Por que aulas online (skype)?

Por que aulas de idiomas online (Skype)?

Comecei a dar aulas por skype porque uma aluna minha que, inicialmente tinha aulas em um grupo, faltava muito devido às suas viagens frequentes. Ela se desmotivava e muitas vezes pensou em desistir.
Então sugeri que ela se conectasse ao Skype no horário da aula do seu grupo e participasse da aula de onde estivesse. Foi um experiência muito interessante, tinha 3 alunos presentes na sala de aula e 1 através do computador. Eles interagiam com ela como se estivessem todos em um mesmo lugar.

Andava um pouco cansada e necessitava uma mudança para recarregar minhas energias, então decidi tomar um período sabático e me mudei para Argentina (se transformou em uma mudança permanente) continuei dando aula para alguns alunos do Brasil através do Skype. 

A principio pensava que a única coisa que eu tinha que fazer era seguir usando os livros que usava, eu com o meu livro e o aluno com o seu livro, a câmera e o microfone e algumas ferramentas disponíveis pela internet seriam suficientes para dar uma aula por Skype. Inclusive, nas minhas pesquisas sobre “online teaching” li que alguns professores scanean todo o material disponível em livros e assim adaptam as aulas presencias para o sistema de aulas online

Para mim,  uma aula de idioma online vai muito além do mencionado acima. Eu e os professores na minha empresa utilizamos ferramentas que nos possibilitam interagir com o aluno e com o material utilizado em tempo real.  Atualmente utilizamos Google docs, que são documentos como os do Word, Power Point e Planilhas do Excel criados e armazenados de maneira virtual. Esses documentos permitem uma interação em tempo real com o aluno o que facilita e simplifica o aprendizado online.

Acredito que as aulas online (Skype) são convenientes para o professor e para o aluno porque ambos podem estar em qualquer lugar com conexão a internet, isso evita o stress de deslocamento, economiza tempo e todos ficam mais contentes.
Além disso, permite que pessoas sem acesso a cursos em suas cidades também possam aprender, inclusive com professores nativos.
Pessoas com horários irregulares podem seguir um curso no seu passo porque existe a possibilidade de remarcar as aulas.

Finalmente, tem uma vantagem que é fundamental em comparação com cursos de idiomas em grupo. A quantidade de tempo dedicada exclusivamente ao aluno. Imagina se você está num grupo de 10 alunos com uma aula que dura 1 hora. Quanto tempo você terá da atenção do professor só para você? Quanto tempo terá para desenvolver a sua habilidade da fala?

Se dividirmos os 60 minutos igualmente entre os 10 alunos, você terá 6 minutos. Exatamente, 6 minutos! Você pagou por uma aula de 60 minutos, mas somente terá 6 minutos de atenção individual ou oportunidade para expressar-se nesse idioma que está aprendendo.

Acredito que se você tem pressa em aprender um idioma, as aulas particulares são a solução e se você quiser evitar engarrafamentos e perdas de tempo, as aulas através do Skype podem ser a melhor opção para você. Não custa nada experimentar. A primeira aula é grátis!

Entra no nosso site (www.skypeclassesluisa.com), escolhe um professor no menu PROFESSORES e manda um e-mail para contato@skypeclassesluisa.com para agendar a sua aula experimental.

Game Time

Want to get a 20% discount to study English, Spanish, French or Brazilian Portuguese through Skype with Skype Classes Luisa? Go to our facebook fanpage and play hangman with us!

 

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Quer ganhar 20% de desconto para estudar inglês, espanhol, francês ou português para estrangeiros por skype com Skype Classes Luisa? Vai na nossa página do facebook and brinca de forca com a gente!

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Querés ganar 20% de descuento para estudiar inglés, portugués, francés o español a través de Skype con Skype Classes Luisa? Entrá en nuestra página y jugá ahorcado con nosotros!

Here is our facebook fanpage:
El link de nuestra página de facebook:
O link da nossa página de facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/SkypeClassesLuisa

VALENTINE'S DAY

Hi Everyone,
I'm back! Today is one of my favorite holidays in the world. It's Valentine's Day!
Do you know this holiday? Do you have any idea why it is celebrated on  February 14th?
Well, many years ago I was looking for those answers and I found a nice text on the internet that explains all that. I do not know who the author of this text is, but I really liked it and I hope you will  too.

St. Valentine's Story

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.

Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!

Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.

One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."
I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!

Primeira aula de inglês por skype

Oi tudo bem?
Hoje a postagem é dedicada àquelas pessoas que falam português e querem saber como seria a sua primeira aula de Inglês por Skype.
Bem, antes de começar a aula, você receberia um arquivo com o material da aula como este que está no link abaixo:
ATIVIDADE
As aulas por skype são individuais e personalizadas, essa atividade representa um exemplo genérico, somente para você ter uma idéia de como funciona
Além disso estão enfocadas na comunicação, então fazer essa atividade sozinho, sem a interação com o professor, não chega nem perto de uma aula verdadeira.
Se você quer ser capaz de se comunicar em outro idioma, vai ter que se comunicar! Interagir: você necessita falar e escutar. Assistir a vídeo-aulas e fazer atividades em um site não são suficientes!
Quer saber mais sobre como ter aulas por Skype? Entra no nosso site: www.skypeclassesluisa.com

Adoraria receber comentários e se você tiver alguma dúvida sobre a atividade é só escrever nos comentários. Será um prazer te ajudar!
Bye, bye!

Idioms with colors

In English there are many idioms with colors. Are there idioms with colors in your native language?
In this post I'll teach you some of them, after that I'll ask you some questions using the idioms.

BLACK

1. IN THE BLACK- profitable, successful, having money in the bank account. Example: My company is in the black because I have a good financial manager.
2. IN BLACK AND WHITE - clear; official, in writing or printing. Example: I have it in black and white that I can have 15 day vacation after one year working for the company.

BLUE

1. OUT OF THE BLUE- when something happens unexpectedly. Example: I was driving when out of the blue a dog crossed the road. I almost hit it.
2. TO FEEL BLUE- to feel sad or depressed. Example: Paul is feeling blue. His girlfriend broke up with him today.

GREEN

1. GREEN WITH ENVY- very jealous, full of envy. Example: She was green with envy when she heard Jack had won a trip to Paris.
2. TO GET THE GREEN LIGHT-to receive the permission to start something like a project. Example: I got the green light to start oferring language courses at the company. All employees are excited about it.

RED

1. IN THE RED - to be in debt. Example: I don't know how to control my finances. I'm always in the red.
2. TO ROLL THE RED CARPET- to receive someone with great respect; to give a big welcome. Example: Every time the Pope visits a city they roll the red carpet for him.
3. RED TAPE- bureaucratic delay. Example: I want to open my own business, but there is too much red tape involved. I think it is almost impossible to do it.

WHITE

1. A WHITE LIE -  a harmless lie, usually told to be polite or to do something that is not seriously wrong. Example- I told my boss a white lie. I said I was sick, but actually I wasn't. I just wanted the day off.

QUESTIONS:

• It's a private subject, but are you in the red or in the black?
• Has anything happened to you out of the blue recently?
• Are you feeling blue at the moment? If  so, why?
• Have you ever felt green with envy?
• Have you ever told a white lie? What was it about?
• Have you ever had to go through red tape? If so, in which situation?

Special Post- Cuenca, the world's best place to retire

This is a special post since it doesn't talk about any expression or activity to learn English.
I'll tell you a little bit about a place, which has been labeled as the World's Best Place to Retire, Cuenca.
Then I'll raise some questions about learning a foreign language.

Cuenca is located in Ecuador and is the capital of the province Azuay, it is approximately 9 hours south of Quito.
The weather is pretty much the same all year-round. The average daily temperature is 58 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degree celsius) and there are only 2 seasons: rainy and dry. The heaviest rains come in March, April and May.

But why am I talking about this place? Well, first of all I heard of this place from a friend of my mom's. She lives in the United States and like many Americans she would like to live there when she retires. So, I got curious and decided to discover what is so appeling about this town.

An american retiree said this in a NYTimes article:
“The weather is nice. The cost of living is very low. Public transportation is very good,” said Mr. Evans, who lives in an apartment south of the city center. “I really love to walk and don’t need a car.”       

Another feature described in the same article is that in Cuenca you can find a large number of English-speaking doctors and English language bookstores.
(here is the link to this article)

After that I read another article sent by my mom's friend called "What Cuencanos say about gringos: they enrich the local culture, bring more business but need to learn Spanish".
One opinion caught my attention:
"When I lived in New Jersey, the locals would tell the Hispanic people that they needed to learn English if we wanted to live in the U.S. I agreed and learned their language. It seems that many of the gringos who live in Cuenca do not agree and do not make much effort to learn Spanish.” –Moises C.
(the second article)

This got me thinking about the fact that English is such an international language that the people who are native speakers of that language don't bother learning others. Of course, this is a generalization!
So, my questions is: if you move to another country shouldn't you learn their language?
I believe that when you are in another country and you don't speak the langauge, you lose many opportunities of really getting to know people and understanding their culture.

Get ready to fully enjoy the culture, maybe meet the love of your life or become the next best selling writer in Spanish. How about that? If you are planning to live in Cuenca or any other place, LEARN their language.
You don't even have to leave your home to do that. You can learn Spanish through Skype. I don't teach it (I speak it though because I live in Argentina, but I'm brazilian) , but on my website you can choose the best teachers for you. Skype Classes Luisa

Also here I leave 2 websites where you can get more information about Cuenca and also a link to a promotional video of the city:
http://www.gringosabroad.com
http://www.gringotree.com/cuenca/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=vwj6nzdBclw&feature=endscreen

Expression of the week- pardon my french part 2

Hi everyone! How are you today? I hope you are enjoying the new year.
Well, last week I posted a video where you could see a scene of the movie Ferris Bueller's day off.
And on that scene one of the characters used the expression "pardon my french".

Could you guess the meaning of the expression by watching the scene?

If you couldn't guess it I'll explain it to you.

People use this expression before cursing or using bad words to avoid offending the people who are listening to them. It is like saying: "Forgive me for the kind of language I'm using" or "Sorry for my strong language".

Example: Pardon my french, but that guy is a pain in the ass. (really pardon my french! I'm not used to using such vocabulary)

But one question remains. Where did this expression come from? Why pardon my French and not pardon my German or my Spanish?
According to Dictionary.com "One explanation suggests that during the 19th century, the English often used French words in conversation – a foreign language to most people living in England at the time. Realizing the listener may not have understood, the speaker would apologize by saying, “Pardon my French.”
Read more at http://hotword.dictionary.com/pardon-my-french/#HR4Y1wLSvp0dfEyc.99

Now, the French also use an idiom that refers to English: "filer à l'anglaise". Any French teacher would like to explain it??

Expression of the week- Pardon my French!

Well, first of all I'd like to wish everybody a very happy 2013!
I haven't written in a long time because I've been extremelly busy working on my website (Skype Classes Luisa), but I'm really happy with the results we are getting.

Anyways, let's get to the Expression of the Week- Pardon my French! I was watching an old movie (actually, a classic of the 80's) called Ferris Bueller's day off. Have you seen it? Well, this expression was used at least 2 times during the movie and it reminded me of the mother of the first American family whom I lived with, she (was Scotish) used this expression quite often.

The idea of the post is to show you guys a video where you can see one of the characters using this expression. I think that by watching it you can guess the meaning of the expression.
I won't write the meaning of it today because I'd like to see your guesses first.
So, enjoy the video, leave your guesses and see you soon!