Text 3:

Simple Steps to Improve Your English Reading Comprehension

1- Read the right books

If you dislike science fiction, you might not want to read a book about a man stuck on Mars. When you're choosing books (and other texts) to read, keep two things in mind:

1st. What you're interested in

2nd. Your reading level

Whenever you can, you should read things that you enjoy. You should also choose books that are at an English level just above the one you're most comfortable with. You want to challenge yourself just enough to learn new things, but not enough to get frustrated with your reading.

2. Ask yourself questions while reading and after reading

There's more to understanding a book than just reading the words!

There are a few things you can do before, during and after you read to help you better understand the text.

Before you read, browse the text. Take some time after you read too, to browse again and summarize what you remember. Try to quickly say or write a few sentences that describe what the text was all about.

Thinking about what you read will show you how much of it you really understood, and help you figure out if you still have questions.

Adapted from:

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/how-to-improve-englishreading/

Texto 04

Gottman, John. The Relationship Cure. New York: Three Rivers Press.

                                    Strengthening Relationships at Work

There is a number of things managers can do to strengthen relationships with workers. Strengthening connections with workers can lead to a win-win situation, in that workers may feel respected and valued, and can become much more engaged and productive in their work. And, managers may find that it is much easier to deal with a worker’s negative emotions or psychological health struggles when the foundation of their relationship with the worker is strong.

We can effectively build connections with workers by verbally or nonverbally seeking contact with them (i.e., making what psychologist Dr. John Gottman calls “connection bids”). A connection bid is an attempt to create connections between two people, and is essential for building, maintaining and improving relationships. A connection bid can be anything that we do to seek contact with another person:

- Asking for information: e.g., asking a worker how to solve a work problem. “Would you mind helping me with interpreting this spreadsheet? I’m struggling to get my head around the numbers.”

- Showing interest: e.g., asking workers about their hobbies or recent holidays. “Have you been doing any hiking lately?”

- Expressing affirmation and approval: e.g., complimenting a worker on his latest accomplishment. “Your presentation yesterday was excellent!”

- Expressing caring or support: e.g., demonstrating concern about a worker’s health condition. “Your cough sounds awful. You should think about going home to recover.”

- Offering assistance: e.g., offering support to a worker who is overloaded with tasks. “Would you like me to ask Jocelyn to help you with that project?”

- Making a humorous comment: e.g., lighthearted joking with a worker about a mistake you made. “Sometimes the hurrier I go, the behinder I get!”

- Sending non-verbal signals: e.g., a smile, a wink, a wave, a pat on the back or a thumbs up.

[…]

The way we respond to workers has a sizable impact on the nature of the relationships that result. If we repeatedly turn against or turn away from workers, they may eventually stop reaching out. On the contrary, if we turn toward a person as often as we can, the relationship can be strengthened and become more positive and supportive.

                       (Disponível em: www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com/mmhm)

Texto 01

Going Mobile, Going Further!

By Anderson Francisco Guimarães Maia – October 28, 2016

So what happens to “learning” if we add the word “mobile” to it? The increasing and rapidly developing use of mobile technology by English language learners is an unquestionable aspect of today’s classroom. However, the attitude EFL teachers develop towards the use of mobile devices as an aid for language teaching varies greatly.

The unique benefits of mobile learning for EFL teachers include the ability to bridge formal and informal learning, which for language learners may be realized through supplementary out-of-classroom practice, translation support when communicating with target language speakers and the capture of difficulties and discoveries which can be instantly shared as well as being brought back into the classroom. Mobile learning can deliver, supplement and extend formal language learning; or it can be the primary way for learners to explore a target language informally and direct their own development through immediacy of encounter and challenge within a social setting. We still miss sufficient explicit connection between these two modes of learning, one of which is mainly formal and the other informal. Consequently, there are missed opportunities in terms of mutual benefit: formal education remains somewhat detached from rapid socio-technological change, and informal learning is frequently sidelined or ignored when it could be used as a resource and a way to discover more about evolving personal and social motivations for learning.

One example of how mobile devices can bridge formal and informal learning is through instantmessaging applications. Both synchronous and asynchronous activities can be developed for language practice outside the classroom. For example, in a discussion group on Whatsapp, students can discuss short videos, practice vocabulary with picture collages, share recent news, create captions and punch lines for memes, and take turns to create a multimodal story. Teachers can also create applications specifically to practice new vocabulary and grammar to support classroom learning.

Digital and mobile media are changing and extending language use to new environments as well as creating opportunities to learn in different ways. Mobile technology enables us to get physically closer to social contexts of language use which will ultimately influence the ways that language is used and learned. Therefore, let us incorporate mobile learning into our EFL lessons and literally “have the world in our hands”.

        (Disponível em http://www.richmondshare.com.br/going-mobile-going-further/)

TEXT 1 below, retrieved and adapted from https://chroniclingamerica. loc.gov/lccn/sn83035487/1851-06-21/ed-1/seq-4/ on July 9th, 2018.

Text 1 

                    Women’s rights convention – Sojourner Truth

      One of the most unique and interesting speeches of the convention was made by Sojourner Truth, an emancipated slave. It is impossible to transfer it to paper or convey any adequate idea of the effect it produced upon the audience. Those only can appreciate it who saw her powerful form, her whole-souled, earnest gesture, and listened to her strong and truthful tones. She came forward to the platform and addressing the President said with great simplicity:

      "May I say a few words?" Receiving an affirmative answer, she proceeded: I want to say a few words about this matter. I am a woman's rights. I have as much muscle as any man and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal. I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now. As for intellect, all I can say is, if a woman has a pint, and a man a quart -- why can't she have her little pint full? You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much; -- for we can't take more than our pint will hold. The poor men seem to be all in confusion, and don't know what to do. Why children, if you have woman's rights, give it to her and you will feel better. You will have your own rights, and they won't be so much trouble. I can't read, but I can hear. I have heard the bible and have learned that Eve caused man to sin. Well, if a woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again. The Lady has spoken about Jesus, how he never spurned woman from him, and she was right. When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha came to him with faith and love and besought him to raise their brother. And Jesus wept and Lazarus came forth. And how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and the woman who bore him. Man, where was your part? But the women are coming up blessed be God and a few of the men are coming up with them. But man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, he is surely between a hawk and a buzzard.

Reference: Robinson, M. (1851, June 21). Women’s rights convention: Sojourner Truth. Anti-slavery Bugle, vol. 6 no. 41, Page 160.