Why everyone should love languages: An interview with Rosie Goldsmith

Rosie Goldsmith is an award-winning journalist and has traveled the world reporting on current affairs. She was born in the UK but has spent time living in many different countries including South Africa, Germany and Italy. Rosie is a passionate advocate for immersing yourself in different cultures and is the creator of the European Literature Network.

“Hearing the sounds of all the different languages was just magical to me”

The interview began with Rosie telling us all about her travels when she was younger, and how this started her language learning journey. She loved to find out more about the people and the culture of the country she was visiting. She realised very early on that language was the tool she needed to be able to really experience what a country was like.

It was therefore a natural choice for Rosie to study languages at school and university. However, she does warn of the difference between formal education over immersive learning. Teachers will generally have a formal approach to the language so you can understand and manipulate it, but in practice you’ll often find that’s not how the language is spoken. For example, when learning French you’re taught to say “Comment allez-vous?” to greet someone. In France, however, you’re much more likely to hear “Ça va?” instead. It’s these colloquialisms that you don’t normally pick up with only formal language lessons.

“My languages are a passport”

Rosie had never planned to become a journalist. It was a case of right place, right time while she was living in Germany. Going into broadcasting meant that she had the opportunity to ‘perform’, which she was used to from her days as a singer and actress. So it felt a very natural career choice for her. However, Rosie confesses that the opportunity was only possible thanks to her ability to speak in German, French and then later, Italian.

“Not saying you have to be an extrovert to learn a language… but it does help!”

Clear in her belief that everyone should try to learn another language, Rosie thinks that it is in fact criminal for young people not be given the opportunity at school. Like any subject, languages can be hard to start with. Not everyone is going to be good at it. It’s about getting out there and trying, even if you only learn a few phrases.

Rosie also reminded us that language learning isn’t isolated. Language ties up with other interests such as history or music. So find something you’re interested in and just give it a go!

“I love the fact that they make me into different people”

According to Rosie, language has the power to affect your personality. For example, German is much more formal compared to Italian which makes the speaker more expressive. To Rosie, “a language is a cognitive door to a deeper sense of yourself.”

It was this aspect of languages that impacted her choice for her university degree. Rosie explained that she had traveled to both France and Germany and each country had brought out a different side of her. She therefore couldn’t chose between the two and just decided to study both!

Rosie finished the interview by telling us all about her favourite words and impressing us with her ability to switch seamlessly between languages!

Watch the full interview 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 are, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

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If You Hate Poverty, You Should Love Capitalism

The next time you hear someone complain about capitalism, consider this: The percentage of people living at starvation level poverty has fallen 80% since 1970. Before then, more than one in four people around the world were living on a dollar a day or less. Today, it’s about one in twenty.

This is the greatest anti-poverty achievement in world history. So, how did this remarkable transformation come to pass? Was it the fabulous success of the United Nations? The generosity of U.S. foreign aid? The brilliant policies of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank? Stimulus spending? Government redistribution?

No. It was none of those things.

It was capitalism. Billions of souls around the world have been able to pull themselves out of poverty thanks to five incredible innovations: globalization, free trade, property rights, the rule of law, and entrepreneurship.

Globalization means the ever-increasing ability to move goods, people, and ideas from one distant location to another.

Free trade is open access to markets and people from all over the world with few, if any, barriers.

Property rights is ensuring that what belongs to you can’t be taken away on a whim by the state.

The rule of law safeguards contracts, assuring that they will be respected and lived up to whether the deal is made in Peru or Poland.

And entrepreneurship is the creativity of free people to dream up new products that we never knew we wanted or needed.

It’s worth noting that in places like East Asia, these five things were all made possible by the historic peace after World War II that resulted from America’s global diplomatic and military presence.

Let me put this in a slightly different way:

The ideals of free enterprise and global leadership, central to capitalism and American conservatism, are responsible for the greatest reduction in human misery since mankind began its long climb from the swamp to the stars. This remarkable progress has been America’s gift to the world.

So, if these American conservative ideals have done so much to lift up the world’s poor, you would think conservative ideas would be gaining strength every single day – everywhere. And not just gaining strength among conservatives, but also among young idealists, immigrants, minorities, and advocates for the poor—all embracing the principles of free enterprise and unleashing its power on behalf of the vulnerable.

But this hasn’t happened. To the contrary, capitalism is struggling to attract new followers. Indeed, some believe it’s destined to fade away – just as it has in much of Europe.

According to a Harvard Study, only 42% of young Americans 18 to 29 have a favorable view of capitalism. What explains this discrepancy between the incredible results of capitalism and its popularity? Why does capitalism get such bad rap?

One answer is simple: The defenders of free enterprise have done a terrible job of telling people how much good the system has done around the world. Capitalism has saved a couple billion people, and we have treated this miracle like a state secret.

According to a 2013 survey, 84 percent of Americans are unaware of the progress made against poverty worldwide. Indeed, more than two-thirds think global hunger has actually gotten worse.

How do you say “Barriga tanquinho” in English?

Well, that was one of those questions that one never imagines that he/she will have to answer in an English language class. Wrong! People ask about everything.

How do you say “Barriga tanquinho” in English? 

Barriga tanquinho is an informal way of talking about one’s abdomen (commonly called the belly). In Brazil, it is very common to say things like Eu gosto de mulheres (ou homens) com barriga (de) tanquinho.

What many people don’t know is how to say that in English.

Let’s go straight to the point, then.

In English, barriga tanquinho is SIX-PACK.

What the hell?! SIX-PACK?

Yes, easy, easy, bro! I’ll explain.

If you eat protein early in the morning, cut out processed goods, drink loads of water, consume healthy fats, and exercise your core muscles – among other things – you will get six-pack abs fast.

In a few words, a six-pack is a stomach that is muscular enough to resemble a six pack of soda cans, for instance.

e.g.: He wrestler had a six-pack from doing crunches three times a week.

JUST BE CAREFUL:

Six-pack may also refer to “stimulate a female sexual partner by placing two digits of the same hand into the anus and vagina as if preparing to pick up a six pack (as per def 2).” It is used as a verb in this case:

I was going down on this chick last night and right when she was about to come, I six packed her and the bitch went fucking nuts!

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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RHETORICAL QUESTION – WHAT IS IT?

There are some questions that we ask, but we are not really asking for information. In English, a question with an obvious answer can be used as a way of trying to get attention to something. We call those kind of questions RHETORICAL QUESTIONS. We do not expect an answer.

This figure of speech, as I said, does not require a direct answer. Sometimes, rhetorical questions may be intended to start a discussion or at least draw an acknowledgement that the listener understands the message. Moreover, rhetorical questions might also be the ones that have obvious answers. We ask the question to make a point, to persuade or for literary effect.   

Here are some answers of rhetorical questions:

·         Do you know what time it is? (Meaning that the person is late.)

·     Who’s a lovely baby? (Talking to the person and showing that the person is obviously the lovely baby.)

·         Is the pope catholic? (asked to emphasize a point.)

·         Are you stupid?

ATTENTION

Sometimes we may use why/how should…? But it can be a bit aggressive:

John is unhappy, but why should I care?

Or

Why should I know? (especially in American English it is an aggressive reply to a question.

Do you have a good example to share?

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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AS INSCRIÇÕES PARA OS CURSOS PRESENCIAIS DO IDIOMAS SEM FRONTEIRAS (ISF) ESTÃO ABERTAS

Olá!  

Informamos que as inscrições para os cursos presenciais do Idiomas sem Fronteiras (IsF) estão abertas. São nove (09) cursos presenciais em três (03) campi da UFERSA (Mossoró, Caraúbas e Pau dos Ferros)*.

((( *Os cursos presenciais do campus de Angicos acontecerão na segunda oferta do IsF de 2017. ))))

Para poder efetuar a matricular nos cursos presenciais, os alunos precisarão estar inscritos no My English Online (MEO).

As inscrições para os cursos presenciais da PRIMEIRA OFERTA 2017 de INGLÊS do Programa IsF podem ser feitas no site http://isfaluno.mec.gov.br/.

Vocês já sabem, mas vale lembrar que AS AULAS SÃO GRATUITAS!

Mas ATENÇÃO: você poderá se inscrever apenas se possuir resultado do TOEFL ITP feito pelo Programa IsF ou se já tiver feito o teste de nivelamento do My English Online (MEO).

Caso não tenha feito nenhum dos dois, acesse http://cadastro.myenglishonline.com.br/  (se for aluno) ou http://meo.capes.gov.br/sys/meo/inscricao/acesso  (se for servidor) e se inscreva no MEO para fazer o teste de nivelamento.

CASO NÃO DÊ TEMPO PARA SE INSCREVER PARA A PRIMEIRA OFERTA, NÃO SE PREOCUPE! COM SEU NIVELAMENTO NO MEO VOCÊ PODERÁ PARTICIPAR DAS OUTRAS OFERTAS DESTE ANO AINDA!

Quaisquer dúvidas, podem entrar em contato pelo e-mail isf.ufersa@ufersa.edu.br

Curtam a nossa página no Facebook:

 https://www.facebook.com/Inglessemfronteirasufersa/

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?

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IT WAS A BIG ASK FOR BOTTOM SIDE VASCO DA GAMA TO TRY AND DEFEAT LEAGUE LEADERS CLUBE DE REGATAS DO FLAMENGO: FOOTBALL LANGUAGE

One of the things I have been working on is the extension course I’ve been trying to offer as extra credits for the students at my workplace. I cannot deny how challenging it has been so far to me to find materials about football and the English language.

On the other hand, I have been learning a lot about football as well as the specific vocabulary (in English) about the most popular sport in the world.

Do you guy happen to know the meaning of ‘a big ask’?

This noun phrase has become pretty popular in many sports around the world recently. It clearly means that something is very hard to do. As thefreedictionary.com puts it, it may also give us the idea of: “a request to someone to do something for you that you know will be difficult for them.”

In football, if a team, for example, Barcelona are losing by 1 or 2 goals in a game, it may be considered a big ask for them to come back and win the game. (Well, if we’re talking about F.C. Barcelona, I would think it is ‘a big ask’ at all!)

From time to time, ‘a big ask’ may be heard when a commentator is talking about a team in a very low position in a football league – obviously, we would have to imagine that the team has not been playing well, for instance.  

Example:

It was a big ask for bottom side Vasco da Gama to try and defeat league leaders Clube de Regatas do Flamengo.  (Actually, it is always a big ask!)

Interestingly, another noun phrase – a tough ask – may also be used to say the same thing. Both phrases have been around since the 1980s. according to the Oxford English Dictionary, such expression originated in Australia.

I hope you have enjoyed this one!

See you around!

Imagem não oficial 

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?

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Criamos uma página com os alunos da universidade. A ideia é praticar a língua fora da sala de aula e divulgar informações sobre quem faz a universidade. Sintam-se convidados a curtir a mesma:

https://www.facebook.com/Humans-of-Ufersa-1768823170006421/