guide you to the following topics:

1) How the American presidential election system works  - It's worth to discuss it in class.

2) Watch the Republican Debate of Sep. 16, 2015.  - Choose the ones you feel will have more chances to win.

3) Democrats' Debate - Part I - Introduction
Democrats' Debate - Part II
Democrats' Debate - Part III - Guns
Democrats' Debate - Part IV - Iraq
Democrats' Debate - Part V - Benghazi.Libya
Democrats' Debate - Part VI - Clinton's email problems
Democrats'Debate - Part VII - Government credibility on Clinton's email
Democrats' Debate - Part VIII - Wall Street Crash
Democrats'Debate - Part IX - Financial Sector
Democrats' Debate - Part X - Obama Care    
Democrats'Debate - Part XI - Why should Democrats embrace a political insider + Climate Change
Democrats'Debate - Part XII - Paid family leave + Legalization of recreational marijuana 
Democrats' Debate - Part XIII - Which enemy are you mostly proud of?
Democrats' Debate - Closing statements
Democrats' Debate - Closing statements
                     
In class, I'll discuss your choices and then, later, you'll write your comment here in order for your virtual friend to read it and comment on it, afterwards.

Let's make the best  use of this blog  to boost your English practice!!

Count on your hot participation!

Flávia

NEW! BUSINESS ENGLISH COURSE ONLINE! Começa em agosto!

Hello, everyone!!

Este curso de 5 meses visa abordar áreas fundamentais na comunicação em negócios. Veja os módulos abaixo: 

Módulo I : FOUNDATION (Opinion, Suggestion, Job and Company)

Módulo II: TELEPHONING (Answering, Taking a message, Appointment, Checking an order)

Módulo III: MEETINGS (Clarification, Interruptions, Action Points, Presentations, Summarizing)

Acesse os links:

Informações Gerais do Curso BUSINESS ENGLISH ONLINE 2015

Informações detalhadas da PROGRAMAÇÃO DO CURSO

Inscreva-se já!

Best regards,

Flávia Uhlmann

Ghost Boy: Meet Martin Pistorius who spent 8 years trapped inside a paralysed body

Dear all,

Happy 2015!

Let's start the year with a great story of self-overcoming. Hope you enjoy it!

Below, you'll have access to some links to get to know this amazing life story performed by South-African webdesigner Martin Pistorius.

The linguistic purpose is to read, listen, watch, write here on the blog by giving your answers on the comment box and also speak in class.

Count on your participation to make use of English in full communication.

Hope to see you  all here and in class.

Best,

Flávia

My suggestion:

1) Start reading the article on Meet Martin Pistorius and get the main facts. 

 what to do you find most amazing about his story?

2) Now, let's listen to his parents and get more details on Locked-in Man. 

You can read the script on Locked-in Man script .

Take notes of the most important parts of the interview in your opinion and say why you think so.

3) Then, watch an interview together with his wife Joanna on 

Interview with Martin and Joanna

What Martin's answer or answers did you find most moving? Why?

HO-HO-HO - MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Dearest students and ex-ones, 

First, enjoy the harmonious vocal group PENTATONIX singing on a lovely Youtube Christmas videoclip (1), and after that the 5 singers Mitch, Avi, Scott, Kirstie and Kevin say what Christmas means to them. (2):

1) That's Christmas to Me - videoclip
    That's Christmas to Me lyrics
2) That's Christmas to the 5 PENTATONIX singers


"Another year is over
And a new one's just begun..."
John Lennon said in his song.

Hope you all had fun with English
Either Listening, Speaking, 
Reading or Writing this year
On or off-line,
Alone or with other peers.

May your spirit rise
With joy and happiness
Not only on Christmas Season,
But also along the New Year.

May you prosper 
At home, at work, in your life,
With your family, friends and strangers,
But essentially within your soul!

Thank you all for the trust,
For the opportunity to grow,
As I always learn from everyone that I teach.

Please leave your Christmas and 
New Year Message on the Comment Box below.
Hope to see you all back  in 2015!

Flávia
P.S.: Below, you can find examples of Christmas
 and New Year Wishes... Feel free to create yours!

Presidential Elections 2014 - Are you ready to vote? Why or why not?

Hello, dear students.

As our 2014 elections are coming near, I invite you all to take part in this discussion, by answering the following questions:

How important is a country’s national election  in a democratic regime?

Are you happy with our Brazilian politicians? What bout our parties (PT, PSDB, PSB, PSOL, etc.)?

Are you sure who you are going to vote for: President, Governor, Senator, besides Federal and State congress representatives? Why or why not?

Below, there'll be some international news and videos in order to have an idea about what foreigners think about us, especially in the international economic and political scenario.

1) Brazil holds 1st TV presidential debate (Youtube video)  

2) The measure of marina (The Economist)

3) Brazil's election: what chance reform (Financial Times blog)

Hope you fully participate in this discussion.

Best,
Flávia

This is my article on BESIG Newsletter: GENERATION Z, ENGLISH and the QR CODE. Hope you enjoy!

Hello, dear ones.

I would like to share with you my article Generation Z, English and the QR

Code, which was puplished on THE NEWSLETTER OF THE BUSINESS ENGLISH SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP, SUMMER 2014, ISSUE 87, p. 15.

I'll be glad if you could post your comments on if you agree or disagree with the points raised in the text. Here are some to reflect on:

1. Do you have anyone in your family that is part of the Generation Z? How do they behave? How to prepare them to enter the labor market? 
2. Coaching role and Teaching role. Do they interact or conflict with each other? Why?
3. What do you value most: your soft or hard skills? Why?                    

(soft skills = empathy, teamwork, leadership, communication, good manners, negotiation, sociability, for instance; hard skills = machine operation, computer protocols, safety standards, financial procedures, sales adiministration, for instance)

   4. What is an English teacher's role?

Hope to see your full participation here.

Best,

Flávia

The World Cup Kick-off !!

Hello, everyone!

I invite you all to actively participate in this month blog post - The World Cup - by watching videos, reading articles, learning new vocabulary thru fun exercises, and sharing your opinion with your virtual classmates on this world event, which this year is being held in Brazil.

You can start by forecasting your score for the first game: Brazil x Croatia (June 12th at 5pm): .......... x ..........

Hope to see your comments on the Comment box (below this post) and the interaction with your blog friends.

Fingers crossed and let's wish the best to all the world teams!

Have a great World Cup!

Flávia

Let's get started! After each activity below (aimed at different language levels), there are some questions you can choose from to answer:

1) Fifa official song lyrics: We are one
   (Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leite)
What do you think of the lyrics? Did you like the three singers singing in 3 languages? Why?

2) Vocabulary: 
a) Look at the picture of the soccer field and players' position. For fun, you can name our Brazilian players next to their posts.

b) Below, you will see lots of words related to the Soccer Stadium. Match the Portuguese words on the left with their corresponding English translation on the right. The teacher will give the correct answers in class:

b)  Crossword Puzzle: Soccer expressions and vocabulary. The teacher will give the correct answers in class: 

3) Soccer History - Listen to the mp3 files below and fill in the blank spaces in the passages that follow. Then, answer the True or False questions proposed in part 2:

Soccer history - Part 1

Soccer history - Part 2

4) World Cup team profile: Brazil - Youtube video

Interviews with Neymar, coach Luis Felipe Scolari and others, this is a special look back at Brazil's FIFA World Cup history and what to expect from the hosts in Group A against Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon.

Did you like the way Fifa showed the interviews with our players and coach, as well as Brazil's history? Why?

5) The Economist article: Footbal: Beautiful game, dirty business (Jun 7th, 2014) 

      Football is a great sport, but it could be so much better if it were run honestly.

After you read the article below, you'll work on the vocabulary exercise by matching the words in bold extracted from the passage with their corresponding meaning on the right.

Question: Do you agree with the criticism proposed in the article? And the solutions brought up?