Our 5-year-olds love Easter!

 Hello, Hello! We are Matilde, Afonso and Francisco from Class KA5. We study English at Lancaster College – Valongo.

We love our English classes! The Institute is a nice place to study! We prefer having classes there because we don’t like computers very much and we are tired of having lessons at home… We can’t wait to be together again!

And, by the way, don’t let the Easter Bunny get away without leaving a basket full of fun!! Happy Easter!

Valongo, KA5 (teacher Ana Melo)

Our Easter Traditions

Easter traditions are related with Christianity and are very important in our country.

Daniel’s traditions include going to mass, celebrating with his extended family and eating chocolate eggs and almonds. 

Diogo’s traditions are giving flowers to his godparents, having Easter lunch with his parent and his grandmother and eating chocolate eggs and almonds too. 

Leonor also gives flowers to her godparents and has lunch with her family. 

Our teacher’s traditions are similar to ours. She also goes to mass, has lunch with her family and she paints Easter eggs.

Easter’s top 3 traditions are: the Easter egg hunt, being with family and eating chocolate. We love Easter!!!

Valongo, KC1 (teacher Vera)

Gender Equality

Gender equality means equal rights and freedoms, equal opportunities for participation, recognition and appreciation of women and men in all areas of society - political, economic, personal and family. However, this doesn`t happen.

It´s very important to talk about gender equality because all around the world, the situation of women is worse than that of men's, simply because they are women. The reality is even worse for women who belong to minorities, elderly women, women with disabilities, migrants, etc.

The cause of this inequality is chauvinism which is a prejudice, expressed by opinions and attitudes, which opposes equal rights between genders, privileging the male gender over the female. In other words, it is an oppression, in its most diverse forms, of women by men. Unfortunately, this prejudice is still very present in our society. Having been normalized for a long time, only a few decades ago this behaviour began to be problematized, especially by feminist movements, which fight for gender equality. Not everyone agrees this must be fought, which means that, despite feminist efforts, it is still present in several environments.

The fight against chauvinism and gender inequality is called feminism. Feminism is a social movement for civil rights, led by women, which since its origin has claimed political, legal and social equality between men and women. This performance isn`t sexist, that is, it does not seek to impose some type of female superiority, but the equality between the genders. The history of feminism begins in the French Revolution with the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen”, written in the year of the Revolution, which was opposed by the “Declaration of the Rights of Women and Citizens”, written by the French feminist Olympe de Gouges. For this reason, she was murdered. However, her death, considered a landmark of feminism in the world, brought some later feminist movements.

Little by little, feminist movements around the world began to gain rights claimed by women (right to education, vote, contract, property, divorce, equal pay, abortion, etc.). Although we have already won more rights for women, there is still much to change.

 

Marta Barbosa - 
LC Gondomar B1.1 (teacher Miguel Ferreira)

Easter traditions around the world

 

English C1 - Teacher Liliana Maia and students - Lancaster College Valongo

Have you ever...?

 HAVE YOU EVER... broken a leg?

If you have, raise a green object. If you haven't, raise a red object.

This is a fun game to play with friends and it can also be played virtually. The best part - of course - is when the losers pay a forfeit. 

Can you guess who won the game? David, Beatriz or Carlos?

Lancaster College Gondomar (teacher Gabriela Resende)

A poem about Easter

Poem by Maria Oliveira, student at Lancaster College Gondomar (teacher Ângela)

Online Classes…Our NEW Reality!

 

This Pandemic situation has changed our way of learning, at least, the method we used to use to learn. Online classes became our new reality and we have changed the classroom for the Distance Learning, the online classes…

This experience is being very challenging and demanding because it requires more attention, effort, knowledge of the online platforms and computer literacy. It is also very exigent for us, students and teacher to deal with the issues that come with the online classes like for example, the speed of internet that is not the same for all, the apps, chat that are used to replace the board are not as good as the classroom board that facilitates the learning and also the interaction between students and teacher.

We prefer to be face to face with one another and feel closer with the learning, which is only possible when we stand next to each other in the classroom environment.

Inspite all of this, the Distance Learning allowed us to improve our computer skills and be more comfortable with the use of many tools that are necessary in the online classes.

However, we felt that the online tests are more complicated as we had to learn how to control time and there wasn´t much time to write the essay and even to review it. We felt like we didn´t have time to think properly about what was asked.

We are willing to go back to on-site classes as soon as possible, that would be just GREAT!! :-)

Essay written by Rafael Bessa, Ricardo Rodrigues and Paula Ribeiro – Level B2.1- Paços de Ferreira (teacher Cecília Carneiro)

Our opinion on... online learning versus face-to-face classes

We are the students at Lancaster College, level KC and we are anxious for our return to our face-to-face lessons.

We like the non-virtual lessons, because it is easier to learn, and we can be all together.  They are more productive, because we can write on the board, and asking questions is easier. These lessons are more fun than online lessons, because we are in touch with each other.

We like the online lessons, because we can choose different backgrounds, we learn how to use the internet together, we learn new things faster, because there isn’t as much time to play as in the other lessons, and we always arrive on time. Online classes are very active and innovative. The tests are easier, and that’s great!!!

We're happy to go on holidays, because soon face-to-face lessons will be a possibility.

Both in our non-virtual and virtual lessons we always learn together, and that is fun!!!

Article written by Maria Leonor Rocha, Maria Teixeira Mendes, Guilherme Silva, students at Lancaster College Valongo, KC (teacher Regina Freire)

Our Easter BEAT

Dreaming about Easter already? Our students got ahead of you!!  So, listen and dance with them!

                                    

English KD Lancaster College Valongo

St Patrick's day

St. Patrick was a 5th-century missionary in Ireland, who also served as a bishop there. He was credited with bringing Christianity to parts of Ireland and was probably responsible for the Christianization of the Picts and Anglo-Saxons. He is one of the patron saints of Ireland. 

St. Patrick was born in Britain within a Romanized family. At the age of 16 he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and carried into slavery in Ireland. After six years in servitude, he had a dream of his escape and fled his master. Surviving a harrowing journey back to Britain, he was eventually reunited with his family.

There are many legends associated with the life of St. Patrick. According to one, he miraculously drove all the snakes of Ireland into the sea. He is

said to have used the three leaflets of the shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity. He reportedly raised as many as 33 people from the dead.

Another legend, probably the most popular, is that of the shamrock, which has him explain the concept of the Holy Trinity, three persons in one God, to an unbeliever by showing him the three-leaved plant with one stalk. 

Traditionally, Irishmen have worn shamrocks, the national flower of Ireland, in their lapels on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.

Written by Sara Gonçalves, Lancaster College Paços de Ferreira

Informação

Apesar do regresso dos nossos alunos mais jovens ao ensino presencial, relembramos que as atividades de INSTITUTOS DE LÍNGUAS CONTINUAM ONLINE até indicações em contrário pelas entidades competentes. 

Independentemente do formato, continuamos a trabalhar para vos dar a melhor formação possível.

(não estão lindos os nossos meninos de Lousada?)

Online learning & our friends

Don't they look cute? 

Our 4-legged friends just love being part of our lessons.

They're usually very curious about what we're doing and sometimes like attention, too. 

And at your home? Who's your special friend?

Inês & Laru

Maria & Kiki

Luana & Seven

Mariana & Pupu

The day I surfed

The fear of the sea was always present in my life, so whenever I went to the beach I wouldn't dare more than just to wet my feet. I think that happened because my parents can’t swim, so somehow they put that fear on my head… The truth is, I never dived or swam in the sea when I was a kid.

However, when I attended secondary school I was part of a badminton team and the end-of-school trip that year included a surf lesson on the beach of Matosinhos.

When I heard about the trip, my first thought was “Cristiana, you won´t do that, you have no courage!”, but all my friends wanted to go and I wanted to go with them, even if it was just to see them surf.

So, when I arrived home I told my parents about the trip and obviously their answer was “Of course you won't go on that trip”.

After a big drama to convince them, there was no way to make them change their opinion. Therefore, I had to come up with a plan to fulfill my wish.

When the big day came, I decided to go without my parents’ permission. I know it was very irresponsible… but at the time it sounded like a very good idea.

After a one-hour drive, we finally arrived to the beach and I was still in doubt if I should risk to do it or not. After a small reflection I made up my mind - after all, “if not now, then when?” and decided to give it a try.

Although, I was really afraid of the sea, in that moment all the bad thoughts went away. It felt so good in the sea that I cannot find words to describe it. It was fantastic! Amazing! 

In the end, everything went well and I just loved the experience!

Cristiana Silva, student at Lancaster College