noth•ing•ness (nŭth′ĭng-nĭs, ˈnʌθ ɪŋ nɪs) noun. 1. the state or condition of being nothing; nonexistence 2. empty or unfilled space; lack of being 3. absence of consciousness or life 4. complete insignificance or worthlessness 5. something that is worthless or insignificant na·da How can nothing be so much? Nothingness takes up space. It starts growing into you and then beyond you, to surround you and fill up the room that was once occupied by […]
flow (flō, fləʊ, floʊ) verb. 1. to move along or run smoothly in a stream; to circulate 2. to proceed steadily and easily 3. to exhibit a smooth or graceful continuity noun. 1. the smooth motion characteristic of fluids 2. a stream, current or flood 3. continuous movement or circulation flu·ir Doesn’t life feel like a river? A steady flow, running fluidly along a stream. Sometimes low tide, sometimes high. Sometimes the current is strong, sometimes weak. Doesn’t life […]
of•ten (ˈɔ fən, ˈɒf ən; ˈɔf tən, ˈɒf-) adverb. 1. many times; frequently. 2. in many cases. fre·quen·te·men·te |qüen| How often do you pronounce the t in often? Often enough to change, perhaps. Quite often, we tell lies to ourselves. Every so often, we say we cannot, when we know we can. More often than not, we get to believe in those stories we tell. Quite […]
re·tune (riːˈtjuːn) verb. 1. to tune (a musical instrument) differently or again 2. to tune (a radio, television, etc) to a different frequency res·sin·to·ni·zar Did you ever feel unattuned, out of tune, like a radio unable to find the right frequency? I do. Many of us do. There will always be times when you feel out of place, out of time, out of tempo. Like a piano in a dissonant tone, […]
im·per·fect (ɪmˈpɜːfɪkt) adjective. 1. not perfect; characterized by defects or weaknesses 2. not complete or finished 3. (Grammar) of a verb form that expresses an uncompleted or ongoing action im·per·fei·to(a) You are. I am too. And as obvious as this may be, we tend to forget that we were all born imperfect. You are imperfect when you conjugate verbs in the present while talking about the past. I […]
blurred (blɜːd) adjective. indistinct or hazy in outline; unclear in form or expression turvo(a) Blurred is what life is. Most of the time. Against our desire for clarity. And we must keep going, we always have to, even especially when things get blurred. Because somehow, somewhere, at a given step of the way, things will get clearer and the […]
air (ɛər) noun. 1. The atmosphere. A colourless, odourless and tasteless gaseous mixture, mainly nitrogen and oxygen that surrounds the earth. 2. An atmospheric movement; a light breeze. 3. The sky. ar Can you think of a word simpler than “ar”? It feels as light and effortless as its own meaning. And it makes you want to repeat it over and over through your day, a thousand times if needed: ar… ar… […]
globe•trot•ter (ˈgloʊbˌtrɒt ər) noun. A person who travels often and widely to countries all over the world. cos·mo·po·li·ta I love the expression cidadão do mundo. I love even more the expression globetrotter. And how I wish one was the translation of the other. But, no. The dictionary often prefers to translate “globetrotter” as “cosmopolita”, perhaps out of respect due to our dear Greek word kosmos. […]
light (laɪt) noun. electromagnetic radiation of any frequency or wavelength, sometimes visible by the normal human eye verb. 1. to set on fire; to ignite or burn 2. to emit light; to become luminous 3. to provide, cover, or fill with light; to illuminate adjective. 1. characterised by or filled with light; bright 2. not dark in colour 3. having a greater degree of lightness; not heavy luz • iluminar • leve I thought of August and wished to talk about lightness. But […]
breathe (briːð) verb. 1. to take a pause; rest 2. to take air into the lungs and expel it; inhale and exhale; respire 3. to move or blow gently, as air 4. to speak softly; whisper 5. to live; exist ( res·pi·rar ) breath (brɛθ) noun. 1. the capacity to breathe; the act or […]
o·ver·load (ō′vər-lōd′) transitive verb. o·ver·load·ed, o·ver·load·ing, o·ver·loads. To load too heavily. noun. An excessive load. so·bre·car·ga I often feel this weight. But, when I look around, I realise that I am not the only one. This persistent “overflow” has become the rule rather than the exception, to progressively settle in as our default mode. Each […]
Principalmente se for para falar de amor. Estamos em Fevereiro, o famoso mês do amor, da paixão e dos namorados. Mas, sabemos que falar de amor nem sempre é simples! Seja por vergonha, por dificuldade em encontrar as palavras certas, seja por não saber de antemão como nos havemos de expressar, muitas vezes ficamos […]
Muito nos questionam sobre as TEA sessions, ou seja, a forma como as aulas de inglês são dadas pelos nossos professores. A verdade é que estas têm uma forma muito própria de se desenvolver. Mas, o intuito e o objetivo final são sempre os mesmos: ajudar os nossos alunos (affairs) a aprender inglês de forma […]
Pare e pense por um segundo! Quais são para si as características ideais de um bom professor de Inglês? Será que o mesmo deve dar aulas online? Será que deve ter disponibilidade de horários? Será que deve garantir-lhe acesso a vários conteúdos que dificilmente encontra sozinha? Obviamente que tudo isso deve ser tido em consideração. […]
Pode parecer um conceito estranho, mas se lhe dessem a possibilidade de ter aulas de Inglês como treina no ginásio? O que acharia dessa possibilidade? Pois bem, o SWIT [Speaking and Writing Intensity Training] funciona de forma muito similar ao treino num ginásio. Trata-se de um serviço mensal de aulas de Inglês, que não tem […]
Esta é uma das perguntas mais traiçoeiras que se pode fazer a um professor de Inglês, mas perguntas traiçoeiras podem dar origem a respostas ainda mais traiçoeiras. É assim que, mais uma vez, nos encontramos no meio de uma chuva de números e estatísticas que estão longe de serem consensuais. Há quem fale em anos, […]
