[WARMER] “IF AT FIRST YOU DO NOT SUCCEED…” WHAT IS SUCCESS FOR YOU?

A very simple icebreaker (or warmer). It may also be used as a pocket activity.

First, show your students some quotes about success (or failure) and ask them to think about what the ones who said each quote meant by it.

“I can't give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time.” ― Herbert Bayard Swope

“Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.” ― Albert Einstein

“The worst part of success is trying to find someone who is happy for you.” ― Bette Midler

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” ― Winston S. Churchill

“Cry. Forgive. Learn. Move on. Let your tears water the seeds of your future happiness.”― Steve Maraboli

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” ― Oliver Goldsmith

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

“Success is most often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable.” ― Coco Chanel

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” ― Robert F. Kennedy

After that, start a discussion about 'what success is' based on their own opinions, beliefs, or ideas.

Then ask them to talk about the stories of success they may know (or ever heard about). 


Can you think of anyone you know or a famous person who has been successful in very difficult circumstances? 

It will depend on their language level, but you may also ask them to write down their own quotes about success and then ask them to show their quotes to the class and talk about their own.

I hope you have enjoyed this one! See you around!

Cheers!

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! 

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DICA RÁPIDA: A ÚLTIMA LETRA

O nome do jogo é a última letra (ou the last letter em inglês).

É simples...

Coloque os alunos em círculo e jogue uma bola de papel para um aluno e depois diga uma palavra (exemplo: Car). A última letra da palavra dita deve ser a primeira letra da próxima palavra (Exemplo: car – Rapid – Day etc....). O aluno tem que responder enquanto joga a bola de papel para um outro aluno. É o professor quem deve decidir o momento de parar o mesmo.

Sugiro que o professor também participe dizendo algumas palavras para poder dar continuidade ao jogo. Seria interessante também cronometrar o tempo que os alunos podem ficar com a bola em mãos para que ninguém passe muito tempo com a mesma, quebrando um pouco a dinâmica. Cinco segundos já é mais do que suficiente.

O mesmo pode ser usado para revisar vocabulário de aulas anteriores. Se o professor quiser, porém, ele pode delimitar o tipo de vocabulário a ser utilizado. Quando mais palavras os alunos puderem se lembrar, melhor.  

VARIAÇÃO:

Para níveis mais avançados, o professor pode fazer com frases completas.

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

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INTEGRATE SPEAKING, WRITING, LISTENING, AND READING IN A PRACTICAL WAY IN YOUR EFL CLASSES.

I would like to share some ideas about how to integrate speaking, writing, listening, and reading in a practical way in your EFL classes.

This is one of the activities I used with my intermediate-level students. It’s a running dictation.

But first of all, we have to understand what a running dictation is, right?

A Running dictation, according to wiktionary.org, is a “classroom exercise in which students run to a text, and then pass the message verbally to a partner.” During this activity, we will have to put the students in pairs (or groups).  

Remember that they will probably have to run in the classroom, so be make sure everything is okay in order to avoid accidents.

Each group will have to choose a writer and the runner(s). The writer will be responsible for writing down the sentences and the runner(s) for running (or walking if you like it) and dictate the sentences they will have to read (usually on the wall or on the board). The runner(s) will have to read silently and remember each sentence. (I particularly ask them to memorize only one sentence and run back to their writers).

The role of the writer is to write down the sentences in order to complete the whole text (or paragraph). They may also swap roles (the writers and the runners). As I believe students will only remember a few words (usually two or three) at a time, I would advise you to let them run back and forth until they finish the whole sentence.

In this very specific example, you could use one video and the speaker’s speech, so that students will have the chance to watch the video and listen to what the speaker is saying. I decided to use a video from Ted.com (video here).

I displayed two paragraphs (A and B below) on the wall and started the running dictation.  They will hear both paragraphs when they listen and watch the video.

A

Hello, everyone. Because this is my first time at TED, I've decided to bring along an old friend to help break the ice a bit. Yes. That's right. This is Barbie. She's 50 years old. And she's looking as young as ever.

B

My experience, however, in the Islamic world is very different. Where I work, in the Arab region, people are busy taking up Western innovations and changing them into things which are neither conventionally Western, nor are they traditionally Islamic.

The students had to choose between the groups (A or B) and do the activity.

When the first group finished I checked with them to see whether they had written the right sentences or not.

After that, I gave them the interactive transcript and played the talk three times giving them time to listen and complete the gaps.

The video:

Shereen El Feki: Pop culture in the Arab world

Hello, everyone. Because this is my first time at TED, I've decided to bring along an old friend to help break the ice a bit. Yes. That's right. This is Barbie. She's 50 years old. And she's looking as young as ever. (Laughter) But I'd also like to introduce you to what may be an unfamiliar face. This is Fulla. Fulla is the Arab world's answer to Barbie.

Now, according to proponents of the clash of (1) _________________, Barbie and Fulla occupy these completely separate spheres. They have different interests. They have (2) _______________ values. And should they ever come in contact ... well, I've got to tell you, it's just not going to be pretty.

My experience, however, in the Islamic world is very different. Where I work, in the Arab region, people are busy taking up Western innovations and changing them into things which are neither conventionally Western, nor are they traditionally Islamic. I want to show you two examples. The first is 4Shbab. It means "for youth" and it's a new Arab TV channel.

(Video): Video clips from across the globe. The USA.

♫ I am not afraid to stand alone ♫

♫ I am not afraid to stand alone, if Allah is by my side ♫

♫ I am not afraid to stand alone ♫

♫ Everything will be all right ♫

♫ I am not afraid to stand alone ♫

The Arab world.

(Music)

♫ She was preserved by modesty of the religion ♫ ♫ She was adorned by the light of the Quran ♫

Shereen El Feki: 4Shbab has been dubbed Islamic MTV. Its (3) ________________, who is an Egyptian TV producer called Ahmed Abu Haïba, wants young people to be inspired by Islam to lead better lives. He reckons the best way to get that (4) ___________________ across is to use the enormously popular medium of music videos. 4Shbab was set up as an alternative to existing Arab music channels. And they look something like this. (Music)

That, by the way is Haifa Wehbe. She's a Lebanese pop star and pan-Arab pin-up girl. In the world of 4Shbab, it's not about bump and grind. But it's not about fire and brimstone either. Its videos are intended to show a kinder, gentler face of Islam, for young people to deal with life's challenges.

Now, my (5)_________________ example is for a slightly younger crowd. And it's called "The 99." Now, these are the world's first Islamic superheroes. They were created by a Kuwaiti psychologist called Naif Al Mutawa. And his desire is to rescue Islam from images of intolerance, all in a child-friendly format. "The 99." The characters are meant to embody the 99 attributes of Allah: justice, wisdom, mercy, among others. So, for example, there is the character of Noora. She is meant to have the power to look inside people and see the good and bad in everyone. Another character called Jami has the ability to create fantastic inventions.

Now, "The 99" is not just a (6)__________________. It's now a theme park. There is an animated series in the works. And by this time next year, the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman will have joined forces with "The 99" to beat injustice wherever they find it.

"The 99" and 4Shbab are just two of many examples of this sort of Islamic cross-cultural hybridization. We're not talking here about a clash of civilizations. Nor is it some sort of indistinguishable mash. I like to think of it as a mesh of civilizations, in which the strands of different cultures are intertwined.

Now, while 4Shbab and "The 99" may look new and shiny, there is actually a very long tradition of this. Throughout its history, Islam has borrowed and adapted from other civilizations both ancient and modern. After all, it's the Quran which encourages us to do this: "We made you into nations and tribes so that you could learn from one another." And to my mind, those are pretty wise words, no matter what your creed. Thank you. (Applause)

  

I do hope you have enjoyed this activity! See you next time! 

You may also ask the students to write what they thought of the video on the ‘discuss session’ on the video on the site (here). 

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

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How to Pronounce 'to the' in a Sentence.

These two words will be very low in pitch and connected. They should be said very fast. In fact, when said correctly, you can articulate these two words without moving the lips or jaw!

In this American English pronunciation video, we're going to talk about how to reduce and link the word 'to' and 'the' together, in a sentence, like this: to the.

I've spent quite a bit of time in my videos talking about reduction and linking. And today, I want to take the specific case of linking the words 'to' and 'the', and talk about how to simplify the mouth movement when we're reducing these words, linking them, and making them very, very fast.

The first thing I want to point out, is that there doesn't have to be any movement in the lips or the jaw: we can articulate this with just the tongue. To the. So, what are we doing here? The word 'to' will reduce to either the true T-schwa sound, or the flap T-schwa sound. But for both of them, the tongue position will be the same. So the tongue tip is up at the roof of the mouth, tt, tt, tt, with the jaw quite closed and the teeth pretty much together: tt, tt, dd, dd. And I can make that sound just by moving the tongue, the jaw doesn't have to move: tt, dd, tt, dd. Now, to make the TH for the word 'the'. I do not need to bring the tongue all the way through the teeth. I can just bring it down, so it's touching just behind, where the teeth come together. To the. Let's look at this up close and in slow motion.

The word T-H-E is pronounced with the EE vowel when the next word begins with a vowel or diphthong. For example, to the other side, to the east. In these cases as well, all the articulation will happen with the tongue.

It will probably take a good bit of time and drilling to get this new way of saying 'to the' into your habit. But it is worth doing. Because when we simplify the mouth movement, it means it's going to be easier to say it quickly in speech. And when we reduce and pronounce these unstressed words very quickly like this, it provides a nice contrast for the stressed words, which are much longer, and have a lot more shape. As you drill these two words, put them into sentence fragments, and eventually sentences. To the. To the store. To the restaurant. I'm going to the restaurant. It will really help you to integrate that into your everyday speech.

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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[Writing] WRITING IS CRYING OUT TO BE SHAPED, OR CREATED.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you might have realized that I have been writing about writing. That’s right, writing, or the art of creating or even shaping the wor(l)d around us.

I’m a literature lover. I love reading and writing about everything. I have my favorite genre, writer, poem, book, short story and so on. I bet you the reader have the same things. It’s quite difficult to meet someone who does not have a favorite book. Even if you have read only one book, you have a favorite one, right? Even if you don’t like reading, I bet you have read at least one book in your life. (If you have never read a book in your life, let me tell how miserable I imagine your life is).

I’m absolutely certain—especially if you are an English language teacher or learner—that you have, at least once in your life, considered the idea of taking the risk of trying to write a letter or a short message in English. (I’m obviously taking into account that you are not an English native speaker).

I would like to challenge you guys. Have you ever considered the idea of writing about your world? Let me make myself clear here: I don’t expect you to make sense of everything. At least not in a literal way.

Your imagination might let you find out incredible things. Especially things that you could have never imagined before.

I will take the risk of making some mistakes – both in my writing and ideas – but I don’t care. I don’t give a damn! As I’m writing a new book right now, I need to let my thoughts just go away, and if they find home in some of my readers’ mind, I will be very happy!

Maybe some parts of my writing sound completely ridiculous and absurd, or even strange and magical. I don’t know. Once again, I don’t care! I will try to write as much as I can and make the most of my words.

In my next post, I will be writing about creating your own writing (style). I hope you join me in this long and winding road. This magical journey. Can I count on you?

P.s.: The aim of my next post about the subject mentioned before is rather simple: Keep My Mind Active in a Child-Like Way.

OPEN THIS FIRST DOOR AND FIND OUT WHAT I HAVE IN MY WOR(L)D.  

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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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.

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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