Lincoln de Oliveira Rondas

My English Learning History…

My name is Lincoln Rondas, and I am a graduate student at UFMGseeking a degree in English. I first started learning English at ICBEU, a private language school in my hometown Belo Horizonte. The school used the English 900 series, edited by Macmillan, at that time, we were supposed to repeat and drill random sentences out of context. But let me tell you, the pupils who followed that method know those lines by heart until today. The school was fully equipped with a big library that provided students with newspapers and magazines in English. They also had a lab for students’ use as extra-class activities. I studied only for a few years but my stay there opened up my mind and my heart for the English language. As a tradition in my family I lived a year abroad as a Rotary Exchange Student. Exchange students are supposed to live with four different host families so they can get the best from their experience abroad. I was sent to the USA, specifically to a beautiful town in the state of New York called Hastings-on-Hudson. Hastings stands by the Hudson River. The town offers outdoor activities with its parks and woods, so the changing of season is just breathtaking. I attended Hastings High School , a beautiful old building where I took from fencing to theater and choir to cooking, besides all the regular subjects. I did reasonably well in my advanced English classes mainly because of the use of latin words that are so familiar to us and a great headache for most native English speakers. Music followed me everywhere I went and it definitely played an important role in my vocabulary acquisition. Among my favorite songs that were played over and over again were, Afternoon Delight, by Starland Vocal Band. It conveys a very positive and enthusiastic message, check it out:

Afternoon Delight

( Starland Vocal Band )

Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight
Gonna grab some afternoon delight
My motto's always been 'when it's right, it's right'
Why wait until the middle of a cold dark night?
When everything's a little clearer in the light of day
And we know the night is always gonna be there any way

Thinkin' of you's workin' up my appetite
Looking forward to a little afternoon delight
Rubbin' sticks and stones together makes the sparks ingite
And the thought of lovin' you is getting so exciting
Sky rockets in flight
Afternoon delight
Afternoon delight
Afternoon delight

Started out this morning feeling so polite
I always though a fish could not be caught who wouldn't bite
But you've got some bait a waitin' and I think I might try nibbling
A little afternoon delight
Sky rockets in flight
Afternoon delight
Afternoon delight
Afternoon delight

Please be waiting for me, baby, when I come around
We could make a lot of lovin' 'for the sun goes down

Thinkin' of you's workin' up my appetite
Looking forward to a little afternoon delight
Rubbin' sticks and stones together makes the sparks ingite
And the thought of lovin' you is getting so exciting
Sky rockets in flight
Afternoon delight
Afternoon delight
Afternoon delight

She’s Gone, by Hall and Oates,   Daryl Hall & John Oates German Fan Website was also very popular at the time. Such great lyrics, the words remind me of a close friend who played an active part in my learning process of the English language.

She´s Gone

Everybody's high on consolation

Everybody's trying to tell me what's right for me

My daddy tried to bore me with a sermon

but it's plain to see that they can't comfort me

Sorry Charlie for the imposition

I think I've got it, got the strength to carry on

I need a drink and a quick decision

Now it's up to me, ooh what will be

Chorus:

She's Gone Oh I, Oh I'd

better learn how to face it

She's Gone Oh I, Oh I'd

pay the devil to replace her

She's Gone - what went wrong

Up in the morning look in the mirror

I'm worn as her tooth brush hanging in the stand

my face ain't looking any younger

now I can see love's taken her toll on me

She's Gone

Think I'll spend eternity in the city

let the carbon and monoxide choke my thoughts away

and pretty bodies help dissolve the memories

but they can never be what she was to me

She's Gone

All these songs helped me get over the homesickness at that time. I used to watch TV as often as I could to improve my listening skills. I loved old sit-coms like I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners, they were just magnificent. Although naïve, they are still very appealing. I would watch late shows, interviews and talk shows in order to know more about the country and its cultural aspects. Living abroad in an English speaking country was a great learning experience, a landmark in my life.

On my return to Brazil, I decided to take proficiency tests, I took all of the tests that were offered here in Brazil like, Michigan, Oxford and Cambridge and Toefl. For the Cambridge Proficiency Test I benefited from the help of a great English teacher, his name was Ian Link Later who taught at Cultura Inglesa at that time. That alone forced me to improve my English to a much higher level and prepared me to attempt a career as an English teacher.

I was able to do quite well in my Teacher training course at ETIMIG. After some further training I was hired. Etimig was a very traditional language school and the method they used was the notional-functional I was lucky enough to relate with highly qualified teachers who were willing to share and exchange knowledge. I did a lot of reading then, my colleagues and I would exchange all sorts of books, novels mostly, and we would clear with one another, all the doubts on vocabulary or expressions we were not familiar with.

After that I taught at Berlitz , that gave me a totally new concept at teaching. There I worked with executives and I was able to interact with business English in order to supply students with the information they needed.

Since I studied Tourism at Newton Paiva, I also worked as a tour guide in England, Canada and the United States during our summer vacations. While abroad, I was exposed to current expressions and managed to update my speaking abilities.

This semester I am taking two courses with Prof. Vera Menezes, Computer Literacy and Reading and Writing on the Web. I was offered infinite possibilities at expanding my knowledge of the English language. I realize that not everybody is fortunate enough to have an experience abroad like I did and still do. Apart from that I believe that when we want to learn a second language we always find a way. It is a constant and long and hard way, full of challenges but extremely rewarding. There is much more I want to achieve in relation to my English knowledge and its use, but I will take one step at a time.