English teaching & learning! Tips, reflections & discussions!

Friday, November 21, 2014

How to say 'I am Groot' in 15 languages

'Guardians of the Gallaxy' featuring Marvel's characters was one of the biggest blockbusters of the year. And 'Groot',  one of the heroes in the movie, was quite charismatic, even though tree-like creature could only say one sentence, which was the line introducing himself. On the video bellow, we can listen to the Groot saying his famous catchline in 15 different languages, which can be a nice way to bring the topic of translation to the discussion with the young students:

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Idiomas sem Fronteiras: Brazilian Government special program for language learners

Good News for all language learners and teachers in Brazil. The Brazilian Government has launched a program called 'Idiomas sem Fronteiras' (something as 'Languages without borders') that aims at linguistic development of college students, professors and also language teachers at public schools. The program will offer on-line classes and possibly the opportunity for an exchange experience. Besides English, the program includes French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin, Italian, German and also Portuguese for foreigners students.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Brazilian students learn English with elderly American

In a very nice and simple way, CNA, a Brazilian Language School, has put their students in contact with some eldery people from Chicago, US, in order to offer them the opportunity to improve their language skills by talking to native speakers. On the other hand, the elderly involved on this project could find some interested and careful listeners. Check the results on the video bellow:

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Song & Lyrics: Fifa World Cup Brazil 2014 Official Song

I commented on previous posts how controversial the Fifa World Cup in Brazil is. Anyway, there's less than one month left, so I guess we should take the most we can out of it as a learning opportunity. One thing that always can help is the official song, which this time is sung in English and Portuguese, and with a very positive message. 

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

2014: the year we were waiting for

2013 was quite a busy year and I'm ashamed I left this blog a little abandoned. That's the price of being involved in so many projects. So, if there's one thing I can say about the year that had just gone is that it was a very creative and productive time, which means that I'm also burned out by now.