Tag Archives: Aulas de Inglês

How to get your English to B1 level

1. Understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.

For B1 level, you should read and listen to English as much as you can. You can take English lessons, listen to English language songs, watch films and shows in English, read documents in English for your job or search for articles and videos … all of these will help you to improve your reading and listening skills.

Choose texts about things you already know. For example, read English-language websites or tourist information about your country, or watch a show or film again that you’ve already watched but this time with English audio or subtitles. Don’t worry if you don’t yet understand all of it. Focus on understanding the main points, and note down new words to increase your vocabulary.

Also, choose texts at the right level for you. On this website, for example, do readings and listenings that are marked A2 or B1. Don’t choose texts that you find too difficult, as you might feel frustrated.

2. Be able to deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken.

If you have any opportunities to travel, take advantage! Use your English to do things like buying tickets, ordering food, shopping and taking public transport.

Even if you can’t travel, there are still things you can do to improve your skills. Travel topics are usually included in English coursebooks and learning materials, so use them to prepare for these situations. A good way to practise is to first learn useful words and phrases for a situation, and then do a role play.

3. Produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest.

How often do you speak and write English? Try to do both regularly.

For speaking practice, try to find some English speakers in your workplace, school, local area or online, and talk to them about your interests, family, work and so on. You can also try recording yourself speaking or posting a voice message in our Learning hub. For writing practice, you might like to write a diary or blog, or write comments on the LearnEnglish Facebook page or social media.

For B1 level, you should speak and write more at length. Use words such as therefore, because, first of all and on one hand … on the other hand … to connect one idea or sentence to another.

4. Describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

This skill is about expressing your thoughts. Practise putting your thoughts into English.

You can try talking about your past experiences. What memorable experiences have you had, either recently or a long time ago? You might need to check some vocabulary to talk about them, so use a dictionary or translator. Then think about what you can say and practise saying it until you can describe your experience smoothly and in detail. This is also good for your vocabulary: it’s usually easier to learn vocabulary when it is personally meaningful.

Try talking about the future too. What do you plan to do this week, this year or in five years’ time? Do you have any hopes or dreams? Put these into words. If you don’t know what your future plans are, it’s fine – you can still talk about different options that you are thinking about. You can also say why you plan to do things.

As suggested above, keeping a diary or blog and having regular English conversations are good ways to practise these skills.

Good luck on your way to B1!

How to Prepare for a Job Interview

Two people shaking hands in an office

Do you have a job interview in English coming up soon? These tips will help you to get ready and impress your potential employer.

If you’ve been invited to a job interview, it’s a good sign. It means the company thinks you have potential and they want to know more about you.

Interviewers can sometimes ask unpredictable questions, but you can increase your chance of success by preparing well! Here’s how.

Study the job description

The job description says what skills, experience and personal characteristics the company needs.

Think of examples of your past work that demonstrate your strengths in these areas. You may have other skills too, but focus on those mentioned in the job description.

Anticipate questions and prepare answers

Here are some common questions to prepare for.

  • Why do you want this job?
  • What can you bring to this role?
  • Why did you leave your last job?
  • Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
  • What are your strengths and weaknesses?
  • What challenges could you face in this job?

Your answers will be more persuasive if you include real examples of your work. For instance:

Q: What can you bring to this role?

A: Good time management. It’s one of my strengths. In my last role I organised our office relocation, which was a huge project involving over a hundred staff in only three months. I delegated work within my team to save time. I set deadlines for completion of the project stages and I monitored progress regularly. Because of this, the relocation was completed on time and on budget. I feel confident I can bring these skills into this role.

Some questions may ask you to talk about weaknesses, failures or challenges. Nevertheless, be optimistic. For example, if you have to talk about a failure you experienced, you can also say what you learned from it or how you avoid repeating it.

Look at your CV and guess what interviewers will want to know. For instance, if you have any gaps between jobs, they may ask what you did during that time.

Research the company

Find out as much as you can. Check the company’s website, LinkedIn and social media, and ask your friends and colleagues.

You can use this information in the interview. If you know about the company’s current activities, for example, you can say which ones you are keen to be involved in. It will show your interest in the job.

Practise English

Here are some suggestions for vocabulary practice:

  • positive adjectives to describe you (e.g. determined, resilient) and your work (e.g. innovative, successful)
  • verbs to describe your achievements and actions (e.g. coordinate, direct, develop, create)
  • words to describe projects and goals (e.g. objective, success criteria, implementation)
  • words to describe professional development (e.g. training, qualifications)
  • technical terms in your field
  • phrases for social interaction (e.g. Nice to meet you; It’s my pleasure).

Also check the pronunciation of any technical terms, the company’s name and the interviewers’ names.

Practise speaking English aloud until you feel comfortable and confident. It’s a good idea to do a practice interview – ask a friend to ask you some questions and practise responding in English.

Prepare your own questions

You may have a chance to ask your interviewers some questions. This is a good way to show your interest as well as to find out more about the job. Here are some suggestions.

  • What do you think the challenges will be for this role?
  • What’s the next step in the recruitment process after this interview?
  • When will you notify candidates about the outcome of the interview?
  • Will there be any support for training and development in this role?

Prepare the practicalities

Decide what clothes you will wear and get them looking smart. Pack in your bag anything that you need to bring, such as your ID card or certificates. Take a bottle of water too. Arriving late makes a bad impression, so plan to arrive at the venue early.

For online interviews, find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. Turn on your device’s camera and check that the picture is clear and the room lighting is not too bright or dark. Check that the microphone picks up your voice clearly too. Have a look around the interview platform (e.g. Zoom or Skype) and get familiar with the controls (how to mute, share screen, etc.). Also prepare any notes that you want to refer to.

Good luck in your interview!

Source : https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-levels/improve-your-english-level/how-prepare-job-interview-english?utm_campaign=english-all-learnenglish-global-newsletters&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=83718848&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_OfwvDC90pKN-PqEnOiQMJu5igbHhVq33PclpRuu8Ln-3XVC1hnS4l1bmO59jyCoTd1FZWayzxfUJ0ZmVxxC0GogP29GlHJsnmveE1s4JzLHZ4ItM&utm_content=83718848&utm_source=hs_email

10 Childhood Benefits Of Being Bilingual

By Nikita Gupta / July 12, 2021

10 Childhood Benefits of Being Bilingual | Multicultural Kid Blogs
Good morning in different languages | Benefits of Being Bilingual | Multicultural Kid Blogs

Photo credit: www.growingupgupta.com

“Having your child learn two languages at the same time will confuse them, won’t it?” “You know that teaching your child multiple languages is just going to cause a speech delay?” 

Have you heard these assertions too? These are common questions that many of us raising bilingual kids hear. The answer is “No” to all of the above. Learning two languages at the same time does not negatively affect speech development. On the contrary, it might help the child overcome the problem faster. To give you some assurance, here are ten benefits of being bilingual.Photo credit: www.growingupgupta.com

Benefits of Being Bilingual from a Young Age

1. Better concentration

When a bilingual child tries to speak, both languages compete to be spoken. The child has to quickly pick and suppress the other and switch between them in a second. This ability helps kids to focus better in a noisy class and mute all other irrelevant sounds.

2. Arithmetic and problem-solving

Bilingual kids have better mental alertness, which helps them to solve problems much easier. A study by psychologists Ellen Bialystok and Michelle Martin, shows that bilinguals have an easier time dividing objects by shapes and colors than their monolingual peers.

3. Creativity and ability to hypothesize

Since their brains are used to decoding and interpreting two or more languages, bilingual kids have an easier time coming up with and explaining scientific ideas.

4. Better language and vocabulary

Bilingual kids do better in word reading and spelling because of their understanding of sounds and tenses. This gives them an advantage over others when they start learning languages in class.

5. Brain exercise

In a bilingual child’s brain, both sides are always on alert and active even when they are speaking one language. The brains work a little bit more than a monolingual brain, which enhances their cognitive abilities.

6. Better communication

Multilingual kids have mastered the art of interpersonal understanding and listening, which makes them better communicators. This is more of a benefit of growing up in a multilingual environment where you have to listen to other’s perspectives and understand them.

7. Better memory

Learning two languages means you have to retain a lot of information and be ready to produce it at will. This helps kids with memory in school work as well as other important stuff like directions.

8. Faster response

Have you ever noticed that children take a while before responding to a command or an incident? Learning multiple languages forces the brain to quickly switch from one language to another, depending on who is speaking to you. As a result, the brain gets used to quick response and shorter reaction time.

9. Improved social life and better family connections

Speaking a second or third language opens up a whole new world out there to enhance your social skills. Being able to communicate with people from different cultures is a confidence boost and an ice breaker. It also helps to relate better with family members from that culture.

10. Open-mindedness

Multilingual kids are more open-minded and adaptable because you have already exposed them to a different level of tolerance. They are also more accepting and understanding of others, which translates to compassion and empathy.

At a young age, bilingual acquisition is as natural as learning how to walk or crawl. Kids who learn decoding skills in one language will easily translate to English or any other language. Multicultural parenting may not be the easiest, but it comes with many benefits for the children. As we have seen, there are multiple benefits of being bilingual.

A step-by-step guide to learning English with songs

Whatever type of music you’re into, learning English with songs will help you improve your listening and speaking skills, vocabulary and pronunciation.

1. Choose a song that’s in English

It can be any song at all. A song that you like, that you’ve listened to several times before. Have you found it? Great! Now …

2. Listen to the song

Do you understand all of the lyrics? 

Probably not! But don’t worry – people hardly ever understand every word of a song the first time they hear it. The words have to fit the rhythm of the music, so they are often difficult to understand. 

3. Read the lyrics

Find the lyrics online. Many music streaming services have a setting where you can listen and read the lyrics at the same time.

Listen to the song again while you read. Now it starts to make a bit more sense!

Make a note of new or interesting words and phrases. You don’t have to look up every single word in the dictionary. Try to learn five to ten new words per song.

4. Notice pronunciation

You may notice some strange-looking words! Some words in songs are written as they are pronounced. 

‘Wanna’, for example, is an informal spelling of ‘want to’. 

What about ‘gonna’ and ‘gimme’? What are these informal spellings of?

As you listen, notice how phrases are pronounced. This really helps you understand people when they’re talking fast.

5. Listen again and join in

As you listen, start to join in with the easier parts. Sing as quietly or as loudly as you want!

The chorus – the part of the song that is repeated several times – will probably be what you can sing along to first.

6. Sing along

Listen to the song a few more times, and each time join in with a little bit more. 

By now the song is really in your head! You’re really feeling the rhythm of the music and the lyrics. 

Tomorrow, next week or whenever you feel like learning a new song, do the same thing again. But don’t forget to come back to the old songs, especially your favourites.

Source: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-levels/improve-your-english-level/power-music-how-learn-english-songs?utm_campaign=english-all-learnenglish-global-newsletters&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=71246861&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9zBsn9PRGm9twSw32xawc2IRwzktX0lZ7xe9VDfleLLK0eZY4T1Tcxo0A4HD5z6-m7OeHaN_YH6LlWileAbj6I0o0tlA&utm_content=71246861&utm_source=hs_email

Let’s Learn about the Calendar

How to Implement the Calendar Routine

As parents, we are busy – especially in the morning! It can be difficult to establish a consistent calendar routine this time of day.

1. Keep it simple. Don’t try to achieve too many things with your calendar routine or you won’t be consistent. Start with the basics. If you need to, do your calendar routine the night before when things are calmer in the house.

2. Add your calendar routine to you child’s morning job chart. Check off the tasks on this chart each morning so you don’t forget any of them. This signals that the calendar routine is important and, if it is on the morning job chart, you will do it consistently. For more on morning routines, check out this post:

3. Start with a ‘days of the week’ song. See the videos below if you need more ideas. I’d like to give a shout out to Blanca Stingl, an amazing kindergarten teacher with a great calendar routine. I got many of these ideas from her. Give your child a pointer and allow him/her to point at the days of the week as you sing. When you introduce letter sounds, have your child look for the day of the week that starts with the ‘mmm’ sound (Monday).

4. Help your child select the number for the date. By doing this repetitively, your child will soon recognize numbers to 30.

5. Sing a ‘months of the year’ song. You may only want to do this a couple of times each month. If your child is getting bored or fidgety, keep your calendar routine shorter. Create a dance or let your child use the pointer for the months of the year to keep him/her moving.

6. Sing “What’s the weather like today?”. Then, look out the window and decide. Put up the appropriate weather label.

7. Finally, mention the season. You may want to read a book about ‘winter’ when the season changes. Discuss winter clothing, activities, and changes in the environment. You can do this each time a season changes. This can be a starting point for some great seasonal learning activities.