André, Patrícia, Raquel, Júlia and Daniel demystify some of the stereotypes about the Brazilians.

(Patrícia, Júlia, Daniel and André on the photo)

Priscilla, Tarso and Cláudio tell you a little bit more about their dream Brazil.

Check out the Brazilian Conversation Group easter gift for you! They will teach how to surprise someone you love!

Happy easter straight from hot Brazil!

As easter is coming, I found no better way to celebrate it with my conversation class than by teaching them how to mold chocolate eggs. Of course, I could have just given them a little one and everybody would be happy. However, I felt this was a chance to explore learning in an area which is generally neglected in English classes, cooking. I'm sure that through the fun experience of learning by doing, my students left our Friday afternoon class with better knowledge of a gastronomic vocabulary that they had never studied before. Besides, they had this feeling of accomplishment for having done something by themselves. Certainly, much more meaningful than just eating a little chocolate egg given by the teacher!

Check out the Class photos.

Any questions about the techniques, about the activity or the group?

Feel free to ask us!

Carla Arena and the Conversation Class Team

Useful vocabulary to learn how to make chocolate eggs:

Ingredients: baker's chocolate, nuts, brigadeiro (typical Brazilian chocolate fudge made of condensed milk)

Kitchenware: heatproof bowl, mold, spatula

verbs: melt, stir, overheat, crush, prepare, mold, pour, spread, fit together, harden, fill, set, be ready, unmold, slide right out, temper, scrape, remove, tap, hold up, pop out of the mold, remove, cool

More words: mold, evenly, layer, edges, glossiness, heat, egg halves, lumps of chocolate, excess, air bubbles, bottom of the mold, bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened, rice crispies, foil, wax paper, silk paper, rose-colored wrapping paper, marble counter, fridge

Let's begin to Samba with English! This is our meeting place to learn and share. I hope to see people from all over the world interacting with us.

Carla Arena straight from Brasilia, Brazil

Listen to SambaEFL and Follow:
Welcome to SambaEFL Podcast. I’m Carla, a Brazilian English teacher speaking directly from Brasilia. And you are here with me to learn English. Why Samba? Why SambaEFL?

Well, just as anyone can learn to dance samba, you can learn English! English can be as magical as samba. It has its own rhythm and specific sounds. There are some basic steps and some tricks, and you certainly need to be persistent to master it. But when you get to the flow, in synch with it, you start understanding how it works. Then you just start speaking, having fun with English the same way it happens with samba!

So, my idea is to help students learn English through the discussion of interesting, cultural, and up-to-date topics so that learners in different parts of the world start to share, interact and have fun with English!

So let’s samba with English!

Well, this was carnival week in Brazil. Carnival in my country is celebrated in different ways. In Rio, the world sees that glamorous parade with people dancing samba in wonderful shiny and colorful costumes. It is a democratic party. You can see people from the slums, favelas, who work hard all year long to have the chance to parade, and the ones who can afford the costume and parade in one of the “Escolas de Samba”. In Salvador, people buy “abadás”. They are clothes that serve as your ticket to get in one of the “Trio Elétricos”, trucks that carry lots of amplifiers and a band that plays non-stop for hours in a row. Bono Vox, u2’s vocalist, was in Bahia’s carnival and even sang with our Minister of Culture, a popular singer in Brazil, Gilberto Gil. Do you know him? In Recife, in the state of Pernambuco, there’s a specific Brazilian rhythm called “Frevo” and friends dance in the streets to celebrate carnival.

My question to you: Is carnival celebrated in your city or country? Do you like it? How is it celebrated? Please leave your comments and share your ideas with us.

I’m waiting for you. What are you waiting for?
This is Carla, your podhost, waiting for you to samba with English!