quinta-feira, 17 de fevereiro de 2011

Song Activity: Who has never suffered by love?

Love... have you ever thought how good is falling in love with someone? and how painful could it be? Does it let you down? Ok ok, Let's talk about learning English, then =)

This is our first song activity, and I chose a very romantic song with a really touching lyrics. This definitely is a song for lovers... and learners, of course, because it has a very clear English and runs slow enough to beginners keep up with.
At first I'll introduce you to the video clip (with subtitles, in English, of course) then explain some expressions. Feel free to comment or send me questions on this blog post.

The song is called "Right Here Waiting" by Richard Marx Watch and sing together! =)




[lyrics]
Oceans apart, day after day
And I slowly go insane
I hear your voice, on the line
But it doesn't stop the pain
If I see you next to never
How can we say forever

(Chorus)
Wherever you go, whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes, or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you

I took for granted, all the times
That I thought we'd last somehow
I hear the laughter, I taste the tears
But I can't get near you now
Oh cant you see it baby
You got me going crazy

Chorus

I wonder how we can survive, this romance
But in the end if I'm with you

I'll take the chance

Oh can't you see it baby?
You got me going crazy

Chorus


Waiting for you
--


This song is about a guy who is suffering because of the distance, he wants someone by his side, but she is far away, in other words, he misses her.

Actually Marx wrote this song as a love letter to his wife, the actress Cynthia Rhodes, who was filming in South Africa. The song is sometimes incorrectly attributed to Bryan Adams, although Adams had never performed it.


Let's see some useful expressions and its meaning in the situation above:

If I see you next to never = If I take too long to see you
wherever =  no matter where
whatever =  no matter what
Whatever it takes, or how my heart breaks no matter how long it takes, or how hard it is to bear pain.
to go insane = to go crazy, but it's really common people say "to go nuts"
take for granted = to assume it's true
You got me going crazy = you're driving me crazy however "drive someone nuts" is more common.

Pay Attention: 
to go crazy = to "become" crazy
to drive someone crazy = to make someone go crazy


Hope you enjoyed it!


Teacher Thiago (CNA Boulevard)

segunda-feira, 14 de fevereiro de 2011

Vocabulário de Aeroporto em Espanhol

Vai viajar para algum país hispanófono?! que tal aprender algumas palavras comumente usadas nos aeroportos. =D

Confira na lista abaixo:

Português Espanhol
Aeromoça la azafata
Alfândega la aduana
aterrisagem lá aterrizaje
aterrisar Aterrizar
atraso el retrazo
auxiliar de vôo el auxiliar de vuelo
Avião el avión
Bagagem el equipaje
Bagagem de mão le equipaje de mano
Bilhete/Passagem el boleto/el billete
Bilhete de embarque la tarjeta de embarque
Bilhete de ida e volta el billete de ida y vuelta
Companhia aerea la línea aérea
Declarar Declarar
Decolagem el despego
Decolar Despegar
Detector de Metais el detector de metales
Escala la escala
Imigração la inmigración
Maleta/Pasta la maleta
Mochila la mochila
Passageiro el pasajero/el viajero
Piloto el piloto
Porta la puerta
Võo el vuelo

Confira também aqui a lista de países hispanofalantes =)

Hasta Luego!

Profesor Freddy (CNA Downtown)

¿usted sabe cuáles son los países hispanohablantes?

Los Países Hispanohablantes.
el gentilicio
la región
el país
la nacionalidad
la capital
europeos
Europa
España
español
Madrid
norteamericanos
América del Norte
Norteamérica
México
mexicano
México
suramericanos
sudamericanos
Suramérica
Sudamérica
América del Sur
Argentina
argentino
Buenos Aires
Bolivia
boliviano
La Paz / Sucre
Chile
chileno
Santiago
Colombia
colombiano
Bogotá
Ecuador
ecuatoriano
Quito
Paraguay
paraguayo
Asunción
Perú
peruano
Lima
Uruguay
uruguayo
Montevideo
Venezuela
venezolano
Caracas
centroamericanos
Centroamérica
América Central
Costa Rica
costarricense
San José
El Salvador
salvadoreño
San Salvador
Guatemala
guatemalteco
Guatemala
Honduras
hondureño
Tegucigalpa
Nicaragua
nicaragüense
Managua
Panamá
panameño
Panamá
caribeños
El Caribe
Cuba
cubano
La Habana
Puerto Rico
puertorriqueño
San Juan
República Dominicana
dominicano
Sto. Domingo
africanos
África Occidental
Guinea Ecuatorial
ecuatoguineano
Malabo


Hasta luego!

Profesor Freddy (CNA Downtown)

segunda-feira, 7 de fevereiro de 2011

Concurso Cultural: CNA Rio Preto e Você no The Pop Festival


O The Pop Festival um dos mais novos festivais de música do Brasil vai reunir no mesmo palco diferentes estilos de pop, este ano comandado pela musa latina do pop, a colombiana Shakira, e contará com a participações da banda americana Train, um dos astros do regge, o jamaicano, filho do aclamado Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, além do DJ inglês Fatboy Slim e da banda brasileira Chimarruts.
E nós não poderiamos ficar de fora dessa, por isso queremos saber se você é bom no inglês ou espanhol respondendo a pargunta "O que você faria para ir ao show da Shakira?", a melhor frase ganhará um ingresso (Pista) para o "The Pop Festival" que acontecerá no Morumbi em São Paulo no dia 19/03

Encerrado!

quinta-feira, 3 de fevereiro de 2011

Email me, please!

Even to advanced learners, producing texts are kinda* difficult, however this skill is more than required when you're applying for a job, for instance.  Emails are preferred by plenty of companies to keep in touch with their employees or customers.

On Internet, IM's (Instant messaging)  like MSN, Google Talk, AIM are quite common when you're chatting to your friends, but sometimes it's difficult to chat with either international pals, because of the time zone,  or local friends, because of the simple reason that we cannot get online all the time, then emails still are used for friends-friends contact.

So here it goes some hints about how to write a good email:

It's good starting an email with a salutation: Hi, Dear, Dearest. i.e Hi/Dear/Dearest Lilian. (do NOT forget to use the right treatment when writing a formal email, like Mr., Mrs., Ms.)

Use slang, abbreviations and idioms at ease while writing an email to your FRIENDS ONLY!

In a formal email avoid using abbreviations like gonna, outta, gotta. Use "may" instead "can" when possible.  

In the end, thank promptly the recipient with "Thank you", "Thanks", "Thank you for your patience and cooperation" or "Thank you for your consideration", and if you want him/her to reply, you can use "I look forward to hearing from you" which means you're waiting anxiously for the answer. 

Finally, finish your email with a regard, like "Best Regards", "Sincerely" in formal emails or "Cheers", "Best Wishes", "Yours", otherwise, and sign it right after. 

Let's see  how it goes:
(personal)
Hi Lilian,

I didn't get ur last msg, could u please send me again? 
Thanks.

Yours, 
Jimmy Carter
 
(formal) 
Dear Mrs. Thompson, 

I am writing to enquire about your article in the newspaper. I've got interested about your research, do you mind if I send you my paper? It'd be a pleasure if you could comment on my article.
Thank you for your consideration, I look forward to hearing from you. 

Sincerely,
Harry Johnson 

It's done! Now you're able to write an outstanding email in English. =)

Enjoy it!

Teacher Thiago (CNA Boulevard)


*kinda colloquial form of "kind of"

quarta-feira, 2 de fevereiro de 2011

Show do RESTART no Palestra em Rio Preto - Participe do Sorteiro

Dia 18/02 no Palestra em Rio Preto os meninos do RESTART farão um show e o CNA Rio Preto não poderia ficar fora dessa!
Por isso estamos sorteando um ingresso camarote open teen entre nossos seguidores do twitter, para participar basta seguir a gente http://www.twitter.com/cnasjrp e Boa Sorte! =)