How to improve your English!

Learning English (or any language for that matter) is a process. You are continually improving your English and the following "HOW TO" describes a strategy to make sure that you continue to improve effectively.

Here is How:

1. Remember that learning a language is a gradual process – it does not happen overnight.

2. Define your learning objectives early: What do you want to learn and why?

3 Make learning a habit. Try to learn something every day. It is much better to study (or read, or listen to English news, etc…) 10 minutes each day than to study 2 hours once a week. Remember to make learning a habit! If you study each day for 10 minutes English will be constantly in your head. If you study once a week, English will not be as present in your mind.

4. Choose your materials well. You will need reading, grammar writing, speaking and listening materials.

5. Vary your learning routine. It is best to do different things each day to help keep the various relationships between each area active. In other words, don’t just study grammar.

6. Find friends to study and speak with. Learning English together can be very encouraging.

7. Choose listening and reading materials that relate to what you are interested in. Being interested in the subject will make learning more enjoyable – thus more effective.

8. Relate grammar to practical usage. Grammar by itself does not help you USE the language. You should practise what you are learning by employing it actively.

9. Move your mouth! Understanding something doesn’t mean the muscles of your mouth can produce the sounds. Practise by saying what you are learning aloud. It may seem strange, but it is very effective.

10. Be patient with yourself. Remember learning is a process – speaking a language well takes time. It is not a computer that is either on or off!

11. Communicate! There is nothing like communicating in English and being successful. Grammar exercises are good – having your friend on the other side of the world understand your email is fantastic!

12. Use the Internet. The Internet is the most exciting, unlimited English resource that anyone could imagine and it is right at your finger tips.

I wish...

This is my wish for all of you: great friends on difficult days, laughs when sadness invades, rainbows to follow the clouds, smiles to brighten your days, hugs to warm your heart, beauty for your eyes to see, confidence in your own beliefs and wishes, courage to know yourself, patience to pursue your dreams, love to complete your life!

All my very best,

Sara Boto Jardim

(Your English teacher 2008-2010)

Age Discrimination

Children's rights

Every child and young person has rights, no matter who they are or where they live. Nearly every government in the world has promised to protect, respect and fulfil these rights, yet they are still violated worldwide.

The Human Rights of Children

Children's rights are the perceived human rights of children with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to the young, including their right to association with both biological parents, human identity as well as the basic needs for food, universal state-paid education, health care and criminal laws appropriate for the age and development of the child. Interpretations of children's rights range from allowing children the capacity for autonomous action to the enforcement of children being physically, mentally and emotionally free from abuse, though what constitutes "abuse" is a matter of debate. Other definitions include the rights to care and nurturing.
"A child is any human being below the age of eighteen years, unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier."

According to Cornell University, a child is a person, not a subperson, and the parent has absolute interest and possession of the child, but this is very much an American view. The term "child" does not necessarily mean minor but can include adult children as well as adult nondependent children. There are no definitions of other terms used to describe young people such as "adolescents", "teenagers," or "youth" in international law, but the children's rights movement is considered distinct from the youth rights movement.
The field of children's rights spans the fields of law, politics, religion, and morality.

SHOUT for a safer South Africa!

Shout SA is a movement that was started by South African musicians Danny K and Kabelo Mabalane after the murder of musician Lucky Dube. The video above features the cream of South African musicians as they band together to give South Africans a voice in the fight against crime. All South Africans have been touched by crime in some way and most know someone who has died as a result of crime, be it from an unlicensed vehicle skipping a red light or during a robbery or hijacking.

The cross genre interweavings – rock, soul, hip hop, jazz, and choral, are complimented by a truly outstanding design awareness. And the song in this context has discovered a powerful uniting theme – crime.

Visit SHOUT SA website here!

Why can't we live together?

Enough is enough!

UNESCO’s Declaration on Cultural Diversity

Article 1 - Cultural diversity: the common heritage of humanity
Culture takes diverse forms across time and space. This diversity is embodied in the uniqueness and plurality of the identities of the groups and societies making up humankind. As a source of exchange, innovation and creativity, cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature. In this sense, it is the common heritage of humanity and should be recognized and affirmed for the benefit of present and future generations.

Article 2 - From cultural diversity to cultural pluralism
In our increasingly diverse societies, it is essential to ensure harmonious interaction among people and groups with plural, varied and dynamic cultural identities as well as their willingness to live together. Policies for the inclusion and participation of all citizens are guarantees of social cohesion, the vitality of civil society and peace. Thus defined, cultural pluralism gives policy expression to the reality of cultural diversity. Indissociable from a democratic framework, cultural pluralism is conducive to cultural exchange and to the flourishing of creative capacities that sustain public life.

Article 3 - Cultural diversity as a factor in developmentCultural diversity widens the range of options open to everyone; it is one of the roots of development, understood not simply in terms of economic growth, but also as a means to achieve a more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence.

Article 4 - Human rights as guarantees of cultural diversity
The defence of cultural diversity is an ethical imperative, inseparable from respect for human dignity. It implies a commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular the rights of persons belonging to minorities and those of indigenous peoples. No one may invoke cultural diversity to infringe upon human rights guaranteed by international law, nor to limit their scope.

Article 5 - Cultural rights as an enabling environment for cultural diversity
Cultural rights are an integral part of human rights, which are universal, indivisible and interdependent. The flourishing of creative diversity requires the full implementation of cultural rights as defined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in Articles 13 and 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and cultural Rights. All persons should therefore be able to express themselves and to create and disseminate their work in the language of their choice, and particularly in their mother tongue; all persons should be entitled to quality education and training that fully respect their cultural identity; and all persons have the right to participate in the cultural life of their choice and conduct their own cultural practices, subject to respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Article 6 - Towards access for all to cultural diversity
While ensuring the free flow of ideas by word and image, care should be exercised so that all cultures can express themselves and make themselves known. Freedom of expression, media pluralism, multilingualism, equal access to art and to scientific and technological knowledge, including in digital form, and the possibility for all cultures to have access to the means of expression and dissemination are the guarantees of cultural diversity.

Article 7 - Cultural heritage as the wellspring of creativity
Creation draws on the roots of cultural tradition, but flourishes in contact with other cultures. For this reason, heritage in all its forms must be preserved, enhanced and handed on to future generations as a record of human experience and aspirations, so as to foster creativity in all its diversity and to inspire genuine dialogue among cultures.

Article 8 - Cultural goods and services: commodities of a unique kind
In the face of present-day economic and technological change, opening up vast prospects for creation and innovation, particular attention must be paid to the diversity of the supply of creative work, to due recognition of the rights of authors and artists and to the specificity of cultural goods and services which, as vectors of identity, values and meaning, must not be treated as mere commodities or consumer goods.

Article 9 - Cultural policies as catalysts of creativity
While ensuring the free circulation of ideas and works, cultural policies must create conditions conducive to the production and dissemination of diversified cultural goods and services through cultural industries that have the means to assert themselves at the local and global level. It is for each State, with due regard to its international obligations, to define its cultural policy and to implement it through the means it considers fit, whether by operational support or appropriate regulations.

Article 10 - Strengthening capacities for creation and dissemination worldwide
In the face of current imbalances in flows and exchanges of cultural goods and services at the global level, it is necessary to reinforce international cooperation and solidarity aimed at enabling all countries, especially developing countries and countries in transition, to establish cultural industries that are viable and competitive at national and international level.

To read the whole text, click here.

Let's fight against discrimination!