GAMES TO LEARN ENGLISH

https://www.englishactivities.net/es/

WHAT IS NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING?

Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP, provides practical ways in which you can change the way that you think, view past events, and approach your life.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming shows you how to take control of your mind, and therefore your life. Unlike psychoanalysis, which focuses on the ‘why’, NLP is very practical and focuses on the ‘how’.
How NLP Began
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NLP was co-created by Richard Bandler, who noticed that conventional psychotherapy techniques didn’t always work and was interested in trying different ways. He worked closely with a very successful therapist called Virginia Satir, and NLP was born from the techniques that really worked with patients and others.
Richard Bandler has written many books about NLP. One of the most helpful as a basic introduction is probably: How to Take Charge of Your Life: The User’s Guide to NLP, by Richard Bandler, Alessio Roberti and Owen Fitzpatrick.
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Taking Control of Your Mind: The Principle Behind NLP
NLP works from the starting point that you may not control much in your life, but that you can always take control of what goes on in your head.
Your thoughts, feelings and emotions are not things that are, or that you have, but things that you do. Their causes can often be very complicated, involving, for instance, comments or beliefs from your parents or teachers, or events that you have experienced.
NLP shows you how you can take control of these beliefs and influences. Using mind techniques such as visualisation, you can change the way that you think and feel about past events, fears and even phobias.
You can’t always control what happens, but you can always control how you deal with it
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Richard Bandler, Alessio Roberti and Owen Fitzpatrick, How to Take Charge of Your Life: The User’s Guide to NLP
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The Power of Belief
What you believe can be extremely powerful.
If you believe you’re ill and that you’re going to die, you probably will: witch doctors have been using this technique for centuries.
Likewise, if you believe that you have been given something that will make you better, you often do get better. This ‘placebo effect’ is well-documented in clinical trials.
What this boils down to is that if you believe you can do something, you probably can. But you can also challenge limiting beliefs, and change whether you believe you can do something by asking yourself questions like:
• How do I know I can’t do that?
• Who said that to me? Might they have been wrong?
Goal Setting
We’re all familiar with the principles of goal-setting, but NLP suggests some interesting new insights, focusing on satisfaction, not dissatisfaction.
For example, it’s helpful to make your goals positive; focus on what you want to have, not what you’d like to lose or not have. You should also think about what it is that you really want. For example, you don’t actually want to buy your dream house, you want to live in it. It’s much easier to get motivated about a goal that really satisfies you.
The Power of Questions
Bandler suggests that our minds actively look for answers to questions.
So if you ask yourself ‘Why do I feel so bad?’, your mind will find lots of answers and you will feel worse. With NLP the key is to ask the right questions, for example:
• Why do I want to change?
• What will life be like when I have changed?
• What do I need to do more/less of in order to change?
Questions like these naturally lead to a more positive outlook.
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Some Tools and Techniques from NLP
There are many tools and techniques used in NLP and this section gives a brief introduction to a few.
To find out more, you could go on a reputable NLP course, or read one of Richard Bandler’s books.
Moving images
• Imagine an image of someone who annoys you. Concentrate on how the picture appears in your mind.
• Make the image smaller, put it in black and white, and imagine it moving away from you. Notice how this makes you feel.
• Imagine a picture of something that makes you feel good. Make it bigger and brighter, and move it closer to you. Notice how this makes you feel.


The idea behind this thought process is that it helps you see how people or events affect you and understand the way you feel about them.
By manipulating images in this way, you are teaching your brain to magnify good feelings and make bad feelings weaker.
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Undermining the Critical Voice
Many of us will admit to having a critical voice in our heads that pops up at inopportune moments and says things like ‘You couldn’t possibly do that’, or ‘That sounds way too difficult for someone like you’.
Next time you hear the critical voice, imagine it sounding silly, maybe like Donald Duck or Tweetie Pie.
Notice how this changes the way that you regard the voice’s ‘wisdom’.


If the voice no longer sounds like someone real, it’s much easier to silence it________________________________________
Running the Movie Backwards
If you’ve had a bad experience that you’re struggling to get over, it can help to imagine it backwards.
• Start from a point in time where you realised the experience was over. Then imagine the whole incident happening backwards, until you’ve gone back to a time before it happened.
• Do this a few times until you’re familiar with the way that the ‘film’ plays backwards.
• Now make it really small in your mind – say little enough to view on a mobile phone screen - and play it again backwards.
• Finally, think of a different end to the experience, one that makes you smile. Notice how the way that you feel about it has changed.


The key to this technique is that you are showing your brain a different way of looking at a memory, which will change the way that you feel about it too.
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‘Brilliance Squared’
• Take an emotion that you would like to feel, for example confidence. Imagine a coloured square in front of you filled with the colour that you associate with that emotion.
• Imagine yourself standing in the square, filled with that emotion. Notice how you would stand, the look on your face, everything about you.
• Step into the square, and take on the mantle of the imaginary ‘you’. Feel the feeling spreading through you. Repeat this a few times, until you can do it easily.
• Now, imagine the coloured square on its own in front of you and step in. See how it feels.


The ‘trick’ here is that you have trained your mind to associate an image with a feeling. By conjuring up the image, you can now conjure up the feeling too.
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Conclusion
NLP is a very powerful technique based on the power of your own mind. Some might call it ‘mind tricks’ but, by using these techniques and others developed by NLP practitioners, you can learn to take control of your mind and how you respond to the world.You may not be able to control the world, but you can control how you react to it.

https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/nlp.html

THE 5 GOLDEN RULES OF ADULT LANGUAGE LEARNING

Ever heard that you should be language learning like a child ?

"Kids are like a language sponge" is a belief continued in the media. The mantra goes like this: Little kids are like a language sponge, they pick up any word and phrase you throw at them and will learn a language very easily.

And the myth goes on to claim that adults have missed the boat. They are starting way too late to ever reach any respectable level of expertise in a foreign language, and they'll definitely never sound like a native speaker.

Why? Because science.

This myth is about as widespread as it is infuriating. For examples, see the headlines on this article about babies and sound , or this inevitable product selling you on an invented cut-off age of seven years .

Adult Learners Can Learn A Foreign Language Quickly And Easily

In this article, I won't dwell on the volumes of research that have been done on human brains, language acquisition, speech therapy, ageing, and so forth.In a very tiny nutshell: Learning anything is harder when you're an adult, and the best evidence for any critical period is in the area of accent development (27 page ref to knock yourself out with at this URL ).

There's a great selection of research on the topic, and for a primer check out the sources listed in Becoming Fluent: How Cognitive Science Can Help Adults Learn a Foreign Language . The book is an awesome collection of helpful information, and was a fabulous resource for me as I was writing this article.

For today, I'd ask you to forget about anything you've ever heard about the childlike brain. Open your mind, and let's explore some realistic ways of making language learning work for you - at any age.

1. Analyse and Repeat Patterns

Adults can learn languages in a deliberate way. The structure of practicing new sentences is one of these keys - analyse, understand, apply, repeat.

There is no need to cram your way through grammar books as you learn a new language. It's totally possible to speak when you haven't even touched on any grammar yet. I did it in Icelandic last week, and I have helped my own German students to do this from the start.

But the key to using grammar to your advantage is in using it to answer your questions. Next time you hear someone say a sentence in your target language, repeat it and try saying something different with the same structure. If you're talking to a native, get them to give you more examples with that structure. If you're learning by yourself, consult a grammar book or text book.

What you are doing now is learning a pattern or chunk of language (like a child), and at the same time satisfying your curiosity by discovering the rule behind it (like an adult).

2. Set Goals and Track Your Progress

Goals! Projects! Missions! Whatever you call them, they are the lifeblood of sticking with where you are at as a language learner. Since you are a busy person, being accountable for your own time is one of the best ways of feeling both accomplished and efficient.

Tracking your progress is not only a good way of structuring how you learn. It will also help you combat the dangers of motivation loss. The longer you stick with what you've already studied, the easier it will be to keep going. In other words: It's easier to break a 2-day streak than to break a 2-month streak.

Tracking can work in many different ways. It can be as simple as keeping up with habit streaks on apps ( Duolingo , Memrise , or just type "habit" into any App Store). Or it can be a flexible and thorough system like the Language Habit Toolkit. .

The Language Habit Toolkit is a set of resources designed to help adult learners set meaningful goals, get motivated and stay a lot more organized than most other learners will ever be. Learn more here.

3. Move On From Setbacks

I like to tell my learners that even the brightest student won't remember a new word immediately, and instead needs to encounter it up to 15 times before it truly sticks. Anyone who has experienced that cold sweaty feeling of forgetting words mid-conversation Knows what a language setback feels like.

But there is no reason to give up at that point. Remember progress tracking? The small wall you are hitting today is a result of the long way that you have come so far. You would never have dreamed of that wall back at the beginning.

Moving on from setbacks is largely a challenge to your mindset. Remember that language learning is not a straightforward line. In fact, it doesn't even have an end point. You just go along the path every single day and become a little better with each step.

For a bit of positive thinking "in a bottle", my pre-made set of affirmations will be a great resource to check out. Remember that growth mindset - at any age, you're just getting started.

4. Know And Respond To Your Learning Style

It's impossible to predict your success based on superficial facts: Your age or your native language are practically useless in helping you figure out how to learn German vocabulary faster. Neither will your star sign , for that matter.

However, the more you understand your own preferences and habits, the easier it becomes for you to learn a language successfully.

Being aware of your social learning style can go a long way to helping you create a language learning routine that you'll enjoy for a long time. For example, the difference between extroverts and introverts shows in how they practice, read and speak languages.

Knowing the time of day when you're at your best, or recognising signs that you are tired and need to rest, are other important factors.

And don't forget the ongoing debate about learning styles. Even if the classic "visual-auditory-kinetic" styles are no longer supported in research, it's worth finding out how you best process new information. As Edutopia puts it:

It is critical to not classify students as being specific types of learners nor as having an innate or fixed type of intelligence.

Find a style that you enjoy, that doesn't zap your energy, and that helps you set habits. And if that means speaking comes on day 100, so be it.

On that note..

5. Build Great Habits

If you want to get a better handle about how to build winning habits, start with how you make habits stick in other areas of your life. For example, some people stay fit by scheduling regular workout times, while others need accountability and love tracking their runs online. I recommend you start digging into this with help from Episode 32 of the Creative Language Learning Podcast , in which we discussed habits, styles and tendencies based on the work of writer Gretchen Rubin.

Conclusion

So this article actually started out over three years ago, when I was first blogging about the many myths in language learning. I've always been bothered by this kid-language-sponge idea because it does nothing to help adult learners progress.

If you have the opportunity to expose your kids to other languages, go for it. They will do awesome.

But more importantly, do not ever believe that you are over the hill .

Here's how I finished my article in 2013.

Start thinking about this one from the other point of view: If little kids can do it, then anyone can.

I still believe the exact same thing.

What are your biggest problems as an adult language learner?

Leave me a comment below or get in touch - I'd love to hear more about what you think of the research behind this and the study methods I listed.

If you're feeling all fired up to get started and make progress with a new language right now, download the FREE Guide to the Best Resources in Language Learning by registering below.

Tomado de: http://fluentlanguage.co.uk/blog/adult-language-learner-rules

LOS 5 ERRORES MÁS COMUNES DE LOS HISPANOHABLANTES AL HABLAR EN INGLÉS

¿Cómo se debe pronunciar la palabra "sheep"? ¿Y cómo hay que diferenciarla de "ship"? ¿Qué tan diferente debe ser el sonido de la b y la v?

Cada año muchísimas personas de habla hispana se proponen el reto de aprender inglés… y también muchas de ellas caen en errores similares.

En este video, Mark Shea, profesor de inglés de la BBC, muestra algunos de los problemas con los que se encuentran más frecuentemente los hispanohablantes cuando tratan de aprender la lengua de Shakespeare.

Tomado de:  http://www.bbc.com/mundo/media-41327460

6 PARTS OF THE BRAIN DEDICATED TO MEMORY FUNCTION

The parts of the brain involved in memory are sections of a complex operation. Each part is responsible for different ideas, facts, or figures essential for memory function. 

Here are six parts of the brain that help you remember things immediately obtained or stored over a lifetime. 

Neurosurgeon: This Brain Formula Saves Your Memory 

1. The frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex plays a key role in mental functions, including decision-making, explains The Human Memory . It is also involved in processing short-term memory and longer term memory. Short-term memory helps in remembering tasks performed while longer term memory retains issues surrounding those tasks. 

2. Short-term memory develops in the prefrontal cortex , according to the Mayfield Clinic of Cincinnati, Ohio . The prefrontal cortex is part of the frontal lobe and coordinates immediate facts. It stores information for about a minute and can hold about seven items, such as a sentence just read or a phone number to remember. 

3. The temporal lobe , also part of the cerebral cortex, processes sights to help form long-term memory. It takes in visuals, such as scenes or faces of people, which are stored in the memory for future use. 

4. Within the temporal lobe is the medial temporal lobe , involved in declarative and episodic memory. Declarative memory stores and retrieves memories from events and facts. Episodic memory packages those events or facts into a series so people can remember points in time. 

5. The hippocampus is housed deep inside the medial temporal lobe. This part of the brain helps to transfer short-term memory into long-term memory. Long-term memory includes information on facts, figures, and information a person wants to memorize for a long time, the Mayfield Clinic notes. The hippocampus also grows neurons so the brain can retain these memories. 

6. The cerebral cortex also contains the basal ganglia system , which forms and later retrieves procedural memory involved in the learning process, such as how to ride a bike or play an instrument. 

After memories are formed, they are stored in the cerebral cortex and act independently so they can be recalled whenever information is needed.

Tomado de: https://translate.google.com.co/translate?hl=es&sl=en&tl=es&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsmax.com%2Ffastfeatures%2Fparts-of-the-brain%2F2016%2F05%2F23%2Fid%2F730269%2F&anno=2

Teaching Conversational Skills - Tips and Strategies

Teaching conversational skills can be challenging as not only English skills are required. English students who excel in conversation tend to be those with self-motivated, outgoing personalities. However, students who feel they lack this skill are often shy when it comes to conversation. In other words, personality traits that dominate in everyday life tend to appear in the classroom as well. As English teachers, it's our job to help students improve their conversational skills, but often 'teaching' is not really the answer.

The Challenge

Generally speaking, most English learners feel that they need more conversation practice. In fact, over the years I've noticed that the number one requested skill by students is conversational ability. Grammar, writing and other skills are all very important, but, for most students, conversation is the most important. Unfortunately, teaching conversational skills is much more challenging that teaching grammar as the focus is not on accuracy, but on production.

When employing role-plays, debates, topic discussions, etc., I have noticed that some students are often timid in expressing their viewpoints. This seems due to a number of reasons:

• Students don't have an opinion on the subject
• Students have an opinion, but are worried about what the other students might say or think
• Students have an opinion, but don't feel they can say exactly what they mean
• Students begin giving their opinion, but want to state it in the same eloquent manner that they are capable of in their native language

• Other, more actively participating students, feel confident in their opinions and express them eloquently making the less confident students more timid

Pragmatically, conversation lessons and exercises should first focus on building skills by eliminating some of the barriers that might be in the way of production.

Here are some suggestions to help 'free up' students in conversation.

• Point out that it's not necessary to always speak the truth in class. In fact, not worrying about exactly what happened can help free up students.
• Create lesson plans that focus on functional skills such as asking for permission, disagreeing, etc. rather than open ended lessons that students might find vague.
• Set micro-tasks such as the use of specific verbs, idioms, etc. within overall speaking tasks. 
• Use tasks such as information gathering or problem solving activities that encourage students to communicate in English in order to complete the tasks.

Here is a closer look at some of these ideas:

Focus on Function 

It's important to help students become familiar with language functions rather than focusing on a grammar based approach when developing lessons to help with conversational skills. Start off simple with functions such as: Asking permission, stating an opinion, ordering food in a restaurant, etc. 

Explore grammar issues by asking what linguistic formulas should be used to achieve the desired results. For example, if you are comparing two side of an argument which forms might be helpful (comparative, superlative, 'would rather', etc).

Use formulas to encourage correct usage such as:

• How / What about + Verb + Ing for making suggestions -> How about taking a trip to San Diego?
• Would you mind + Verb + Ing for making requests -> Would you mind giving me a hand?
• Would you rather + Verb + or + Verb for asking for preferences -> Would you rather take the train or drive?

Expand this approach slowly by asking students to create short role plays using cue cards. Once students become comfortable with target structures and representing differing points of view, classes can move onto more elaborated exercises such as debates and group decision making activities. 

Assign Points of View

Ask students to take on a specific viewpoint. Sometimes, it's a good idea to ask students to try to state opinions that they don't necessarily share. Having been assigned roles, opinions and points of view that they do not necessarily share, students are freed from having to express their own opinions.

Therefore, they can focus on expressing themselves well in English. In this way, students tend to concentrate more on production skills, and less on factual content. They also are less likely to insist on literal translations from their mother tongue.

This approach bears fruit especially when debating opposing points of view. By representing opposing points of view, students' imagination are activated by trying to focus on all the various points that an opposing stand on any given issue may take. As students inherently do not agree with the view they represent, they are freed from having to invest emotionally in the statements they make. More importantly, from a pragmatic point of view, students tend to focus more on correct function and structure when they do not become too emotionally involved in what they are saying.

Of course, this is not to say that students should not express their own opinions. After all, when students go out into the "real" world they will want to say what they mean. However, taking out the personal investment factor can help students first become more confident in using English. Once this confidence is gained, students - especially timid students - will be more self-assured when expressing their own points of view.

Focus on Tasks

Focusing on tasks is quite similar to focusing on function. In this case, students are given specific tasks they must complete in order to do well. Here are some suggestions on tasks that can help students practice their conversational skills:

• Create student surveys to gather information
• Team work activities such as treasure hunts
• Board games - especially games that require 
• Build something - group activities such as a science project or presentations allow everyone to join in the fun

Quick Review

Decide whether the following statements are true or false.

1. It's a good idea to have students report their experiences truthfully and in great detail.
2. General conversational activities are best for more advanced students while beginner should focus on functions.
3. Assigning point of view helps students focus on linguistic accuracy rather than stating exactly what they believe.
4. Problem solving teamwork tasks should be avoided as they are not realistic.
5. Outgoing students tend to be better at conversational skills.

Answers

1. False - Students shouldn't have to worry about telling the exact truth because they might not have the vocabulary.
2. True - Advanced students have the linguistic skills to deal with broader issues.
3. True - Assigning a point of view can help free up students to focus on form rather than on content. 
4. False - Problem solving requires teamwork and conversational ability.
5. True - Motivated outgoing students tend to allow themselves to make mistakes and thus speak more freely. 

https://www.thoughtco.com/teaching-conversational-skills-1211772