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ENGLISH A FIRENZE

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Translanguaging

Sep 23, 2021
1 min

Translanguaging

A made-up word? No, not all. It is a term that describes how students learn a new language using various mother tongues. Students who do this can progress faster in their uptake of the additional language. An example: 2 students with say Italian and Spanish as their native language are asked to finalise a comprehension exercise in English together. To do so, they use a mix of English, Spanish and Italian to complete the task. Is this right or wrong? Right, I say! Translangua

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UBU

Jun 26, 2021
1 min

UBU

What is UBU? I am not referring to the University of Bristol nor the Universal Bomb Unit. The top definition of the Urban Dictionary is as follows: Written version of “You Be You” that encourages individuality and the freedom to be yourself and tell the world who you are. UBU is associated with the Domo character. A profound meaning connected to a seemingly simple image of a Japanese cartoon figure that conquered the world. One of my students found a job where they use UBU as

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Three ingredients

Dec 8, 2020
1 min

Three ingredients

Self-belief and confidence in your own ability to speak another language are essential. So do believe you can. Trying to get the pronunciation 100% right from the beginning is important, but let it not stop you to start speaking. Ask yourself how many different English accents are there in the world. Quite a few. We all know British, American, Australian and Irish accents, which are being voted as the most interesting ones. But Indian English, Standard Singaporean English and

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Learning styles

Nov 1, 2020
2 min

Learning styles

For a while, I haven't written a blog as I got too busy with teaching. This is good news for sure. Just a quick update that English a Firenze is still alive and kicking. I want to take the opportunity to talk about some of my recent experiences. Styles It will not come as a surprise that I have now experienced different approaches. And this time I mean the learner, not the teaching. As we are mostly talking about adults they have a say in how they learn. I do apply the Commu

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My host country. Superlatives

Sep 3, 2020
2 min

My host country. Superlatives

What can I say anything other than how great Italy is. From a historic point of view, it's one of the youngest countries in Europe. It has stunning nature and the most interesting cultural heritage. Greatest Exploring Campania first. Who hasn't heard of the Vesuvius and Pompeii. Sad that a whole village suffered from the 79AD outburst, but leaving an amazing stamp on time for us to explore. Strange to think that the Vesuvius is the largest active volcano in Europe, but closel

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Back to basics. Point it out!

Aug 21, 2020
1 min

Back to basics. Point it out!

Demonstrative words. If you like to point something out whether it is nearby or far away you can do this easily. The only thing you need is the tiny words this (nearby), that(far away), these (nearby) and those (far away). If your book is in your hands. You refer to this book If the book is laying on the furthest shelf in the bookstore. You refer to that book. If you like the shoes the salesperson shows you. You refer to these shoes. If you talk about shoes you have seen 5 da

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Enrichment

Aug 14, 2020
2 min

Enrichment

Primarily as a hobby, we hosted dinners for tourists in our Florence home for the past two years. The benefits were plentiful. We enjoyed welcoming foreigners to our home and sharing a great meal. Like many others since January of this year, we hosted not one family and we are surely missing the company. The dictionary states that enrichment means the action of improving or enhancing the quality or value of something and not only in terms of money. We are truly missing the ne

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Trading in bulbs

Aug 6, 2020
2 min

Trading in bulbs

Onion futures act I did not know that trading in humble, but delicious goods as the onion can lead to the introduction of laws. In 1955 two traders in Chicago owned 98% of the onion market in future options importing onions from all over the States to Chicago. As a result, they could initially drive up the price and made millions out of it. Later, they even shipped the onions, who were rotting, out of Chicago to clean them and ship them back to be sold for less than the price

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The next step. The nuances of obligation.

Jul 30, 2020
1 min

The next step. The nuances of obligation.

Nuances More than any other language I have encountered English caters for an amazing amount of expressions to order or strongly advise you to do something. Apart from the most obvious -must- and -have to- there are a few more: should In your opinion, something you should or should not do! ought to It is stronger than should, more generic (traditional) had better This implies that there is a consequence if not followed through must Use must when it is an obligation/ order /

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Back to basics. Give an order!

Jul 21, 2020
1 min

Back to basics. Give an order!

Must or Have to The key difference between using - must -and -have to - is found in the obligation you want to express. If it is a law or something forbidden by rules affecting you personally, whether these rules are set by a company or listed at a swimming pool, you use - must -. You must not steal. (one of the commandments from the bible "thou shall not") You must not smoke at any of the premises (it is forbidden to smoke at company premises) You must not dive. (Diving is f

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Granted a rich word!

Jul 14, 2020
2 min

Granted a rich word!

Take for Granted The verb to grant as well the noun a grant is multi-layered. The word popped in my head because of my life turning slowly back to normal, after the hopefully first and last lockdown caused by the COVID crisis, here in Italy. The signs are positive. Our freedom to travel before the crisis was something I took for granted. Without questioning I considered it a normal way of living, but I am firmly put in my place as life throws unexpected things at us. Get a Gr

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Quote. What is your first thought?

Jul 7, 2020
2 min

Quote. What is your first thought?

Association Depending on whether you are a pure linguist or firstly an entrepreneur at heart, you will associate a quote or a quotation differently. The linguist will definitely think about the use of quotes, "referral to an expression of someone else which you should not change." The business person will think about a price indication for the services or goods they are buying. Quotes in language The word quote is a word already used in the 14th century in middle English and

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The next step. Ability or capability?

Jun 30, 2020
2 min

The next step. Ability or capability?

Ability and capability Both nouns are often used interchangeably. This is not wrong but there is a difference. Ability means that you are able, you are skilled and have the time and capacity right now to execute a task or follow up actions. Capability expresses that potentially you can execute the task, you have the ability but other circumstances are holding you back, whether it is time constraints or something else. How to express You will need a verb in English to express

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Back to basics. Yes I can!

Jun 23, 2020
1 min

Back to basics. Yes I can!

If you start speaking a new language it is very handy if you can tell someone what you can or cannot do. In this way, you can avoid miscommunications. In a shop when you are looking for something, the shop assistant could ask: "Can I help you?". A good question to recognise and a question you could use yourself. Not speaking the language doesn't mean you are not willing to help out your colleagues or friends. But, more often, in the beginning, you have to set your pride aside

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Fine line between jargon and clarity

Jun 18, 2020
1 min

Fine line between jargon and clarity

Catchphrases Fieldcore a great company I worked for, uses " Field Services Focused on World-Class Execution", a slogan to attract customers. Internal catchphrases are even more concise, they include words like 'Safety, Integrity, Boldness' or even shorter statements like 'Simple & Nimble'. If the catchphrase easily translates in the company's elevator pitch it is a good one. It functions as a memory aid and marketing tool. Equally important, it promotes company identity for

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The next step. The future tense or not?

Jun 14, 2020
2 min

The next step. The future tense or not?

Climate Change My concern for the future state of our planet is perfect for talking about the use of the future tense. To continue living at the same standards, we need to work hard to achieve the blue side of the picture in 2051. It is great that the younger generation is engaged through the Fridays for Future, headed up by Greta Thunberg. The key is not to inconvenience our daily life, but to find alternative solutions which are less polluting. This sounds very idealistic,

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Memories

Jun 11, 2020
2 min

Memories

Blast from the past. How fun is it if you have not seen someone for a long time and you run into an old acquaintance. A ghost from the past can really bring back many memories. A blast from the past is another way of saying this. A blast being described as a gust of wind, an explosion or a shockwave is another way to trigger your memory from something that happened in the past. It can be either a reoccurring situation or person resurfacing as a surprise, bringing back good or

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Back to basics. The present continuous

Jun 8, 2020
1 min

Back to basics. The present continuous

Ongoing action The present continuous or progressive is the most used verb tense in the English language. The present, I work, is not enough to express an ongoing action, I am working does that without a doubt. A useful example, your colleague asks: "When is the report ready?" and you answer: "I am working on it". The progressive form is also called a gerund. Other languages In my household where we have knowledge of French, Italian, Dutch, Danish, and German we started to t

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MoM - Minutes of Meeting

Jun 6, 2020
2 min

MoM - Minutes of Meeting

Necessary or redundant? Given the sector, whether it is business, politics or education minutes have different degrees of importance. Comments, such as "it is extra work, no-one reads them" are heard, but they do play an important role. It is a tool as part of project planning. The record taking helps to drive actions forward and ensures to engage the attendees to follow up their part of the objectives set, as well as putting decisions made n black and white. In governmental

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Back to basics. The Simple Present

Jun 1, 2020
1 min

Back to basics. The Simple Present

Don't forget the 3rd-singular - s - The conjugation of verbs in English is indeed more straightforward than in many other languages. Please do not forget the 3rd-singular -s-. The infinitive is "to make" and the base verb is "make". So for I, You, We, and They, we use the base form of the word "make" and for He/She/It, we say "makes", e.g. he makes an excellent cup of tea. How to differentiate the subject Please do never forget to actually say the I do, he does or they do. T

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