terça-feira, 11 de maio de 2010

The Purpose of this BLOG

Hey everyone!
It´s been a while since I started with this blog idea.
I love blogging, and I love teaching. Therefore, the main purpose of this blog is to share tips, teach, answer questions, etc.
Each week I will post something from certain area of ELL (English Language Learners), Business English, Proficiency Exams (TOEFL, IELTS, TEAP...), Conversation, Academic English, among so many other areas. Suggestions are welcome.
Today I will post some of my favorite resources on the internet, with comments:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ - Sorry, I still don´t trust Google Translator 100%.... It´s getting better, though. In the meantime, this is the best online dictionary I know.It contains all definitions to the words, references and translations.
http://www.ted.com/ website full of free lectures of famous and respected people from different areas. Many of my students watch videos from this website and then write about it/them. By the way, TED stands for Technology/Entertainment and Development, (I guess). My favorite videos are from Steve Jobbs (How to live before you die) and some many other ones... Check it out!!!!
www.bbc.com/learningenglish This website is an amazing tool for those students who really want to learn English. It contains hundreds of exercises, listening, vocabulary, business English, idiomatic expressions... Very rich indeed! Oh yes, for those who are not very fond of British English, better go to time.com
http://www.time.com/ I love Time Magazine! It´s definitely my favorite American magazine. They use very clear language. My favorite thing to do here is to check out the "top stories of the day", that is, the most read stories of the day. As I am usually so busy, like everybody else, I take a look at some of these most read stories and voilá- I´m updated and know many new words and expressions, just like that! Another interesting point about this website is its TOP 10. They have top 10 everything! Top 10 political gaffes, top 10 discoveries of last year, top 10 bla bla bla... Just go straight to www.time.com/top10
http://www.nytimes.com/- Oh... The New York Times... This is perfection itself! It´s my favorite newspaper in English. It´s so sophisticated and well-written! It´s not as direct and simple as Time, but, if you are inspired, or looking for some sophistication, this is the place to go. I like the Fashion and Style section in particular. They bring interesting and pleasant reading. After a hard working day, you don´t want to learn more tragedies, corruption, do you. "Sufficient to the day is its own evil", don´t you think?
http://www.livemocha.com/ This website is very interesting! You can learn English, or whichever other language you want and you teach your native language! It´s a very fair and interesting quid pro quo (an exchange). Many of my students use this tool to communicate with people all around the world! I have a student who chats with a Chinese girl on a daily basis! They chat in English. The Chinese girl teaches him English and he teaches her Portuguese. It this awesome? So, go ahead, do not be afraid of making mistakes or anything! This should be an amazing experience for those students who reallt want to improve their level.

Well, well, well. There are many other websites, but I can say that these ones are my favorite.

What´s your favorite website? How do you use the internet to improve your English?
Your comments are welcome! And I will certainly answer them!

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