feedback

Guys

i have read your feedback and here are the results ...

1. more speaking. no problem. but i can't listen to everyone at the same time. and just because i am not listening to you does not give you an excuse to start rabbiting away in portuguese !

2. doing class presentations. i quite like this idea. we could get 3 or 4 on the go in the classroom at one time - 10 mins each - and then you move on to the next presentation - and this way i could listen to everyone. i like this idea. I will show you what i mean in week 1 , when i will do a presentation on chess - one of my hobbies - maybe a bit boring to some, but just to show you what i mean. So please sign up for a topic. If you are interested in Photography for example do that - but do a presentation on something you are interested in... to choose a topic post a comment

3.more writing in class with a time limit. okay

4. more writing for homework. okay

5. using the vocabulary we have learnt. okay we will do this in week one of term 2

6. more exam stuff. in January - and only in January - we could do a different paper from the exam each week just to show you the standard and do some exam technique work - then in february back to normal

7. how about watching a dvd for the last 30 mins of each class ? this presents language in a context which aids understanding - and there are some really good expressions in films. i think this would be more useful than silly games

please let me know what you think

CLASS TOMORROW 15TH DECEMBER

GUYS

i will be here tomorrow if you want to come - usual time...

g

XMAS HOMEWORK

You have been asked by the womens institute, a very powerful women's organisation in the UK, to write a report on the position of women in the Portuguese workforce which can then be presented at their annual conference. Write a report (300 - 350 words) on the current situation highlighting good points and bad points.

XMAS HOMEWORK

the worst job i have ever done

when i was 17 i left school and joined a bank. i was sick of studying and doing exams, so i decided not to go to university. At the bank i was the most junior member of staff so i had to do all the crappy jobs. In scotland, as you know, we all probably drink too much, and a consequence of drinking too much is throwing up. People occasionally threw up over our cash machine - and i would have to go out and clean it ! this is probably the worst job i have had to do... but i got my foot in the door, and then worked for 12 very intersting years for them in 4 different countries, so i can't complain.

over to you - what is the worst job you have ever done ?

the job market for women in Portugal - are there equal opportunities ?

you guys are all so young, so ask your mothers. Are there equal opportunities for women in Portugal ? Do women in Portugal earn the same as men for doing the same job ? is there a glass ceiling i.e. are all the bosses men ?

job satisfaction

Guys - here is a list of things that affect job satisfaction. Put them into the order that is most important to you, and then try and work out your ideal job. in no particular order...

challenge,meeting people,security,colleagues respect,working conditions,status in organisation,learning new things, personal freedom,being part of a team, exercising power, helping people, being praised, social status, being promoted, making money

COLOUR IDIOMS

guys - as promised here are some common colour idioms... but i am not going to tell you what they mean ... that is for you to find out...


a bolt from the blue
once in a blue moon
the boys in blue
black and blue

give something the green light
the grass is always greener on the other side

red tape
paint the town red
cath someone red handed
like a red rag to a bull

as white as a sheet
a little white lie
a white collar worker
a whitewash

music

i used to be right into music. i used to go to 60 concerts a year, i used to read a magazine called "Q" every month and i knew everything about everything - and then one day i woke up, and i just didn't care any more - probably when i was around 25.

i find it difficult nowadays that bands don't seem to have hit after hit - they all seem to be one hit wonders. it used to be very exciting when a band had a new single. bands like the jam used to tell everyone when the new single was ready and there would be big queues at the shops , everyone would rush out and buy it and it would go straight in at no 1 - this doesn't seem to happen anymore.

also the older you get 60 % of songs are just remakes of older songs that you knew from your youth - god ! i am starting to sound like my father !

one of the interesting things about living here, however, is that i have heard some music that i wouldn't have heard if i had been living in the UK - e.g. brazilian and african music

finally how about people posting their top 5 songs - extremely difficult i know - but worth thinking about. here are mine ...

teenage kicks by the undertones
she sells sanctaury by the cult
friday i'm in love by the cure
gimme shelter by the rolling stones
holidays in the sun by the sex pistols

all old stuff - i think music affects you stronger when you are younger and more emotional

i have probably missed one or two out , but it is impossible to do.

Over to you

FASHION

SOMETHING THAT I KNOW ABSOLUTLY NOTHING ABOUT ... AS YOU CAN PROBABLY SEE BY THE WAY I DRESS - I SIMPLY DON'T CARE. I RECKON 50 % of guys are like this - maybe i am wrong. I probably did care one day, but because of my size it is impossible to buy things that i like and in my size. it is difficult in Scotland, but it is completely impossible here. The only shop i can buy things in here is Timberland because it is an american brand and has american sizes. But i hate clothes that have a logo on them. Why pay an extra 30 euros for a shirt with a small crocodile on it, when that shirt was made by slave labour in china or the phillipines or somewhere like that. i really recommend a book called "no logo" which tells you about the practices of large clothing companies. Ever since then i refuse to wear any clothes with labels on them and constamtly hunt for clothes without them. if i do buy something with a label on it, i unstitch the label and take it off. Anyway enough of my rantings over to you...

NEW BLOG TITLE

I apologise to all the benficistas in the class - the blog title is obviously wrong ,
and should be ... 1 - 0 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

see you on Saturday

:)

jokes, jokes, jokes

there are 2 really common types of jokes in English.

the first are doctor, doctor jokes e.g. doctor, doctor i feel like a pair of curtains ! pull yourself together man !! so it is a play on the expression to pull yourself together

doctor doctor i feel like a snooker ball ! get to the end of the queue (snooker cue/queue)

you can search the internet - or make one up yourself...


the other type are jokes which contain an englisman, a scotsman and an irishman - and one is usually very smart and the other one is very stupid...

e.g.
an englishman and a scotsman are involved in a car crash and they are both extremely lucky to survive. they are sitting at the side of the road when the scotsman says - "you know we are both extremely lucky to be alive - i think this calls for some whisky" and he goes into the back of his car and brings out a bottle of whisky and offers it to the englishman. the englishman drinks some whisky to celebrate the fact that he is still alive and offers it back to the scotsman - "no thanks" - says the scotsman "i'll just wait till the police get here !" (so the englishman will be charged with causing the crash through drunk driving) ( we say if you have to explain a joke it isn't funny !!!)

you can easily change it to an englishman, a spaniard and a portuguese man...

i would like one of each for homework please...

BENFICA V CELTIC

I'm sorry if you don't like football, but the most important thing in Portugal next week is obviously the benfica v celtic game.

a few weeks ago i was quite confident about the game, but we have lots of injuries- so now i am not so sure... we have 3 right backs injured, two midfielders and a striker and today we are playing rangers so we will probably get even more injuries !

but from what i have seen so far, benfica don't look very good and your new signings aren't as good as you thought they were !

no matter what happens it can't be as bad as last year, when celtic were awful - probably the worst they have played in years...

i think it will be a draw - anybody want to bet ?

any benficistas out there - let me know what you think.

I will be at alto dos moinhos having beers and bifanas before and after the game if you want to meet up...

come on celtic - oh - quick question - where can i buy some green dye for my beard ?

G

a women's place is in the home ?

in the newspapers in the UK at the moment , the big discussion is about how women can not have it all , as they used to think. you can either have a good career or you can stay at home and have kids, but both is impossible. what do you think ? you need to back your opinion up with some good ideas...

ALL ABOUT ME

Guys - welcome to our blog

I am going to write some notes all about me, just like we talked about on Saturday, then I would like you to write all about yourselves so that the others in the class can read it ...

so here goes ... my name is Graham, I am 40 years old - we say that life begins at 40 - do you say that in Portuguese ? and I am not English, I am Scottish.

I am afraid of flying - I really don't like it - so when I go back to scotland I use some combination of boat, train and bicycle ... it takes ages, but it is great fun and the trip is usually the best part of my holiday

I was mayor of lisbon, I would clean up all the dog poo - there is dog poo everywhere andI would pedestrianise lots of streets in lisbon to try and reduce the no. of cars - andIi would ban old men from spitting in the street - truly disgusting ! ( I really like lisbon, but I think it could be so much better than it is )

if I had enough money for plastic surgery , I think I would get my ears done. I think they are too big and stick out too much. I actually play football evey week with a plastic surgeon so maybe one day I will get them done

if my house was on fire I would save my bicycle and my football trainers - they are the two things that I use the most, so are the most precious to me - especially because it is impossible to buy size 48 trainers in lisbon

I am a gemini, but I never read the horoscopes in the papers. I don't understand why people don't like us - we are nice people ! very honest

I would rather have time than money. it took me about 30 years to work this out - but all the things I like doing e.g. playing football, playing chess, going cycling - I don't need any money for, I need time

when I have nothing to do , I buy the Britsh Independent newspaper and go and have a beer

I support Celtic , and hope we qualify from our group, but I think it will be difficult. I think celtic and benfica are fighting for 3rd place as the other two teams have more money and are better than us.

I have done something bad - and it felt great ! I was kicked out of my local golf club in Scotland, but that is a story for another day ...

well that is some information about me, can you pease now add some information about you...

thanks