18 Behaviors of Emotionally Intelligent People

Emotional intelligence is a huge driver of success. It is the “something” in each of us that is a bit intangible. It affects how we manage behavior, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions to achieve positive results.
1. You have a robust emotional vocabulary

All people experience emotions, but it is a select few who can accurately identify them as they occur. Our research shows that only 36 percent of people can do this, which is problematic because unlabeled emotions often go misunderstood, which leads to irrational choices and counterproductive actions.
2. You’re curious about people

It doesn’t matter if they’re introverted or extroverted, emotionally intelligent people are curious about everyone around them. This curiosity is the product of empathy, one of the most significant gateways to a high EQ. The more you care about other people and what they’re going through, the more curiosity you’re going to have about them.
3. You embrace change

Emotionally intelligent people are flexible and are constantly adapting. They know that fear of change is paralyzing and a major threat to their success and happiness. They look for change that is lurking just around the corner, and they form a plan of action should these changes occur.
4. You know your strengths and weaknesses

Emotionally intelligent people don’t just understand emotions; they know what they’re good at and what they’re terrible at. They also know who pushes their buttons and the environments (both situations and people) that enable them to succeed. Having a high EQ means you know your strengths and how to lean into and use them to your full advantage while keeping your weaknesses from holding you back.
5. You’re a good judge of character

Much of emotional intelligence comes down to social awareness; the ability to read other people, know what they’re about, and understand what they’re going through. Over time, this skill makes you an exceptional judge of character. People are no mystery to you. You know what they’re all about and understand their motivations, even those that lie hidden beneath the surface.
6. You are difficult to offend

If you have a firm grasp of who you are, it’s difficult for someone to say or do something that gets your goat. Emotionally intelligent people are self-confident and open-minded, which creates a pretty thick skin. You may even poke fun at yourself or let other people make jokes about you because you are able to mentally draw the line between humor and degradation.
7. You know how to say no (to yourself and others)

Emotional intelligence means knowing how to exert self-control. You delay gratification and avoid impulsive action. Research conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, shows that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression. Saying no is a major self-control challenge for many people, but “No” is a powerful word that you should unafraid to wield. When it’s time to say no, emotionally intelligent people avoid phrases such as “I don’t think I can” or “I’m not certain.” Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them.
8. You let go of mistakes

Emotionally intelligent people distance themselves from their mistakes, but do so without forgetting them. By keeping their mistakes at a safe distance, yet still handy enough to refer to, they are able to adapt and adjust for future success. It takes refined self-awareness to walk this tightrope between dwelling and remembering. Dwelling too long on your mistakes makes you anxious and gun shy, while forgetting about them completely makes you bound to repeat them. The key to balance lies in your ability to transform failures into nuggets of improvement. This creates the tendency to get right back up every time you fall down.
9. You give and expect nothing in return

When someone gives you something spontaneously, without expecting anything in return, this leaves a powerful impression. For example, you might have an interesting conversation with someone about a book, and when you see them again a month later, you show up with the book in hand. Emotionally intelligent people build strong relationships because they are constantly thinking about others.
10. You don’t hold grudges

The negative emotions that come with holding onto a grudge are actually a stress response. Just thinking about the event sends your body into fight-or-flight mode, a survival mechanism that forces you to stand up and fight or run for the hills when faced with a threat. When the threat is imminent, this reaction is essential to your survival, but when the threat is ancient history, holding onto that stress wreaks havoc on your body and can have devastating health consequences over time. In fact, researchers at Emory University have shown that holding onto stress contributes to high blood pressure and heart disease. Holding onto a grudge means you’re holding onto stress, and emotionally intelligent people know to avoid this at all costs. Letting go of a grudge not only makes you feel better now but can also improve your health.
11. You neutralize toxic people

Dealing with difficult people is frustrating and exhausting for most. But high-EQ individuals control their interactions with toxic people by keeping their feelings in check. When they need to confront a toxic person, they approach the situation rationally. They identify their own emotions and don’t allow anger or frustration to fuel the chaos. They also consider the difficult person’s standpoint and are able to find solutions and common ground. Even when things completely derail, emotionally intelligent people are able to take the toxic person with a grain of salt to avoid letting him or her bring them down.
12. You don’t seek perfection

Emotionally intelligent people won’t set perfection as their target because they know that it doesn’t exist. Human beings, by our very nature, are fallible. When perfection is your goal, you’re always left with a nagging sense of failure that makes you want to give up or reduce your effort. You end up spending time lamenting what you failed to accomplish and should have done differently instead of moving forward, excited about what you’ve achieved and what you will accomplish in the future.
13. You appreciate what you have

Taking time to contemplate what you’re grateful for isn’t merely the right thing to do; it also improves your mood by reducing the stress hormone cortisol (in some cases by 23 percent). Research conducted at the University of California, Davis, found that people who work daily to cultivate an attitude of gratitude experience improved mood, energy, and physical well-being. It’s likely that lower levels of cortisol play a major role in this.
14. You disconnect

Taking regular time off the grid is a sign of a high EQ because it helps you to keep your stress under control and to live in the moment. When you make yourself available to your work 24/7, you expose yourself to a constant barrage of stressors. Forcing yourself offline and even–gulp!–turning off your phone gives your body and mind a break. Studies have shown that something as simple as an email break can lower stress levels. Technology enables constant communication and the expectation that you should be available 24/7. It is extremely difficult to enjoy a stress-free moment outside of work when an email with the power to bring your thinking (read: stressing) back to work can drop onto your phone at any moment.
15. You limit your caffeine intake

Drinking excessive amounts of caffeine triggers the release of adrenaline, which is the primary source of a fight-or-flight response. The fight-or-flight mechanism sidesteps rational thinking in favor of a faster response to ensure survival. This is great when a bear is chasing you, but not so great when you’re responding to a curt email. When caffeine puts your brain and body into this hyper-aroused state of stress, your emotions overrun your behavior. Caffeine’s long half-life ensures you stay this way as it takes its sweet time working its way out of your body. High-EQ individuals know that caffeine is trouble, and they don’t let it get the better of them.
16. You get enough sleep

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of sleep to increasing your emotional intelligence and managing your stress levels. When you sleep, your brain literally recharges, shuffling through the day’s memories and storing or discarding them (which causes dreams) so that you wake up alert and clearheaded. High-EQ individuals know that their self-control, attention, and memory are all reduced when they don’t get enough–or the right kind–of sleep. So, they make sleep a top priority.
17. You stop negative self-talk in its tracks

The more you ruminate on negative thoughts, the more power you give them. Most of our negative thoughts are just that–thoughts, not facts. When it feels like something always or never happens, this is just your brain’s natural tendency to perceive threats (inflating the frequency or severity of an event). Emotionally intelligent people separate their thoughts from the facts in order to escape the cycle of negativity and move toward a positive, new outlook.
18. You won’t let anyone limit your joy

When your sense of pleasure and satisfaction are derived from the opinions of other people, you are no longer the master of your own happiness. When emotionally intelligent people feel good about something they’ve done, they won’t let anyone’s opinions or snide remarks take that away from them. While it’s impossible to turn off your reactions to what others think, you don’t have to compare yourself to others, and you can always take people’s opinions with a grain of salt. That way, no matter what other people are thinking or doing, your self-worth comes from within.

Time magazine – Feb. 16

Hamlet character and plot summary

Today there is another one of Shakespeare´s most famous play, Hamlet.

There have been more than fifty film versions of Hamlet since 1900. A few of the most famous are:

Hamlet (1948)
This version was directed by and starred the famous English actor, Sir Laurence Olivier and was the first British film to win an Oscar. Olivier adapted the play and reduced its length to about two hours.

Hamlet (1990)
Director Franco Zeffirelli made the decision to cast Mel Gibson, better known for his roles in action films like Mad Max and Lethal Weapon, as Hamlet. Again, the film adapted the play to make it an acceptable length for cinema.

Hamlet (1996)
Actor/director Kenneth Branagh assembled an all-star cast for thisunabridged version of the play. The film is often mentioned as one of the best Shakespeare film versions ever made.

As well as filmed versions of the play, there have been several films based on the story of Hamlet.

The Bad Sleep Well (Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru) (1960)
Famous Japanese director Akira Kurosawa directed this story of a young man joining a powerful company to try to expose the men responsible for the death of his father.

The Lion King (1994)
The king is murdered by his brother. The king’s ghost tells his son to challenge the wicked uncle. Does this sound familiar? Of course this Disney version does not have Hamlet’s tragic ending.

Watch the video

Here is a link to watch the video with subtitles about the story

https://view.vzaar.com/5655672/download

THE MAIN CHARACTERS

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Hamlet discovers that his father, the old King of Denmark, was murdered by his uncle, Claudius. Hamlet plans to kill Claudius in revenge, which he does at the end of the play. But Hamlet is wounded in the fight, and dies as well.

Claudius
Claudius murders his brother, the old king of Denmark, by putting poison in his ear. Claudius marries his dead brother’s wife, the queen. Claudius becomes king of Denmark himself. But Hamlet, Claudius’s nephew, finds out what he has done, and kills him.

Hamlet’s mother
Hamlet’s mother, the queen of Denmark, marries her brother-in-law, Claudius. She does not realise that Claudius murdered her husband. She dies by drinking poisoned wine.

Ophelia
Ophelia is Hamlet’s girlfriend. But Hamlet rejects her, and she kills herself.

Polonius
Polonius is King Claudius’s adviser, and is asked to spy on Hamlet. Hamlet kills him by accident.

Laertes
Laertes is Ophelia’s brother. He blames Hamlet for Ophelia’s suicide. At the end of the play, he fights and kills Hamlet. But he is wounded in the fight, and also dies.

I hope you have enjoyed learning about it.

Thank you.

Shakespeare invented new words

Shakespeare 3

Nobody knows exactly how many words in the English we use everyday were invented by Shakespeare.

Some people have claimed that Shakespeare invented many thousands of words but a more generally accepted figure is 1,700.

As this National Geographic article explains, Shakespeare may have been the first person to use some words in writing or to popularise their use. Whether he ‘invented’ the words or not, he has certainly had a profound effect on English vocabulary.

Here are some of the words and phrases usually attributed to Shakespeare..

bedroom
blanket
fashionable
freezing
gossip
hostile
ladybird
lonely
manager
obscene
priceless
puke
undress
unreal
watchdog
pomp and circumstance
the be-all and end-all
flesh and blood

An internet search for ‘words invented by Shakespeare’ will bring up many thousands of results. Do a search and see which other words you can find to add to the list.

Watch this video: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/explore-english-shakespeare/1/steps/59163?utm_campaign=Share+Links&utm_medium=futurelearn-open_step&utm_source=google-plus

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Read these five clauses from the Declaration of Human Rights.

Which one do you think is the most important?

Do we have them in our country?

The Right to Equality. We are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas. We should all be treated in the same way.
The Right to Trial. If we are put on trial this should be in public. The people who try us should not let anyone tell them what to do.
The Right to Marriage and Family. Every grown-up has the right to marry and have a family if they want to. Men and women have the same rights when they are married, and when they are separated.
The Right to Freedom of Thought. We all have the right to believe in what we want to believe, to have a religion, or to change it if we want.
The Right to Education. Education is a right. Primary school should be free. We should learn about the United Nations and how to get on with others. Our parents can choose what we learn.

The Future of English

Here is a long but good text from an online course I am taking at University of Southampton. It is about the changes in English as a Lingua Franca and what to expect in the future.

What are your expectations Share with us.

A piece in the EL Gazette in October 2001 (p. 3) under the heading ‘It’s now official: English is hard’ announced: ‘you can now motivate your students by telling them that English is the hardest European language to learn’. It went on to report a study carried out at the University of Dundee, Scotland, which compared the literacy levels of British primary school children with those from fourteen European countries (Finland, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark). Children with one year’s schooling had been presented with lists of common words in the mother tongue. It was found that all but the native English speakers were able to read 90 per cent of the word correctly, while the British children could only manage 30 per cent. The researchers concluded that the gap between the English-speaking children and those from the other fourteen countries was the result of difficulties intrinsic to the English language. And at a conference of the Spelling Society, held at Coventry University in the UK in June 2008, in which new research by the literacy scholar Marsha Bell was reported, the same point was made again, with English being described as the worst of all the alphabetical languages for children to learn.

Rather than ‘motivate’ learners, such difficulties could, if widely publicised, discourage them from attempting to learn the language at all. The difficulties divide into three main categories: orthographic, phonological, and grammatical. Spelling difficulties are of various kinds although all relate to the fact that English orthography can often not be predicted from the way in which a word is pronounced. There are, for example, several ways of pronouncing the sequences ‘ea’ (e.g. as in ‘bead’, ‘head’, ‘bear’, ‘fear’, ‘pearl’), and ‘ough’ (e.g. as in ‘cough’, ‘bough’, ‘tough’, ‘dough’, ‘through’, ‘thorough’). A large number of words contain silent letters, such as those which begin with a silent ‘p’ or ‘k’ (‘psychology’, ‘pneumonia’, ‘pseud’, ‘knife’, ‘know’, etc.), another group which end with silent ‘b’ (‘comb’, ‘thumb’, ‘limb’, ‘climb’, etc.), and a third with a silent medial letter (e.g. ‘whistle’, ‘castle’, ‘fasten’, ‘muscle’). Other problems are doubled consonants (e.g. ‘committee’, ‘accommodation’, ‘occasional’, ‘parallel’), and the spelling of unstressed vowels (e.g. the underlined vowels in ‘woman’, ‘persuade’, ‘condition’, ‘success’, ‘infinity’, all of which are pronounced as schwa in RP and many other, but not all, native accents.

As regards pronunciation, difficulties relate particularly to English vowels. Not only does native English have more vowel phonemes than many other languages (twenty in RP as compared with, for instance, five in Spanish and Italian), but it has a particularly large number of diphthongs (eight in RP) and makes extensive use of the central vowel, schwa, in unstressed syllables regardless of the spelling – as was demonstrated in the previous paragraph. In addition, many accent varieties of English including RP andGeneral American (GA) make copious use of weak forms in connected speech. That is, schwa replaces the vowel quality in words such as prepositions (‘to’, ‘of’, ‘from’), pronouns (‘her’, ‘them’, etc.), auxiliaries (‘was’, ‘are, ‘has’, etc.), articles (‘a’, ‘the’) and the like. There are also several other features of connected speech such as elision (loss of sounds), assimilation (modifications to sounds), and liaision (linking of sounds across words). All these aspects of English pronunciation conspire to make it more difficult both to produce and to understand than the pronunciation of many other languages.

Grammatically, difficulties relate very particularly to verb forms and functions. Firstly, English has a large number of tenses all of which have both simple and continuous aspect (present, past, perfect, past perfect, future, future perfect) and none of which have a straightforward link with time reference. Second, there are many modal verbs (‘may’, ‘will’, ‘can’, ‘should’, ‘ought to’, etc.) each with its own problems of form and function. Third, one of the most problematic areas for learner of English is that ofmulti-word (or phrasal) verbs such as ‘get’ (‘get up’, ‘get down’, ‘get on’, ‘get off’, ‘get over’, ‘get through’, etc.) and ‘take’ (‘take up’, ‘take on’, ‘take off’, ‘take out’, etc.). Each has several meanings both literal and metaphorical, along with complicated rules as to whether the verb and particle can or must be separated for an object, depending on whether the verb is classed as adverbial or prepositional.

Because of these difficulties, it would not be surprising if there was eventually a move to abandon English in favour of an international language with fewer complicating linguistic factors along with a slightly les obvious colonialist discourse attached to it (although we see strand 6 [in the book] for another possibility, i.e. that users of ELF will adapt English to suit their own lingua franca purposes rather than accept that they should acquire and use a native version). Spanish appears to be a major contender, with its simpler pronunciation, spelling and verb systems, and its increasing influence in both the EU and America. As Moreno-Fernandez and Otero (2008: 81) point out

The sum of native Spanish speakers and non-native Spanish speakers plus those learning the language gives a total figure of 438.9 million Spanish speakers according to the estimations based on the latest consolidated census information and on other sources such as the Cervantes Institute.

And according to an article in the Times Higher Education Supplement (14 December 2001, p.23), ‘Spanish is … the second international language of business as its importance in the United States grows’. In Europe, there is a massive increase in demand for Spanish, with the number of people travelling to Spain and sitting Spanish-language examinations rising by 15 per cent a year, according to the Instituto Cervantes (Spanish equivalent of the British Council). In addition, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Mexico are becoming increasingly popular tourist destinations, while the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language is spreading to many parts of the world. In this process, it is being ‘overtly promoted by the Spanish government as part of its aim to strengthen and enhance a pan-Hispanic community across the world’ as well as ‘a desire to consolidate a power bloc with some claim to compete with the overwhelming march of global English’ (Mar-Molinero 2006: 82). As Mar-Molinero continues, ‘[t]he Spanish language learning/teaching industry is thus a flourishing and expanding one’ and ‘whilst smaller in scale, in many senses it resembles the enormous EFL/ELT industry’.

Meanwhile, in the US there were found to be 50.5 million native speakers of Spanish in the 2010 census (see unit C1 [in the book]), making this the second largest L1 group in the US after English, and comprising almost a fifth of the total population. Already non-Hispanic whites are in a minority in California and there are also particularly large numbers of Hispanics in Arizona and Texas. However, it is not only a case of numerical increase: the US Hispanic community appears also to be experiencing ‘a resurgence of cultural pride and confidence’ (The Guardian, 8 March 2001, p.12), while politicians are beginning to pay far greater attention to the Hispanic community’s needs than they have done hitherto. Meanwhile, Latinos such as the Puerto Rican Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez have, respectively, topped world pop music charts and won important film awards, and still more recently, the Latin music of artists such as Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, and Molotov has been achieving worldwide popularity (see Mar-Molinero 2008: 39-40).

Further evidence that English may eventually give way to another language as the world’s lingua franca is provided by the internet. As Crystal (2006: 229-231) points out

[The Web] was originally a totally English medium – as was the Internet as a whole, given its US origins. But with the Internet’s globalization, the presence of other languages has steadily risen. In the mid-1990s, a widely quoted figure was that just over 80 per cent of the Net was in English.

However, as he goes on to say,

The estimates for languages other than English have steadily risen since then, with some commentators predicting that before long the Web (and the Internet as a whole) will be predominantly non-English, as communications infrastructure develops in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America.

He also cites a 2004 Global Reach survey which found that 64.8 per cent of a total online population of 801.4 million was in countries where English is not the mother tongue, and notes that Chinese is expected by most sources to become the majority language of internet users. And a few years later, this seems even more probable. In a table showing the top ten internet languages at the start of 2010 (Internet World Stats 2010, in Crystal 2011: 79), although English still has the largest number of internet users (496 million users, 27.5 per cent of all internet users), Chinese is catching up fast (408 million users, 22.6 per cent of all internet users).

The rapid increase in the amount of Chinese on the internet (1,162 per cent growth between 2000 and 2009, as contrasted with English’s 252 per cent growth) leads Crystal to believe it will soon replace English in the leading position on the internet. On the other hand, Graddol’s earlier point that ‘there remains more English than is proportionate to the first languages of users’ (2006:44) is still true. In other worls, a large amount of internet use in English is by NNESs [non-native English speakers] rather than NESs [native English speakers]. And we cannot discount the possibility that a sizeable proportion of NNESs may continue to use English on the internet as well as, or instead of, their L1, especially for intercultural communication.

Thus, although it is possible that English-medium internet use has passed its peak, it is by no means certain. Meanwhile, the implications for both the spread and type of English used in other forms of communication are as yet far from clear.

References

Crystal, D. (2006) Language and the Internet. 2nd edition. Cambridge: CUP

Crystal, D. (2011) Internet Linguistics. London: Routledge.

Mar-Molinero, C. (2006) ‘The European Linguistic legacy in a global era: linguistic imperialism, Spanish, and the Instituto Cervantes,’ in Mar-Molinero, C. and Stevenson, P. (eds) Language Ideologies, Policies and Practices. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Mar-Molinero, C. (2008) ‘Subverting Cervantes: language authority in global Spanish,’ International Multilingual Research Journal 2: 27-47

Moreno-Fernandez, F. and Otero, J. (2008) ‘The status and future of Spanish among the main international languages: quantitative dimensions,’ International Multi-lingual Research Journal 2: 67-83

Further information

Jenkins, J. (2015) Global Englishes. A resource book for students, 3rd edition, Abingdon, GB: Routledge

Further free resources from ‘Global Englishes’ by Jennifer Jenkins

Find this book (with a discount of 20% for users of this course, enter codeGEFL1 at checkout) on the Routledge website

Formal X Informal Writing Styles

Most everyday written communication in English uses a semi-formal style, where the tone is quite friendly, but some more formal expressions are used. However, we use a more formal style when we’re writing for professional reasons or to people we don’t know. We use an informal style with people we know well, for example, family members, relatives, friends or colleagues.

There are a number of differences between formal and informal English. For example, sentences are generally longer and more complex in formal writing. Language is often more impersonal, sometimes using passive voice. Vocabulary is often different too, with more words of Latin or French origin and fewer phrasal verbs. We don’t use contractions in formal writing, whereas in informal writing, we use them all the time. Here are some features of both styles of writing:

Formal	Informal
Dear Sir or Madam	Dear Mala / Hi Mala	beginning
I am writing with regard to…	I’m writing about…	purpose
I would like to invite you…	Why don’t you come to …	inviting
I would like to request…	Do you have…?	requesting
Please deliver the parcel to…	It would be great if you could send it to…	instruction
I would like to suggest that…	I think you should…	suggesting
I am / we are / did not	I’m / we’re / didn’t	contractions
Therefore / However	So / Anyway	linking
I look forward to hearing from you.	Hope to hear from you soon!	closing
Yours faithfully	Best wishes / See you soon	ending

Always begin by deciding who you are writing to. Should it be a formal or informal style? Never mix the two styles.

Here are some tips to approach the task:

Planning and Organising

Read the question carefully and underline the key words
Decide what structure to use. Most Task 2 questions will ask you to discuss or analyse an issue in terms of advantages/disadvantages and/or take a position by agreeing or disagreeing. This means you can almost always use a four paragraph structure, for example:
Advantages/disadvantages question
– Introduction: paraphrase the question and give a general answer
that will summarise your opinion
– Main paragraph 1: what are the advantages
– Main paragraph 2: what are the disadvantages
– Conclusion: paraphrase your argument and highlight or restate your personal opinion or position on the issue.
Agree / disagree question
– Introduction: paraphrase the question and give a general answer
that will summarise your opinion
– Main paragraph 1: I agree/disagree because … + supporting reasons
– Main paragraph 2: Another reason I agree / disagree is …
– Conclusion: paraphrase your argument and sum up.

Make sure you note down examples and supporting details for each paragraph. Your arguments should also clearly link back to the position you stated in the introduction.

Spend some time thinking of good vocabulary related to your topic. Note it down.

Writing

Start each paragraph with a topic sentence i.e. the general topic of the paragraph.
Develop your ideas in each paragraph by giving reasons for your answer and include examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Keep your examples fairly short. Don’t go into too much detail; make sure you stay on topic.
Try using linking words like ‘firstly, secondly, finally’ to connect your ideas within each of your main paragraphs. This will help your writing to flow.

Is there anything you find difficult about the use of formal and informal language? Share your questions and thoughts in the Comments below.

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/understanding-ielts/2/steps/41234

How do you feel during a test?

Don’t panic!

by Bethan Morgan

It has suddenly hit me that this year I will sit my last ever exams. I don’t know if that has helped with the stress, or just made it worse.

I have always struggled with the stress of exams, and the horrible nervousness that happens on the day itself. Even if I have revised as much as possible, my nerves still take over. And I know I’m not the only one. So I’ve made a list of a few of my personal tips for dealing with exam stress.

1 Keep Calm and drink tea

Or coffee. Or water. Or whatever it is you like to drink. It provides a quick break, so you can just stop for a second while the kettle is boiling and think about something different for a couple of minutes. Although perhaps I should cut down on the amount of tea I make, otherwise my whole day will be one big revision break!

2 Socialize

I find that it’s really easy to shut yourself away for hours on end, going over your notes by yourself and not see anyone all day. That’s fine for a short amount of time, especially if that’s how you revise best, but I think it’s equally as important to make sure you spend time with other people too, whether you revise together or simply meet up for a chat. I’ve realised this year that when we all graduate, it is unlikely that we will see each other much, so I’m definitely making the most of seeing as many friends as possible now!

3 Exercise

I love running. I find that it makes a perfect revision break, because you can focus on something else for an hour or so, you can listen to some great music, or even socialise, if you prefer exercising with someone else. You get to spend time outside in the fresh air, which helps your brain recover from all those hours of studying. Plus it’s good for you, which is always a bonus!

4 Sharing is Caring

Sometimes it helps to get together with other people taking the same exams as you to share ideas and talk things over, especially if there is a certain aspect you are struggling with. You can make sure that you understand everything properly, as well as picking up new ideas that maybe you hadn’t thought of before. And it means you get to spend extra time with your friends, too!

Everyone has their own ways of coping with exam time, or maybe you don’t suffer from stress (in which case I am very jealous!) I’ll definitely be sticking to the tips above this year, and perhaps you could share your advice with us all too. If any of you are sitting exams this year, I wish you the best of luck!

Have you ever suffered from exam stress? What advice would you offer to someone who is preparing for an exam?https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/understanding-ielts/2/steps/41186

What to consider when planning courses

This is part of a lesson from British Council which I am attending at the moment. A great course for ELT teachers.

It’s important for any to have an overview and scheme of work for the whole course. Otherwise, you’ll end up working from day to day, and it’ll be hard to see whether you’re covering everything that needs to be covered.

What do you need to consider when planning your course? First of all, there are lots of ‘external’ factors. You’ll definitely need to think about the syllabus and the end of course exam, if there is one. You may have a textbook which you have to use. Last but not least, there are the learners; you need to consider their needs, interests and motivations.

There will certainly need to be variety, both in terms of topic and in terms of language skills. For example, across the course is there enough listening, writing, vocabulary input overall? Are the lessons too heavily biased towards grammar? In short, you have to think carefully about these two questions:

What will I teach?
In what order will I teach these items?

You might then go on to include the resources and materials you will use, for example coursebook pages or additional materials.

Now we’d like to hear your ideas on course planning:

What do you need to consider when planning your courses?
How do you approach course planning?

Watch the full article at

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/english-language-teaching/1/steps/45544

Speaking English at home – Helping your child

Introduction

For the most part, it is parents who teach their young children to speak their home language. Throughout the first two years of life, it is often the mother’s voice and her special way of talking, called ‘parentese’, that teaches young children about language and how to talk.

Parents, even with a basic knowledge of English, can successfully support their young child learning English by re-using and adjusting many of these same parentese techniques.

Parents may worry about their accent in English. Young children have a remarkable ability to alter their accent to match the English of their surroundings. Young children need to feel ‘I can speak English’ and ‘I like English’ and their parents’ support can help them achieve this from their first lessons.

Read the notes below on speaking English at home. You can also download these notes as a booklet. Right-click on the link below to download the booklet to your computer. You may print this booklet.

Why parents’ help is best

Parents can focus on their child, spending some one-to-one time with them.
Parents can fit English sessions into any part of their day to suit their child and themselves.
Parents can regulate the length of an English session and select activities to fit their child’s needs, interests and ability to concentrate.
Parents know their child intimately and can intuitively judge the type of English talking suitable for their individual ways of picking up language.
Parents can best interpret their child’s moods and respond to them. Children have days when they eagerly absorb language and others when they find it difficult to concentrate.
Parents can introduce more fun, as they are working with an individual, not a class.
Parents can introduce English culture into family life, so broadening their child’s outlook and understanding of their own culture as well as things English.

What is parentese language?

‘Parentese’ is a form of talking that tunes into and adjusts to a young child’s language, providing dialogue with the child and shepherding them to their next level of competence. Women appear to be innate users of parentese; some men seem to find it more difficult unless they can centre their talk around specific objects – a picture book or a game. However, children – especially boys – need male role models as men use language differently. Men tend to take a more technical approach to using language and ‘chatter’ less.

Parents, using a softer, caring voice and simpler language, unconsciously shepherd their young child through an activity by:

a running commentary (talking aloud) on what is going on: ‘Let’s put it here.’ ‘There.’ ‘Look. I’ve put it on the table.’ ‘Which one do you like?’ [pause] ‘Oh, I like this one.’ ‘The red one’
repeating useful language more often than in adult talk: repetition introduced naturally helps the child to confirm what they are picking up – it is not boring for the child, even if it is for the parent
reflecting back what their child has said and enlarging it: Child: ‘Yellow’; Parent: ‘You like the yellow one.’ ‘Here it is.’ ‘Here’s the yellow one.’ ‘Let’s see. yellow, red and here’s the brown one.’ ‘I like the brown one, do you?’ [pause]
talking more slowly and stressing new words naturally without altering the melody of the language. ‘Which rhyme shall we say today?’ ‘ You choose.’ [pause for child to select]
using the same phrases each time to manage English sessions as well as activities and games. As children’s understanding increases, these basic phrases are enlarged: ‘Let’s play Simon says.’ ‘Stand there.’ ‘In front of me.’ ‘That’s right.’ ‘Are you ready?’
adding facial expression and gesture to aid understanding
using eye contact in one-to-one exchanges to reassure and also to encourage a hesitant child to speak
pausing for a longer time as children need to think about what they hear before they are ready to reply. When speaking is still limited, exaggerated pauses can add fun or hold interest in a game.

Some parents find it embarrassing to dramatise and use parentese. However, for the child, it makes picking up English easier as they are familiar with these natural ‘mini-lessons’ in their home language. Once young children begin to speak, parents innately feel less need to use parentese, except when introducing new language or activities.

Using English

By using simple English with plenty of repetition, parents help their child to begin thinking in English during activities where they feel secure and can predict what is going to happen, like games or ‘rhyme times’.

Young children want to be able to talk in English about:
• themselves and what they like: ‘I like; I don’t like… yuk’
• what they have done: ‘I went to; I saw…; I ate…’
• how they and others feel: ‘I am sad; she’s cross …’

Parents can help by sharing picture books or making their own books using drawings or photographs.

Young children learning their home language become skilled in transferring a little language to many situations: ‘All gone.’ If adults transfer English phrases in the same way, young children soon copy them.

When children need to practise school English, use phrases like ‘What’s your name?’ ‘How old are you?’ ‘What’s this?’ ‘That’s a pencil.’ Parents can turn this into a fun activity by using a toy that speaks only English, asking it the questions and pretending to make it answer.

As young children become more competent speakers, they may include a word in their home language within an English phrase ‘He’s eating a (…)’ because they do not yet know the English word. If the adult repeats the phrase back using only English, the child can pick up the English word. ‘He’s eating a plum.’ ‘A plum.’

When to translate

Young children’s ability to understand should not be underestimated; they understand much more than they can say in English. In their home language young children are used to understanding only some of the words they hear and filling in the rest from the speaker’s body language and clues around them to get meaning. Where parentese is used, they appear to transfer these skills to working out the meaning in English.

When both new concepts and new language are introduced at the same time, it may be necessary to give a quick translation once, using a whisper, followed directly by the English. If translation is given more than once and again in following sessions, a child may get used to waiting for the translation instead of using his or her own clues to understand the English.

English sessions

English sessions may last from just a few minutes up to about ten and can take place once or twice a day, depending on circumstances. The more frequently English is used, the quicker it is absorbed.

During English sessions parents need to focus on their child without any interruptions. Young children come to love English sessions, because for them English is a special time with their parent’s undivided attention.

Young children are logical thinkers: they need to have a reason for speaking English, since both they and their parents can speak the home language.

They may find it difficult to switch from their home language into English, so it is important to set the scene: ‘In three minutes we are going to have our English time.’ Setting the scene for English time might involve moving to a special place in the room: ‘Let’s sit on the sofa. Now, let’s talk in English.’ Warming up in English by counting or saying a familiar rhyme also helps to switch into English before introducing some new activity.

Children pick up language when the talk is based around an activity in which they are physically involved. If they have already been introduced to the activity in their home language and understood the content, they feel more secure and can concentrate on understanding and picking up the accompanying English.

Where sessions are in only English, activities need to be shorter since children’s attention span is generally not as long as in the home language. Listening only to English can be tiring.

Encouragement and praise

Young children look for their parents’ praise. They need to feel good, and know they are making progress in English. Continuous positive support, encouragement and praise from both mother and father, as well as the extended family, helps to build up self-confidence and motivate. In the early stages of learning, encouragement is especially important and praise for any small success motivates. ‘That’s good.’ ‘I like that.’ ‘Well done!’

Starting off in English is the time when young children need parents’ support the most. Once they are able to speak, recite rhymes and have memorised some stories, the support need no longer be so intensive. By this stage, English phrases, rhymes and stories are likely to have been playfully transferred into family life. In-family English can be bonding and is likely to stay. This can be the beginning of positive lifelong attitudes to English and other cultures. It is now generally accepted that lifelong attitudes are laid down in early childhood before the age of eight or nine.

http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/parents/articles/speaking-english-home

Entenda Sobre Déficit de Atenção

O que é Déficit de Atenção? Será esse o problema de seu Filho?

Isso não e um bicho de sete cabeças

Conheça mais do problema e saiba como proceder sem deixar que ele atrapalhe o desenvolvimento da turma

Agitação durante a aula, falta de atenção, problemas com os colegas, desorganização com o material escolar, tarefas inacabadas. Esses são alguns sinais que o aluno pode sofrer de TDAH, o transtorno do déficit de atenção com hiperatividade, um transtorno neurobiológico de causa genética que pode atrapalhar o desempenho escolar de todos os alunos.

“Identificar o TDAH não e tão simples como parece: algumas crianças manifestam apenas as características de distração, esquecimento e lentidão, sem demonstrar hiperatividade”, afirma Cacilda Amorin, psicóloga, psicoterapeuta comportamental e diretora do IPDA, instituto paulista de déficit de atenção. Ela alerta que essas crianças nem sempre chamam atenção em sala de aula às vezes passam despercebida. ”Todas as crianças têm pelo menos uma dessas características, especialmente as menores. É preciso tomar cuidado para não colocar rótulos quando se trata de um transtorno”, diz.

O que ela pode causar?

Uma criança com TDAH tem as mesmas habilidades e competências que os outros alunos. O que o professor deve saber antes de tudo é que não se trata de uma incapacidade de aprendizagem da criança, mas sim de um transtorno de atenção, o que faz com que elas não tenham um comportamento coerente com os outros alunos e tenha dificuldades de acompanhar o conteúdo ministrado em sala de aula.

Na escola, esse déficit de atenção, quando age em conjunto com a hiperatividade em algumas crianças, pode influenciar diretamente a dinâmica das aulas, prejudicando o desempenho dos outros alunos. Nesses casos a criança acaba se tornando um ponto permanente de dispersão para a classe, além de aumentar a possibilidade de estabelecer um vínculo negativo com o professor.

Como identificar?

O TDAH pode ser verificado por meio da observação atenta do comportamento e da dinâmica que as aulas adquirem na interação com os alunos. Crianças muito agitadas, que não concluem as tarefas, frequentemente deixam questões em branco e não estudam com antecedência podem estar sofrendo com o transtorno. Comportamentos muito discrepantes para alunos de uma mesma idade podem significar um déficit de atenção, mas podem também ter outras origens como a dislexia, problemas emocionais ou déficits na alfabetização.

É recomendável ter bastante cautela, antess de estabelecer mudanças em relação à distúrbios causados pelo transtorno.

O que fazer?

Uma vez que existam sintomas do TDAH e que se verifique uma interferência no desempenho escolar causado pelo transtorno, o professor deve em primeiro lugar recorrer ao psicólogo da escola ou coordenador pedagógico. Eles poderão ajudar a decidir a maneira mais adequada de lidar com a turma. Em conjunto com a coordenação da instituição, o professor pode seguir algumas orientações básicas que servirão para reduzir o TDAH no desempenho do aluno em sala de aula:

Localização da carteira na sala: longe da portas e das janelas e mais próximo do professor. Não precisa ser obrigatoriamente na primeira fila.

Monitore a realização dos trabalhos, atividades e especialmente agenda: dar tempo extra, copiar a lição na agenda se for o caso chamar atenção em caso de distração são algumas medidas.

Reduza a quantidade de tarefas, se necessário, para que ele consiga realizar: construa uma história de sucesso.

Em provas, confira ao recebê-las: cheque se há questões em branco, mostre o que ele poderia refazer ou tentar melhorar.

Valorize os pontos positivos e combine consequências em caso de não cumprimento.

Nunca critique a criança, somente o comportamento indesejado.

Valorize o esforço, não os resultados.

Fonte: Texto da Revista Guia Prático para Professores do Ensino Fundamental 1 por Luciano Vanderley adaptado por Paula Lyra

In English

Attention deficit is not rocket science

Know more of the problem and know how to proceed without letting it hinder the development of class

Agitation during class, inattention, problems with colleagues, disorganization with school supplies, unfinished tasks. These are some signs that a student may suffer from ADHD, the disorder Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, a neurobiological disorder of genetic origin which can hinder the academic performance of all students.

“Identifying ADHD is not as simple as it sounds: just some children manifest the characteristics of distraction, forgetfulness and slow, no show hyperactivity,” says Cacilda Amorin, psychologist, behavioral psychotherapist and director of the IPDA, São Paulo Institute of attention deficit, Brazil. She warns that these children do not always draw attention in class sometimes go unnoticed. “All children have at least one of these features, especially smaller ones. Care must be taken not to put labels when it is a disorder, “he says.

What can it cause?

A child with ADHD has the same abilities and skills than other students. What teachers should know first of all is that it is not a learning disability of the child, but an attention disorder, which causes them to not have a coherent behavior with other students and has difficulties to follow content taught in the classroom.

At school, this attention deficit, when acting together with hyperactivity in some children, can directly influence the dynamics of the classes, harming the performance of other students. In these cases the child ends up permanently dispersal from the group, as well as increasing the possibility of establishing a negative relationship with the teacher.

How to identify?

ADHD can be verified through careful observation of the behavior and dynamics that classes get in the interaction with students. Very restless children, who do not complete the tasks, often leave questions blank and do not study in advance may be suffering from the disorder. Very disparate behaviors to students of the same age can mean a deficit of attention, but can also have other causes such as dyslexia, emotional problems or deficits in literacy.

It is recommended extreme caution Andes to establish changes in relation to the disturbances caused by the disorder.

What to do?

Since there are symptoms of ADHD and there is a school performance interference caused by the disorder, the teacher must first appeal to the school psychologist or educational coordinator. They can help you decide the most appropriate way to deal with the group. In conjunction with other experts, the teacher can follow some basic guidelines that will serve to reduce ADHD in student achievement in the classroom:

Location of the classroom chair in the room: away from doors and windows and the nearest teacher. Need not necessarily be in the front row.

Monitor the execution of the work, activities and especially schedule to give extra time to copy the lesson on the agenda if necessary draw attention in case of distraction are some measures.

Reduce the amount of tasks, if necessary, so that he can accomplish – build a success story.

In evidence, check to receive them – check if there are questions blank, show what he could redo or try to improve.

Appreciate the positives and combine consequences in case of non-compliance.

Never criticize the child, only the undesired behavior.

Appreciate the effort, not the results.

Source: Text of the journal Practical Guide for Teachers of Elementary School 1 (Brazil) by Luciano Vanderlay adapted by Paula Lyra

Paula Lyra ELT School

Aulas Particulares de Inglês – Bilingual Education

Category Archives: Artigos em Inglês