Official Learning Blog
Please find below a slide show with audio which will help you learn an practice a few useful expressions in Spanish. These expressions are useful when you want to communicate personal information. The last slide contains the English translation, just in case.
The kid’s voice you hear at the beginning is my son Mateo. So, do not panic!
We’ll practice in class.
Best,
Teacher Mario
This lesson is to help you practice the numbers in Spanish. Below you will find a slide show with audio so you can practice the pronunciation and spelling of numbers from 1 to 1000. Once you understand the pattern you can make up you own numbers and figure out the correct spelling and pronunciation.
We’ll practice them in class!
Best,
Teacher Mario
Many people confuse education with schooling. College education is not always needed. Listen to the following message given by Dr. William Gates after he received a doctor’s degree from Harvard without having to attend regular courses.
Transcript
President Bok, former President Rudenstine, incoming President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, parents, and especially, the graduates:
I’ve been waiting more than 30 years to say this: “Dad, I always told you I’d come back and get my degree.”
I want to thank Harvard for this timely honor. I’ll be changing my job next year … and it will be nice to finally have a college degree on my résumé.
I applaud the graduates today for taking a much more direct route to your degrees. For my part, I’m just happy that the Crimson has called me “Harvard’s most successful dropout.” I guess that makes me valedictorian of my own special class … I did the best of everyone who failed.
But I also want to be recognized as the guy who got Steve Ballmer to drop out of business school. I’m a bad influence. That’s why I was invited to speak at your graduation. If I had spoken at your orientation, fewer of you might be here today.
Harvard was just a phenomenal experience for me. Academic life was fascinating. I used to sit in on lots of classes I hadn’t even signed up for. And dorm life was terrific. I lived up at Radcliffe, in Currier House. There were always lots of people in my dorm room late at night discussing things, because everyone knew I didn’t worry about getting up in the morning. That’s how I came to be the leader of the antisocial group. We clung to each other as a way of validating our rejection of all those social people.
Radcliffe was a great place to live. There were more women up there, and most of the guys were science-math types. That combination offered me the best odds, if you know what I mean. This is where I learned the sad lesson that improving your odds doesn’t guarantee success.
One of my biggest memories of Harvard came in January 1975, when I made a call from Currier House to a company in Albuquerque that had begun making the world’s first personal computers. I offered to sell them software.
I worried that they would realize I was just a student in a dorm and hang up on me. Instead they said: “We’re not quite ready, come see us in a month,” which was a good thing, because we hadn’t written the software yet. From that moment, I worked day and night on this little extra credit project that marked the end of my college education and the beginning of a remarkable journey with Microsoft.
What I remember above all about Harvard was being in the midst of so much energy and intelligence. It could be exhilarating, intimidating, sometimes even discouraging, but always challenging. It was an amazing privilege – and though I left early, I was transformed by my years at Harvard, the friendships I made, and the ideas I worked on.
But taking a serious look back … I do have one big regret. I left Harvard with no real awareness of the awful inequities in the world – the appalling disparities of health, and wealth, and opportunity that condemn millions of people to lives of despair.
I learned a lot here at Harvard about new ideas in economics and politics. I got great exposure to the advances being made in the sciences. But taking a serious look back … I do have one big regret. I left Harvard with no real awareness of the awful inequities in the world – the appalling disparities of health, and wealth, and opportunity that condemn millions of people to lives of despair.
I learned a lot here at Harvard about new ideas in economics and politics. I got great exposure to the advances being made in the sciences.
One popular activity in a basic English class is the “Guessing Game”. The teacher puts a secret object inside a box and students have to guess what is inside. Teacher gives clues to students so that they can guess. Questions are asked using the verb to be:
Is it big or small?
Is it square or round?
Is it a fruit or a vegetable?
Are they soft or hard? (for plural)
Below, you will find this game played by Kermit the Frog and the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street. Check it out and play the game with your classmates.
Best Mario
Disney-Pixar Animation Studios is an amazing organization. Film after film they demonstrate how things can become better and better beyond our imagination. The movie called Ratatouille brought a new way of viewing animated food on the big screen. They also showed that being a chef is a tough job. It requires a high level of commitment and hard work. The people of Pixar were able to create an environment that allows the audience to feel they are in a fancy restaurant and get a picture of the world of cooking.
Below you will find a clip where you will listen to some comments on how challenging it was to make the food look yummy. And they did! Hats off to those guys.
We’ll practice the new vocabulary and listening comprehension skills in class.
Teacher Mario
Watch this video and read its transcription below. Look up the words you don’t know and see how they are used. The transcription is not complete, so you may want to do the last part.
Google MyMaps is easy to use. Even if you have little to no experience with programming or creating web pages. Anyone can create personalized and customized maps of anything – from a simple place mark to an around the world tour, using Google MyMaps.
Today, I’ll show you how to create a unique MyMap. First, open Google Maps. Click on the upper left tab “My Maps”.Click on “Create a new map”. You’ll need to sign into your google account if you haven’t already. I’ll make a San Francisco walking tour map. Decide what you want to call your map and enter a title and description. You can choose to make your maps public or unlisted. Public maps are shared with everyone and will be published in the search results. I’ll make this map public. Click the “save button” when you’re done.
Now, you’re ready to create your map. First, create a mark for the start point of the walk. Since I want to start at the ferry building, I’ll set my mark there. Next, give the start mark a name. I’ll choose the ship icon from the menu to represent the ferry port. Now, it’s time to draw your route. Select to the straight line tool and start to draw.
I’ll walk along the water down the Embarcadero, then up to Quite Tower to get a nice view of the city. Back down to north beach to Pier 39 to Ghirardeli Square, and finish my tour at the top of Lombard street. Double click to finish drawing your route. Then, add an icon and title for the final point. You can also click on satellite view to check that your route is accurate.
Now, you continue…
Teacher Mario
Pronouns are words used to replace nouns. There are many kinds of pronouns: subject, object, reflexive, possessive, demonstrative, relative, interrogative and indefinite.
Examples:
Subject Pronoun: He is my brother.
Object Pronoun: I told him to come to the party.
Reflexive Pronoun: Roger hit himself with a hammer.
Possessive Pronoun: That car is mine.
Demonstrative: This is the house.
Relative: I will hire whomever you interview first.
Interrogative: Who is it?
Indefinite: Everybody is interested in learning English.
Here is a video we made to explain this grammar point:
If you have any question or comment, please write to mario.gonzalez@supraschooling.com.
Best,
Teacher Mario
Wikipedia says, “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (10 December 1948, Paris). The Guinness Book of Records describes the UDHR as the “Most Translated Document” in the world. The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. It consists of 30 articles which have been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions and laws.”
Below you will see an original way to present this document. Read it and learn new vocabulary as you see the images that illustrate each statement. Please be patient while it uploads – it’s worthy.
I like the part it says that we are brothers and sisters of this world. 
Best,
Teacher Mario
The very first Spanish lesson has to do with its alphabet. In Spanish you may say “alfabeto” or “abecedario”. Our alphabet is also based on the Latin alphabet. That’s why English and Spanish share almost the same letters. It is important that you learn the name and pronunciation of the letters of the Spanish alphabet since it is very useful when spelling new vocabulary or names. Learning the alphabet is the first step towards learning phonetics.
Below you will find a slide show with audio where you can see the alphabet and listen to its pronunciation.
You see! You’ve begun your Spanish lessons.
Best,
Teacher Mario
A common practice by some language instructors is to give students long lists of vocabulary or expressions – hoping they are memorized someday. When teaching a Legal English Course, it is always important to keep in mind that legal terminology is better understood when seen in real context. Therefore, one of the most effective ways to gain juridical terminology is to often work with legal texts.
On the other hand, the making of legal translations supported by teacher’s feedback will always be an enriching exercise for any law student. Translation is not easy because it takes more than one or two good legal dictionaries to be done properly. Expert translators may agree that it is a comparative law activity rather than a literal translation of terms. Below you will find a slide show containing a few paragraphs excerpted from actual U.S. agreements. You may want to translate this to your native language and work with an expert instructor in order to determine if your language is appropriate and accurate.
Demo Activity
Demo of Video
This is an example of the materials which may be used in the first level:
If you want to know more information click here.
The Cosby Show was a popular sitcom from the 80’s. In this episode you’ll see how “Rudy”, the little girl, does not want to eat her food. Listen to what her father, Bill Cosby, tells her on this common everyday situation that many parents around the world go through with their kids. Tell me about it!
Notice the accent of the personas on the show. You may want to do a transcription to see how much you understand from this short clip.
Best,
Mario González H.
Do you know the difference between Simple Past and Present Perfect? Do the following quiz to see if you apply these tenses correctly. You need to write your answers on a piece of paper and compare them with the ones provided at the end.
How was it?
Mario
We have said before that pronunciation will always be an issue for ESL students and teachers. Fortunately, we live in a time where Internet provides you with a great deal of useful resources that will make you practice until achieving your goal. Something that makes me happy is to see how ESL teachers are investing their time and energy to produce valuable video materials to help the ESL global learning community. That is the case of Dave Sconda who is a dynamic and original English teacher. He has published some pronunciation and expression videos that you will find productive. Visit and subscribe to his channel. Here’s one of his pronunciation videos.
Practice your pronunciation!
Best,
Teacher Mario
Baker & Mackenzie is the largest law firm in the world. The firm has presence around the globe through 70 offices and houses over 3,600 local attorneys. The firm was founded by Russel Baker and John Mckenzie back in1948. They soon discussed their dream of creating an international law firm. Nowadays, it is common to find large law firms in the United States, which is not that common in countries such as Mexico. However, Baker & Mckenzie has established a unique form of rendering professional legal services that has been imitated by other firms.
Here is a video where some attorneys of the firm give their views about the foreign policy of the firm:
Keep up the good work guys!
Mario
Studio4 learning is a fresh initiative seeking to promote education online. This is a video you may find on their YouTube channel where they describe the three types of business organizations there are. Even though this is a very superficial explanation on the subject, you might find their videos interesting to increase your vocabulary and improve your pronunciation since they often include texts in their videos. They are also a bit entertaining and quite unusual.
Good enough, uh?
Mario
Human civilization couldn’t have gone this far without contracts. It is our ability to agree with one another that makes our greatest creations possible. According to the Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law, the term contract comes from Latin contractus from contrahere to draw together, enter into (a relationship or agreement), from com -with, together + trahere to draw. A contract is an agreement between two or more parties that creates in each party a duty to do or not to do something and a right to performance of the each other’s duty; a contract is also the document embodying such an agreement.
Here is a video we produced where you will find some basic terms regarding contracts:
Best,
Mario
We have learned about building sentences in our virtual classes. Now it’s time to see how to connect ideas through what we call Linking Words. The first thing you should know is that words, phrases and sentences may be connected in different ways. We use words known as conjunctions and clause markers to join two or more elements.
Please take a look at the following chart where you will find some clause markers you can look up and learn:
Here is another chart with expressions used to connect main clauses to subordinate clauses:
Finally, here is a video we made that talks about linking words:
Best,
Mario
We have produced some videos to help people learn Spanish. On this video, you will practice about 20 common expressions which are used and heard when going to a restaurant. The pronunciation you will hear is native and at regular speed. You will have the opportunity to read the exact words pronounced and to see the subtitles in English to make sure you understand the expression.
This type of videos are also helpful to observe the way Spanish sentences and questions are formed. We have written and produced more videos of this kind which will be posted little by little. You can repeat the video several times and even download it to your MP4 player or cell phone.
If you are ready for your online private lessons, let us know.
Best,
Mario
No matter where you study English, there’s always a question that will cross your head: “How can I learn English more effectively?” I’ve been asked this question hundreds of times and I am sure that anyone who teaches hears this question often.
Here is the answer from an English teacher from Canada who calls himself JamesESL. He sponsors a YouTube channel where he provides a few resources aiming to help the ESL learning community online. Listen to what he says and answer the following questions:
1) According to JamesESL, what should someone do to learn more effectively?
2) Do you agree with his recommendations?
3) Do you feel motivated to do what he says?
4) Do you have a different learning strategy?
You may search for ESL teachers on the Internet. There are some good ones. Remember, listening to what they have to say will always help you learn vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar application… no matter what the lesson is about.
Best,
Mario
In your Spanish class, an early lesson which will actually make you speak the language right away has to do with learning the verb “to be”. The first thing your teacher must let you know is that there are two verbs in Spanish used to express the verb “to be” . These verbs are: SER and ESTAR.
SER vs. ESTAR
The verb SER means TO BE; it is used to express permanent qualities or characteristics of the subject. For instance:
Mi hermana es alta. (My sister is tall)
Roberto es bien parecido. (Robert is good looking.)
The verb ESTAR which also means TO BE is only used when expressing temporal characteristics or a temporal condition of the subject. For example:
Mi hermana está contenta. (My sister is happy).
Roberto está enfermo. (Robert is sick.)
Verbs ser and estar are not only used with adjectives but also with nouns (sustantivos), gerunds (gerundios)and adverbs (adverbios). However, you must know when to use SER and when to use ESTAR. This slide show will help you understand how to use them correctly as you the conjugation of both in present, past and future simple:
Should you have any question, please write to mario.gonzalez@supraschooling.com
Best,
Mario & Priscila
If you want to become more fluent in English, you need to have the opportunity to talk freely about a topic that really makes you utter. Whether in conversation clubs or in regular classes, the more controversial the topic is, the easier it will be for students to talk and talk. One of the most controversial topics on the face of this earth is “women”. If you want to start a debate, you may just ask people to try to define “women”. You’ll see that this question alone will be enough for the following three conversation club sessions. If the discussion happens to finish, you may follow up by asking: “what do women want?“. That sure will take you to eternity: “If men just knew the answer to this question, we would feel like having found the meaning of life itself.”
If you have no one to talk to, don’t worry, you can still practice your fluency. Watch the following video produced by the folks of WhatYouOughtToKnow, which may be found in YouTube. The speaker – whose name remains a mystery up to this day - will provide you with a few suggestions in trying to find the answer to the question “What do women want?”. After you watch the video, you may open a word document and start writing you opinion until you fill one page. Then, revise the document with your private English instructor so he can give you feedback. If you don’t have a private instructor yet, we would be happy to become yours.
