Setembro de 2016 - 6 dicas para começar a pensar em inglês

6 dicas simples para começar a pensar em inglês

Se nós somos brasileiros, moramos no Brasil e nos comunicamos na maior parte do tempo em português, qual a utilidade de pensar em inglês? 

Resposta: quando você pensa em inglês, não precisa traduzir para a nossa língua o que ouve ou lê, a fim de compreender a mensagem. Além de muito mais rápida, essa compreensão é mais fiel ao que o interlocutor quis dizer.

Mas como conquistar essa habilidade? Veja nestas 6 dicas:

1. Leia todos os dias uma notícia em inglês
Essa é para quem tem no mínimo nível intermediário. Comece por assuntos familiares, sobre os quais você já leu em português, para que você já saiba o contexto. Leia o artigo inteiro sem traduzir nada, mesmo que não compreenda algumas palavras. Depois de ler tudo, escolha três palavras desconhecidas e busque seu sentido num dicionário inglês-inglês. Registre no celular, no computador ou mesmo num caderninho as palavras e seus significados. Alguns sites que você pode consultar são os da BBC, do The New York Times ou Voice of America, por exemplo.

2. Pelo menos uma vez por semana, reveja um episódio da sua série favorita
Se você tem nível básico ou intermediário, coloque legenda em inglês. Se tem nível avançado, tente sem legenda. O objetivo é entender as falas sem pensar em português. Por isso é melhor algo que você já tenha assistido o material antes. Quando terminar, volte um pouco e anote três palavras novas, com os respectivos significados em inglês.

3. Converse em inglês
Todos nós temos um amigo, colega de trabalho ou parente que tem no mínimo nível intermediário. Combine com ele uma conversa de quinze minutos por semana, em inglês. O assunto da conversa não importa muito, mas peça que ele faça perguntas sobre o dia a dia. O objetivo aqui é desenvolver a prontidão em inglês: conseguir ouvi-lo e já responder, sem precisar traduzir nada. Você também pode fazer isso em aplicativos de mensagens instantâneas, como o WhatsApp.

4. Aposte em aplicativos
Aplicativos para celular como o "Perguntados" ou o "Trivia Crack" podem ajudar a treinar o seu raciocínio automático em inglês. Você pode jogar com pessoas desconhecidas ou com seus amigos do Facebook que também falem ou estudem a língua. Como o jogo requer rapidez na resposta, não dá tempo de pensar em português. Outra dica é baixar o app Duolingo e fazer uma lição por dia. Não leva mais do que cinco minutos, é divertido e você vai adquirir a velocidade de pensar em inglês.

5. Em sua aula de inglês, só fale... inglês
Parece óbvio, mas há muitos alunos que fogem da comunicação no idioma estrangeiro, pedem a tradução de várias expressões para o professor, ou seja, não desgrudam do português nem na aula. Você precisa se expor, pois aprender um idioma é como aprender a dirigir ou a nadar: não adianta muito só saber as regras de cor. 

6. Veja palestras online
Outra dica é escolher alguns assuntos do seu interesse e assistir a palestras sobre eles no site do TED, por exemplo. Já que você gosta do tema, vai ser fácil adquirir o hábito. Se você conhece um pouco do assunto, melhor ainda, porque vai compreender mais facilmente. Não se esqueça de anotar as três palavras novas do dia.

O importante é criar o hábito de ter contato ativo com o idioma todos os dias. E tudo precisa ser divertido para você, ou então o novo hábito só durará uma semana.  Aos poucos, naturalmente, você vai pensar em inglês quando quiser.

* Escrito por Rosangela Souza,

Editado por Claudia Gasparini, de EXAME.com

Revista EXAME.COM / Carreira / 20/05/2015 12:30

Julho de 2016 - BULATS sample exercise

Exemplo de exercício do BULATS:

Selecionamos um exercício  que seria de áudio, porém fizemos a transcrição para você perceber o tipo de habilidade que é cobrada na prova.

Boa pratica !

Question:

- Which department will Paul’s new job be in ? ( Pay attention that will refers to future)

A Sales

B Human Resources

C Financial Management

This is what you will hear:

Woman: So, You’ve finished your training, Paul. Do you have any plans now?

Paul: I enjoyed the financial management training, and selling sounds interesting, but I’ve always liked working with people, so I’m starting in Human Resources on Monday.

Which department do you think he will work?

The only department that talks about future in the paragraph is Human Resources, so  letter B is correct.

What did you think? Was it hard or piece of cake?

Julho de 2016 - Está pensando em morar fora do país?

Want to learn how to feel at home in a foreign country, whether you're there for a weekend, a year, or a lifetime? Then this guide is for you.

Spending time in a foreign country is an opportunity to reinvent yourself that rarely exists outside of the witness protection program. It’s a fresh chance to build a new life that’s authentically yours in a country that isn’t. Here’s a few tips to consider before you make the big decision to move abroad.

Before you move abroad

1. Visit any place you’re considering before you move there – several times, if possible. Spend time exploring the area and getting to know the town. Just because you had a single, glorious weekend somewhere doesn’t mean it’s your ideal future home.

2. If you have a partner, agree in advance that either of you can veto a suggested destination. Dragging along a reluctant partner is no way to start out a new life overseas.

3. Consider your reasons for going. Is this the grand adventure you’ve always dreamed about? Are you moving for practical reasons, such as a job, lower cost of living, or a healthier climate? What are your expectations? What resources are you willing to commit to making the move a success?

4. Have a complete physical; you don’t want any health surprises when you’ve just arrived in a new country.

5. Bring a good supply of your medications, and find out if it’s possible to get refills sent to you by mail, at least initially. Give yourself time to get settled, then check whether your meds are available over the counter; if not, you’ll want to schedule a visit to a local physician for a new prescription.

6. Arrange for someone to receive your mail, scan your bills and letters, and email the scans to you; in some cases, you may want to have the originals mailed to you as well. Some companies provide this service, or you may want to ask a trusted friend or family member.

Packing

7. Here’s the most valuable packing tip of all time: before you go, lay out all your clothes and all your money, then take half the clothes and twice the money.

Once there

8. If you don’t see a veterinarian service that looks promising in your new neighbourhood, ask others who are walking their dogs in the park. If language is a barrier, go online to find an expat club and post the question on their website.

9. Assume everything will be different. You’ll be pleasantly surprised when you discover things that are like home.

Learning the language

10. Take private classes if you can afford them. Your learning rate will skyrocket. And a private teacher can work with subjects that interest you (local culture, hobbies, food) or that you’ll need, such as vocabulary related to your job, the kids’ school, or that persistent plumbing issue in the downstairs bath.

Karen McCann moved to Seville in 2004 and writes about her expat experiences in 101 Ways to Enjoy Living Abroad Essential Tips for Easing the Transition to Expat Life. 

Junho de 2016 - Signs that you are a Hopeless Romantic

11 Signs that You are a Hopeless Romantic

How do we really know that a person is a hopeless romantic? Are you a hopeless romantic? Let’s look at some signs. You are a hopeless romantic if:

1. You love romantic comedies and chick flicks and chick lit - You may have read the Notebook, or watched 50 first dates a couple of times. As a hopeless romantic, these things fuel your love for love. They feed you with your usual idealistic and sometimes delusional views on love and relationships.

 2. You get excited with romantic surprises - You love the idea of giving (or perhaps receiving) a romantic gift. Most of the times, you’ll prefer receiving red roses than winning the lottery or you love to pull off those scenes you’ve watched from romantic comedies and surprise your special someone.

3. You are likely to treat non-living things with love - Most of the times, as a hopeless romantic, you treat your favorite objects as if you are in a relationship with them. You don’t want your favorite book to be dog-eared or you get mad when someone dents your car. Often, you are pictured to be apologizing to your phone because you accidentally lost grip and it fell in your soft and comfy bed.

4. You get touched easily - Because you are a hopeless romantic, to you, almost all people become thoughtful. You loudly (and because you find it awkward to, silently) say “Awwww” when you see or experience other people’s small thoughtfulness. You might even think that your neighbor loves you just because he told you that your lawn is beautiful.

5. You are a crier (sometimes secretly) - Aside from finding everyone to be thoughtful, you are the one person who everyone knows as the one who cries at movies. And sometimes, even in YouTube short flicks and touching fast food commercials.

 6. You always give the ‘don’t-worry-you’ll-soon-find-the-one’ advice - When your friends seek out for advice on relationships and dating, you always give the positive and supportive comments. You always tell a broken-hearted friend that he’ll find the one someday or to your friend who is in love that ‘don’t let him go, he might be the one.’

 7. You love listening to the ‘the feels’ genre - Your playlist has a lot of ‘I-am-a-hopeless-romantic’ songs that give you the feels every time you listen to them. More often than not, these songs make you cry.

8. You love recommending cheesy movies - Because you have watched a lot of romantic comedies, you tend to suggest them to your friends. “Hey watch *insert movie title*. This is the best-mooviiee-evaaahh.” But honestly, it’s not.

9. You paint sweet-images of you and your crush in your mind - As a hopeless romantic and an idealist, you tend to picture yourself and your crush to be spending the rest of your lives together. Sometimes, you get lost just thinking about it and you only wake up when your friends shake your shoulders asking what the hell is happening to you. PS: Don’t confuse this as sexual fantasies.

10. You get tongue-tied when your crush is around- “Wheellzzz yezzz paeassss zeeeeeee seallllt phulleaassee” is how you commonly speak. Now, if you have a crush on a Klingon, chances are, he might misunderstand your request to pass the salt with something else.

11. You believe in ‘The One’- As a hopeless romantic you have this someone you call ‘The One’ (codenames may vary). All your life, you made it your mission to look for this The One and finally love him forever. This, sometimes, may break your heart because you tend to look at everyone as the One. And they actually are The Ones, only that they are not The One for you. Sorry to tell you that, buddy.

Conclusion - If you happen to be guilty of these, you probably are a hopeless romantic. But there is nothing to be a ashamed of. Someday, you’ll find The One. Trust me, I saw it in a movie (gee, I totally sounded like a hopeless romantic back there). But honestly, you have nothing to be ashamed of. As a hopeless romantic, nay, a beautiful person, you are entitled to your beliefs and you should not let anyone change that. Do whatever makes you happy. And if that takes believing in true love then push it through. You may never know it, but maybe, someone out there’s been geeking out the same way as you do and the universe is just waiting for you to bump into each other to concoct the best love story the world has ever seen. And it’ll be way better than Twilight. 

Written by Rudolphi Musngi