I read recently that there are at least 40 theories as to how

people learn a second language and that each of these

theories has a number of scholars who support it, but also

those who don’t. What is obvious is that we learn in

different ways – by listening, imitation, repetition and so

on. These various ways are divided into two groups. There is

acquisition i.e. unconscious learning in the way a child

learns by listening and observation The other way is of

course active learning as when we try to learn a verb tense

or a list of vocabulary. The conclusion that the linguistic

scholars seem to share is that the classroom and book

learning are not the most important ways to learn a language.

It is being immersed as far as is possible that is important

being exposed to a language in as many ways and as often as

possible.

THE ENGLISH

MAGAZINE

How to Improve Your English Level

By Steven Starry

There are five points, number 1 is the most important.

Make English your hobby and have fun!

Study at least two or three hours per week.

Learn English through other activities:

Reading – there are graded books in English for your

level.

Internet – begin with the activities on this website and

on the links page.

Songs in English - take your favorite songs, download

the lyrics (the words) from Google and sing them again

and again until your neighbors scream: ―STOP!!‖.

DVDs – many films are also in English with subtitles in

your language.

Magazines – there are specialized magazines for English

students.

Travel – travel motivates you to improve your level

because you need English for everything.

Be constant!

Don’t stop for long periods of time such as in the summer and

don’t do too much! It is also important to study at least 3

hours every week. To progress very well, you should study at

least 5 hours per week.

Be as disciplined and organized as possible with your

classes!

Free conversation is necessary and so is more controlled

speaking (in practice activities in class). However, it is

better to balance conversation with other activities in your

classes or outside of your classes. In a "one-to-one" class,

you should do all of the homework, reading and vocabulary

studying outside of your class and then comment on the

homework in the class. It is very important for you to do the

homework that your teacher assigns you and it is very

important for you to be punctual to your classes.

Get a teacher or attend a class!

It’s easier to be constant, disciplined and organized if you

have a teacher. It’s more difficult to study English alone.

Also, it is more difficult to learn how to ―speak‖ English if

you don’t have an English teacher to speak with.

It is your responsibility to reach (to get) your objectives!

Learning English is your responsibility and not the

responsibility of your teacher. You must have initiative in

your classes! The teacher cannot learn or study English for

you. For example, you often have to study and learn

vocabulary alone.

With point number one, you will develop all of the other

points. If you apply these five points with long-term

motivation, you will learn English or any language. Put

simply: if you spend more time studying, you will learn more.

If you are very interested, you will continue studying.

Taking Control of the English Language

by Steven David Bloomberg

How can I speak English better? How

can I communicate better in English?

How can I express myself better in

English? How can I listen to and

understand English better?

How can I improve?

You speak English at an advanced level. You speak it fluently

and you use it every day, yet you aren’t satisfied with your

ability. You feel like you can’t express yourself the way you

want to. When you can’t say what you want to say or need to

say in the manner that you would like to, it might not leave

you with the best feeling you could possibly have. There is

only one thing to do about it. You must take control of the

English language. What does taking control of the English

language mean? It does not mean taking control of the entire

language. It means taking control of the English language

that is yours; the English language that you have. It means

using the English that you already have to get more. It means

taking responsibility for your own learning.

You might tell yourself that you want to have private

instruction with an English language tutor. That’s a good

idea. However, there is something you should know and be well

aware of. What happens during the time that you meet with an

English language tutor is very important, but what happens

during the time between your meetings with an English

language tutor is even more important. The proactive steps

that you take in order to improve have a direct effect on

what it is you get out of the time and money that you spend

with an English language tutor. In order to receive the

maximum benefit possible for the money you spend on a tutor,

you must dedicate a sufficient amount of time to studying

between each lesson. Of course, the amount of time that

anyone is able to dedicate to studying will vary, but

nevertheless, it must be done. Furthermore, there are a

number of things you should do leading up to the time that

you decide to pick up the phone and make that call. So you

ask, what is it that I need to do? What can I do on my own?

You need to increase your vocabulary. You need to build your

lexicon. You need to learn more idiomatic expressions. Does

this mean studying vocabulary lists? No. Does that mean

buying books that list idiomatic expressions in English and

their meanings? That may or may not be helpful. Does it mean

going to the Internet and studying idiomatic expressions that

are listed at websites? Perhaps, but that wouldn’t be all.

Does it mean learning the word of the day that is given by

online dictionaries? No! You need to build a personal

lexicon. You need to maintain a lexical notebook. You need to

learn words and expressions that are interesting to you and

will be useful to you. You need to learn words and

expressions that are part of your environment. Where can you

find these words and expressions? You can find them by

listening to the radio, by listening to those that you speak

with on a daily basis, and by even listening to those that

you don’t speak with. You don’t have to converse with someone

in order to listen to someone. Of course, you can find new

words and expressions by choosing challenging reading

material that is interesting to you: newspaper and magazine

articles, books, short stories. In order to start building

your new lexicon, I suggest starting by finding something to

read.

Now that you have chosen something interesting to read, here

is what you need to do. You need to write down the words and

expressions that you don’t understand. Take note of the page

number and paragraph that the words or expressions are on as

you read. After you are done reading, go back to the words

and expressions that you didn’t understand and write them in

your lexical notebook. Leave space to write an explanation or

a definition. From the context, see if you can figure out

what the words or expressions mean. After you have done this,

go to a dictionary. For idiomatic expressions and phrasal

verbs that you are unfamiliar with, I strongly recommend

taking advantage of Cambridge Dictionaries Online. It is

important that you practice these new words and expressions

by writing your own sentences. This is helpful in

incorporating them into your daily conversations and speaking

habits. Don’t be overwhelmed by thinking you have to read a

lot. Read what is good for you. If you come across too many

words and expressions that you don’t recognize, it might be a

good idea to find some less challenging reading material.

What you read should be challenging, but it should not be so

challenging that it might be discouraging.

Listen to the news on the radio. Listen to talk shows.

Generally speaking, radio announcers that report the news

speak clearly, use good vocabulary, and also use idiomatic

expressions. If you have a computer, you can listen to news

reports from National Public Radio and the British

Broadcasting Corporation (NPR and the BBC). You can usually

find a RealPlayer link to listen to news stories from both of

these resources. However, listening to the radio will suffice

as well. If you can, it would be a good idea to record a ten

to fifteen minute segment of a news show or any broadcast

that might interest you. Take note of any words or

expressions that sound unfamiliar to you. Write them down in

your lexical notebook. If you were able to record what you

listened to, listen to it again to see if you can figure out

what the new words and expressions mean through the context

that they are used in. If you are unable to figure out what

something means, then by all means go to a dictionary. Once

again, I suggest using Cambridge Dictionaries Online for a

comprehensive overview of any single word. Cambridge

Dictionaries Online is a very good resource in that it

demonstrates how words are used in idiomatic expressions and

phrasal verbs. Cambridge Dictionaries also point out any

important secondary definitions that a word might have.

Pay attention to what you hear wherever you go. If you are on

a bus or a train, listen to what people say and how they say

it. If you are in a supermarket, a shopping mall or any other

public place where you can hear others speak, open your ears

and try to listen. Take note of what you hear. Jot it down in

a small pocket size notebook. Later, you can add it to your

lexical notebook. If you pay attention, you are eventually

bound to hear at least one word or one expression that is new

to you. When you hear it, write it down. Find out what it

means later. Learn it. Use it.

When learning new words and expressions, it is important to

take note of whether these words and expressions are used in

an informal context or a formal context. Many words and

expressions are used both formally and informally. If you

aren’t sure of exactly how to use a new word or expression,

you can try them out with work colleagues and friends. Find

people to converse with. They may not be instructive in any

way, but you can try out new ways to express yourself. You

should also listen as closely as possible when you converse.

Listen for anything that sounds different, new, or

unfamiliar. If the circumstance permits, don’t be afraid to

take out your pocket notebook and write it down. If you say something that isn't quite

right, the person you are speaking with might take note of it and let you know. If you

aren’t sure of something you said or would like to say, then ask about it. If you hear

something and you don’t know what it means, ask about that as well. Some, or even

many people, may not view themselves as “teachers” per se, but most native speakers

of English should be able to assist you in this manner. I believe most people would be

glad to help. It is of the utmost importance to not be afraid to ask questions. That’s

part of taking control of the English language. That’s part of making the English

language your language. English is not your first language, but there is no reason why

it cannot be your language. Get a notebook. Get something to read. Find something to

listen to on the radio. Take control of the English language now.

An English Language Article by David Bloomberg Copyrighted 2003 Steven

Video Game Combines the Worlds of Disney

By BROOKS BARNES

Disney InteractiveThe Walt Disney Company has long been known for maintaining

rigid walls between its character and movie franchises.

LOS ANGELES — Imagine monster truck tires on Cinderella’s carriage. Or Capt.

Jack Sparrow being smacked around by Sulley from “Monsters Inc.” Maybe Mr.

Incredible, armed with a toilet-paper-roll launcher, riding in Peter Pan’s flying pirate

ship.

It’s all possible, and it’s all sanctioned by the Walt Disney Company — a company

known, at least until now, for maintaining rigid walls between its character and movie

franchises.

On Tuesday, Disney Interactive Studios unveiled Infinity, an ambitious video game

and action figure initiative. Infinity, three years in the making under the code name

Toy Box, will allow players to mix and match characters and props from Disney and

Pixar movies, including the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series and “The Incredibles.”

Never before has Disney allowed this type of mash-up.

“If you want Mr. Incredible riding in Cinderella’s coach, go for it,” said John

Blackburn, general manager of Avalanche, a game development studio owned by

Disney that made Infinity, at a demonstration this month.

Infinity is similar to Skylanders, a popular toy and video game franchise from

Activision Blizzard. Skylanders has generated more than $500 million in sales since

its arrival in 2011; about 30 million related toys have been sold under the brand.

Skylanders players collect action figures, then transfer them into the game’s action by

plugging them into a sensor base.

That kind of digital hit is urgently needed at Disney Interactive, which has lost money

for the last 16 quarters — more than $1 billion.

Lately, though, it has been introducing new products, including a

revampedDisney.com, in an effort to turn a profit by the end of the year.

Infinity is scheduled to arrive in stores in June, pegged to the release in theaters of

Pixar’s “Monsters University.” It will be available on gaming consoles (Xbox 360,

PlayStation 3, Wii) and on the Internet. A full mobile version is scheduled to arrive

shortly after.

To play Infinity, users will buy a $75 game. It will come with a base where figurines of

various Disney and Pixar characters can be plugged in.

Three figures come with the starter kit: Sulley, Jack Sparrow and Mr. Incredible.

Other figures and add-ons will be sold separately, priced at $5 to $35. Disney’s goal is

to create a collecting frenzy — certain figures will be intentionally hard to find —

while rolling out new characters from its archives. Expect “Star Wars” and Marvel

figures down the road, for instance.

“We want to focus on products that are superhigh-quality and that can be sustained

and built on over time,” said John Pleasants, co-president of Disney Interactive. “I

really want this to move the bar for the Walt Disney Company.”

Disney declined to comment on Infinity’s development costs, but analysts estimate

that Activision spent at least $100 million to introduce Skylanders.

For all its promise, Infinity comes with major challenges. It will immediately be

compared to Skylanders, for starters. Also, Disney has struggled in the video game

business in part because its main characters are more popular with girls than with

boys (who make up the bigger gaming audience). And parents may balk at adding yet

another collectible toy line to their carts. Infinity is also a complex game, posing a

challenge for Disney marketers.

To understand what a major departure it is for Disney to allow characters to be

combined in one world — even a virtual one — consider what happened at the

entertainment giant a decade ago when its consumer products division wanted to

repackage Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White as Disney Princesses.

Traditionalists revolted, including Roy E. Disney, the nephew of the company’s

founder and then a board member.

Allowing Pixar and Disney characters to exist and interact in a single video game

world was not quite as controversial, but there was still significant resistance,

according to Mr. Blackburn of Avalanche. He described the reaction by some senior

Disney executives to Infinity not with words but by making a gruesome facial

expression. (Picture someone taking a strong whiff of sour milk.)

But John Lasseter, Pixar’s chief creative officer, became an early supporter and threw

the animation studio’s full weight behind the game. He had a trusting relationship

with Mr. Blackburn’s studio, which made Toy Story 3: The Video Game, a product that

allows users to edit the playing world as they see fit. Ultimately, Disney’s reluctant

“brand stewards” were asked to take an early version of Infinity home and watch how

their children played with it.

The realization began to sink in: if Disney wanted to do something big in the game

arena, it would need to let people play in a less restrictive way. Mr. Blackburn said the

thinking in the corporate ranks became, “O.K., maybe we are holding too close to some

of these characters.”One of the resulting Infinity marketing slogans reads: “Their

worlds. Your imagination. No rules.”

GLOBAL UPDATE

Leishmaniasis: A Genetic Link Found in Far-Flung Victims of a Lethal Form of a

Parasitic Disease

Scott Eells for The New York Times

A dish full of dead sand flies that were being studied in India. Smaller than

mosquitoes, the flies can pass through most protective netting.

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.

Published: January 14, 2013

Whether someone bitten by a sandfly goes on to develop the most form

of leishmaniasis is determined partly by thevictim’sowngenes,a new study suggests.

Leishmaniasis, caused by parasites injected by sandfly bites, has two forms: painful

skin sores (known to American troops in Iraq as “Baghdad boils”) or, in less than 20

percent of cases, the visceral form, sometimes called “kala azar,” that attacks the

organs and is fatal if untreated. About 400,000 visceral cases develop annually, 90

percent of them in three places far from one another and with different parasite

subspecies: northeastern Brazil, the India-Bangladesh border and the Horn of

Africa.Because the disease hits some families harder, a genetic propensity to get it has

been long suspected. The study, published in Nature Genetics last week, compared

DNA in almost 6,000 blood samples from India and Brazil. Both Indians and

Brazilians who got visceral leishmaniasis had similar DNA variations.Researchers are

not sure what those mutations do, but the nearest stretch of DNA determines how

white blood cells “grab” invaders to trigger immune responses, said Peter J. Donnelly,

an Oxford statistics professor who also heads the Wellcome Trust Center for Human

Genetics and was one of the paper’s authors.

While it is widely known that immune-system genes influence susceptibility to cancer,

learning that they may also control susceptibility to a parasitic disease was “quite

interesting,” Dr. Donnelly said.

A version of this article appeared in print on January 15, 2013, on page D6 of the New

York edition with the headline: Leishmaniasis:

Whether you travel to eat or shop, surf or ski, new

adventures await.

Rio de Janeiro

because the whole world will be there in 2014.

Fifty-three years after Brazil’s federal government decamped to

Brasília, and decades after São Paulo took over as the country’s

business capital, Rio is staging a comeback. With the 2014 World Cup

and 2016 Summer Olympics (plus an oil boom) providing the impetus, the

tropical city perhaps most famous for its Carnival hedonism is on its

way to becoming a more sophisticated cultural hub. In January, the

Cidade das Artes, or City of the Arts, was inaugurated as the new home

of the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra. On March 23, Casa Daros — an

outpost of the Zurich-based Daros Latinamerica Collection — will open

in a renovated 19th-century building with an exhibition of Colombian

artists. March will also mark the opening of the Rio Museum of Art in

Praça Mauá, a once decrepit port area now being revived. (The Santiago

Calatrava-designed Museum of Tomorrow, also in the port area, is

scheduled to follow in 2014.) Shopping, a Rio obsession, got a boost

in December when the luxe VillageMall opened; it will soon house the

city’s first Gucci outlet and South America’s first Apple Store.

Special events also dot the coming year’s calendar, including the

Catholic Church’s World Youth Day in July, the biennial Rio Book Fair

starting in late August, and September’s Rock in Rio. And, of course,

there’s soccer: the finals of the Confederations Cup, considered a

dress rehearsal for the World Cup, will be held in a completely

overhauled Maracanã Stadium on June 30. — Seth Kugel

A Genetic Link Found in Far-Flung Victims Of a Lethal Form of a Parasitic Disease