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

 We may not get the opportunity to teach much slang in the classroom, nevertheless it can be important when listening to native speakers. This can be in real life, films tv or music. The more you understand slang the easier it will be to appreciate the cultural aspects of English. Below are just a few examples of some common slang words.

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airhead: stupid person.

"Believe it or not, Andy can sometimes act like an airhead!"

awesome: great and impressive.

"Andy is truly awesome!"

beat: tired.

"I'm really beat because I was awake all night."

biggie: something important.

"I was hoping to get my homework completed, but it's no biggie. "

bonkers; go bonkers: crazy.

"If Andy works too hard, he sometimes goes slightly bonkers!"

booboo: a mistake.

"I made a booboo on the last question of the exam."

booze: alcohol.

"The CCBEU  party was fun, even though there wasn't any booze."

bushed: extremely tired.

"I'm completely bushed."

cheesy: cheap; outmoded.

"Why are you wearing such cheesy clothes?"

chicken: coward.

"Don't be such a chicken!"

cool: excellent; superb.

"Andy is totally cool!"

couch potato: a person who watches too much television.

"Why did I have to marry such a couch potato?"

crap [offensive]: something worthless.

"My furniture is a bunch of cheap crap."

freebie: something that does not cost money.

"My trip to New York was a freebie."

get it: to understand something.

"Sorry, but I just don't get it."

go bananas: go slightly mad.

"This project is causing me to go bananas!"

grub: food.

"Where's the grub?!"

guts : courage.

"It took a lot of guts to ask his boss for a raise."

hot : popular.

"Brad Pitt is really hot now."

humungous: really big.

"American supermarkets are humungous."

jerk: stupid or annoying person.

"How could you go out with such a jerk?"

knock: condemn.

"Don't knock it unless you've tried it."

laid back: relaxed; calm.

"I always feel laid back at the beach."

 

make waves: cause problems.

"Teachers don't like students to make waves."

neat: cool; great.

"Isn't my new car neat?"

party animal: someone that loves parties.

"Andy has been known to sometimes be a party animal."

peanuts: very little money.

"I love my job, but the pay is peanuts."

pee: to urinate.

"I always have to pee after drinking beer."

piss: to urinate. (impolite)

“I need to go for a piss”

 

pissed (off): angry; upset.

"I'm really pissed (off) at you."

rip off (1): stealing.

"Someone ripped off my car."

rip off (2): fraud.

"I paid $10,000 for my computer. What a rip off!"

rubbish: nonsense; not true.

"That rumor is a bunch of rubbish."

screw up: to make a mistake.

"I screwed up on the driving test, so I didn't pass."

screw-up: a person who makes a mistake.

"Why are you such a screw-up?"

suck: to be bad and unacceptable.

"That song really sucks!"

turn-off: something that repulses a person.

"Bad breath is a real turn-off."

umpteen: many; countless.

"I've asked you umpteen times to show me the money!"

zero: an unimportant person.

"If you don't work hard, you'll end up a zero."

What are proverbs?

Every culture has a collection of wise sayings that offer advice about how to live your life. These sayings are called "proverbs".

How can you use proverbs to learn English?

It's good to know the really common English proverbs because you hear them come up in conversation all the time. Sometimes people say the entire proverb to give advice to a friend. More often, someone will say just part of a proverb.

1.                 "Two wrongs don't make a right."

When someone has done something bad to you, trying to get revenge will only make things worse.

2.                 "The pen is mightier than the sword."

Trying to convince people with ideas and words is more effective than trying to force people to do what you want.

3.                 "When in Rome, do as the Romans."

Act the way that the people around you are acting. This phrase might come in handy when you're traveling abroad notice that people do things differently than you're used to.

4.                 "The squeaky wheel gets the grease."

You can get better service if you complain about something. If you wait patiently, no one's going to help you.

5.                 "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

Strong people don't give up when they come across challenges. They just work harder.

6.                 "No man is an island."

You can't live completely independently. Everyone needs help from other people.

7.                 "Fortune favors the bold."

People who bravely go after what they want are more successful than people who try to live safely.

8.                 "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones."

Don't criticize other people if you're not perfect yourself.

9.                 "Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst."

Bad things might happen, so be prepared.

10.           "Better late than never."

It's best to do something on time. But if you can't do it on time, do it late

Understanding how you learn best may also help you.

There are different ways to learn. Find out what kind of learner you are in order to better understand how to learn more effectively.

The Seven Learning Styles

·         Visual (spatial): You prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.

·         Aural (auditory-musical): You prefer using sound and music.

·         Verbal (linguistic): You prefer using words, both in speech and writing.

·         Physical (kinesthetic): You prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch.

·         Logical (mathematical): You prefer using logic, reasoning and systems.

·         Social (interpersonal): You prefer to learn in groups or with other people.

·         Solitary (intrapersonal): You prefer to work alone and use self-study.

Visual

Visual learners learn best through what they SEE and are probably the easiest to connect with through typical classroom instruction. By writing words down or students reading information in textbooks or on the internet, you receive visual input and are able to absorb the material presented.

        Aural

Aural learners acquire information best through SOUND. Sometimes these learners are classified as auditory or musical. For these students, listening to lectures, videos and themselves talk all help them learn. Listening activities in class where students listen for a specific structure may be beneficial.

Verbal

Verbal students learn through WORDS, both spoken and written, and probably learn languages more easily than other types of learners. 

Physical

Also known as kinesthetic learners, physical learners benefit from using their bodies and sense of TOUCH as they learn. By using techniques like, for example, something as simple as writing answers to questions, which engages the hands as you hold the pen, will help you cement the knowledge into your minds

Logical

Do you have any mathematical geniuses in your class? They are probably logical learners who are using reasoning, systems and LOGIC to absorb information. For these students, language learning will come most easily from a linguistic approach. Linguistics, known as the science of language, defines rules and patterns that languages follow in their grammar, syntax and phonology, syntactic or phonological rules. Diagramming sentences will also help them understand the grammar that is beneath the surface structure of English sentences.

Social

Social learners enjoy and benefit from WORKING IN GROUPS as they learn. Since so much of language learning is communicative in nature, social learners will probably have many opportunities for quality learning through discussion groups and learning activities such as jigsaws.

Solitary

Students whose strongest learning style is solitary function best in self-learning environments and working ON THEIR OWN. Because the goal of language instruction is communication, these students may struggle with group activities or discussions in class.