Técnicas de Leitura e Compreensão de Textos em Língua Inglesa

Apesar de a Língua Inglesa ser a língua oficial do mercado internacional, que todo falante deve saber usá-la se quiser ser bem aceito (e remunerado) no mercado de trabalho, e ela ser disciplina obrigatória na grade curricular das escolas brasileiras, a maior parte dos alunos, principalmente os que não frequentaram escolas de idiomas, tem dificuldade em compreender um texto em língua inglesa. Para driblar essa situação, existem técnicas que facilitam a compreensão de um texto em qualquer língua.De acordo com Tony Randall, em seu artigo "How you improve your vocabulary" (como melhorar seu vocabulário), o inglês é uma língua com o maior vocabulário: mais de um milhão de palavras. Para falar, no entanto, um adulto normal precisa de apenas 30.000 a 60.000 delas. Não é tão difícil assim.

O primeiro passo para se compreender um texto em outra língua é observar toda a sua estrutura: títulos, subtítulos, pistas tipográficas - datas, números, gráficos, figuras, fotografias, palavras em negrito ou itálico, cabeçalhos, referências bibliográficas, etc. Essas informações, parte delas não-lineares, complementam as informações contidas no texto e, observadas antecipadamente, fazem com que se tenha uma ideia melhor sobre o assunto em questão. A essa técnica chamamos inferência (inferir) - "adivinhar" qual o assunto do texto mediante uma leitura rápida (SKIMMING). É importante observar também as questões referentes ao texto, assim pode-se ter noção do que será cobrado na leitura e, sabendo disso previamente, será mais fácil e prático filtrar as informações dentro do texto.

O segundo passo é uma leitura minuciosa do texto à procura de informações específicas. Essa técnica se chama SCANNING, que consiste em buscar informações detalhadas, sem que seja necessário fazer uma leitura do texto todo. Geralmente é feita de forma top down (de cima para baixo). Enquanto no skimming o leitor leva tudo em conta para a compreensão do texto, no scanning rejeitam-se os elementosperiféricos para se ater à seleção de informações importantes para solucionar os propósitos que levaram à leitura.

O terceiro passo é uma leitura mais cuidadosa, levando-se em conta tanto os cognatos como os falsos cognatos. Caso encontre uma palavra que não saiba o significado, não consulte o dicionário, pois às vezes ele apresenta vários significados e você correrá o risco de fazer uma escolha errada. O próprio contexto fará com que você infira seu significado. Não se prenda à tradução palavra por palavra, pois o mais importante é a compreensão geral do texto

Ao levar em conta estas técnicas, o leitor evitará muitas headaches (head - cabeça / aches - dores).

(Adaptado de http://www.infoescola.com/ingles/tecnicas-de-leitura-e-compreensao-de-textos-em-lingua-inglesa/)

Comentário sobre o texto: Acredito que é preferível começar pelo scanning e depois o skimming. Estas estratégias, porém, não são 100% eficazes. É preciso procurar conhecer bem a língua.

Simple Past

O passado simples em Inglês é usado para descrever ações ocorridas em um passado definido.

Texto - Inglês Instrumental

Doing It Themselves

In India, education is supposed to be free and universal through age 14. In fact, it often doesn’t work out that way. Consider Dhiraj Sharma, the 10-year-old son of a bicycle rickshaw driver in Delhi, who was forced to stay home last year after the local state denied him admission because he didn’t have the right papers – a common problem. So Dhiraj is now applying to a private school. For just $6 a month, the R.S. School offers a much better education than the state, says Dhiraj’s father, Ramesh, complaining that his son “finished class three in government school, and he can’t read anything!”

Such problems have sparked a boom in private schooling throughout the developing world. In 2000, James Tooley, an administrator for Orient Global, a Singapore company that invests in education for the poor, went walking in Hyderabad, India, and was startled to find private schools on virtually every corner. He launched a full-scale study in India, China and Africa, and everywhere, officials and aid agencies told him such schools for the poor didn’t exist. But when his researchers explored the villages and slums, they found that not only did they exist, they were flourishing. “It’s a tremendous success story,” says Tooley. “Entrepreneurs are catering to poor, low-income families, and they’re achieving better than the government at a fraction of the cost.”

(From Doing It Themselves, EDUCATION, NEWSWEEK August 20 / August 27, 2007, page 50.)

Verbos e Simple Present

Antes de iniciar o estudo propriamente dito dos verbos em inglês é importante fazermos certas considerações acerca dos verbos em inglês e da sintaxe da língua inglesa.

A estrutura sintática das frases em inglês é bastante rígida, diferente da sintaxe do português, que é bastante flexível. A maioria absoluta das frases em inglês se organiza da seguinte forma:

SUJEITO – VERBO – OBJETO

Ou seja, o verbo sempre irá exigir a presença de um sujeito, pois não há orações sem sujeito na língua inglesa e não se pode ocultar o sujeito como em português (exceto em raros casos que ocorrem na língua falada, em situações extremamente informais). Além disso, os verbos que pedem um objeto sempre devem ser seguidos desse objeto, ele não pode ser omitido.

Por isso, não é possível responder perguntas como “Do you like basketball?” com respostas como “Yes, I like”. As opções de resposta afirmativa para essa pergunta poderiam ser “Yes, I like it” ou “Yes, I do”, o que aprenderemos mais adiante.

Pronomes Indefinidos

Os pronomes indefinidos são:

· Some – algum(a), alguns(as), uns, umas, um pouco.

Usado em frases afirmativas.

Ex.: I need to buy some fruits.

Às vezes é usado em frases interrogativas, quando se está oferecendo algo.

Ex.: Do you want some help?

· Any – algum(a), alguns(as), nenhum(a), qualquer, quaisquer.

Usado em frases negativas (significando nenhum(a)), interrogativas (significando algum(a), alguns(as)) ou mesmo afirmativas (significando qualquer, quaisquer).

Ex.:

I don’t have any money.

Do you have any food there?

I will take any of those buses.

· No – nenhum, nenhuma.

Usado em frases afirmativas com sentido negativo.

Ex.: I have no money.

· None – nenhum, nenhuma.

Usado da mesma forma que no, sendo que não acompanha substantivo. É usado quando o substantivo a que se refere está omisso.

Ex.: Do you have any money? I have none.

Principais indefinidos compostos

Somebody / someone	Something	Somewhere
Anybody / anyone	Anything	Anywhere
Nobody / no one	Nothing	Nowhere

Texto: Family Relationship (Instrumental)

An article on family relationships, offering ideas for keeping your family close, from the time they are children until they become adults.

With the widespread success and use of the home computer, people are simply a mouse click away. The innovation of email and digital photographs has made it possible for families to stay in touch; however, is this really enough? While technology has enabled us to talk to people all over the world, in some ways it is hampering us from intimate contact, especially with our families.

Keeping your family close must start when you children are very young. If you instill in them at an early age the importance of family, there are more chances that your message will stick when they become adults.

An important way to ensure family closeness is by creating special family traditions. While we all know everyone eats turkey on Thanksgiving, add something special to the day. Perhaps set aside this day for the entire family to play games. Try playing something as simple as Bingo, where everyone will get a prize – and here's the real treat – make the prizes "coupons". For instance, "This coupon good for one free movie with mom" or "This coupon good for one indoor picnic." Thanksgiving is traditionally a day for football, so organize a friendly family game of your own. You will be surprised how your children will come to treasure these special family times.

Of course, as your children grow, marry and have children of their own, it is not as easy to spend each holiday together. Be flexible and either alternate holidays or pick a few specific holidays where the entire family will be together. Sometimes this sounds like an overwhelming feat, especially if you have a large family, but as I said, children, even when they become adults, need those special occasions and traditions and they will go out of their way to make sure they happen.

Many families that have grown and multiplied considerably but are scattered through the country make it a point to hold a family reunion each year. This is a great opportunity for cousins to get to meet one another, sisters to catch up on gossip and mothers to sit back and enjoy their children and grandchildren.

Another basic premise for keeping your family close is raising them in such a way that they like each other. By this I mean treat your children equally as they are growing; do not favor one over the other as this will lead to jealousy and resentment and will probably continue into adulthood. Foster closeness among your children, praising them equally for their own accomplishments without comparing them to each other.

As your children reach adulthood, become more of a friend than a parent. By this I mean, don't make them feel guilty when they do not call or visit you on a daily basis. This will only lead to a relationship based on obligation rather than anticipation.

When careers and circumstances dictate moving away, you can still remain close. As I stated at the beginning of this article, the Internet has enabled us to reach out to others to ways that were never before possible. For the "computer nerd" in the family, have them set up a family web-site where each of you can "meet". Set up an Internet chess game or game room where once a week or once a month you all get together to play a game.

While modern technology will never replace the warmth of a mother's hug or the pat on the back from his father, keeping close is possible. When a family is built on love, respect and devotion, they will always find a way to be close – if not in body, then in spirit.

Texto p/ Instrumental: London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the largest metropolitan area in the European Union. London is one of the world's most important business, financial and cultural centres and its influence in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion and the arts contributes to its status as a major global city. Central London is the headquarters of more than half of the UK's top 100 listed companies and over 100 of Europe's 500 largest companies. The city is a major tourist destination for both domestic and overseas visitors, with annual expenditure by tourists of around £15 billion. London hosted the 1908 and 1948 Summer Olympic Games and will host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Samuel Johnson, author of the first complete dictionary, famously wrote about the city, citing “You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”
Greater London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; the historic settlement of Greenwich; the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; and the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's Church.
London's population draws from a wide range of peoples, cultures, and religions, and over 300 languages are spoken within the city. As of July 2007, it had an official population of 7,556,900 within the boundaries of Greater London making it the most populous municipality in the European Union, with a population more than double that of its nearest rival. As of 2001, the Greater London Urban Area had a population of 8,278,251 and the metropolitan area is estimated to have a total population of just under 14 million, the largest metropolitan area in the EU. The public transport network, administered by Transport for London, is one of the most extensive in the world, Heathrow Airport is the busiest airport in the world by international passenger traffic and the air space is the busiest of any city in the world.