December 13, 2009
It’s sad to say that this Tuesday will be our last meeting this year…
Since Christmas is close, why not to talk a little about it? Let’s sing some Xmas songs and discuss some cultural issues.
What do you know about the ways Xmas is celebrated around the world? Bring your contribution! Do you know any curiosities and/or traditions? Come and tell your story at ESC!
See you there!
December 6, 2009
Come and enjoy some interesting (and sometimes crazy) talks at ESC’s meeting!
Want to know the topic for this week? Come, participate and see what ESC is about! We’ll perform group activities to stimulate conversation and, above all things, to have fun and practice English!
Please join our e-mailling group to check details (time and place) for our meeting.
See you there!
November 29, 2009
Extreme Sports, or at least the use of that name to describe them, are relatively new. The real history of Extreme Sports goes way back.
Please print this PDF and bring it along with you: click here to download
Come and enjoy an interesting talk! You’ll surely learn something out of it!
November 25, 2009
Here follows the interesting and funny video we were going to watch at ou meeting:
We would like to thank prof. Márcia Becker for this contribution!
Hope everybody enjoys!
November 22, 2009
Scientists decoding the human genome have discovered that just 78 genes separate men from women. But what are they?
It’s the Y chromosome which makes men men, and now scientists have a better idea than ever before what makes it up.
But to help them on their way, and in an effort to help everyone understand the differences between the sexes, here are the suggestions of BBC News Online readers about what those 78 genes might be.
Everyone’s got their own ideas about it – even if it only involves relative abilities at reading maps and putting down toilet seats.
To get the ideas flowing, the BBC’s Jeremy Vine, Jenni Murray, Anna Ford and Stuart Maconie (below) chipped in with their thoughts.
Women understand colour. They seem to know what to wear all the time. Men just think red is nice, pink is nice, so why not have them together?
Jeremy Vine
Women have the Oh dear, the toilet paper is on its last sheet; must replace it immediately gene. This is entirely absent in men who have the Oh s..t! Can you pass me a toilet roll, love? gene!
Jenni Murray
Men have no opinions about curtains.
Stuart Maconie
On being told that someone has bought a new car women usually ask what colour it is – men ask what sort is it.
Anna Ford
Women have the If you need to be told I am not going to tell you gene
David Bergin, Switzerland
Women know instinctively what is dangerous or not recommended for babies in their care. Men, generally speaking, do not.
Sian Lindsey, Netherlands
Men like to have all their stuff (DVDs, CDs, etc) on show to impress their mates. Women like to hide things in cupboards.
Mark Nelson, UK
Women have a built in calendar gene – we remember birthdays, anniversaries and appointments effortlessly.
Linsday, UK
Ask a woman in the street how to get somewhere and she will direct via shops. Ask a man and it will be via pubs.
Fred, UK
Women put things on the bottom stair to take up next time she has to go upstairs. Men just step over them until told to pick them up
Karen Kelsey, UK
Men appreciate the importance of a 42 inch plasma screen. Women do not.
Jonathan, UK
A multi-tasking gene is clearly only owned by women – men can never prepare dinner so that everything is ready at the same time.
Kelly , UK
Women can use sex to get what they want. Men cannot, as sex is what they want.
Eoin Dempsey, Ireland
Women pick up on subtleties and then think about them. Men need things explained IN CAPITAL LETTERS before the message gets through.
Morag, Edinburgh
Men speak in sentences. Women speak in paragraphs.
Steve Munoz, US
At weddings, women cry then get drunk. Men get drunk, then cry.
Debby, UK
For men, 2am is time for sleep. For women, 2am is time for a discussion about where our relationship is going.
Luke, UK
When faced with flat-pack furniture, men never read the manual. Yet they spend hours reading manuals for cars or bikes they will never own.
Linda, UK
Men can store useless information. Like the top speed of a car they are never going to drive, let alone own.
Rob, UK
Men can balance an infinite amount of rubbish in the bin, without noticing it is full.
Yvonne Eccles, England
Only women can understand other women.
Jon Lipscombe
Women know when all you want is a glass of wine, nodding sympathy and a good whinge. Men offer a solution.
Wendy, UK
Woman have the diary gene. (And no, they do not make your bums look big).
Ben Appleby, UK
Women are missing the parking a car in between two straight white lines in an empty car park gene
Jane, UK
If you told a woman that you had just returned from a trip to the surface of the Moon, she would show her interest by asking who you had gone with.
Howard, UK
Men do not even bother to look for something, then ask where it is and hope that it was the woman who put it away
Kate , Isle of Man
When men want something they ask for it. When women want something they make a point distantly related to the subject and wait for a response.
David Lawson, England
Women have an ability to make men think they are in charge. Sheila, UK
Men need a round of applause for emptying the dishwasher. Women think E on the petrol gauge means enough.
Peter Richmond, Canada
Men use I or me when they should use we or us. Women use we or us when they should use I or me.
Clair, England
Men have a gene which makes them blissfully unaware of impending emotional outbursts, but which sometimes backfires resulting in the registering of physical pain.
Gary, UK
Women have the we must name our car gene.
Louise, UK
Men refuse to pay more than £5.00 for a hair cut as it is not that important.
Mark Tomlinson
Men have the capacity to sleep through most sounds, whether it is a baby crying, dog barking, or doorbell ringing.
Val Soanes
Men know that common house spiders are far less dangerous than scorpions.
John S, UK
Women drive on the stretch of road they can see. Men move through the landscape by car.
Anne Taylor, UK
Women enjoy planning a wedding.
Tom Howes, UK
Men have an anorak gene, which triggers a lecture on thermo dynamics when asked a simple question requiring a yes or no answer
Deborah, England
Women eat curry if they like it. Men eat curry to prove they can.
Paul Angel, England
Men manage to sit in public places with their legs wide open without noticing how startlingly unattractive it is and how they get in the way.
Jane Penrose, UK
Women could never invent weapons that kill, only ones that make you feel really bad and guilty until you surrender
Dan, UK
Women are the only ones with the noticing gene – we notice when something is dirty/nearly empty/out of place and then we bring into play the doing something about it now gene!
Sarah Wilson, UK
Men can watch an entire film without having to ask who is that, what does he do?
Alistair, UK
Women know what to do when someone starts to cry. Men tend to shuffle out of the room mumbling something about doing the grouting.
Lucy, UK
Girls cannot climb trees. Furthermore, they cannot be in my gang.
Dominic Green, UK
Men will do something and not think about the risks involved then be sorry after. Women will think about the risks involved before hand.
Diane McKay, England
A man can choose and buy a pair of shoes in 90 seconds over the internet.
Paul, UK
Men have the ability to make a la, la, la, not listening face.
Laura Humphreys, England
Women pee together. Men do not acknowledge, let alone speak, to each other when peeing.
Angus, London
Men have the shed gene, where being locked up in a small wooden structure in quiet contemplation with a collection of garden equipment counts as stimulating entertainment.
Lorraine, UK
Men can drive without having to look at themselves in the mirror. Christian Paterson, France
Men have a gene which enables them to answer any question, no matter how complex or important, with Mmm.
Rachel, UK
Women make lists upon lists of things for men to do when they know very well we will never do them.
Brian Mac, US
Women do not get turned on at the thought of two men together.
Donna, South Africa
Men CAN get a bus through there!
Bob Ellis, England
Men can watch six different channels at the same time and know the name of none of the programmes they claim to be following
Niamh Brown, Singapore
Men can write their names clearly in the snow.
Riccardo, UK
Women can smell old trainers at 100ft, men have to hold them to their nose.
Sally, UK
Men start a sentence and…
Cliff Grover, UK
….women finish it for them
Jane Grover, UK
Men enjoy publicising their faults on BBC websites; women enjoy publicising men’s faults on BBC websites.
Paul, UK
Men have the empathy with computers gene. This means they are more likely to be found fiddling about with one rather than doing something useful.
Sarah Savill, England
Men are paid more for doing the same job. 
Nigel Harris, UK
Women have the take things personally gene.
Emma, UK
Women keep carrier bags hidden away in a cupboard. They even keep carrier bags within carrier bags.!
Matt, UK
Women parallel process, men parallel park.
Petal, UK
Men look at going down the gym as a physical activity, to women it is a social event.
Robert, UK
A woman would look at a sexy man and not be noticed. Men just stare.
Isabelle West, UK
Women think that a good place to keep the TV controller is on top of the TV.
Christopher, UK
Men have a gene that enables them to maintain a vice like grip on the remote control while reclining on the sofa studying the insides of their eyelids.
Jane, UK
Women can get by with 10 or 20 CDs. Men need 200 plus.
Damien Bove, Leeds
Women know that washing machines have programmes for every kind of fabric, colour and quantity and use them appropriately. Men will put a months supply of laundry through the 40 degree cycle (safest guess), regardless of any other detail.
Janine MacLean, UK
Women order rice and eat men’s chips.
Liam, Wales
Men will hear you open a beer from three rooms away.
Aileen, Scotland
Women recall every outfit they have worn for the past two decades. Men cannot remember what they were wearing yesterday without looking on the floor next to the bed.
Tom, London, UK
If a man knows an acquaintance has given birth to a baby, he will remember the sex and name – if you are lucky. If a woman is told about a birth, she will remember names (first and middle), weight, time, how long the labour took and whether medical intervention was required.
Marcia, UK
Women have the ability to brain dump their entire day when they get home – men can only remember that it went OK
Bob Findlay, Ireland
Men cannot watch sports and talk to their wives at the same time.
Lisa, Canada
(Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/3002946.stm
Published: 2003/06/19 14:41:29 GMT
© BBC MMIX)
(From http://www.millionface.com/l/)
You didn’t understand the chart above? Try talking to a mathematician!
Well, we will talk all about this subject (and much more) at the next ESC’s meeting!
November 15, 2009
ESC has made a selection of cool articles and papers available over the Internet. We attempted to find out information that might be useful and meaningful to our debate. How many english words related to transportation (means of tranportation, geography, economy, politics etc) do you think you know?
Come and enjoy an interesting talk! You’ll surely learn something out of it!
Interesting articles:
Curitiba is a clean, attractive city that enjoys significantly higher per-capita income than the national average. However, important national indicators contrast sharply with those associated with the U.S. and Canada.
According to the official website of the city government, Curitiba’s annual “Gross Internal Product” is US $12.1 billion a year , and the annual income per capita is U.S.$8,000, significantly higher than the $5,000 national average for Brazil (http://w ww.curitiba.pr .gov.br/pmc/ingles/Cidade/Perfil/index.html; broken link at 2007.1.13).
Brazil, a very large country with a low population density, is almost tailor-made for road transport. More buses are built in Brazil than in any other country. Wages are low and the country produces much of the petroleum it consumes. Although it strives for self-sufficiency in petroleum, Brazil must import more than 40 percent of its oil, mostly from Argentina and Venezuela. This is down from 75 percent during the early 1970s.
Brazil had just 14 million passenger cars in 1999, compared to 130 million in the U.S. The number of passenger cars in Brazil was just a bit more than in Canada — which had less than 20 percent of Brazil’s population. About four million cars, slightly less than 30 percent of the total fleet, burned pure ethanol (http://www.consumerenergycenter .org/transportation/afv/ethanol.html; broken link at 2007.1.13; California Energy Commission, Consumer Energy Center home page:
http://www.consumerenergycenter .org/ ).
Curitiba’s city government has a well-deserved attention for managing urban problems with creative strategies making the best use of limited resources. Among the city’s most striking successes are those related to coordination of public transportation and land use. Curitiba has accomplished this to a degree to which most U.S. and Canadian cities can only dream. To some extent, then, the commentary below is unduly dismal:
“Curitiba is a system which provides a third-world solution to a third world problem . . . not to entice passengers out of their cars but rather to provide basic public transport for an impoverished population” (unsigned editorial, Transit Australia, February 1999).
However , the fact remains that Curitiba’s public transport services are relatively labor-intensive, fuel-intensive and slow. Such a system would not fare well if it had to compete against the transport choices available to consumers in high-wage countries.
November 9, 2009
This week, we are going to watch one episode of the TV series “Cosmos: a personal voyage“, presented by the renowned physicist Carl Sagan.
Cosmos covered a wide range of scientific subjects including the origin of life and a perspective of our place in the universe. The series was first broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service in 1980, winning an Emmy and a Peabody Award. It has been broadcast in more than 60 countries and seen by over 500 million people, making it the most widely watched PBS program in history.
After watching the film, some grammar points and words will be outlined. We’ll deal mainly with the Present Perfect tense and some of its applications. The aim is to, basically, bring into life languange points that will enhance communication in some areas of science. In order to accomplish this, we will hold a conversation guided by topics such as sustainable development, technology development x environmental impact, space exploration, life in other planets, how our ancestors lived, etc.
Make your own briefing for the meeting! Do you have any knowledge or ideas on any of the above topics? Come and share it with us! You don’t have? Come, talk and get to know new things! You will be, at least, learning lots of English! We encourage, however, the participants to get acquainted with the subjects: it’s easier to talk about something you’ve heard or read about and, as a product, way easier to actively participate in the debate.
Please print this PDF and bring it along with you: Cosmic_Calendar.pdf
Come and join the ESC!
November 2, 2009
Please download and print the base article for our discussion:
Confessions of a Paparazzo.pdf
This week, we’ll be talking a little bit about media, celebrities and privacy. Paparazzi can be either polemic or logic and honest. But, above all, they’re wonderful to be talked about. The views and opinions concerning this profession are the most diverse they can be. They may be controversial, sometimes.
Will we come to an agreement on ethical/moral issues? Probably not!
Chasing and assaulting people in order to get a millionaire shot: do you see it as an invasion of privacy?
Talking about celebrities: do they really avoid being shot by paparazzi?
A paparazzo: is he a stand-alone professional? Or he’s just a person that represents one powerful and huge industry, the industry of media? Can we call it an industry?
Let’s talk about all this in person!
See you there,
The ESC staff.
October 26, 2009
This meeting is based on a speaking activity called Holyday Maze. The aim is to create a funny debate that will develop functional language for trips (i.e. booking a hotel/flight, directions, means of transportation, cultures, landmarks, places to go, etc).
All the necessary material will be handed out by ESC’s people.
Come and practice English!
ESC’s staff.
October 19, 2009
Internet craze
The Internet has forever changed the way we live. Its importance will continue to grow. By the year 2010 most of the world will be conducting its business, receiving its media (TV, films, music), and staying in touch solely via the Internet.
ONE SIDE OF USING THE INTERNET:
The use of the Internet around the world is doubling every few months.
The Internet has already changed the way we communicate.
Business have invested billions in the Internet.
The Internet is becoming faster all the time, you can already watch video or listen to Mp3s via the Internet.
Many people now live at home and work via the Internet.
The Internet has created unlimited new business opportunities
Most people use email instead of writing letters to keep in touch with their friends.
The Internet is still very young.
The internet is just a new form of communication, but will not change everything in our lives.
ANOTHER SIDE OF USING THE INTERNET:
The Internet, while interesting, is just a fad.
People want to go out and meet other people when they do their shopping.
It is too difficult to use the Internet and computers, most people do not have the patience.
Reading on a computer screen is uncomfortable and people will never stop wanting to read, listen to music and be entertained in traditional ways.
The Internet creates cultural homogenization – some would say Americanization, and eventually people will get tired of this.
The only real interaction between people must take place face to face on not ‘virtually’.
The Internet is mainly used by teenagers and other people who have lots of time to waste.
The ‘new’ economy of the Internet produces nothing – people cannot buy smoke.
Source: http://esl.about.com/od/conversationlessonplans/a/debate6.htm
Grammar points (to be used during the debate):
Opinions, Preferences:
I think…, In my opinion…, I’d like to…, I’d rather…, I’d prefer…, The way I see it…, As far as I’m concerned…, If it were up to me…, I suppose…, I suspect that…, I’m pretty sure that…, It is fairly certain that…, I’m convinced that…, I honestly feel that, I strongly believe that…, Without a doubt,…,
Disagreeing:
I don’t think that…, Don’t you think it would be better…, I don’t agree, I’d prefer…, Shouldn’t we consider…, But what about…, I’m afraid I don’t agree…, Frankly, I doubt if…, Let’s face it, The truth of the matter is…, The problem with your point of view is that…
Giving Reasons and offering explanations:
To start with, The reason why…, That’s why…, For this reason…, That’s the reason why…, Many people think…., Considering…, Allowing for the fact that…, When you consider that…
Download printer-friendly version (PDF): http://englishspeakingclub.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/internet-craze.pdf
