Gruppo New Fluency, settimana 37 (30 aprile - 6 maggio): come regolare la velocità audio su YouTube



La velocità di riproduzione dei video di YouTube è regolabile cliccando sul menu Impostazioni (uno dei pulsanti in basso a destra rispetto alla schermata), poi su Velocità, infine scegliendo fra le opzioni disponibili (si va da 0.25, lentissimo, a 2, molto veloce).

Proposte settimanali:

Vocabulary, culture and the first conditional!

I will use one topic to teach you important English grammar (the first conditional), as well as vocabulary. You'll also learn a lot about North American culture. I'll teach you all this stuff by talking about superstitions. Is the number 13 bad luck in your culture? If you break a mirror, will you have bad luck? If you find a penny on the ground, do you think you will have a good day? Every culture has beliefs about luck. We call these beliefs superstitions. Some superstitions are common around the world, but many are very specific to a particular country or culture. My mom is really superstitious, so I grew up with a lot of these beliefs. In this video, I'll give you some examples of common North American superstitions, and in the second half of the video, I'll use this topic to teach you how to use the first conditional in English. Watch this video now. If you don't, your computer might get a virus.

8 KICK Phrasal Verbs in English: "kick back", "kick out", "kick up"...

Let's kick off this lesson with an explanation of phrasal verbs, then move on to different phrasals using the verb KICK. In this lesson you will discover the meanings of kick in, kick off, kick around, kick back, kick out, kick about, kick up, and kick over. Phrasal verbs are an important part of English vocabulary, so watch and learn these eight 'kick' phrasal verbs.

Opzionale: lettura ad alta voce di un testo in inglese (dieci minuti al giorno)

Gruppo New Fluency, settimana 36 (23-29 aprile): i sette segreti di Steve Kaufmann

 

Di seguito i sette segreti del poliglotta Steve Kaufmann riguardo all'apprendimento delle lingue:

1) Spend the time: trascorri il tempo con la lingua (New Fluency propone almeno trenta minuti al giorno);

2) Do what you like to do: fa' ciò che ti piace fare (NF propone i video settimanali, ma l'ideale, come più volte sottolineato, sarebbe che ogni corsista scegliesse gli argomenti che più lo interessano);

3) Learn to notice: impara a notare (in un precedente post si discuteva dell'abitudine, che lo studente deve acquisire, di notare le differenze di costruzione, le sfumature di pronuncia ecc.); 

4) Words over grammar: parole sopra la grammatica (le parole, sostiene Kaufmann, sono più importanti della grammatica: "If we have the words, the grammar will come");

5) Be patient: sii paziente (non aspettarti miracoli nel breve periodo: it needs time, ci vuole tempo);

6) Get the tools: procurati gli strumenti (quelli giusti: cuffie di buona qualità, connessione internet veloce ecc.);

7) Become an independent learner: diventa uno studente indipendente (scegli tu ciò che ti piace, guarda i video che più ti interessano, ascolta podcast di tuo gradimento, non aspettare gli altri, ma sii responsabile del tuo apprendere ecc.).

 

 

Le proposte settimanali:

 

11 uses of the verb 'GET' in English: get going, get together, getting on...

The verb "get" is used all the time in English, and in many different ways. In this vocabulary lesson I will give you some slightly advanced examples of how it is used. We'll go over eleven different uses. So, why not get a move on, get yourself together, and watch the video!

 

Sports of the Winter Olympics

What's your favourite winter sport? Is it figure skating or luge? Do you know what luge is? In preparation for this year's Olympic Games in South Korea, watch this English vocabulary lesson on Olympic winter sports. In this lesson, you will learn about hockey, skiing, snowboarding, curling, and more. Do you know all the different types of sledding? The Olympic Games take place every four years. Watch the video to ensure that this year, you are ready to talk sports.

 

 

English word pairs about TIME

Improve your English with this useful vocabulary lesson! You'll learn 10 common word pairs to improve your vocabulary and to give you more tools to speak like a native English speaker. I'll also give you examples and explain when these expressions are usually used. The word pairs include: "now and then", "quick and easy", "then and there", "slow and steady", "little by little", and many more. Learn these short informal English phrases and you're guaranteed to sound more confident and comfortable in your English conversations.

 

 

Attività opzionale: dieci minuti di lettura ad alta voce in inglese.

 

 

 

 

 



Gruppo New Fluency, settimana 35 (16-22 aprile): i sette concetti chiave di New Fluency

Quali sono i setti concetti chiave del metodo New Fluency?

1) Comprehensible input: acquisisci una lingua solo quando comprendi i messaggi

2) Repetition: ripeti almeno per sette giorni consecutivi

3) Silent period: evita di parlare (fidati, riguardo a questo punto: valuterai da solo quando inizierai a parlare)

4) Listening: ascolta

5) Subtitles: limita al minimo l'uso dei sottotitoli

6) Earphones: usa sempre le cuffie

7) Focus: garantisci il massimo della concentrazione

 

Queste le proposte della settimana:

 

10 ways to use ALRIGHT & ALL RIGHT in English

‘Alright’ is a simple word with lots of different meanings. We use it in so many ways! I will teach you ten different ways that native English speakers use this word in different situations by varying the tone of voice in speech. I’ll also teach you how Cockneys (Londoners) use this word as a greeting and the unexpected way of replying to it as if you’re a local. Also... what's the difference between ‘alright’ and 'all right'? I'll teach you that too, so you won't have any more confusion. Alright?

 

Meetings

There's a lot of specialized vocabulary that's used in the office. If you work in an office and want to present yourself professionally, it's especially important that you are able to understand and use these terms. In this Business English video, I'll teach you words that you'll hear in business meetings. We'll go over a show of hands, adjourn, consensus, and other important vocabulary.

 

The people we LOVE ❤ – spouse, girlfriend, partner, husband...

Ready for an English lesson on romantic relationships? There are many terms we use when talking about people in romantic relationships. Spouse, partner, significant other, husband, wife, better half, lover, girlfriend, boyfriend, couple, and common-law are just some examples of relationship terms we'll be talking about in this video. I will teach you why some people might prefer the term partner instead of husband or wife. We will also discuss what people call the family of their husband or wife. For example, what does the term in-law mean and how do we use it to describe our partner's family?

 

Attività opzionale: dieci minuti di lettura ad alta voce in inglese.

 

 

 

 



Gruppo New Fluency, settimana 34 (9-15 aprile): la lettura ad alta voce

Questa settimana (e fino alla fine del percorso annuale) New Fluency propone un'attività opzionale in aggiunta ai trenta minuti quotidiani: la lettura ad alta voce di un testo.

Durata dell'esercizio: dieci minuti al giorno, ogni giorno fino alla fine del percorso New Fluency

Modalità: scegliere un testo in inglese e leggere ad alta voce.

Attenzione: usare molto volume (importantissimo!); concentrarsi, mentre si legge, sul contenuto di ciò che si legge; scegliere un testo facile e interessante (Wikipedia, riviste inglesi on-line, audiolibri su YouTube con relativo testo, libri cartacei ecc.).

Motivazione dell'esercizio: come già detto, si tratta di un'attività non obbligatoria rivolta a quanti desiderano impegnarsi maggiormente per avere risultati migliori. I vantaggi sono molti: leggere ad alta voce coordina il respiro con il parlato, abitua la mente a scandire il testo in blocchi logici, tiene in esercizio tutto l'apparato fonatorio (lingua, denti, corde vocali ecc. prendono confidenza con i nuovi suoni), consente di caricare in anteprima, mentre si sta parlando, le informazioni che verranno date in seguito ecc. (cfr. a tale proposito Francesco Schipani, Manuale di lettura espressiva, La Rondine Edizioni 2017). Insomma, la lettura ad alta voce è il segreto del Public Speaking e migliora di molto anche la fluency (la scorrevolezza nel parlare). Possiamo considerarla una fase di passaggio dal silent period alle prime produzioni orali in inglese.

50 adjectives to describe what you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste

You have five senses: hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch. You need a wide vocabulary to be able to accurately describe what you feel through your senses. For example, not all smells are the same. Do you know the difference between "fresh", "fragrant", "pungent", and "musty"? Watch on because in this lesson, I will teach you 50 (!) words to describe not only odours, but what you experience through all five of your senses. There will be ten words for each sense, all of which will help your conversation become more interesting to your listener, as they will be able to imagine your words more clearly and more vividly.

12 ways to use body parts as verbs 

In this lesson, I will teach you twelve ways that we use body parts as verbs in English. Does that sound strange? Well, maybe it is, but these are verbs you will hear pretty often, so you should learn them. We will look at expressions like "necking", "shoulder a burden", "mouth off", "to eyeball someone", "skinned alive", and more. These expressions are commonly used by native English speakers and are useful in everyday life.

Gruppo New Fluency, settimana 33 (2-8 aprile): lavorare sul lessico

 

Il quinto ciclo di New Fluency (settimane 33-40) è interamente dedicato al vocabulary: le lezioni sono tenute da diversi docenti engVid e hanno l'obiettivo di potenziare il bagaglio lessicale dei corsisti. 

Di seguito le proposte per la settimana 33:

Fixed Modal Expressions: Easy English sentences to memorize and use! 

In this lesson, you will learn 10+ fixed sentences that use modals. "Fixed" means that they do not change. You just use the whole sentence without changing it. That makes these kinds of sentences very useful for improving your English quickly. By the time you finish this lesson, you will sound more natural and confident when speaking English in many different situations. The fixed modal expressions covered in this video include: "You can say that again", "I couldn't help it", "I would if I could", "You would've loved it", "You shouldn't have", and more! 

23 Phrasal Verbs with COME: come across, come around, come up with...

Have you ever come across some phrasal verbs that use the verb "come"? They are often used by native English speakers to express many different things, from disbelief to creating something or finding something. In this lesson, I will teach you 23 phrasal verbs that use "come", like "come across", "come out", "come in", and more. So come on. Let's start!