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Blog criado por Bruno Coriolano de Almeida Costa, professor de Língua Inglesa desde 2002. Esse espaço surgiu em 2007 com o objetivo de unir alguns estudiosos e professores desse idioma. Abordamos, de forma rápida e simples, vários aspectos da Língua Inglesa e suas culturas. Agradeço a sua visita.

"Se tivesse perguntado ao cliente o que ele queria, ele teria dito: 'Um cavalo mais rápido!"

quinta-feira, 20 de novembro de 2014

Out of office...




Todos nós gostamos de férias. Depois de um longo ano de trabalho, férias são mais do que merecidas; elas são sagradas!

Como eu fiz todo o meu trabalho durante o ano de 2014, deixo este ano para trás para concentrar minhas forças nos desafios do próximo ano!

Mas não é legal sair e ser esquecido no trabalho, certo? Pior, não é legal deixar o pessoal pensando que você vai responder aquele e-mail ou a mensagem deixada no seu telefone, certo? Além de falta de educação, isso pode criar inconvenientes no seu retorno!

Sempre sigo o ditado, “seguro morreu de velho” ao pé da letra! Pensando nisso, deixei uma mensagem automática no meu e-mail coorporativo para que as pessoas saibam que estou com acesso restrito ou até mesmo sem acesso.

Então, resolvi passar essa dica para vocês: como escrever uma mensagem automática em inglês. Não se trata de uma explicação, tipo tutorial, blá, blá, blá, mas de dicas do que escrever.

Eu escrevi assim:


Olá!
Obrigado pelo seu e-mail. No momento, estou com acesso limitado aos meus e-mails e sem acesso ao meu telefone. Nos mês de janeiro, estarei de férias, voltando as minhas funções em fevereiro, quando deverei ler meus e-mails.
Boas festas e feliz 2015 para você e sua família!
Atenciosamente,
Professor Bruno Coriolano.


Achei que assim seria simples e direto e não deixaria de ser cordial. A ideia é bem simples:
(1) Seja educado! (Olá! Obrigado pelo seu e-mail.)
(2) Diga que você está com pouco ou sem acesso ao e-mail, para que as pessoas não fiquem esperando resposta. (No momento, estou com acesso limitado aos meus e-mails e sem acesso ao meu telefone.)
(3) Diga quando poderá responder as mensagens. (Nos mês de janeiro, estarei de férias, voltando as minhas funções em fevereiro, quando deverei ler meus e-mails.)
(4) E deixe uma mensagem educada. (Boas festas e feliz 2015 para você e sua família!)  
(5)  Pronto, agora é só dizer tchau! (Atenciosamente, Professor Bruno Coriolano.)


Viu como é fácil?
Em inglês é a mesma lógica:


Thank you for your email. I am currently on annual leave and will be returning in February. I’m not reading my messages at the moment, but I will as soon as possible.
Merry Christmas and happy New Year!
Kind regards,
EFL teacher Bruno Coriolano.



(1) Seja educado! (Thank you for your email.)
(2) Diga que você está com pouco ou sem acesso ao e-mail, para que as pessoas não fiquem esperando resposta. (I’m not reading my messages at the moment.)
(3) Diga quando poderá responder as mensagens. (I am currently on annual leave and will be returning in February… but I will as soon as possible.)
(4) E deixe uma mensagem educada. (Merry Christmas and happy New Year!)  
(5)  Pronto, agora é só dizer tchau! (Kind regards, EFL teacher Bruno Coriolano.)

Percebam que alterei um pouco a mensagem em inglês. Achei melhor “enxugar” mais um pouco... bem, não existe apenas uma maneira de deixar uma mensagem automática!

Para todos vocês do blog, tchau. Até 2015!!!!! J


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 is, 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.
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terça-feira, 18 de novembro de 2014

Portal da Língua Inglesa: DICAS: PARA PRATICAR "O FUTURO" EM INGLÊS: ASK GUR...

Portal da Língua Inglesa: DICAS: PARA PRATICAR "O FUTURO" EM INGLÊS: ASK GUR...: No site  Ask Guru Joe  cada aluno pode fazer perguntas sobre seu futuro em inglês e receber respostas rapidamente. É uma excelente maneira ...

MEC lança Idioma Sem Fronteiras para alunos e docentes de Letras estudarem línguas no exterior

Campus da Universidade de Oxford, instituição referência no ensino de inglês - Universidade de Oxford


O Ministério da Educação (MEC) lançou nesta segunda-feira (17) o Programa Idioma Sem Fronteiras, vinculado ao Ciência Sem Fronteiras e voltado para alunos e professores de línguas que desejam elevar a proficiência em determinada língua. A medida foi publicada no Diário Oficial da União.

 De acordo com dados obtidos pelo GLOBO junto ao MEC, serão sete línguas estrangeiras abrangidas: inglês, francês, espanhol, italiano, japonês, mandarim, alemão. Cada instituição brasileira que participar ganhará um “núcleo de línguas”, responsável por gerir a concessão das bolsas e ministrar cursos presenciais nos idiomas que comporão o programa.

Os núcleos também poderão aplicar testes de proficiência para estudantes que desejam obter um certificado. O portaria esclarece que o novo programa será custeado por dotação orçamentária da União, mas ainda não há valores exatos, uma vez que os editais serão lançados conforme a demanda e as parcerias que forem firmadas.

Alunos de qualquer disciplina de graduação poderão participar das aulas presenciais e on-line nos pólos das universidades credenciadas. Conforme O GLOBO apurou, o edital para o curso de francês pela internet será lançado hoje, onde estarão disponíveis 1,5 mil logins e senhas para usuários.

No entanto, só terão direito a bolsas de estudo no exterior os estudantes de licenciatura em Letras das línguas estrangeiras abrangidas no Idioma Sem Fronteiras. A ideia é que eles aprofundem o conhecimento imersos em países falantes da língua que estudam. Em contrapartida, os bolsistas ensinarão Português para estrangeiros e promoverão a cultura brasileira. A iniciativa já foi até batizada:

- O 'Português Sem Fronteiras' é nossa língua, nossa cultura. Existe uma procura muito grande pela nossa língua no exterior. Queremos suprir essa demanda e permitir a troca de experiências das línguas para promover a maior internacionalização do Brasil. Eventos como a Copa do Mundo mostraram que os estrangeiros precisam conhecer nossa cultura – disse a coordenadora do Idioma Sem Fronteiras, Denise Abreu e Lima.







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Do young people care about learning foreign languages?






sexta-feira, 14 de novembro de 2014

[JOKE] A BLONDE ON THE SUN.

Would you like to have fun? Well, if you have answered YES. Let’s have fun! 



A Russian, an American, and a Blonde were talking one day.

The Russian said, ‘We were the first in space!’

The American said, ‘We were the first on the moon!’

The Blonde said, ‘So what? We’re going to be the first on the sun!’

The Russian and the American looked at each other and shook their heads. 

You can’t land on the sun, you idiot! You’ll burn up!’ said the Russian.
To which the Blonde replied, ‘We’re not stupid, you know. We’re going at night!’



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 is, 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!
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sexta-feira, 7 de novembro de 2014

This video perfectly sums up what's wrong with people who want to 'Save Africa'

From Gobal Post

Timothy McGrathNovember 7, 2014.
Let's say it together:
Africa is NOT a country.
That's easy to forget when reading news reports about the "Ebola outbreak in Africa." Yes, there's an Ebola crisis ravaging several West African countries, but just in case you've never seen a map before, it's a huge place. 
The problem is that the people and nations of the African continent are too often lumped together as a single, imaginary "Africa" that's a natural and seemingly inevitable site of disease, conflict, and famine. That imaginary, flat version of Africa is the one that serves as the backdrop for some of the patronizing and eyeroll-worthy charity initiatives that attempt to "save" it. 
There are real, complicated problems affecting some African countries, but most of the problems aren't "African" problems, but rather, problems created by the wealth nations that stole its people and bonded them into slavery, colonized its land, seized (and continue to seize) its natural resources, and created oppressive and corrupt power structures that persist in various forms till this day.
That's more or less the perspective of a development organization in Norway called SAIH, which, among other projects, works to break down stereotypical ideas about "Africa" in order to solve real problems in African nations. 
Part of breaking down those stereotypes means calling them out wherever they appear, including among mostly well-meaning, often white volunteers who don't see how their own impulses to help are rooted in and perpetuate the very stereotypes that do such harm.
And so we get this incredible video from SAIH, "Who Wants to Be A Volunteer":



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 is, 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?
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English Proverbs: A list of most of the commonly-used proverbs in the English language:


“Nothing defines a culture as distinctly as its language, and the element of language that best encapsulates a society's values and beliefs is its proverbs.























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 is, 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:

quinta-feira, 6 de novembro de 2014

6 TOXIC RELATIONSHIP HABITS MOST PEOPLE THINK ARE NORMAL



There’s no class in high school on how to not be a shitty boyfriend or girlfriend. Sure, they teach us the biology of sex, the legality of marriage, and maybe we read a few obscure love stories from the 19th century on how not to be.
But when it comes down to actually handling the nitty-gritty of relationships, we’re given no pointers… or worse, we’re given advice columns in women’s magazines.
Yes, it’s trial-and-error from the get-go. And if you’re like most people, it’s been mostly error.
But part of the problem is that many unhealthy relationship habits are baked into our culture. We worship romantic love — you know, that dizzying and irrational romantic love that somehow finds breaking china plates on the wall in a fit of tears somewhat endearing — and scoff at practicality or unconventional sexualities. Men and women are raised to objectify each other and to objectify their relationships. Thus, our partners are often seen as assets rather than someone to share mutual emotional support.
A lot of the self-help literature out there isn’t helpful either (no, men and women are notfrom different planets, you over-generalizing prick). And for most of us, mom and dad surely weren’t the best examples either.
Fortunately, there’s been a lot of psychological research into healthy and happy relationships the past few decades and there are some general principles that keep popping up consistently that most people are unaware of or don’t follow. In fact, some of these principles actually go against what is traditionally considered “romantic” or normal in a relationship.
Below are six of the most common tendencies in relationships that many couples think are healthy and normal, but are actually toxic and destroying everything you hold dear. Get the tissues ready.
1.   THE RELATIONSHIP SCORECARD
What It Is: The “keeping score” phenomenon is when someone you’re dating continues to blame you for past mistakes you made in the relationship. If both people in the relationship do this it devolves into what I call “the relationship scorecard,” where it becomes a battle to see who has screwed up the most over the months or years, and therefore who owes the other one more.

You were an asshole at Cynthia’s 28th birthday party back in 2010 and it has proceeded to ruin your life ever since. Why? Because there’s not a week that goes by that you’re not reminded of it. But that’s OK, because that time you caught her sending flirtatious text messages to her co-worker immediately removes her right to get jealous, so it’s kind of even, right?

Wrong.

Why It’s Toxic: The relationship scorecard develops over time because one or both people in a relationship use past wrongdoings in order to try and justify current righteousness. This is a double-whammy of suckage. Not only are you deflecting the current issue itself, but you’re ginning up guilt and bitterness from the past to manipulate your partner into feeling wrong in the present.

If this goes on long enough, both partners eventually spend most of their energy trying to prove that they’re less culpable than the other, rather than solving the current problem. People spend all of their time trying to be less wrong for each other instead of being more right for each other.

What You Should Do Instead: Deal with issues individually unless they are legitimately connected. If someone habitually cheats, then that’s obviously a recurring problem. But the fact that she embarrassed you in 2010 and now she got sad and ignored you today in 2013 have nothing to do with each other, so don’t bring it up.

You must recognize that by choosing to be with your significant other, you are choosing to be with all of their prior actions and behaviors. If you don’t accept those, then ultimately, you are not accepting them. If something bothered you that much a year ago, you should have dealt with it a year ago.

2. DROPPING “HINTS” AND OTHER PASSIVE-AGGRESSION

What It Is: Instead of stating a desire or thought overtly, your partner tries to nudge you in the right direction of figuring it out yourself. Instead of saying what’s actually upsetting you, you find small and petty ways to piss your partner off so you’ll then feel justified in complaining to them.

Why It’s Toxic: Because it shows that you two are not comfortable communicating openly and clearly with one another. A person has no reason to be passive-aggressive if they feel safe expressing any anger or insecurity within the relationship. A person will never feel a need to drop “hints” if they feel like they won’t be judged or criticized for it.

What You Should Do Instead: State your feelings and desires openly. And make it clear that the other person is not necessarily responsible or obligated to them but that you’d love to have their support. If they love you, they’ll almost always be able to give it.

3. HOLDING THE RELATIONSHIP HOSTAGE

What It Is: When one person has a simple criticism or complaint and blackmails the other person by threatening the commitment of the relationship as a whole. For instance, if someone feels like you’ve been cold to them, instead of saying, “I feel like you’re being cold sometimes,” they will say, “I can’t date someone who is cold to me all of the time.”

Why It’s Toxic: It’s emotional blackmail and it creates tons of unnecessary drama. Every minor hiccup in the flow of the relationship results in a perceived commitment crisis. It’s crucial for both people in a relationship to know that negative thoughts and feelings can be communicated safely to one another without it threatening the relationship itself. Otherwise people will suppress their true thoughts and feelings which leads to an environment of distrust and manipulation.

What You Should Do Instead: It’s fine to get upset at your partner or to not like something about them. That’s called being a normal human being. But understand that committing to a person and always liking a person are not the same thing. One can be committed to someone and not like everything about them. One can be eternally devoted to someone yet actually be annoyed or angered by their partner at times. On the contrary, two partners who are capable of communicating feedback and criticism towards one another, only without judgment or blackmail, will strengthen their commitment to one another in the long-run.

4. BLAMING YOUR PARTNER FOR YOUR OWN EMOTIONS

What It Is: Let’s say you’re having a crappy day and your partner isn’t exactly being super sympathetic or supportive at the moment. They’ve been on the phone all day with some people from work. They got distracted when you hugged them. You want to lay around at home together and just watch a movie tonight, but they have plans to go out and see their friends.

So you lash out at them for being so insensitive and callous toward you. You’ve been having a shitty day and they have done nothing about it. Sure, you never asked, but they should just know to make you feel better. They should have gotten off the phone and ditched their plans based on your lousy emotional state.

Why It’s Toxic: Blaming our partners for our emotions is a subtle form of selfishness, and a classic example of the poor maintenance of personal boundaries. When you set a precedent that your partner is responsible for how you feel at all times (and vice-versa), you will develop codependent tendencies. Suddenly, they’re not allowed to plan activities without checking with you first. All activities at home — even the mundane ones like reading books or watching TV — must be negotiated and compromised. When someone begins to get upset, all personal desires go out the window because it is now your responsibility to make one another feel better.

The biggest problem of developing these codependent tendencies is that they breed resentment. Sure, if my girlfriend gets mad at me once because she’s had a shitty day and is frustrated and needs attention, that’s understandable. But if it becomes an expectation that my life revolves around her emotional well-being at all times, then I’m soon going to become very bitter and even manipulative towards her feelings and desires.

What You Should Do Instead: Take responsibility for your own emotions and expect your partner to be responsible for theirs. There’s a subtle yet important difference between being supportive of your partner and being obligated to your partner. Any sacrifices should be made as an autonomous choice and not seen as an expectation. As soon as both people in a relationship become culpable for each other’s moods and downswings, it gives them both incentives to hide their true feelings and manipulate one another.


terça-feira, 4 de novembro de 2014

BRILLIANT TEST ANSWERS GIVEN BY KIDS.

"Kids often say the funniest things. As innocent as their answers might be, they are hilarious and border line genius! You have to give some credit though, because although their answers are technically wrong, in a way they are also correct. So should they really be penalized for giving a simple answer to a question or should the questions be more specific? It's a debate for the comments section below!"




















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 is, 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: