Learning new vocabulary through context clues is a strategy that is often recommended. But this is difficult for English as a second language learners because they often do not know enough vocabulary in English, so they miss the clues. While fluent English speakers understand a written English vocabulary of 10,000–100,000 words, most foreign students know only 2,000–7,000 English words prior to beginning to study at a university. For a reader to guess the meaning of new words using the context, he must know more than 98% of the words in the selected passage.

There are two levels of knowing a word: word recognition from the context is first level. To really know a word means knowing its “pronunciation, spelling, morphological and syntactic properties, and multiple meanings; the contexts in which the word can be used; the frequency with which it is used; and its collocates, or how it combines with other words.” according to Miriam Burt, Joy Kreeft Peyton, and Carol Van Duzer, Center for Adult English Language Acquisition.

They have the following suggestions for teaching English language learners:

1. Read passages that are only slightly above what you can read independently.

2. Learn high-frequency words first.

3. Provide learners with multiple exposures to specific words in multiple contexts. [This is what Denilso does with presenting multiple meanings of words to our blog readers].

4. Study lists of words and flashcards frequently.

5. Avoid learning synonyms, antonyms, or words in the same semantic set together.

6. Use both monolingual and bilingual dictionaries.

7. Test yourself by matching words to definitions or multiplechoice exercises periodically to see your progress in receptive vocabulary [word recognition].

8. Write sentences with the specific words and grammatical forms you have learned.

“Deal” is another word that has many different meanings in English. It is a noun, a verb, and part of several phrasal verbs as well.

In it’s simplest meaning, the word ‘deal’ means ‘contrato’ or ‘acordo,’ a business agreement such as a contract, a closed negotiation or an arrangement. The popular TV show here in the US ‘Deal or No Deal’ is clearly a good example of this use.

“I think we agree on the terms, so do we have a deal?”
“Acho que concordamos nas condições, então está tudo certo?”

In law, it is common to refer to ‘plea bargains’ as ‘deals.’

“The jury will convict you, so you should take the deal.”

“O júri vai te condenar, então acho que você deve aceitar o acordo.”

Another use of ‘deal’ as a noun is in the context of playing a card game. The act of giving everyone their playing cards is called ‘the deal.’ This leads us into the world of ‘deal’ as a verb. Giving everyone their cards is handled by the ‘dealer’ whose job it is ‘to deal the cards.’ The image of playing cards being dealt is a strong and common metaphor in our society, the ‘hand one is dealt’ indicating personal fate and destiny.

“This is a difficult time, but it is the hand that I have been dealt.”

“A situação está difícil, mas são coisas da vida.”

Check out this video where I explain a bit about this excellent metaphor.

One of my favorites is ‘to deal’ meaning ‘aguentar’ or even ‘dar jeito.’ This is perhaps a shortened version of ‘to deal with…’ something, which means the same thing.

“Do you mind picking up the kids later?”

“It’ll be tough, but I’ll deal.”

“Você pode pegar as crianças mais tarde?”

“Vai me atrapalhar, mas dou jeito.”

A slang phrase that is common is “What’s the deal?” which roughly translates to “O quê que é?” Related to that is the phrase “So the deal is…” which approximates “A parada é o seguinte…”

Also, a minor note: ‘to deal’ is the verb we use to mean ‘distribute illegal drugs.’ So a ‘traficante’ would be a ‘dealer’ in English.

Hope you all enjoyed!

Christopher - Portuguese Blog

Salve, minha gente! Nosso tópico hoje é algo que a muitos alunos do nível intermediário causa problemas de uso: although, though, even though, in spite of e despite. Andei fuçando em vários livros e sites e achei uma explicação bem legal no Grammar in Use, do Raymond Murphy (Editora Cambridge), um livro que vale a pena ter em casa como referência.

1) Depois de although usamos um sujeito + verbo:

Although it rained a lot, we enjoyed our holiday. (Embora tenha chovido muito, nós aproveitamos nosso feriado)

I didn’t get the job although I had all the necessary qualifications. (Não consegui o emprego, embora eu tivesse todas as qualificações necessárias.)

2) Depois de in spite of ou despite (apesar de), usamos um substantivo, um pronome (this/that/what etc.) ou a forma do gerúndio –ing.

In spite of the rain, we enjoyed our holiday. (Apesar da chuva, aproveitamos nosso feriado.)

I didn’t get the job in spite of having all the necessary qualifications. (Não consegui o emprego apesar de ter todas as qualificações necessárias.)

She wasn’t well, but in spite of this she went to work. (Ela não estava bem, mas apesar disso ela foi trabalhar.)

In spite of what I said yesterday, I still love you. (Apesar do que eu te disse ontem, eu ainda te amo.)

Despite tem o mesmo uso que in spite of, mas nunca leva o OF. Pode-se também usar as formas “in spite of the fact (that)…” e “despite the fact (that)…”

I didn’t get the job in spite of / despite the fact that I had all the necessary qualifications.

3) Às vezes usa-se though em vez de although:

I didn’t get the job though I had all the necessary qualifications.

Geralmente though vem sempre no início da frase:

Though it rained a lot, we enjoyed our holiday.

No inglês falado, sempre se vê though no fim da frase, significando “but” ou “however”.

The house isn’t very nice. I like the garden though. (= but I like the garden)

4) Even though é uma forma mais enfática de although:

Even though I was really tired, I couldn´t sleep.

Though (apesar) e although (embora, ainda que) são conjunções, ou seja, são palavras invariáveis que servem para conectar orações. Dessa forma elas podem ser substituídas uma pela outra dentro de uma frase. Entretanto, although é mais encontrada no início da sentença, enquanto que though é usada em outros pontos. Algumas pessoas utilizam o although quando querem ser mais formais, já o though tem mais a função de ligar palavras ou frases.

Exemplos:

- He still argues, though he knows he’s wrong.
- Although it rained, we had a great time.

Ouça os exemplos

Audio by: Christopher O’Donnell

Hello everybody! How’s everything? I hope you’re all doing well. Well, Alessandro wrote a post about business meetings in English so I thought I’d give him a hand and write some more about it, in a series of five articles. So let’s get down to business! First of all, I’ll give you guys a small dialogue in formal English, then the most important expressions and their definitions ok? I’ve gathered some examples from several sources and materials so if you read something which looks familiar, it is NOT a coincidence! The topic today is “Starting a Meeting”.

On behalf of this company, I’d like to call this meeting to order. This is a meeting of some of the key players in our company: our top managers. Our purpose this morning is to hear a presentation about a new initiative for outreach and marketing, and to discuss this plan with all of you.

This is a presentation that all of us have looked forward to. This initiative marks a new milestone in the evolution of our company. First, it serves as an assessment of where our company is now in terms of communicating its message to its customers domestically and abroad. Furthermore, this plan has the potential to drive our company forward by transforming our corporate outreach and marketing strategies.

We are delighted that all of the major contributors to this initiative are here today. They will use their unique perspectives to talk about the current state of affairs in terms of outreach and marketing, give details about the new proposed initiative, and outline the path for implementation.

On behalf of – speaking in the name of

Call a meeting to order – start a meeting officially

Key players – most important team members

Outreach – communication with people outside an organization

Milestone – a small accomplishment or achievement that is part of a larger project or goal

Assessment – evaluation

In terms of – regarding; with reference to

Domestically – in your own country or city

Furthermore – in addition to, besides

Drive something forward – help something progress and become better

Major – important

Current state of affairs – the way things are today; the status of something at the moment

Outline – describe the main points of an idea or plan

Well, very soon we’ll have more business expressions! And teachers who always log on to English Experts, if you teach business English and know more expressions for starting a formal meeting in English, write us! Take care!

Prof. Adir - www.adirferreira.com