Samba EFL Podcast

This is the podcast of a wonderful talk with the Women of the Web2.0 and participants of the blogging4educators EVO session 2008 on blogging. The recording with photos and chat transcript is available at WiziQ Topics: * The Women of the Web2.0 blogging stories * Making mistakes * Taking risks in blogging * Finding a blogger's tone and voice * Commenting * Favorite blogging tools (Vicky's great tips!) * Feedback * Tagging and Technorati * The Writingmatrix (Vance Stevens and team concept) * Networking * Mystery Guest activity * Blogging strategies in the classroom * The "Important person" factor (Sharon Peters talks about the importance of a true audience for students' motivation and willingness to take a step ahead in their writing) The blogging4educators Team would like to congratulate the amazing WoW2.0 for being there for us and sharing a bit of their own stories, successes and failures with us. Yes, they are, indeed, transparent learners!

Brasilia´s Photo Album Brasilia is a unique place in Brazil. Here you can find a little bit of each part of the country with different kinds of people. Brasilia looks like a big city, but it has the caracteristics of small ones. The capital of Brazil is a planned city where you can find outstanding touristic places. At the end of the day people can watch one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world and enjoy it in awe. Touristic places: There are many supercool touristic places in Brasilia. Starting with the "traditional'' places, people usually visit the Congress, the Palacio do Planalto where the president works, Palacio da Alvorada where he lives, the Cathedral, Ermida Dom Bosco where you can have an undiscribable view of the city. The JK bridge, which was recently built, is considered one of the most well-designed bridges in the world. Brasilia is in its essence a place for tourism. Culture: There's Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Memorial JK and Casa Thomas Jefferson where there are always art exibitions. Nightlife: Young people in Brasilia usually go out at night to parties, shopping malls or bars. There are a lot of shoppings in the city, like Park Shopping, Patio Brasil and Pier 21 where young people go to meet their friends when there's nothing else to do. Pier has MusicStation which has lots of concerts on the weekends. It's easy to find concerts to go in Brasilia. Food: There are countless places in Brasilia where people go to eat. Sky's, Giraffas, McDonald's, TGI Fridays are the hot spots for young people. There are a lot of restaurants like Carpe Diem and Porcão. The new Mercado Municipal is a friendly place where you´ll find all kinds of food. Léo, Matheus and Daniel

Fortaleza´s Photo Album In Fortaleza you will have outstanding moments: enjoying the breathtaking beaches, eating mouth-watering food, as well as going sightseeing. Near Fortaleza, you can find secluded beaches, wich are all extraordinary, for example, Morro Branco, Canoa Quebrada, Praia das Fontes and Jericoacoara. Fast Facts In the past Fortaleza used to be a place in Brazil that exported sugar cane,which helped develop the city. Many important people were born there, like one of the former presidents, José de Alencar, a famous writer, and Brazilian comedians Chico Anisio and Renato Aragão. Don't miss Take a tour to the Central Market, where you can find a lot of manufactured stuff like clothes, ornaments and gifts. For sure you will have your best time at the spectacular beaches. The best one is Praia do Futuro. Don't forget to go to Beach Park, a water park that has the biggest water slide in South America. Where the locals eat You will find the most tasteful food at the beach, seated in the barracks. Also, you can visit some restaurants with local food called "Lá na Roça","Reduto das Tapioqueiras" and "Coco Bambu". The main food is fish and shrimps. Shopping "Feirinha" is authentic. It has local furniture and every kind of art you can imagine. Don't miss the opportunity to make your portrait. You can find all over the sidewalks some colourful gifts made by sand. Nightlife 'Pirata' makes the Mondays in Fortaleza very exciting. It's a night club with great people and all kinds of music. But Fortaleza's specialty is Forró, a kind of music. You can go to the beaches even at night, because you will always find small-but-bustling parties. Lodgings of Note The best hotels in Fortaleza are in 'Beira-Mar', at the Iracema Beach. There you´ll find simple-but-comfortable, as well as fancy hotels. You will have the chance to choose the one that fits your own way of traveling. Enjoy Fortaleza! Ingrid, Breno, Patricia, André and Roberto

Rio´s Photo Album If you are thinking of taking a incredible vacation, Rio de Janeiro is the best opition. The city has a wonderful energy, the people are very hospitable and the weather is very pleasant. Rio has a bit of everything. From cultural places like Santos Dumond´s house, the first man to fly a plane, and the “Museu do Primeiro Reinado” from the colonial period, to entertaining places like Pão de Açúcar and Corcovado. In 1502 the portuguese arrived in Baía de Guanabara in January 1st, but the city was only built in 1565 and, in 1763, it became the capital of Brazil. The city is very close to nature, famous for its beaches, pretty women, soccer and carnival, which happens every year at “Marques de Sapucaí”. Don't miss Rio! Daniela, Luciana and Felipe

São Paulo´s Photo Album Come to Sao Paulo, the most cosmopolitan city in Brazil.You are going to taste special food from different parts of the world. Shopping is an entertainment experience with world famous stores and attractive products. A delighting activity is to go to theaters, where you can see international and gripping plays interpreted by renowned actors. There are many exciting amusement parks where you go in the begining of the day and just come back home in the evening! If you don´t want to stay just in the capital, you can visit the big Sao Paulo, Serra do Mar and the cities near the beach. Entertainment during the day are: Hopi Hari, Playcenter, Ibirapuera park and Wet´n Wild. Hopi Hari and Playcenter are amusement parks while Ibirapuera is a natural park, with well-known attractions, where you can be closer to the natural world. Wet´n Wild is a delicious water theme park where you can go in a hot tropical summer day to refresh and have lots of fun!! You can also visit some supercool cities near Sao Paulo, like Santos, Maresias, Guaruja among others natural beauties. There you can enjoy bustling beaches and taste the natural thirst-quencing coconut water. Between Santos and Sao Paulo we have an amazing road in the middle of the mountains called 'Serra do Mar'. It´s a beautiful road, surrounded by big trees, and it is really worth traveling there by car. You´ll have an unforgettable view. In the big Sao Paulo there are some other blooming small cities, where you can have a relaxing good time, getting away from the stressful life of the capital. One of them is Barueri, a trendy-but-friendly city. Sao Paulo kicks at night!! Not only can the restaurants, theaters and shopping malls offer you a pleasant evening, but also the night clubs are an exciting option where you can dance a lot and meet lots of well-known actors and top models from the country. You can go to the Museo, a soulful nightclub where you have techno and black music. And if you prefer the typical Brazilian songs, like samba and pagode, you just have to visit Armazém, another brilliant choice. Joseane and Paola

Floripa´s Photo Album If you are looking for fascinating beaches and green areas to relax after a hard year, Floripa is the place. Even if you want a city to have fun with your friends, Floripa is also the place. Florianópolis is an old city in the south of Brazil, in which the nature is its best attraction. The city is divided in two geographical landscapes, one in the Island and the other in the continent linked by three bridges. The Island has 42 beaches for all kind of tastes: from children to professionals surfers. If you prefer bustling beaches you can visit Praia Mole, Ingleses, Cansvieiras, Jurerê, Praia Brava, among others, the so-called north beaches because of their location. In the summer these beaches are always crowded with beautiful people enjoying their vacations. The locals go to the south beaches like Pântano do Sul, Armação, Matadeiro, among others. These are peaceful places in which we can enjoy nature and the historical villages. However, the city provides other activities, like tracking. You can discover desert beaches like Galheta or Naufragados just walking through preserved Mata Atlântica rainforest. You can not miss Lagoa da Conceição. It is a big gorgeous lagoon in the middle of the Island where young people like to practice adventure sports during the day. At night, it becomes the place to meet friends and party because of its restaurants and bars. The locals eat big shrimp plates in small fisher restaurants. For just twenty reais (about US 10.00), one can eat three kilos of fried shrimps. Another good option is the gratinated oysters. The fishers cultivate the oysters and take them off the sea to cook when it is still fresh. Typical gifts can be found in the Mercado Público, an ancient and cozy building. There, you can also shop fresh fish. It is worth staying in bed and breakfast hotels. It is easy to find them in almost every beach. There are some downtown, but we advise you to search for something near the beach, once downtown is too far from Floripa´s excitement and transportation is not that good. Gabriela, Lizandra and Gustavo

Ingrid and Rodrigo analyze the fact that Brazilians can be hard-working and fun lovers at the same time. Listen also to Fernanda and Paulo (Neivaldo, Ingrid and Paulo on the photo)

Alana and Matheus talk about the contrasts we have in Brazil.

André, Patrícia, Raquel, Júlia and Daniel demystify some of the stereotypes about the Brazilians. (Patrícia, Júlia, Daniel and André on the photo)

Priscilla, Tarso and Cláudio tell you a little bit more about their dream Brazil.

Check out the Brazilian Conversation Group easter gift for you! They will teach how to surprise someone you love! Happy easter straight from hot Brazil!

As easter is coming, I found no better way to celebrate it with my conversation class than by teaching them how to mold chocolate eggs. Of course, I could have just given them a little one and everybody would be happy. However, I felt this was a chance to explore learning in an area which is generally neglected in English classes, cooking. I'm sure that through the fun experience of learning by doing, my students left our Friday afternoon class with better knowledge of a gastronomic vocabulary that they had never studied before. Besides, they had this feeling of accomplishment for having done something by themselves. Certainly, much more meaningful than just eating a little chocolate egg given by the teacher! Check out the Class photos. Any questions about the techniques, about the activity or the group? Feel free to ask us! Carla Arena and the Conversation Class Team Useful vocabulary to learn how to make chocolate eggs: Ingredients: baker's chocolate, nuts, brigadeiro (typical Brazilian chocolate fudge made of condensed milk) Kitchenware: heatproof bowl, mold, spatula verbs: melt, stir, overheat, crush, prepare, mold, pour, spread, fit together, harden, fill, set, be ready, unmold, slide right out, temper, scrape, remove, tap, hold up, pop out of the mold, remove, cool More words: mold, evenly, layer, edges, glossiness, heat, egg halves, lumps of chocolate, excess, air bubbles, bottom of the mold, bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened, rice crispies, foil, wax paper, silk paper, rose-colored wrapping paper, marble counter, fridge

Let's begin to Samba with English! This is our meeting place to learn and share. I hope to see people from all over the world interacting with us. Carla Arena straight from Brasilia, Brazil Listen to SambaEFL and Follow: Welcome to SambaEFL Podcast. I’m Carla, a Brazilian English teacher speaking directly from Brasilia. And you are here with me to learn English. Why Samba? Why SambaEFL? Well, just as anyone can learn to dance samba, you can learn English! English can be as magical as samba. It has its own rhythm and specific sounds. There are some basic steps and some tricks, and you certainly need to be persistent to master it. But when you get to the flow, in synch with it, you start understanding how it works. Then you just start speaking, having fun with English the same way it happens with samba! So, my idea is to help students learn English through the discussion of interesting, cultural, and up-to-date topics so that learners in different parts of the world start to share, interact and have fun with English! So let’s samba with English! Well, this was carnival week in Brazil. Carnival in my country is celebrated in different ways. In Rio, the world sees that glamorous parade with people dancing samba in wonderful shiny and colorful costumes. It is a democratic party. You can see people from the slums, favelas, who work hard all year long to have the chance to parade, and the ones who can afford the costume and parade in one of the “Escolas de Samba”. In Salvador, people buy “abadás”. They are clothes that serve as your ticket to get in one of the “Trio Elétricos”, trucks that carry lots of amplifiers and a band that plays non-stop for hours in a row. Bono Vox, u2’s vocalist, was in Bahia’s carnival and even sang with our Minister of Culture, a popular singer in Brazil, Gilberto Gil. Do you know him? In Recife, in the state of Pernambuco, there’s a specific Brazilian rhythm called “Frevo” and friends dance in the streets to celebrate carnival. My question to you: Is carnival celebrated in your city or country? Do you like it? How is it celebrated? Please leave your comments and share your ideas with us. I’m waiting for you. What are you waiting for? This is Carla, your podhost, waiting for you to samba with English!