Podcast: Viajar é preciso

Podcast 6 - Traveling
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Podcast: Viajar é preciso!
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Traveling traveling traveling....!
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Oh boy! Do I like doing some traveling...!
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I consider myself a homebody. Do you know what a homebody is? It's that kind of person
who loves staying home. Who really enjoys doing home stuff, such as reading, listening to
music, having friends over, watching a movie (and rarely television), cooking and a whole lot
of other things related to being home.!
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But I'm crazy about traveling!!! Isn't that an oxymoron? Ok ok ok.... That's not a very
common word. But I'm sure you get the idea. Two opposite ideas: being a homebody and
loving to travel. How can that be? In my world that's perfectly possible.!
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When I travel I feel alive! I feel the adrenaline in my body! When I'm traveling I really feel in
my skin that the world is still moving. That life is happening no matter what I do.... So I'd
better do something!!!
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Traveling is like going to school to learn about the world. And if you travel you are going to
learn about something. Not only about the world, but about people, their lives, their
behaviors, their feelings. You are going to learn more about yourself.!
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The thing is: when you're home, you're comfortable, you know your way around, you
dominate the area. There are no challenges. And you know what? I love that too! But when
I'm traveling I have that feeling of not being stuck and I'm always experiencing something
new. Weather it's a new place, a new view, a new friend, a new dish even a new challenge.
Traveling makes you think in different ways all the time. It forces you into being more flexible
towards life. You learn to be more respectful and understand that people are different and in
a certain way, the same... The same need for love, caring, respect, attention. When we
travel, these principles stand out in front of our eyes. And it makes you understand what
really this is all about.!
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When you travel you realize how important it is to be able to communicate. Speaking English
is a "must" when traveling abroad. So if you're listening to this podcast, congratulations!
You're practicing what is most important in communicating in English, especially if you're
traveling abroad: listening, listening, listening...!
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Listening and understanding during your trip is more important than speaking. And that's
kind of obvious, because if you don't understand what people say to you, what's the use of
speaking? You know what I mean? So don't you forget that. Your English speaking skills
come from the activity of listening.!
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http://firststeps.agoraeufalo.com
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Here are some tips for you to practice your listening before taking off:!
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1- know what you're about to listen!
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Lots of people ask me if they should watch tv or listen to music in order to practice their
English. And I always say no! Why not? Because in order to really train your ears and mind
for the English language, you have to control the activity of listening. What do I mean by
that? Know what you're going to listen before you start listening. If it's an audio, have the
script of that audio in hand and make sure you understand what it is about. New vocabulary,
phrases, etc. If it is a video you're going to watch make sure you know what the story on the
video is about, new vocabulary, new phrases and so on. And only after you are completely
familiar with what you're going to listen, start the listening activity.!
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2- listen as many times as you can in a short period of
time.!
Take for example, one hour practice. Listen to this audio material as many times as you can
within that hour. Ok, let me clear that up: you start listening. then listen again, and again, and
again until you’re kind of sick and tired of that same topic. In a way that if anybody asks you
anything about what you’re listening you can practically tell the whole story with your own
words. By doing that, your mind starts synchronizing with your ears, and you start having
that feeling of thinking in english. Because you have heard those phrases so much that you
won’t feel the need for translation anymore. Now if you do this everyday, trust me.
Something is gonna happen. And you’ll feel amazed when you listen to other materials.!
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3- Answer question about the topic you have just listened!
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When I create an audio, I include questions about the topic… and you can answer as you
listen. You won’t need to stop playing to answer. You’ll have the feeling as if you were talking
to me about the topic of the audio. This will give you speed of conversation. Because you
won’t answer with long sentences. You’ll answer with short sentences just like a normal
conversation.!
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4- Learn to have fun with this!
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You gotta have fun during your training. Just like when you are traveling. Remember: when
we travel there are exciting moments and there are boring and difficult moments. But we try
to have fun all the time right? with good and bad times. Same thing goes for english training.
Have fun!!!! Don’t let the difficult parts of English training get in the way of your having fun.!
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Now it’s your turn:!
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Tell me here in the comments. what do you like traveling and what is challenging for you
when it comes to traveling?!
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I will answer all your comments!!
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Thanks for listening and I’ll see you soon!!
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Cheers!!
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http://firststeps.agoraeufalo.com
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