Conversation - Employees & Employers Negotiate (B2/C1)

One of the skills that I have most focused on in my classes is the oral one. Most part of the time, students want to SPEAK the language rather than just study its grammar (by answering some grammar exercises) in class.

Considering that speaking is developed by practice (that’s just my opinion), I developed some short activities that can be used by teachers in their EFL/ESL classes.

This one is meant to be used with B2 or C1 students.

PROCEDURE: Write the situation on the board

TIME: 30 to 40 minutes

TOPIC: business

SKILL: speaking

TEACHER’S ROLE: facilitator

Read the situation below and brainstorm with a partner a list of pints that both partners might want to include in a negotiation

Situation about the employees and employers:

IMAGINE A COMPANY. NOW, IMAGINE THAT THE COMPANY FINDS ITSELF IN ECONOMIC DIFFICULTY AND THEN EMPLOYEES HAVE ALREADY LOST THEIR JOBS. THE EMPLOYEES ARE UNHAPPY WITH EMPLOYMENT AND SALARY ISSUES.

Now, ask your students to reflect upon the following questions:  

WHY SHOULD EACH PARTY NEGOTIATE?

WHAT DOES EACH SIDE WANT TO ACHIEVE?

After the students have reflected upon the situation as well as discussed with their partners, ask them to share their thoughts on the topic. Then, divide the group into ‘employees’ and ‘employers’ and simulate the situation above.

Ask them to write short dialogues as well as practice them in pairs (or groups). Finally, when you feel that students should talk about negotiation, tell them to start a conversation in which they should use (some of) the structures/questions below:

I am willing to accept________ if ________.

I think we will have to agree with_________.

It would be an alternative to______________.

We can trade this against ________________.

Our intention is________________________.

I would like to_______________________.

We might like to____________________.

We must________________________.

Our main concern is __________________.

It is vital that __________________________.

We refuse to accept __________________________.

It is extremely important for us to include ____________.

How about ______________?

Do you feel that you can accept _______________?

How can we reach a compromise?

Could you tell us why you feel like that?

Shall we put this into a written proposal?

Can you offer us any other possibility?

And you can give them some production moment (I am considering the steps of the PPP approach) in which they are supposed to develop a role-play activity about negotiation (of any kind).

If you have enough time, you can ask your students to think about the last time they were involved in situation in which they were supposed to negotiate something.

HOW MUCH TIME DID THEY SPEND ON PREPARATION?

Ask them if they would prepare differently if they had to negotiate again.

  

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites are, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much.

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!

Your feedback is welcome. Please direct comments and questions to me at bruno_coriolano@hotmail.com

Did you spot a typo?

Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?

Do you disagree with something on this page?

Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page:

DICA PARA MELHORAR A COMPREENSÃO EM INGLÊS

Já faz um tempo que não escrevo no blog, mas tempo é exatamente o que me falta (e tem me faltado nesses últimos meses).

Mas dando uma passadinha rápida pelo blog, resolvi trazer uma dica que considero que pode ajudar os alunos que estão no início da sua caminhada rumo à fluência na língua inglesa.

Trata-se de uma dica que pode ajudar na compreensão de algumas músicas e, consequentemente, na melhoria do entendimento – do listening –  na língua inglesa.

No YouTube é possível encontrar várias ferramentas que podem auxiliar quem pretende aprender/aperfeiçoar as habilidades na língua inglesa.

Percebi que alguns canais colocam apenas as vozes dos cantores em seus vídeos (ou seriam áudios?). Isso pode ajudar e muito na compreensão das letras das músicas já que, somente com a voz, o aprendiz pode ter uma ideia melhor do que é dito nas canções.  

Vejam o exemplo de Freddie Mercury...

Música normal:

Somente os instrumentos:

E, finalmente, apenas as vozes:

Perceberam como ao ouvir o último vídeo (o vídeo acima) fica mais fácil de ouvir o que ele está dizendo? Pelo menos é apenas a voz (os as vozes) que aparece(m).

Podemos encontrar vários outros exemplos no mesmo site.

Separei apenas alguns para que vocês possam ter uma ideia do que está sendo dito e praticarem mais um pouco. Logico, que a música completa, com todos os instrumentos, é mais legal, mas isso pode ser feito depois que você já está bem seguro de como pronunciar as palavras e já entende com um pouco mais de confiança.  

Imagine (John Lennon):

Turn off the light (Nelly Furtado):

Smells like teen spirit (Nirvana): 

Wonderwall (Oasis):

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites are, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much.

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!

Your feedback is welcome. Please direct comments and questions to me at bruno_coriolano@hotmail.com

Did you spot a typo?

Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?

Do you disagree with something on this page?

Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page:

Teaching ideas - Modal Verbs

There must be plenty of ideas about how to teach modal verbs. During my fifteen years as an EFL teacher/Professor, I have been dealing with lots of groups in which I was (still am) supposed to teach modal verbs.

Thinking about the many possible ways of introducing this grammar point, I decided to write some entries on how to teach modal verbs in English.

A great deal of teachers introduce such grammatical points, especially when it comes to obligation and permission, by talking about laws, rules, regulations in many different places (countries, cities, etc.).

For example, you can show the students some pictures of schools and just say “you have to stay at school until you are 18” or “You don’t have to go to school after you are 21”.

It is also possible to invent some stories (students love story telling) telling your students to look at the pictures below and create a dialogue or something like that.

A: I think it might be a(n)…

B: No, it is not. It has to be a…

Another possible way of talking about modal verbs in English is by asking students to search for crazy laws in some countries and ask them to describe the laws by using the modal verbs (should, must, have to).

 After that, divide the students into three (or more) groups and ask them to discuss their crazy laws.

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites are, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. 

In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much. 

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me! 

Did you spot a typo?

Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?

Do you disagree with something on this page?

Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page:

ADOPTING A CHILD (EFL/ESL Speaking Activity)

The activity I would like to suggest today is called ADOPTING A CHILD. It should be used with B2, C1, or C2 (intermediate, upper-intermediate, or advanced) students.

First, tell your students the following story:

A truck driver was in a gas station and was just about to get into his truck when he heard a baby boy screaming right in front of his wheel. He picked the baby up and took him to the authorities.

Now the baby is up for adoption and the authorities are looking for the ideal parents.

After the students reading moment, ask them to try to draw the situation (ask them to imagine and then draw the situation).

After that, compare their drawings and give them to read, analyze and complete the checklist below.

ADOPTING A CHILD

CRITERIA

The ideal should:

[     ] be under 30 years old

[     ] be of the same racial group as the child

[     ] be of the same religious group as each other

[     ] be a married couple

[     ] be a heterosexual couple

[     ] both have jobs

[     ] have other children in the family

[     ] not be living in poverty  

[     ] have some professional experience of dealing with children, i.e. as teachers or nurses  

Ask them to mark each item of the list or criteria on a scale of 1 (very important) to 5 (not important at all). Then, divide them into groups of 3 (or more) and ask them discuss each point. In groups, students should discuss each item, using the agreeing and disagreeing sentences below:

AGREEING

I completely agree with you.

I agree with your point of view.

I think you’re right.

By and large, I would accept what you just said (formal)

Exactly, I feel the same way.

I agree up to a point, but…

DISAGREEING

I don’t agree with you at all.

No way could I agree to that (informal)

I respect your opinion, however… (student’s’ ideas)

I am not totally convinced by what you said.

I really must take issue with you here (formal)

We’ll have to agree to agree to disagree then.

You as a teacher should guide the students during the whole activity. Nonetheless, be careful about your opinions and make sure that students understand that the activity is not a competition (there no right or wrong answer).

This activity is based on Jane G. Coury’s Speaking Activities Book.

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites are, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. 

In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much. 

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me! 

Your feedback is welcome. Please direct comments and questions to me at bruno_coriolano@hotmail.com

Did you spot a typo? 

Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?

Do you disagree with something on this page?

Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page:

Carreira do professor de Língua Inglesa

Em tempos de crise, uma das coisas que o profissional mais precisa ficar atento é à sua própria qualificação. Não está fácil encontrar posição no mercado atual, mas parar de se qualificar é parar de ampliar os próprios horizontes.

Estive lendo uma revista sobre vida coorporativa (sempre o fiz, pois me considerava com perfil para empresas) e percebi que muitas outras alternativas estão surgindo no mercado para poder ajudar os profissionais a se recolocarem no mercado.

Dada a crise financeira e a atual situação moral e política de país, é bem provável que você professor de língua inglesa (ou qualquer outro idioma) já sentiu os efeitos da diminuição de turmas e de salário no final do mesmo, certo? Mas é preciso estar atento para algumas questões profissionais.

De forma resumida, eu diria que é fundamental fazer um check-up profissional sempre, mesmo quando achamos que não deveríamos. Tomar qualquer atitude como medida de emergência seria sempre a pior opção, pois estaríamos sujeitos a tomar decisões precipitadas. O ideal seria pensar em tal opção com frequência.

É preciso traçar um plano de ação, como manter sempre o currículo atualizado (sugiro usar o perfil no LinkedIn, pois está sempre disponível online). Lógico que para atualizar o CV é preciso ter algo para acrescentar ao mesmo. Por isso é importante sempre participar de eventos com seus pares sempre que houver a oportunidade.

É importante também ter algum amigo (networking), de preferência um profissional experiente na mesma área, para que você possa “simular” entrevistas de emprego, para que você possa trabalhar em cima do que deve melhorar – nos seus pontos fracos, por exemplo.

É importante lembrar que as experiências e qualificações de cinco anos atrás não significam a mesma coisa hoje. Por isso é importante se manter atualizado ou, de preferência, sempre um passo à frente.

Faça um plano de ação escrito. Lembre-se que ideias na cabeça não servem, pois ideias se perdem com o tempo. É preciso escrever e revisitar tais ideias com frequência para promover, entre outras coisas, ajustes e adaptações. É necessário melhorar os seus pontos fracos e reforçar os pontos fortes.

Quando a mudança de posição (carreira) é inevitável, é preciso ter cabeça fria, pois, independente de qual venha a ser o próximo passo, é preciso estar qualificado.

Mantenha o perfil no LinkedIn sempre atualizado!

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites are, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much.

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!

Your feedback is welcome. Please direct comments and questions to me at bruno_coriolano@hotmail.com

Did you spot a typo?

Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?

Do you disagree with something on this page?

Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page:

THE VERY BEST LIST OF DICTIONARIES FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS (AND SPEAKERS)

I’m pretty sure you all noticed that I haven’t been writing too often here on Portal da Língua Inglesa, but the truth is: I have been really busy since my defense (May 24^th 2016). Many things – mostly good ones – happened since I last published something.

Today, I would like to write a short entry about ONLINE DICTIONARIES FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS.

Many people may think they don’t need a dictionary, but actually, it is really important to know where you can find contextualized explanations and meanings of (some) words you always find when you read a newspaper entry, for instance.

Thinking about online dictionaries for English language learners (and teachers, why not?), I made a list of some quite useful ones. Obviously, I don’t know whether or not the links will be available; therefore, I strongly recommend you to check them frequently.  

HERE IS THE LIST OF SOME DICTIONARIES. FEEL FREE TO SUGGEST MORE IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT.

Dictionary.com (link)

Urban Dictionary (link) I particularly love this one!

Thesaurus.com (link)

Macmillan dictionary (link)

Visual Thesaurus (link)

Collins (link)

Longman English Dictionary Online (link)

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (link)

WebMD Medical Dictionary (link)

Abbreviations.com (link)

Vocabulary.com (link)

Acronym Finder (link)

Wiktionary (link)

Answers.com (link)

Wordnik (link)

Cambridge (link)

Word Spy (link)

Computer Definitions (link)

Investor Words (link)

YourDictionary (link)

Webopedia (link)

Law.com Dictionary (link)

Marketing Power Dictionary (link)

Mathworld Dictionary (link)

Merriam Webster Visual Dictionary (link)

Oxford Dictionaries Online (link)

Net Lingo (link)

OneLook (link)

Google Dictionary (link)

Write Rhymes (link) – it’s not really a dictionary, but it’s cool!

The Free Dictionary (link)

Well, I believe that we already have a very long list. I have just checked every single link and I can safely say that right now all of them are working pretty well. I do hope you guys have fun with the dictionaries. Hopefully, they are very useful online tools for you all!

Cheers! See you around!

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites are, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much.

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!

Your feedback is welcome. Please direct comments and questions to me at bruno_coriolano@hotmail.com

Did you spot a typo?

Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?

Do you disagree with something on this page?

Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page: