Solutions

1. The man is very, very short and can only reach halfway up the elevator buttons. However, if it is raining then he will have his umbrella with him and can press the higher buttons with it.
2. The surgeon was his mother.
3. It was day time. Nowhere does it say it was night.
4. He recognized Adam and Eve as the only people without navels. Because they were not born of women, they had never had umbilical cords and therefore they never had navels. This one seems perfectly logical but it can sometimes spark fierce theological arguments
5. They were two of a set of triplets (or quadruplets, etc.). This puzzle stumps many people. They try outlandish solutions involving test-tube babies or surrogate mothers. Why does the brain search for complex solutions when there is a much simpler one available?
6. The man had hiccups. The barman recognized this from his speech and drew the gun in order to give him a shock. It worked and cured the hiccups--so the man no longer needed the water. This is a simple puzzle to state but a difficult one to solve. It is a perfect example of a seemingly irrational and incongruous situation having a simple and complete explanation. Amazingly this classic puzzle seems to work in different cultures and languages.
7. The third. Lions that haven't eaten in three years are dead.
8. Freeze them first. Take them out of the jugs and put the ice in the barrel. You will be able to tell which water came from which jug.
9. The answer is Charcoal.
10. Sure you can: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow!

In one of the books I teach I discovered a section on lateral thinking problems and how language can make a big difference to these problems. For example number 2 would not work in Portuguese. So have a look and see if you can find the solutions. I will give the answers next week.

 

Lateral thinking

Lateral thinking is solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic. The term was coined in 1967 by Edward de Bono. According to de Bono, lateral thinking deliberately distances itself from standard perceptions of creativity as either "vertical" logic or "horizontal" imagination.

Classic Lateral Thinking Exercises

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1. There is a man who lives on the top floor of a very tall building. Everyday he gets the elevator down to the ground floor to leave the building to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can only travel half way up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the way unless it's raining! Why?
2. A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on the scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital. When he arrives the surgeon says, "I can't operate on this boy, he is my son! " How can this be?
3. A man is wearing black. Black shoes, socks, trousers, coat, gloves and ski mask. He is walking down a back street with all the street lamps off. A black car is coming towards him with its light off but somehow manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?
4. A man died and went to Heaven. There were thousands of other people there. They were all naked and all looked as they did at the age of 21. He looked around to see if there was anyone he recognized. He saw a couple and he knew immediately that they were Adam and Eve. How did he know?
5. A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year. But they were not twins. How could this be so?
6. A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says 'Thank you' and walks out. This puzzle claims to be the best of the genre. It is simple in its statement, absolutely baffling and yet with a completely satisfying solution. Most people struggle very hard to solve this one yet they like the answer when they hear it or have the satisfaction of figuring it out.
7. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?
8. There are two plastic jugs filled with water. How could you put all of this water into a barrel, without using the jugs or any dividers, and still tell which water came from which jug?
9. What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and gray when you throw it away?
10. Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday? (or day names in any other language)

 

Most of the time when people think about learning a new language they immediately think about boring grammar lessons, repetitive writing and listening exercises, and reading uninteresting books given to them by their teacher.

You need to find a way to connect your passions to your learning.

One very common way I notice students do this, unconsciously in most cases, is with video games. On several occasions I have started teaching people with an intermediate level of English, and when I ask them how they learnt they often say mainly with video games.

Today I would like to share with you some online ESL video games that can help you take your English to the next level. Let’s take a look and see what you guys think.

Basic Online ESL Games

Games Zone  

This website is filled with many free games that are directed specifically for English learners of all levels. Here you will find games that test your grammar knowledge, teach you a lot of new vocabulary, and can help you a lot with spelling.

English Club ESL Games 

English club is a great resource for all your English needs, but did you know they also have a huge range of learning games?

Here you will find a large list of games for vocabulary, grammar, and even pronunciation. Some of these games include word jumble games, hangman, and much more. Take a look around and I’m sure you will be surprised with the large variety of simple, yet fun and educational games.

Games to learn English 

Similar to the first two websites, here you will also find a large variety of word games and spelling quizzes to test your knowledge. Although it’s more directed for beginner to intermediate learners, it is still good to play them every now and then even if you are more advanced just to keep your vocabulary up to scratch [of good quality].

Advanced Online ESL Games

Tripppin 

This is not just a game, this is an online learning experience. Tripppin is an online platform, similar to facebook, that teaches you English through the experience of travelling around the world.

Join Trip and his nerdy twin brother Pin on this adventurous global journey, while learning and living the English language. Throughout this crazy adventure you will be required to use your English to complete missions, and you will be exposed not only to the language in a very real way, you will also be learning all about cultural aspects too.

To find out more about Tripp, Pin, and the awesome English learning adventure they have to offer, take a look at the website and make sure you check out this cool video.

[media url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUkjCmM-Dc4" width="500" height="300"]

DuoLingo 

DuoLingo  is focused on teaching the world all different kinds of languages, for free. This site also offers and app for your phone which will teach you English, and many other languages, through a game-like platform in which you have to pass different levels and gain lives.

The games offers a vast range of activities which include listening and repeating exercises, fun grammar tests, and a lot of vocabulary quizzes.

To find out more about Duo Lingo and how to use it, check out this article.

Lyrics Training 

If you are a music lover and enjoy singing then you are really going to appreciate this site.

Lyrics training is a “fill in the blanks” game for all your favorite songs. All you have to do is go to the website, choose a song that you like and the game will begin. The song will start playing in the video box (generally a youtube video) and underneath will appear the lyrics. You will see a blank space in the lyrics and the video will stop, you have to put in the missing word for the song to continue.

This is a great way to practice your listening comprehension and also expose yourself to a lot of new vocabulary.

Using Video Games to Learn English

So what about real video games? Counter Strike, Grand Theft Auto, The Sims?

All of the games I mentioned above where designed specifically to help people with their English, but even games that aren’t designed for English learning can improve your English a lot.

When playing these kinds of adventure games, it is like you are watching a movie, but you are controlling the main character. This is excellent for your English because your character is going to interact with other characters in the game, and you have to understand to be able to pass all the missions. Source:( http://reallifeglobal.com/english-for-life-learn-english-with-video-games/)

If that’s not a good enough way to practice your English, technology has made the game playing experience even better with online games. Some online games like Counter Strike or Warcraft can be played in teams with people from all around the world.

With this technology, people are communicating with other teammates from different countries, strategizing their attacks, working together to complete the game, and practicing a lot of English at the same time.

So there you have it, something that my mum once thought was ruining her youngest child could actually have been teaching him another language, if I was playing a game that wasn’t in English.

This week I thought i would look at something different. For those of you who like to cook, you may wish to try this classic American recipe usually, but not exclusively, eaten for breakfast.

 

Fluffy American pancakes

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These pancakes are light and fluffy and great for a weekend brunch. Try adding a large handful of fresh blueberries to the batter before cooking.

Ingredients                            

• 135g/4¾oz plain flour                          
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 130ml/4½fl oz milk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp melted butter

 

ingredientes

• 135g / 4¾oz de farinha de trigo

• 1 colher de chá de fermento em pó

• ½ colher de chá de sal

• 2 colheres de sopa de açúcar refinado

• 130 ml leite / oz 4½fl

• 1 ovo grande, levemente batido

• 2 colheres de sopa de manteiga derretida

 

Preparation method

1.     Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a large bowl. In a separate bowl or jug, lightly whisk together the milk and egg, then whisk in the melted butter.

2.     Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and, using a fork, beat until you have a smooth batter. Any lumps will soon disappear with a little mixing. Let the batter stand for a few minutes.

3.     Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a knob of butter. When it's melted, add a ladle of batter (or two if your frying pan is big enough to cook two pancakes at the same time). It will seem very thick but this is how it should be. Wait until the top of the pancake begins to bubble, then turn it over and cook until both sides are golden brown and the pancake has risen to about 1cm (½in) thick.

4.     Repeat until all the batter is used up. You can keep the pancakes warm in a low oven, but they taste best fresh out the pan.

5.     Serve with lashings of real maple syrup and extra butter if you like.

 

Key words 

Sift –                                    peneirar

Whisk –                               mexer

Pour –                                  despejar

Beat –                                  bater

Smooth batter –                massa lisa

Lumps –                              protuberâncias

Non-stick frying pan –     frigideira antiaderente

Knob –                                pequeno pedaço

Bubble –                              bolha

Risen -                                 aumentou