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Thursday, November 10, 2011
FREE - TEGOBA "All-Time Members' Monthly Reunion"
Come join us tomorrow! It's that time of the month when we come up with an excuse to get together will old TEGOBA's friends. Of course, as always, we're open to make new friends as well.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
English Lessons for Spanish Speakers
Texas-born Cloverdale is an experienced English teacher who has been teaching in Spain for more than 30 years. "Cloverdale's Corner" is the name of his podcast. There's a new hour-long podcast posted daily Monday through Friday. The format is a class environment with Cloverdale teaching three or four students coming from different Spanish-Speaking countries. Students on some of the podcasts I listened to come from Peru, Bolivia, España, Argentina and even a Chinese Spanish-speaking student. These podcasts are extremely useful because Cloverdale corrects every single pronunciation and grammar mistake students make. He is really fluent in Spanish and has a vast knowledge of our language. This comes in handy when he clarifies difficult concepts in both English and Spanish. He fully understands the difficulties Spanish speakers face when learning English.
He also has a sense of humor. A very particular one, mind you.
He also has a sense of humor. A very particular one, mind you.
Subscribe to the podcast: http://www.vaughanradio.com/podcast.asp
The English Group of Buenos Aires FAQ
1) What is The English Group of Buenos Aires?
We are a group of people who meet every week at a coffee shop to speak English.
2) Why do you do it?
To improve our English, meet old friends and make new ones, and have a good time.
3) Who are the participants?
Locals who attend on a regular basis, expats and visitors to Buenos Aires.
4) Who can attend the meeting?
Anyone who is fluent in English.
5) How can I participate?
Send us an email to grupo_de_ingles@hotmail.com telling us a little bit about yourself.
6) Are there any charges involved?
No, it is a free activity. However, all participants are encouraged to buy something at the coffee shop since that is their condition for letting us meet there.
7) Are there any rules?
Just common sense guidelines: speak only in English, don't monopolize the conversation, respect others' opinions.
8) Where is the meeting held?
In a coffee shop located in Belgrano. Email us to get directions on how to get there.
9) When does the group meet?
Every Friday from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm.
10) Where can I get more info about the group?
Blog: http://www.theenglishgroup.blogspot.com/
Join our Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/Tegoba
RSVP for our Weekly Events: http://bit.ly/TegobaEvent
Like us on our Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/TegobaPage
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TEGOBA
We are a group of people who meet every week at a coffee shop to speak English.
2) Why do you do it?
To improve our English, meet old friends and make new ones, and have a good time.
3) Who are the participants?
Locals who attend on a regular basis, expats and visitors to Buenos Aires.
4) Who can attend the meeting?
Anyone who is fluent in English.
5) How can I participate?
Send us an email to grupo_de_ingles@hotmail.com telling us a little bit about yourself.
6) Are there any charges involved?
No, it is a free activity. However, all participants are encouraged to buy something at the coffee shop since that is their condition for letting us meet there.
7) Are there any rules?
Just common sense guidelines: speak only in English, don't monopolize the conversation, respect others' opinions.
8) Where is the meeting held?
In a coffee shop located in Belgrano. Email us to get directions on how to get there.
9) When does the group meet?
Every Friday from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm.
10) Where can I get more info about the group?
Blog: http://www.theenglishgroup.blogspot.com/
Join our Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/Tegoba
RSVP for our Weekly Events: http://bit.ly/TegobaEvent
Like us on our Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/TegobaPage
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TEGOBA
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Practice Your English With a Native Speaker Without Leaving Your Room
Voice chat is great for improving your speaking skills in a foreign language. These days, you don't even need to download software to do that. For example, there's Shared Talk which is a web-based flash application from the same company that created the award-winning, language-learning software Rosetta Stone. This app allows you to have a voice one-on-one conversation with a student learning your native language, in exchange for the language you are learning (in this case English--but it can be any number of different languages).
If you'd rather use a IM software, you can use Skype - probably the most popular one these days for PC to PC's calls - or yahoo or msn messengers which work really well too.
Bear in mind that in order for you to have a successful conversation, a headset is highly recommended. If you don't have one, you can always resort to regular headphones and a microphone. This greatly improves the sound quality as you won't get the echo or delay effect that is common when using loudspeakers and a microphone. Another important thing is having a broadband Internet service although that is not indispensable. In my experience, as long as one of the parties has a broadband Internet connection, you would be able to carry out a conversation successfully.
If you'd rather use a IM software, you can use Skype - probably the most popular one these days for PC to PC's calls - or yahoo or msn messengers which work really well too.
Bear in mind that in order for you to have a successful conversation, a headset is highly recommended. If you don't have one, you can always resort to regular headphones and a microphone. This greatly improves the sound quality as you won't get the echo or delay effect that is common when using loudspeakers and a microphone. Another important thing is having a broadband Internet service although that is not indispensable. In my experience, as long as one of the parties has a broadband Internet connection, you would be able to carry out a conversation successfully.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Martin Luther King, Jr.: I Have a Dream
Washington,D.C.
August 28, 1963
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
Washington,D.C.
August 28, 1963
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
Friday 23 Book Club: I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King
After the successful discussion on "The Happy Prince", this will be our next text. But before that, as an extra information about Oscar Wilde's text, I tell you that the short story we discussed about last meeting, was the first translation that Jorge Luis Borges made. He did it when he was... 9 years old. It was published in "El País" newspaper, and people at that time thought it was his father's work. So I guess that Borges, Argentina's most important writer of the last century, must have found something special on it. Don't you think? And talking about the new text, it is related to one of the subjects we discussed about at the movie club: discrimination. It is Martin Luther King's speech called "I have a dream". Speeches in general are interesting, and this one is one of the most important and well-known of the twentieth century.You can read it here: http://www.drmartinlutherkingjr.com/dream.htm
Or, even better, listen to it here: http://blog.lextext.com/_attachments/1676937/IHaveADream.mp3
Or watch the video here: I Have a Dream Speech on You Tube with different footage cuts(remember that NLP says that words are only 7% of the message: the rest is body language, and the way words are spoken: tone, speed, volume, pauses, etc.). Some extras, in case you are interested in reading a little more:
Info about the speech: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_have_a_dream
Info about the author: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.
The meeting is next Friday but, as the speech is short, you are not going to have problems to read it or listen to it before that day.
Or, even better, listen to it here: http://blog.lextext.com/_attachments/1676937/IHaveADream.mp3
Or watch the video here: I Have a Dream Speech on You Tube with different footage cuts(remember that NLP says that words are only 7% of the message: the rest is body language, and the way words are spoken: tone, speed, volume, pauses, etc.). Some extras, in case you are interested in reading a little more:
Info about the speech: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_have_a_dream
Info about the author: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.
The meeting is next Friday but, as the speech is short, you are not going to have problems to read it or listen to it before that day.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Welcome to The English Group of Buenos Aires' Blog.
Hi everybody! We are a group of "porteños" who meet every Friday at a coffee shop to speak English and have a good time. It is an easy going and informal meeting, free, just for fun.
We are usually visited by travelers who are interested in meeting locals.
This is a new space we created to share news, photos, comments, and to be in touch with the people who visit us from abroad. For info about the group, please check our website, and if you want to join us, send us an email, so we can know a little more about you.
The English group of Buenos Aires
Website: http://www.theenglishgroup.com.ar/
Email: grupo_de_ingles@hotmail.com
Blog: http://theenglishgroup.blogspot.com/
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9936546140
We are usually visited by travelers who are interested in meeting locals.
This is a new space we created to share news, photos, comments, and to be in touch with the people who visit us from abroad. For info about the group, please check our website, and if you want to join us, send us an email, so we can know a little more about you.
The English group of Buenos Aires
Website: http://www.theenglishgroup.com.ar/
Email: grupo_de_ingles@hotmail.com
Blog: http://theenglishgroup.blogspot.com/
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9936546140
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