It’s gone!

1. Gone is the past participle of go.

2. adjective When someone is gone, they have left the place where you are and are no longer there, or they are no longer living (dead).

While he was gone she had tea with the Colonel.

He’s already been gone four hours!

Both her parents are gone.

When something is gone, it is no longer present or no longer exists.

By morning the smoke will be all gone.

And there is a bonus in this lesson for you! Besides gone, you also learn for instance! I have two students who loved learning that! 😉

For instance is just an alternative way to say for example:
We need to rethink the way we consume energy. Take, for instance, our approach to transport.

Old English was in many ways similar to Modern German. For instance, the nouns, adjectives, and verbs were highly inflected.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/gone

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/gone

The Oktoberfest in German!

I know that the purpose of this Blog is to share materials and resources to teach, to inform, to entertain, all about the English language.

But during the Oktoberfest, the Blumenauenses show their cultural richness, through their love of music, dance, costumes, local cuisine and beer, maintaining the customs of their ancestors from Germany. And because all of that interests most of you, here are the most used expressions that you are going to hear in German and their equivalents in Portuguese.

PORTUGUÊSALEMÃO
Um brinde!Ein prosit!
Pra lá e pra cáZick-zack
Um, dois, beberEin, zwei, g’sufa
Brindar com os canecosKrüge Anstossen
CanecoKrug
Tudo bem?Alles gut?
Tudo azulAlles blau
OiHallo
ObrigadoDanke
Quanto custa?Wie viel kostet?
Quer dançar?Möchtest du tanzen?
BeijoKüssen
Eu te amoIch liebe dich
BandaKapelle
CantarSingen
AmigoFreund
Praça da criançaKinderplatz

Now, it’s your turn to find out the equivalents in English, okay? 😉

http://g1.globo.com/sc/santa-catarina/oktoberfest/2013/noticia/2013/10/aprenda-expressoes-em-alemao-para-aproveitar-30-oktoberfest.html

Teachers, learning and education

Today we celebrate Teachers’ Day in Brazil. It’s a day to express our appreciation of the work and dedication of teachers. Consequently, it’s a day in which the focus of interest and debate should be on learning and education.

I basically keep two things in mind throughout my work:

  • The student is not a bucket.
  • I want to give the students the resources for them to think about their issues, understand them and find the answer by themselves. I want them to think for themselves. Hehe…

Although it is difficult to swim against the current, we do find support along the way. The Pink Floyd song, Another Brick in the Wall, back in 1979, already said that!

Roger Waters wrote this song about his views on formal education. He hated his grammar school teachers and felt they were more interested in keeping the kids quiet than teaching them. The bricks in the wall were the events in Water’s life which propelled him to build this wall around him, and his school teacher was another brick in the wall. The song is meant to be satirical. Waters explained: “You couldn’t find anybody in the world more pro-education than me. But the education I went through in boys’ grammar school in the ‘50s was very controlling and demanded rebellion. The song is meant to be a rebellion against the government, against people who have power over you, who are wrong. Then it absolutely demanded that you rebel against that.”

Don’t miss it! Learn and practice the lyrics here!

Oktoberfest 2019 has started!

While you might not expect to find one of the world’s largest Oktoberfests in Brazil, the former German colony of Blumenau in Santa Catarina state, rivals Munich as much for its authenticity as it does for the passion of its celebrations!

Founded in 1984, the 18-day Blumenau Oktoberfest is a culturally-rich blend of folklore and tradition, and gives locals and tourists alike the chance to fully immerse themselves in a wide range of carefully preserved German customs — including of course, bratwursts and beer!

And because I haven’t found any video of Blumenau Oktoberfest in English, here is one from Conner Sullivan, a Youtuber, who visits Oktoberfest in Munich, where the World’s Largest festival happens.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g303572-d8820319-Reviews-Oktoberfest_Blumenau-Blumenau_State_of_Santa_Catarina.html

https://www.oktoberfest.de/en