Friends Theme Song - I'll be there for you

I just love Friends I think it's the best serial ever! I have all the ten seasons in DVD and I watch it every time I want to relax ad laugh out loud, it's a pity that it's over. The theme song is so beautiful and perfect for the TV show. Let's sing along with Friends?

Friends  Theme Song

So no one told you life was gonna be this way [four claps]

Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's D.O.A.
It's like you're always stuck in second gear
When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year, but...

*CHORUS*
I'll be there for you
(When the rain starts to pour)
I'll be there for you
(Like I've been there before)
I'll be there for you
('Cause you're there for me too)

Your still in bed at 10 and work began at 8
You burned your breakfast so far, things are going great.
Your mother warned you there'd be days like these.
But she didn't tell you when the world has brought you down to your knees. And,

*CHORUS*
I'll be there for you
(When the rain starts to pour)
I'll be there for you
(Like I've been there before)
I'll be there for you
('Cause you're there for me too)

no one could ever know me
no one could ever see me
since your the only one who knows what its like to be me.
Someone to face the day with, make it through all the mess with.
Someone I'll always laugh with, even under the worst I'm best with you.

[music]

its like you're always stuck in second gear
when it hasnt been your day, your week, your month, or even your yearrrrr

*CHORUS*
I'll be there for you
(When the rain starts to pour)
I'll be there for you
(Like I've been there before)
I'll be there for you
('Cause you're there for me too)

*CHORUS*
I'll be there for you
I'll be there for you
I'll be there for you
('Cause you're there for me too)

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/bobby_vinton/#share

Happy Teacher's day!

In Brazil we celebrate the teacher's day on October 15. I believe our rule, as teachers, is  more than teaching lessons. We must show our pupils they can be successful, if they do the right choices and  dedicate themselves with their hearts and souls. 




A Teacher for All Seasons


A teacher is like Spring,
Who nurtures new green sprouts,
Encourages and leads them,
Whenever they have doubts.



A teacher is like Summer,
Whose sunny temperament
Makes studying a pleasure,
Preventing discontent.




A teacher is like Fall,
With methods crisp and clear,
Lessons of bright colors
And a happy atmosphere.




A teacher is like Winter,
While it’s snowing hard outside,
Keeping students comfortable,
As a warm and helpful guide.




Teacher, you do all these things,
With a pleasant attitude;
You’re a teacher for all seasons,
And you have my gratitude!



By Joanna Fuchs

Black & White Graphics Comments

Happy Children's Day!

"Children Day", as an event, is celebrated on various days in many places around the world, in particular to honor children . Major global variants include an Universal Children's Day on November 20, by United Nations recommendation. Children's Day is often celebrated on other days as well. In Brazil, we celebrate children's day on October 12, so, happy children day!


adapted from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Day


Here some pictures of my lovely child, Ana Carolina.

Girl Talk: Are Women Really Better at Language?

New research shows that young girls may learn language more completely than their male peers.

Scientific literature has been littered with studies over the past 40 years documenting the superior language skills of girls, but thebiological reason why has remained a mystery until now.

Researchers report in the journalNeuropsychologia that the answer lies in the way words are processed: Girls completing a linguistic abilities task showed greater activity in brain areas implicated specifically in language encoding, which decipher information abstractly. Boys, on the other hand, showed a lot of activity in regions tied to visual and auditory functions, depending on the way the words were presented during the exercise.

The finding suggests that although linguistic information goes directly to the seat of language processing in the female brain, males use sensory machinery to do a great deal of the work in untangling the data. In a classroom setting, it implies that boys need to be taught language both visually (with a textbook) and orally (through a lecture) to get a full grasp of the subject, whereas a girl may be able to pick up the concepts by either method.

Nikhil sWAMINATHAN, Scientific American. March 5, 2008.

1. (ESPM-SP) According to the text, the biological reason of girl's greater accuracy:

a) has never been researched by scientific literature.

b) was documented 40 years ago.

c) has nothing to do with the way words are processed.

d) seems to have been finally documented by the research in journal Neuropsychologia.

Happy mother's day!

On May 8th we celebrate mother's day in Brazil.
The following slides are a tribute to all mothers!

Click on the image to watch it! My adorable daughter and me.

The origins of Easter and Passover

Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Christ at Easter, while Jews remember the liberation of the Israelites at Passover

The Jews created Passover to celebrate the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt about 3,250 years ago. Inspired by God, Moses led the exodus of a people who had been enslaved by the Egyptians for almost 400 years. For the Jews, Passover symbolizes the escape from slavery. For Christians, Easter also symbolizes escape, but from death to life. Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It can be said that for both Jews and Christians Easter means rebirth, liberation, or simply a new life.

Symbols: rabbits and eggs

Many centuries ago, most Europeans were pagans (people who believed in several gods).  The gods were associated with nature, such as the sun, or the seasons.  Every year, at the end of March, pagans celebrated the god Eostre (also known as Ostara), who represented fertility and spring.  The pagans saw the rabbit as a fertility symbol. Another symbol in this pagan ritual was the egg, symbolizing life, and people painted eggs in different colors. Over time Christianity began to spread around the world. Most European pagans began to convert to Christianity. Former pagans stopped celebrating spring and began to celebrate Easter (which was an event that occurred at the same time of the year). However, the Europeans carried with them some symbols that they used to use in pagan rituals, such as the egg and the rabbit. Chocolate eggs came later, at the beginning of the 20^thCentury.

Matéria publicada na edição de abril da Revista Maganews

Song Class - Put your records on

1. Fill in the gaps with these words:

Records, dreams, boys, summer, strange, jeans

Put Your Records On

Corinne Bailey Rae

Three little birds, sat on my window
And they told me I don't need to worry.
_________ (1) came like cinnamon, so sweet,
Little girls double-dutch on the concrete.

Maybe sometimes,
We’ve got it wrong, but it's alright.
The more things seem to change,
the more they stay the same.
Oh, don't you hesitate.

Girl, put your ________ (2) on,
tell me your favorite song.
You go ahead, let your hair down.
Sapphire and faded ­­­­­_________ (3),
I hope you get your _________(4)
Just go ahead, let your hair down.
You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.

Blue as the sky,
sunburnt and lonely.
Sipping tea in the bar by the road side.
(just relax, just relax)
Don't you let those other_______ (5) fool you.
Gotta love that afro hairdo.

Maybe sometimes,
we feel afraid, but it's alright.
The more you stay the same,
the more they seem to change.
Don't you think it's ________ (6)?

Girl, put your ________ (2) on,
tell me your favorite song.
You go ahead, let your hair down.
Sapphire and faded________ (3),
I hope you get your­­­­­­­_______  (4)       .
Just go ahead, let your hair down.
You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.

Just more than I could take,
pity for pity's sake.
Some nights kept me awake,
I thought that I was stronger.
When you gonna realize,
that you don't even have to try any longer?
Do what you want to.

Girl, put your_______ (2) on,
tell me your favorite song.
You go ahead, let your hair down.(go let your hair down)
Sapphire and faded _______(3),
I hope you get your_______(4).(hope get your ______(4)
Just go ahead, let your hair down. (Baby, let your hair down)

Girl, put your ______ (2) on,
tell me your favorite song.
You go ahead, let your hair down.
Sapphire and faded_______ (3), (Sapphire and faded______ (3)
I hope you get your_______(4).
Just go ahead, let your hair down.
Oh, You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow

1) Match the columns:

(a) records                    (  ) sonhos

(b) dreams                    (  ) verão

(c) boys                          (  ) discos/CD’s

(d) summer                   (  ) estranho

(e) strange                     (  ) jeans

(f) jeans                          (  ) garotos

A short biography

Corinne was born and raised in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, to a Yorkshire Mother and a West Indian Father, being the eldest of their 3 daughters. Corinne married a sax player 4 years ago at the age of 22 and likes bands such as Magic Numbers and Bloc Party. This enchanting 26-year old is due to release her debut album on EMI Records on 27th February 2006. Corinne started singing harmonies to traditional hymns at church on Sunday. Her youth leader saw her potential and offered to buy her an electric guitar, which she gracefully accepted. Studying classical violin whilst still at school, Corinne listened to indie influences such as Veruca Salt and L7 and during her teens, her favourite band was Led Zeppelin, a group that she says inspired her to make her own music. This she did and Corinne started her own indie band called “Helen” at the age of 15 and began attracting fans locally in and around her hometown of Leeds. 

Coach Philip Interview from: englishrocksonline.com

First of all let me explain how it all started:

I found Philip's blog because it had a name similar to mine, so I read his profile and wrote the following post:

Hi Philip, It's me again. I'm a high school teacher in Brazil and I've been thinking about interviewing you by e-mail and post it in my blog. It would be a great experience for me to know how do you live and teach English in Taiwan and I believe my students will also appreciate it. They are now creating their own blog to practice the writing skill.

Send me an e-mail if you are interested in helping me with this "crazy" idea.

my e-mail is: michelle_sedf@yahoo.com.br

Philip's reply:

Hi Michelle 

I got ur message on my blog ! I'd like to help you. Let me know what you have in mind

Regards 

Philip 

My students and I wrote the following questions:

Q: Where were you born? 

A: I was born in a town called Ermelo in the north-eastern part of South Africa. 

Q: How many languages do you speak? 

A:I speak three languages.They are English, Afrikaans and a little Chinese. 

Q:Why have you decided to become an English teacher? 

A:I studied to become a teacher when I was at university, so it’s my profession. English is the only subject I can teach in Taiwan but I love it ! 

Q:Have you gone to a university? 

A: Yes, studied at the University of Pretoria in South Africa and attained a BA(Ed) degree. 

Q:How did you get the opportunity to teach English in Taiwan? 

A: A friend of mine in South Africa had a contract with a Taiwanese company to recruit teachers for them. One day he asked me whether I’d like to teach English in Taiwan. I did a phone interview with the company and got hired. 

Q:What do you like to do in your free time? 

A: I spend most of my free time at gym working out. I also like to go to the movies and hang out with friends on weekends. 

Q:Was it difficult to get used to living in Taiwan? 

A: The first few months were really tough. Taiwanese culture is totally different from my culture. It was especially hard to get used to the food and the weather here. 

Q:Have you ever been to Brazil? If not, would you like to visit it? 

A: I have never been to Brazil but I would love to visit Brazil. It seems that, just like South Africa, Brazil has a lively mix of different cultures. 

Q:What kind school do you teach? Is it public or private? 

A:I teach at a language center that is situated on the campus of the National Taiwan University. It’s semi-private. 

Q:Are you married? 

A:I’m not married. I really enjoy the freedom it gives me. 

Q:Do you have children? 

A: I don’t have children of my own but I do love children. 

Q: Do your students learn English easily? 

A: This really depends on the students. Some learn faster than others, but I believe all students are able to speak English fluently if they really study hard and study correctly. 

Q:Do you speak Mandarin Chinese? Is it difficult to learn it? 

A:I can speak some Mandarin Chinese, I try to study more in my free time. 

Mandarin Chinese is kind of difficult. 

Q:What are the typical foods in Taiwan? What is your favorite typical food? 

A: Some typical foods are dumplings, hot pot and beef noodles. My favorite is beef noodles. 

Hot pot (Photo credit: China Foto Press)

beef noodles

Q: What is the most beautiful sight in Taiwan? Could you send us a picture of one of this sight? 

A: There are many beautiful sights in Taiwan. To me Taroko Gorge in the Taroko National Park is the most beautiful place in Taiwan. Just Google it, there are lots of beautiful pictures online. 

Ok, I found theses images:

Q:What are the most popular regional songs in Taiwan? Could you send us a youtube link with one of the most popular regional song in Taiwan? 

A: Mandrin pop music , Japanese pop music and Korean pop music are the most popular. The most popular female singer in Taiwan is Jolin Tsai. I’ll forward you a link a popular song of hers. 

Q:What sports do people in Taiwan practice? 

A: Taiwan is not exactly a sport crazy country. The national sport is baseball and basketball is also popular here. 

Q:What do people in Taiwan do in their leisure time? 

A: Cycling has recently become a popular leisure time activity, however most people watch TV, shop or sleep in their free time. 

Q: How do people in Taiwan treat the elderly? 

B: The elderly are respected and treated really well in Taiwan. 

Q:What are the most important holidays in Taiwan? 

A: The most important holidays in Taiwan are Chinese New Year and Moon Festival. 

Q: How is the year calendar in Taiwan? 

A: According to Chinese culture they follow the Lunar Calendar. 

Q:Are Taiwan people religious? What are the most common religions in Taiwan? 

A: People are quite religious. Taoism and Buddhism are the most common. 

Q:How is the climate in Taiwan? 

A: Summers in Taiwan are really hot and humid. Winters are very wet and cold. Spring and fall are the most comfortable. 

Q:How is medicine and health care in Taiwan? 

A:In Taiwan all people have National Health insurance which is pretty good and not very expensive. 

Q:How is education in Taiwan? 

A:Education in Taiwan is pretty good. Most students go to government schools, which are pretty good. It’s very competitive though and most students attend extra English and Math classes. 

Q:How is architecture design in Taiwan? 

A:Unfortunately architecture in Taiwan isn’t great. Popular building styles are kind of boring. A lot of buildings look very similar. There are some great looking buildings but not many. 

Q:What is the most important thing you have learned during the period you've lived in Taiwan? 

A: It’s not an easy question to answer because I’ve lived here for so long and I’ve learned a lot. But if I have to single one thing out it would be this: 

It doesn't matter where on earth you live, if you really want to be happy, you need to choose to be happy and be it. Happiness is a choice. 

I would like to thank Philip for being so gentle and kind. I really like and recommend his blog:http://www.englishrocksonline.com/

I still haven't found what I'm looking for - U2

This is the perfect song to teach The Present Perfect!


Fill in the gaps with the missing verbs of the song bellow.
 "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (U2)

I have ________(climb) highest mountain
I have ________(run) through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you

I have ________(run )
I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
These city walls
Only to be with you

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for

I have ________(kiss) honey lips
Felt the healing in her fingertips
It ________(burn) like fire
This burning desire

I have ________(speak) with the tongue of angels
I have ________(hold) the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I ________(be) cold as a stone

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for

I believe in the kingdom come
Then all the colors will bleed into one
Bleed into one
Well yes I'm still running

You ________(break) the bonds and you
Loosed the chains
Carried the cross
Of my shame
Of my shame
You know I believed it

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for...

Post work

1) Structure Review – Identify:

a) How many verbs are there in the past participle? Write them.

b) How do you feel when you listen to the song?

ó sad

ô happy

ô bored

ô depressed

ô surprised

ó ecstatic

ô I want to sing!

ô great

Idioms

• Be supposed to = be expected to; be scheduled

The class is supposed to start at 1:15.
Let's go to the movies tonight?
I'm sorry I can't, I'm supposed to study math tonight.

• Be surprised at = be taken aback by; express surprise at; be astonished. 

I was surprised at the flowers I received when I wake up this morning.
Marina was surprised at her daughter's behavior at the party last night.

• be used to: be familiar with; be accustomed to

Sarah is used to waking up early in the morning.

You work a lot everyday. Do you fell very tired?

No, I think I'm used to working hard.

Attention:  the expression be used to is followed by a verb with ing.

English Rocks

Some friends and students keep asking me what does English Rocks means, so I decided to post an explanation about it.

To say that something rocks means that it's really cool.

Example: 

• Pop music rocks! (Música pop é demais!)
• Roller skating rocks! (Andar de patins é muito legal!)
• and of course Studying English rocks! (e é claro estudar inglês é muito legal!)

To visualize it better click on the image (Para visualizar melhor clique na imagem)

My first comic strip

Hi everybody!

I've just found this incredible site which allows you to create your own comic strip. This is a great resource for English teachers.

I created this character called Mrs. Botelho (that's me LOL). I'm sorry if it is not that good, but I liked.

To visualize it better click on the comics. (Para visualizar melhor clique no quadrinho)

Grammar comics strips

Fonte:http://beanenglish.wikispaces.com/Grammar

Think about it!

 

If I Had My Life To Live Over

by Erma Bombeck

The following was written by the late Erma Bombeck
after she found out she had a fatal disease.

          If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more "I love you's".. More "I'm sorrys" ...

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute... look at it and really see it ... live it...and never give it back.

© Erma Bombeck

Exercise

Look back at the poem. Think about your own life and complete the sentences about what would you do different if you had to live your life over. Use the following words:

Sensible   seriously  adventurous  anxious  fun  risks  enjoy

1) I wish I'd been more...

2)  I wish I'd been less...

3)  I wish I'd taken more...

4)  If I only I'd had more...

5) I wish I hadn't been so...

6) I wish I hadn't taken life so...

7) If I only done more of the things I...

Seize the day!

Tongue Twister

Let's practice our English with tongue twister?

All you have to do is starting practicing saying the words slowly first and than try to speak really fast.

We surely shall see the sun shine soon.

This is my favorite:

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore.


Three grey geese in green fields grazing.
 
We surely shall see the sun shine soon.