Welcome Back!!!

Welcome back UFT students!!!! We are pleased to announce our new courses for the semester!!!!

Conversation Hour

Improve your speaking and listening skills in English!

Attendance is REQUIRED at 2 de 3 das aulas semanalmente at the following times:

Segundas            16:00 – 17:00

Quartas      16:00 – 17:00

Quintas          11:00 – 12:00

Aulas Substitutivas

Sábados by Appointment

Inscrição: Sábado 22/09 09:30 – 11:00 
                              in the Letras Block

·        CERTIFICATES offered for estudantes MATRICULADOS who complete ALL requirements of the course.

·        ALL STUDENTS ARE WELCOME!!!

40 vagas (30 vagas for Letras/10 vagas for non-Letras)

·        Inscrição is NOT necessary to attend, but is required for receiving a certificate.

See You There!!

Perguntas????  E-mail: etauft@gmail.com

                                                                       AND...

Oficina de Escrita em Língua Inglesa

English Language Writing Workshop

com a ETA Michol Miller

Segunda-feira 17:30-18:30

ou

Terça-feira 11:00- 12:00

Melhore suas habilidades de escrita em Inglês!

Certificados oferecidos para alunos matriculados que concluírem todos os requisitos do curso.

Todos os estudantes são bem-vindos, mas a prioridade é dada aos estudantes de Letras, no ato da matrícula.

20 vagas disponíveis en cada oficina (70% para estudantes de Letras, 30% para outros cursos)

Inscrição: Sábado, 22 de setembro, de 9:30-11:00 no bloco de Letras, ou por e-mail: etauft@gmail.com

More Fulbright Bolsas

Now is an exciting time to be a Letras student/graduate. This week's post is about  another Fulbright opportunity in the United States.  For your convenience, I've  re-added information about the FLTA grant. From the website: Aperfeiçoamento de Inglês nos EUA para Professores A CAPES, a Embaixada dos EUA e a Comissão Fulbright selecionarão até 20  professores de língua inglesa da rede pública de ensino básico, de cada um dos  estados e do Distrito Federal, para curso de capacitação de seis semanas nos EUA,  a ser realizado de 12 de janeiro a 22 de fevereiro de 2013. O curso será oferecido  por 22 universidades dos EUA, para grupos de até 25 professores. Alguns dos objetivos do programa são: fortalecer a fluência oral e escrita em inglês,  compartilhar metodologias de ensino e avaliação que estimulem a participação do  aluno em sala de aula, estimular o uso de recursos online e outras ferramentas na  formação continuada de professores e na preparação de planos de aula.  Os professores selecionados não terão nenhuma despesa associada ao curso,  já  que o programa prevê: - Alojamento no campus universitário; - Alimentação; - Seguro saúde; - Passagem aérea de ida e volta; e - Taxas e materiais escolares.  Click here for more information: http://www.fulbright.org.br/content/view/128/169/ Professor Assistente de Lingua Portuguesa nos EUA O programa Professor Assistente de Língua Portuguesa nos EUA (Foreign  Language Teaching Assistant – FLTA) tem o objetivo de incrementar o ensino  de português em universidades norte-americanas e estreitar as relações bilaterais  entre o Brasil e os EUA. O programa prevê a concessão de até 45 bolsas, com  duração de nove meses, no ano acadêmico norte-americano (agosto/setembro  de 2013 a maio/junho de 2014). Será dada prioridade a candidatos: - com nenhuma ou com pouca experiência nos EUA - professor da rede pública de ensino; - ex-bolsista do PROUNI.

Click below for more info:

http://www.fulbright.org.br/content/view/107/154/

Please e-mail us if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Happy Wednesday!

Happy Independence Day!!

With that said I want to spend today’s post on a very hot topic in the United States right now. Can you guess what it is? It’s the general elections, of course! Every four years on the first Tuesday of November the American population goes to polling places (the polls) to vote. The word poll can be a noun or a verb.  As a verb it means to record an opinion or a vote.  This year’s election will take place on November 6^th.

This is another important language lesson. When you say the date in English you don’t say “Day 6 of November” as you would in Portuguese. We use ordinal numbers to describe dates. This can see confusing but it uses the same principle as does Portuguese.  In Portuguese, for example, Segunda is written 2^da (using the number being described and the last letters of the word).  In English second is written 2^nd (again using the number 2 and the last two letters of the word).  The other endings are –st, -rd, and –th. (1^st First, Third 3^rd, 4^th- Fourth).  The numbers five through ten all use the –th ending.

In Brazil it is illegal not to vote.  In the United States on the other hand, candidates spend a lot of time and money trying to convince people to vote at all.  If you remember my post about sufferage http://etauft.blogspot.com.br/2012/07/seneca-falls.html, you’ll remember that many people did not have the right to vote in the past.  Men of color and all women worked hard and died for this right.  This is why I think it’s unfortunate that many people who can vote do not vote.

The United States has two major political parties: Democratic and Republican. Last week was the Republican National Convention and this week was the Democratic National Convention.  At each of these conventions there are really important speeches given. The Democratic presidential candidate is the current president (Barack Obama). The Republican presidential candidate is Mitt Romney.  Even in the United States many people think that these are the only two political parties but they’re not.  There is also a Libertarian Party, a Green Party, and a Constitution Party.  As of November 2011, there’s also a Justice Party.

The simplest way to explain our voting system is that people have votes and states have votes. States with more people get more votes. States vote for the candidate that the majority of its population voted for. The person with the most state votes wins.  (The system is actually much more complex, but this is the general idea)

So there you have it. What is the election process like in Brazil?? E-mail me at etauft@gmail.com or post a response below. 

The Louisiana Puchase

Hello UFT!!! We’re excited to see you all soon! Until then, today’s blog post is another historical one.  It’s about a very important event in U.S. history- The Louisiana Purchase.  Purchase means “to buy.” In this deal, Thomas Jefferson (the 3^rd president of the United States, 1801-1809) bought Louisiana and a whole lot more land from France.

The deal went down on April 30^th, 1803. This was what we call a win-win situation. It means that everyone involved gets what they want or need. France was in need of some cash.  The U.S. could double its size.  Before the United States stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans, it was just the territory that you seen in orange on the map.  The other land was owned by France and Spain.

France wanted to have a large influence in the new land and especially in New Orleans. Due to some conflicts outside of the United States (namely the Haitian Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars), the area lost its usefulness and money seemed like the better option.  

Thomas Jefferson asked two explorers to investigate the territory’s resources including a means to travel the country by water. Meriwether Louis and William Clark (better known as Louis and Clark) also had an “Indian” or Native-American girl with them. Her name was Sacagawea. She acted as a guide for Louis and Clark. In my opinion, Sacagawea probably did the bulk of the “discovering” while Lewis and Clark were credited.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton commissioned gold dollars with her image to be made.  Around that time she also posthumously (after death) received another award.  It’s been my experience that until then she was nothing more than part of the myth or legend of the New World, much like Pocahontas. 

Please feel free to comment, compare, disagree, etc. We’d love to hear from you!!

To read more about the Louisiana Purchase:

http://www.gatewayno.com/history/LaPurchase.html

(Meriwether Lewis and William Clark)

Photos courtesy of:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.gatewayno.com/history/images/la-purchase-large.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.gatewayno.com/history/LaPurchase.html&usg=__8B-aJR5ERqUENxlbZA8YUQ-duBs=&h=784&w=1204&sz=251&hl=en&start=1&sig2=rGfCezvfZtgKicXZN6-ikw&zoom=1&tbnid=ASmDTwG_1rFUaM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=150&ei=B0FCUKLxK4Lq6gHPmoCwBg&um=1&itbs=1

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/magazine/lewis_clark/lewis_clark_569.jpg&imgrefurl=http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/magazine/lewis_clark/lewis_clark.html&usg=__GZ1XZ12cBsh52kuSIODRD7ia43c=&h=640&w=569&sz=251&hl=en&start=3&sig2=BImkoX-pN8EiihEtJLqzfA&zoom=1&tbnid=B0DVCwy73XQChM:&tbnh=137&tbnw=122&ei=xEBCUNd3iL_oAb7igYAO&um=1&itbs=1

Scholarships

Hi UFT!!! We’re back! Last week I didn’t post because Michol and I were in Brasília!! We had a conference for all of the Fulbright ETAs in Brazil. Michol and I are just two of thirty people in our program.  We are helping Letras professors teach English at federal universities all over the country. Some universities have one ETA.  Others like UFT-Araguaína have two.  One university (Belém) even has three ETAs!

I’m telling you this because the Fulbright program works both ways. When you graduate, you can apply to be a Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA). You will do what Michol, Oak, and I do at UFT.  The only difference is that you will assist at a university in the U.S.!! Exciting, right?!? Our program is nine months long. We work part-time (meio período) and have a side project.  The program also covers the cost of living, passagens, and basic health care.

Sound interesting? Well, this opportunity and many more are available to you! There are resources for students with great English and less than great English. There are programs for students who have graduated and those who have not graduated yet.  If you want to know more you can visit this website. 

http://www.educationusa.info/faq.php?language=6#.T4niKaumi8B

Taken straight from the UFT website: http://www.noticias.uft.edu.br/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41400&Itemid=1

Estão abertas inscrições para 250 bolsas de cursos de idiomas a distância destinadas a alunos, professores e técnicos da UFT de todos os câmpus. Para concorrer, o interessado deve ler atentamente o edital publicado pela Diretoria de Assuntos Internacionais (DAI). São oferecidas 150 bolsas para aulas virtuais de língua espanhola e 100 para língua inglesa. Os cursos terão duração de até seis meses e certificação pela Universia Brasil.

  And as always you can e-mail us at etauft@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

The Olympics, Part 2

Hello again! The Summer Olympics 2012 are almost over. Can you believe it?? 

Given the recent historical event in Women's Gymnastics, the second of my posts about the Olympics is going to be about African-Americans in Olympic history. 

This is Gabrielle "Gabby" Douglas. She is 16 years old and is the first woman of color to win the all-around gold medal. She is also the first American to win both the team all-around gold (U.S. Women) and the individual title at the same Olympics. 

The photo below was taken at the 1968 Summer Olympics just 44 years earlier.

The photo is of Tommie Smith (top), Peter Norman (left) and John Carlos (right). In the 1960s the United States was very divided by skin color (racial segregation). During the Civil Rights Movement, African-Americans fought to end this division. 

These three men took the first (1st), second (2nd) and third (3rd) places of the 200m race in Mexico City. They used their time on the podium to protest the violation of human rights. Their raised fists are a symbol of the Black Power Movement. They believed their cause was not just an African-American issue but a human issue. Norman was neither black nor American but he supported their cause by wearing a badge from the "Olympic Project for Human Rights." 

All three men were punished for their actions. They remained friends throughout their lives. African-Americans have won many of the rights for which they fought forty years ago.  While there is still work to be done to end more subtle forms of racial inequality, it is beautiful to see Gabby Douglas celebrated today.

The Olympics, Part 1

Hey everybody! What’s up? In case you missed it (joking) we are in the middle of Summer Olympics 2008!!! Are you excited??? I am!  With this being an athletic time and all, I thought I’d dedicate this week’s post to U.S. Olympic history. 

For starters, The United States has hosted the Summer Olympic Games four times. The last time a U.S. city hosted the games was in 1996 when they were held in Atlanta, Georgia.  The first time was in 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri.  The games were held at Francis Field on the campus of Washington University. 

  

Georgia is the turquoise state (GA) right above Florida. Does everyone remember where Florida is?? If not, go back and check the post http://etauft.blogspot.com.br/2012/07/beach-season.html. (Yes, I know the maps are different colors. I don't want you, my students, to become dependent on a color-coated map to remember where the states are) I believe in you!!

Fun fact of the day: I graduated from Washington University!!! And Francis field is still there.  The bleachers are pretty uncomfortable as they are made of wood.  The university cannot replace them, however, because they are part of a historical landmark.

Lastly, I was curious about the Olympic flag. You know. This one:

(photo courtesy of mapsofworld.com)

In case you were wondering, the five rings represent the five inhabited continents. The colors of each ring (blue, yellow, black, green, and red) represent the colors of all of the countries of the world.  The flag of Brazil for example is blue, green, and yellow. Along those lines, the colors of the flag of the U.S. are red, white, and blue. It's amazing how the simplest designs often say so much!

Well, that's all for the day. Come back next week for the second half of my Olympic discussion and as always, feel free to write or comment!!!