Interesting view of reading skills

Reading is an important part of learning English. This guide to how to improve your reading skills will help you improve reading by using skills you use in your own language. In other words, one of the best tips on improving reading is to think about how you read in your own language. Start by thinking about how you read different documents. How do you read the newspaper? How do you read novels? How do you read train schedules? and so on. Taking time to think about this will help give you clues on how to read in English - even if you don't understand every single word. Ask yourself this question: Do I read every word in your own language when I am reading a schedule, summary, or other outlining document?The answer is most definitely: No! Reading in English is like reading in your native language. This means that it is not always necessary to read and understand each and every word in English. Remember that reading skills in your native language and English are basically the same. Here is a quick overview of the four types of reading skills used in every language:Skimming - used to understand the "gist" or main idea. Scanning - used to find a particular piece of information. Extensive reading - used for pleasure and general understanding. Intensive reading - accurate reading for detailed understanding. You can use these reading skills in a number of ways to improve other areas of English learning such as pronunciation, grammar and increasing vocabulary.
From : Reading how to improve skill \About.com English as 2^nd language

Happy Valentine's day. Always and forever You and i kenny roger bee gees lyrics

and the Oscar goes to.....(by Lauren Smith).

• By Lauren Smith

Ads by PlusHD.5Ad OptionsThe Oscars nominations for 2014 were announced.
Whilst favourites Gravity and American Hustle led the way with 10 nominations each (as expected after racking up Golden Globes last weekend), there were some surprise omissions from the nominations list.
Critically acclaimed film Inside Llewyn Davis didn't receive any major nominations, whilst Mary Poppins-themed flick Saving Mrs Banks fared similarly poorly. One of the biggest shocks was Tom Hanks being snubbed for his role in Captain Phillips - the film's director Paul Greengrass also missed out on the Director nomination. Also a surprise was Emma Thompson missing out on nom for Saving Mrs Banks. Aside from the snubs, there are also some surprises - Philomena has been nominated for four awards (including Best Picture). But what's unsurprising are the nine nominations 12 Years a Slave's racked up, including included best director and picture. American Hustle also got huge amounts of nominations, including all four acting categories for its stars Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. It's Amy Adams' fifth nomination - but she'll have tough competition from Sandra Bullock for Gravity, Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine, Dame Judi Dench for Philomena and Meryl Streep for August: Osage County. This is Streep's 18th nomination - so no pressure, Amy! Most importantly, the Queen of last year's Oscars (J-Law, obvs) is up for Best Supporting Actress for American Hustle - so expect comedy capers if she wins.Scroll down for the full nominations list - and let us know what you think in the comments below. And the Oscar nominations are...BEST PICTURE:American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity Her Nebraska,  Philomena , 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street.
ACTOR in a Leading Role :Cristian Bale - American Hustle,Bruce Dern - Nebraska, Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street, Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave, Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club.
ACTRESS in a Leading Role:Amy Adams - American Hustle, Cate Blanchett -  BlueJasmine,Sandra Bullock - Gravity, Judi Dench - Philomena,Meryl Streep - August: Osage County,
ACTOR in A Supporting Role:Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips,Bradley Cooper - American Hustle,Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave,Jonah Hill - The Wolf of Wall Street,Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club.
ACTRESS in a Supporting Role:Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine, Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle.,Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave, Julia Roberts - August: Osage County, June Squibb - Nebraska.

Improving every day

HOW TO EVOLVE AND IMPROVE EVERY DAY

Among many others, the best investment is what we can do in our mind. The mental enrichment is the supreme and definitive heritage. Material goods can be stolen, but the investment that we make in our own mind no one can steal. If all our possessions  consist of material goods and we lose them,  in fact we remain without anything. However,  wisdom will always be our main patrimony, because despite  the circumstances it cannot  be taken from us and, through it, we can conquer everything else back. Knowledge is  the way which allows us to win back all over again.
Most of us, adults, certainly have been committed to be better as a person and having a healthy family life and a prosperous career. We take our work seriously always  researching our specialty, making improvements in order  to  achieve a reasonable degree of success. We could, however, have been much more successful,  since we had started  thinking like this when we were very young. If that had happened, we would have established goals,  planned  more.We would read more, research more  associated more with others, sought more information with experts, invested more in our development and, for sure , manage to deal much more efficiently with our money and our time.

Invictus - Great movies

Hi fellows. Recently I've seen this movie and I wd like pretty much to share the story with you.
With the fall of apartheid in South Africa Nelson Mandela tries to unite his countrymen and bring peace by bringing the Rugby World Cup to his country.In the film, with the same name, Mandela is Morgan Freeman (fantastic) directed by Clint Eastwood who wanted to pay a tribute to Mandela. Its an inspiring true story where Mandela shares this poem, Invictus with us,after telling us it had been inspiring to him during his time in prison, helping him to stand when all he wanted to do was to lie down. I do recommend this film.
Because I found it very inspiring indeed I brought this brilliant poem written by W.E.Henley, to you too. Enjoy. Cleo
Invictus by William Ernest Henley Invictus Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. William Ernest Henley

Quem quer embarcar nesta viagem?

Gostar de um idioma é o princípio fundamental para o aprendizado de uma língua estrangeira. Muitas são as estratégias, inúmeras são as opções para adquirir esse conhecimento. Uma delas, talvez, a melhor, é permanecer num país que fale tal língua, por um tempo considerável que vai depender do grau de facilidade ou dificuldade do candidato. Para isso será necessário conhecimento prévio do idioma, básico para sobrevivência e ter como objetivo tirar o máximo proveito do tempo empregado, tentando conciliar estudo e trabalho. Como nem sempre é possível ausentar-se do país pelo alto custo financeiro, por vínculos de emprego ou familiar, pode-se optar pela imersão que acontece em feriados ou fins de semana. É um programa diferenciado de aprendizagem que permite um aprofundamento na prática de língua estrangeira, desenvolvendo e melhorando seu domínio.

Além das aulas tradicionais em escolas especializadas, há cursos multimídias, livros e revistas, filmes não dublados, noticiário internacional, letras de músicas preferidas, contos, poesias, conversação com um nativo pela internet etc. A lista é interminável. O segredo é não limitar-se apenas a uma atividade para evitar o tédio e para que se possa trabalhar as diferentes habilidades: leitura, escrita, compreensão e fala
Um fator vital para a eficácia de qualquer estratégia de aprendizagem é a motivação; é entender e avaliar a importância na ampliação dos horizontes linguísticos, dado que alguns conteúdos necessários no mundo acadêmico, profissional ou social encontram-se disponíveis somente naquela língua estrangeira. Uma comunicação fluente em um segundo ou terceiro idioma aumenta consideravelmente a empregabilidade e ajuda nas promoções de carreira. Um aprendizado eficiente ocorre fazendo-se uso de um material rico, variado, lúdico que torna o estudo em momentos de prazer, de relaxamento e diversão. Dedicação é o ponto chave para obtenção de um conhecimento sólido. Praticar sempre, um pouco por dia, todos os dias. OrionEnglishStudio  orionenglishstudio@gmail.com cleo.benitez@hotmail.com

JOB HUNTING DURING THE HOLIDAYS BY SUSAN P.JOYCE FROM WCC

Job Hunting During the Holidays Is a Waste of Time? NO!

Many job seekers seem to wait until the New Year to get a “fresh start.” That is a VERY big mistake! January 2 starts the most competitive job market of the year!

Reality: The Holidays Are a GREAT Time to Find a New Job

Although the holidays are the best time of the year to find “seasonal” work in retail, those jobs are NOT the only opportunities available. The holidays are actually a great time to hunt for a permanent job when you measure the real activity:

• Only 1% more jobs were open in January and February (vs. November and December).
  Using the number of job postings as a measure, January and February of 2013 showed only 1% more open jobs than the number for the preceding November and December, excluding the holiday seasonal jobs.
• Only 3% more jobs were filled in January and February (vs. November and December).Using the number of jobs filled as a measure, January and February of 2013 exceeded the numbers for November and December  of 2012 by only 3%, again excluding the holiday seasonal jobs.
• Job seekers drop out during November and December.Using traffic to job search related websites as a measure, the volume is typically lowest in November and December – lower than even in July and August, the most popular summer vacation months. Then, traffic usually skyrockets in January and February by as much as 100% or more as the post-holiday job seekers jump into the market.
• Employers are more desperate to fill jobs in November and December.
  Using employer spending as a measure, employers are willing to pay more to promote their job postings in November and December than they are in January and February (when they have plenty of attention from job seekers).

4 Holiday Job Search Advantages

There are four primary reasons to continue your hunt for a job during November and December:

1. Employers want to fill the openings before year end.

They want to be 100% staffed up for the start of the New Year to be well positioned to achieve their year’s goals. So, they want to fill those job openings in November and December.

2.  Fewer job seekers are competing for the same number of jobs.

I always cringe when a job seeker tells me that they are getting ready to launch their job search on January 2. That’s when everyone who is even considering getting a new job seems to take a look (New Year’s resolutions?). But, in November and December, those job seekers who are getting ready for January are not cluttering up the process, taking opportunities away from the people who are smart enough to be job hunting.

3.  Holiday gatherings offer more networking opportunities.

People do more socializing during the holidays. So, to celebrate the holidays, they throw parties, have big dinners, and attend other seasonal events. It’s “the time” to celebrate, so keep your job search in mind when you attend those gatherings.

4.  The holidays are a great excuse to reconnect.

Get back in touch with the people in your network you have lost contact with - friends, school pals, neighbors and former neighbors, co-workers and former co-workers,  bosses and former bosses, etc. Make phone calls, reach out via email, or send a snail-mail card. It’s “the time of year” for reconnecting!

Leverage the Holidays to Advance Your Job Search

Don’t waste the opportunities presented by this wonderful time of the year! Keep your job search in mind when you attend holiday gatherings, even those with your family. Don’t drone on and on about it, but – when asked! – tell people the job you want and some target employers you would like to work with.
If you are unemployed, don’t let lack of employment keep you at home – “tiz the season” to network to your next job!