Future (Going to) vs Present Continuous

Hi students....


Look what awesome video I found to share with you.... soon I'll be making my own videos! Big muaahhhhhh.....

Have a good lesson!!! Any doubts, please send a message and I'll be happy to answer!!!
:) 

Pancake Day

 

Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday and Pancake Day) is the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Shrove Tuesday is determined by Easter; its date changes annually.
The expression "Shrove Tuesday" comes from the word shrive, meaning "confess."^[1] Related popular practices are associated with celebrations before the fasting and religious obligations associated with the penitential season of Lent. The term Mardi gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday.

Traditions

Pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to use up rich foods such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent. The liturgical fasting emphasized eating plainer food and refraining from food that would give pleasure: In many cultures, this means no meat, dairy, or eggs.

In Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand the day is also known as "Pancake Day" as it is a common custom to eat pancakes as a meal.^[6][7][8] In the United Kingdom, Pancake Day is also an annual feature on the children's television show Blue Peter.
In Newfoundland small tokens are frequently cooked in the pancakes. Children take delight in discovering the objects, which are intended to be divinatory. For example, the person who receives a coin will be wealthy; a nail that they will become or marry a carpenter.^[9]

Festivities

In England, as part of community celebration, many towns held traditional Shrove Tuesday "mob football" games, some dating as far back as the 12th century. The practice mostly died out in the 19th century after the passing of the Highway Act 1835 which banned playing football on public highways. A number of towns have maintained the tradition, including Alnwick in Northumberland, Ashbourne in Derbyshire (called the Royal Shrovetide Football Match), Atherstone (called the Ball Game) in Warwickshire, Sedgefield (called the Ball Game) in County Durham, and St Columb Major (called Hurling the Silver Ball) in Cornwall.

Shrove Tuesday was once known as a "half-holiday" in England. It started at 11:00am with the ringing of a church bell.^[10] On Pancake Day, "pancake races" are held in villages and towns across the United Kingdom. The tradition is said to have originated when a housewife from Olney was so busy making pancakes that she forgot the time until she heard the church bells ringing for the service. She raced out of the house to church while still carrying her frying pan and pancake.^[11] The pancake race remains a relatively common festive tradition in the UK, especially England, even today. Participants with frying pans race through the streets tossing pancakes into the air and catching them in the pan whilst running.

Dates

Shrove Tuesday is exactly 47 days before Easter Sunday, a moveable feast based on the cycles of the moon. The date can be 3 February or 9 March or anything between.
Shrove Tuesday will occur on these dates in coming years:^[15]

• 2013 — 12 February
• 2014 — 4 March
• 2015 — 17 February
• 2016 — 9 February
• 2017 — 28 February
• 2018 — 13 February
• 2019 — 5 March
• 2020 — 25 February
• 2021 — 16 February
• 2022 — 1 March
• 2023 — 21 February
• 2024 — 13 February

Fonte: Wikipedia, 12/02/2013 at 21:48.

WHO DOESN'T LIKE PANCAKES, AH?!



 

Author of the month - Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was born on 7th Feb 1812. The Dickens family lived near Portsmouth, on the South coast of England. Later, the family lived in London.

Dickens had three brothers and three sisters. He was a small, thin boy. And he was often ill. Dickens' father, John, was a clerk in an office. He worked for the British Navy. But Johndid not spend his money carefully. He owed people money. In 1824, he was sent to prison. Dickens' father, mother, brothers and sisters all stayed in prison. Dickens had to work in a factory. He never forgot this difficult time.

Dickens went to school for only a few years. But he read many books and he educated himself. In 1834, Dickens became a newspaper reporter. He also wrote stories. His first stories were printed in magazines. A new part of the story was printed each week. These stories were very, very popular. Dickens became the most famous English writer in the 19th Century.

Dickens loved London. He often walked through the streets. And he visited the theatres, museums and gardens. Many of his stories are about life in London. Dickens wrote about the poor people, the hungry children and the bad houses they all lived in.

Dickens married Catherine Hogarth in 1836. They had ten children. But Catherine and Charles were not happy. In 1857 Dickens met an actress, Ellen Ternan. He fell in love with her. Dickens separated from his wife in 1858.

Dickens worked hard all his life. He became very rich. In 1856, he bought a large house - Gad`s Hill - in Kent. He travelled in England, Scotland, Ireland and  America. He read his stories in theatres.

Some of Dickens' stories are: Oliver Twist (1837-1839); Bleak House (1852-1853); A Tale of two Cities (1859); Great Expectations (1860-1861); A Christmas Carol (1843); Our Mutual Friend (1864-1865).

Dickens died on 8th June 1870. He was 58 years old. He was buried in the famous church, Westminster Abbey, in London.

 

Bibliography: Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities, Macmillan Readers. First Published 1997.

 

 

How are things? - Conversation Tips

Hi, let`s talk?

A There are some ways to start a conversation....

- Hi there.
- How`s it going?
- How are you doing?
- What`s up?

B There are some ways to try to end a conversation...

- I`ve got to go.
- I guess I`d better be going.
- Right, I must dash / I must hurry up.
- It was nice talking to you.
- It was nice seeing you again.

C And also there are ways to say good-bye...

- See you later / soon.
- See you around.
- Have a nice weekend.
- Talk to you later.

D Dialogue - How to start and finish a small conversation!

- Morning, Mike.
- Oh, hi there, Jane. What`s up?
- Nothing much, I`m just taking these back to the library. How about you?
- Oh, you know, same old thing. I`ve got to go now. Nice to see you.
- Nice to see you too. Bye Mike.
- Take care. Bye.

E Speaking - Reacting to what you hear!

One speaking strategy is: be friendly by saying "Me too" or "Me neither" to agree with the person you are speaking to. This also shows you have understood and helps to keep the conversation going.

Example:

Ana: How long have you been here in Singapore?
Martin: Nearly three years now. I like it a lot.
Ana: Me too. I don`t like big cities.
Martin: Me neither.

You can also say "So ...... I" or "Neither ....... I" to agree with someone....

- I like fish and chips.
- So do I.

- I can`t wait for the weekend.
- Neither can I.

F Speaking - Maintaining a conversation!

Asking follow-up questions.

- Where were you before you moved here?
- At the Regent Palace, in London.
- That`s a big place, isn`t it?

*Think of at least two possible follow-up questions for each statement bellow.

a) I went to the cinema last night.
What movie did you see? Who did you go with?

b) I work in New York.
______________________________________________________

c) My computer doesn`t work.
______________________________________________________

d) I bought a jumper yesterday.
______________________________________________________

e) I`m going to start a cookery course soon.
______________________________________________________

Learning Tip

When you are talking to someone, you should try to participate as actively as you can. As well as reacting to what you hear, you should develop the conversation further by asking additional questions to find out more information.

Sound Smart

Intonation in question tags - the way you say a question tag gives its meaning. In A the speaker is asking a genuine question. In B the speaker is asking for agreement.

A Helen lives in Hong Kong, doesn`t she?
B Helen lives in Hong Kong, doesn`t she?



That`s it for today, I hope you have liked the tips.... Train hard and you`ll be speaking English soon. If you need someone to practice with, here I am!!!

See you soon!!!!
Bye-bye!!!



Adapted from Cambridge Real Listening & Speaking 3 - Miles Craven (lesson 1)

Parts of a car in English

Number	english
0	rear window backlight (AE)
1	number plate license plate (AE)
2	boot (BE) trunk (AE)
3	bumper
4	stop light brake light (AE)
5	reversing back-up light (AE)
6	front wheel; front tyre front tire (AE)
7	(out) side mirror, side-view mirror, outside rear-view mirror
8	door
9	door handle
10	side window
11	exhaust (pipe)

Number	english
12	fog-light
13	headlight
14	windscreen windshield (AE)
15	rear-view mirror
16	bonnet (BE) hood (AE)
17	indicator turn signal (AE) blinker (informal)

Fonte: The Car Vocabulary

Improve your breakfast (and vocabulary) with Waffles

Yammy..... Waffles are really tasty, guys!!! If you want to improve your breakfast and your English, pay attention to this recipe...

CLASSIC WAFFLES RECIPE

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour - 2 xícaras de farinha de trigo
• 1 teaspoon salt - 1 colher chá de sal
• 4 teaspoons baking powder - 4 colheres chá de fermento em pó
• 2 tablespoons white sugar - 2 colheres chá de açúcar
• 2 eggs - 2 ovos
• 1 1/2 cups warm milk - 1 1/2 xícaras de leite morno
• 1/3 cup butter, melted - 1/3 xícara de manteiga, derretida
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - 1 colher chá de extrato de baunilha

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar; set aside (reserve). Preheat waffle iron (pré-aqueça a máquina de waffle) to desired temperature.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir (mexa) in the milk, butter and vanilla. Pour (despeje) the milk mixture into the flour mixture; beat until blended.
3. Ladle the batter into (Com uma concha, coloque um pouco da massa) a preheated waffle iron. Cook the waffles until golden and crisp. Serve immediately.

Did you like it?! It's also a good vocabulary to learn... Enjoy!!! ;)

PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ♥

Do you know?!

Hello guys,

I'm here again to share some news.... At "Do you know?!" today I'm going to talk about the "Lady Fingers" biscuit. Yes, this delicious biscuit that we know as "biscoito champagne" in Brasil, it's called lady fingers in the UK.

This biscuit is from the 15th Century and it was created to mark the occasion of a visit of the King of France!

Do you want to know more? Visit Wikipedia. ;)

How to set a table

How to set a table - In English...

I'm not so much into etiquette, but since I am a future housewife and I will have my own place I need to know at least the basic, so I searched how to set a table, I looked in many websites, and I would like to share with you all I have learned so far.

Have a look at this picture bellow...

DIFFERENT WAYS TO SET THE TABLE

First of all, it depends on what you are going to serve. Let's see the breakfast table first. 

BREAKFAST TABLE

This is a good example of breakfast table. You need to adjust the plates and the cutlery to what you are going to serve. But let's pretend you are going to have cereal, milk, coffee, bread, eggs and fruit. In this case you will need to have two plates, and one bowl for the cereal. One cup, one juice glass, one tea spoon, one place spoon. And if you want to serve water, put a water goblet (or water glass). With a beautiful table everyone is tempted to eat more than we want! And if you have guests, they will be enchanted with your skills. Oh, just one more tip, the napkin can go on the left of the fork.

A casual lunch makes you feel more comfortable to use a heavier dinnerware, I love casual occasions. I don't like formalities. On this picture you can see a unique plate (it's casual, remember?!), with a beautiful fabric napkin folded on top. On the left we have the salad fork, and the lunch fork. On the right we have a tea spoon and the lunch knife. If it's a casual lunch, I, personally, would put only the lunch fork, since I don't have a plate just for the salad. This is very unusual for me, since we never used these formalities in my house... lol. And they put the water goblet and the coffee cup on the left of it. This is very unusual too, but new things come so we can learn, right?!

FORMAL DINNER TABLE

INFORMAL DINNER TABLE

These pictures show exactly how to set tables for dinner, both formal and informal. Again, it's going to depend on what you are going to serve, if salad, soup, etc... These are just ideas, and these pictures teach us the right place to put the dinnerware and the cutlery.

DO YOU WANT TO TEACH YOUR CHILDREN HOW TO SET A TABLE?

Teaching your children how to set a table in English is going to provide them another way of learning which is funny and also very useful for them in the future. It's not only a great educational opportunity, but also a perfect way to get them involved in the family meal. You can print the mat out and teach your children! 

Fonte: http://blog.handstandkids.com/2012/03/05/time-to-set-the-table/

See you later!!!
Bye for now!!!

Cooking Methods

COOKING

Let's see some methods of cooking... I don't know about you, but I cook, and sometimes I used to have some queries about the names we can use for the cooking methods.

So let's see....

_________________________________________________________

BAKING

We bake in the oven, right?! So we can bake a cake, we can bake cookies, we bake pizza!!!! 

________________________________________________________________

BARBECUING

Who likes barbecue?! I do!!! I love barbacue, my father knows how to barbecue very well!!! I simply love it!!!!

______________________________________________________________

BOILING

SOFT BOILED EGG

When do you need to boil water? I boil water to make tea, to make coffee!!! I also love eating boiled egg, do you?! Many cookbooks suggest the following for boiling eggs: 3-6 min for a soft yolk; 6-8 min for a medium soft yolk; and 8-10 min for a hard yolk! I love eating eggs, they are yammy and also a great source of protein.

____________________________________________________________

BRAISING

Teacher, what is braising?! Guys, when I make rice I first braise garlic with a little bit of olive oil, then I join the rice, then the boiled water, then the salt. Just wait about 15 min and you'll have rice, ready to eat! The picture above is showing braised onions.... very yammy too!!!

______________________________________________________________

BROILING

Hmmmm.... This post is gonna kill me!!! We have a good example of broiling in this picture above!!! Wow, we have salmon on the broiling pan!!! Broiling is different from frying, we are not supposed to use oil to broil (to grill) food. Can you see the difference?! If not, let's continue with our learning process...

______________________________________________________________

DEEP-FRYING

I personally don't like fried food! It's not healthy at all, but some people like it, so we need to talk about it. The most famous example is the french fries!!! I don't intend to make propaganda here but I need to say that the only french fries I like is from McDonald's. Sorry!!! But it's true!!! We also have something very famous here in Brazil called "bolinho de chuva" and also a special food we make for Christmas called "rabanada" that are fried too. 

_______________________________________________________________

GRILLING

I love hamburguer!!! This is a fact!!! My favourite places for hamburguers in the UK are Frankie and Bennie's, and GBQ... Wow!!! Perfect!!!! The best way for cooking hamburguers, in my opinion, is grilling. It's healthier and it gets very yammy!!!

____________________________________________________________

MICROWAVE COOKING

This is another thing I personally don't do! I just use the microwave to warm food, but I don't feel secure to cook in the microwave, I'm still old-fashioned when it concerns to microwave... lol. But it's very useful to have one at home to warm food quickly!

______________________________________________________________

PARBOILING

Parboiling is a method of cooking wherein the food is only partially done. The degree of parboiling depends on the type of food and the specific recipe. As compared to cooking through boiling, parboiling requires a lesser time period. Usually, parboiling is suggested for denser vegetables like potatoes, carrots and other root vegetables.

______________________________________________________________________

PRESSURE COOKING

I have to confess that I'm fascinated about the pressure cooker, because I don't know how to use it! lol This type of cooking is very interesting in my opinion, because all the benefits. It's healthy, easy, fast, versatile, energy efficient and it provides an excellent taste to the food!!! I'll learn how to use it!!! My mother uses this pan to cook hard food, like beans and some types of meat.

______________________________________________________________

ROASTING

Well, I'm not a specialist in cooking, trust me, but I'm going to say what I understand about roasting. In my opinion is a way of cooking wherein the food goes to the oven to be cooked inside and outside. You can roast meat, chicken and the most famous is the turkey!!! This is all I know about roasting... :)

_______________________________________________________________

SAUTÉING

Sautéing is a way of cooking that you kind of fry the food with just a tiny amount of oil. We usually do this with some types of vegetables, like sweet peppers, asparagus, capers, etc... 

_____________________________________________________________

SMOKING

Smoking is the process of flavouring, cooking or preserving food by exposing it to the smoke from burning or smoldering plant materials, most often wood. Meats and fish are the most common smoked foods, though cheeses, vegetables and ingredients used to make beverages  such as whisky, smoked beer, etc...

______________________________________________________________

STEAMING

This is simply cooking in steam, guys! It's used to cook vegetables!!! I like this way of cooking, it's healthy.

______________________________________________________________

STEWING

Stewing is to undergo cooking by boiling slowly or simmering (cozinhar em fogo brando).

_________________________________________________________

STIR-FRYING

Stir-frying is a Chinese technique of cooking, wherein the food is cooked quickly in a wok or frying pan in small pieces, with a tiny amount of oil, stirring constantly, in high temperature.

I hope you liked the learning of today!!!

Enjoy your meal!!!

CAMBRIDGE DAY 2012 FORTALEZA

Oi galera, 

eu preciso falar do último evento que fui, ontem (Segunda-feira, 23/07/2012). Foi o CAMBRIDGE DAY 2012, no Hotel Gran Marquise, na Av. Beira Mar, na minha querida Fortaleza!!!

Foi O Evento!!! Adorei!!! Duas palestras maravilhosas com o Professor Jack C. Richards, autor das séries de livros "Four Corners" e "Interchange". Muito simpático e tremendamente inteligente!!!

Primeira palestra (1st Talk) - TEACHING SPEAKING: ISSUES AND OPTIONS - Ele falou de todas as etapas que compõem uma aula de conversação, de todos os pontos que devem ser trabalhados com os alunos. Ele falou sobre cada tipo de "speak" (small talk, conversation, transactions, discussions and presentations), os tipos e como cada um pode ser trabalhado, e devem ser trabalhados pelo professor. Uma aula de conversação não é uma aula solta, gente, eu já tinha isso na minha cabeça, mas foi muito bom aprender mais ainda com ele que em uma aula de conversação não é só conversar aleatoriamente, como alguns pensam e fazem. Você deve seguir regras... e a primeira coisa a se trabalhar com o aluno é o Small Talk, que é a base para se iniciar uma conversação mais prolongada. Em suma: foi tuuudo de bom!!!

Segunda palestra (2nd Talk) - Creativity in the Language Classroom - Também, maravilhosa. Falou, claro, sobre como é importante uma aula criativa, uma aula onde o professor chama o aluno para o conteúdo de maneira que leve este aluno a aprender Inglês de uma forma dinâmica e divertida para ele. O aprendizado de uma segunda língua não deve ser um fardo. Infelizmente, muitas pessoas já vem para a sala de aula com o peso de "ter" que aprender Inglês, "porque meu trabalho exige", o mundo globalizou e agora "eu tenho" que aprender Inglês, quer queira quer não! Mas não deve ser assim, não é para ser assim!

Foi tudo muito bom. A inscrição foi feita pela internet, nós tivemos que levar apenas um quilo de alimento não perecível, que foi todo doado para a Associação Peter Pan (www.app.org.br), num gesto de caridade da Cambridge. Eu não esperaria menos de uma empresa desse tamanho, dessa magnitude. Diferente da maioria das empresas que são tão ricas, e muitas vezes não oferecem nem um coffee break para o seu staff em ocasiões de palestras, capacitações, etc... O que é lamentável e mostra um descaso pelos seus funcionários e/ou convidados! Então nota 10 para a Cambridge University Press, e para seus colaboradores, a SBS e o Shopping Editorial, que patrocinaram o Coffee Break do Evento! Parabéns a todos eles e ao Hotel Gran Marquise pela organização, pela limpeza dos ambientes, os garçons que estavam a servir também estão de parabéns, nossa cidade cada vez mais se destaca para tipos de eventos como esse!

O Professor Jack estava contando como o Inglês do Brasileiro ainda está caminhando a passos curtos e lentos, ainda é preciso fazer mais! Ele estava a relatar que esteve hospedado em um Hotel Internacional em Belo Horizonte e foi pedir a refeição ao garçom, e o garçom teve que chamar outra pessoa para fazer a tradução. E ele ficou admirado por isso acontecer em um Hotel Internacional, que deveria garantir que todo o seu staff tenha, ao menos, o conhecimento básico em Inglês.

Garanto como a realidade de muitos hotéis da nossa cidade (Fortaleza - CE) não é tão diferente. Nosso país ainda precisa de um grande suporte e trabalho em tornar o nosso povo apto a falar o básico em Inglês. E não adianta espernear, a realidade é que o Inglês é considerada a língua universal, e pronto!!! Com a Copa das Confederações (2013), a Copa do Mundo (2014) e as Olimpíadas (2016) chegando ao Brasil, já está mais do que na hora do povo acordar e correr atrás do prejuízo! O Brasil não está no topo da economia, mas já saiu de um buraco fundo de onde se encontrava, e está um pouco melhor. Só o que falta mesmo é o governo investir de verdade em Educação e Saúde, pois sem essas duas coisas básicas, o país não vai sair dessa miséria que vive, com a criminalidade aumentando cada vez mais!!! Os cidadãos de bem trancados em casa, atrás de grades e cadeados, e a bandidagem solta, tocando o terror!!! E eles estão se tornando bandidos cada vez mais jovens!!! O que é isso??? Falta de dignidade para viver!!! Sem educação e saúde = sem oportunidade de ser gente!!!

Bom, ao término do evento todos nós recebemos uma linda sacola com o livro Interchange 1 4th Edition. Só o Executive Preview, aquele livro modelo que as instituições recebem para darem uma olhada no material para decidirem se vão querer adotar o livro e tal! Eu amei o material novo do Interchange, ele vem com o material todo revisado e melhorado, com muito mais recursos do que a 3ª Edição. 

Os livros vem com CD e DVD, pelo o que eu entendi. Enfim, são tantos recursos..... É de ficar só babando!!! Vou deixá-los com o trailer desta obra maravilhosa que estará em breve ao nosso alcance! Para quem não se importa ou não gosta, pode até me achar exagerada... ha ha ha... Mas para mim que sou apaixonada por educação e Inglês, os livros bem feitos são uma perfeita obra de arte, muito melhores do que as pinturas que enchem os olhos e alma, um bom livro e o conhecimento trazido neles enchem muito mais do que os olhos e a alma! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYvBYKi40zA