Understand longer written or spoken texts: These skills are very difficult. I can't understand someone speaking English. I feel bad. I try to pay attention, but I don't understand anything. It's very frustrating. When reading texts, I try harder, but I can't overcome this obstacle. When I see everything in English, I don't know how to pronounce the words and only see how they are written. This is very annoying, so I end up putting it aside.

Summarize and rephrase what I've read or heard: I can put this into practice when I'm listening to music. I always look up the lyrics and rewrite them, as long as it's Flashback or other old bands.

Word/Phrase: Childhood, Graceless, Offstage, Sin.

Meaning in your language or definition in English: Infância (the period of being a child), Sem graça, sem elegância ( without beauty, elegance, or charm), Fora do palco (not on the stage, behind the scenes), Pecado (an immoral or wrong act).

What context was it used in? Used in the lyrics of Wild Horses

Write a sentence with it: My chilhood was full of games and laughter. He felt graceless when he fell in front of everyone. The actor stayed offstage until it was his turn. He asked for forgiveness for his sin.

2) 30 minutes listening to people speaking English. YouTube, TV series, podcasts.

3) 30 minutes of study. Course lessons.

4) Daily speech training, 15 minutes a day. Alone, app, or conversation class.

5) Passive listening. While I do other things.

Understand longer written or spoken texts
I started reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. I read the beginning of the first chapter and learned new words like family, bedside, dying, country home, gathered. I noticed that bedside can mean “leito” in this context, not just “cama”.

Summarize and rephrase what I’ve read or heard
I watched a YouTube video where a woman walked around New York speaking English in daily situations. I learned that in restaurants they often say “Party of how many?” instead of “Table for how many?”. I also watched a video of two people talking on the subway and tried to understand their conversation.

Meaning in your language or definition in English: Família, leito/beside the bed, morrendo/close to death, casa de campo, reunidos/ came together, Quantas pessoas? (used in restaurants in the US)

What context was it used in?: Book Sense and Sensibility and You Tube vídeo in New York

Write a sentence with it:My family is very important to me; She sat at her father’s bedside; The old man was dying at his country home; They spent the weekend at their country home; The family gathered for dinner; The waiter asked: “Party of how many?

This week’s new action point: Continue reading the book, practice more Conditional sentences (especially Zero Conditional), and study this topic in greater depth.

I would like to know what to do to get out of this situation, but I cannot deal with it very well. I find it hard to develop curiosity and discover my own way of learning English. Instead, every day I feel that carrying this responsibility to improve has become a heavy burden, since I cannot find methods that truly work for me, even though I try — going to classes, paying attention, taking notes, watching YouTube videos, and listening to people speaking English.

For me, it is very difficult, especially because the whole class is in English. I feel that my level is below what is expected of someone in the fifth semester. My main focus is on how I am going to overcome this, because lately I have felt like a stranger on Wednesdays, uncomfortable for not understanding anything during class.

I do not say this out of lack of interest, but because I feel a lack of conditions and motivation. I would like to get out of this zone, but I do not know how long I can continue like this. I really want my diploma, but I know I will not be a teacher. I do not feel capable and, above all, I am far from what is expected.

While means enquanto or durante. Example: While it is day, it will never be night.

Surrender means entrega or rendição. Example: I surrender to getting to know you better.

Treasure means tesouro or riqueza. Example: Do not store up treasures on earth where thieves can steal them.

Spent means gastei, passei, despendi. Example: I spent last weekend with my family.

The class was online last Wednesday. The teacher brought several activities that helped us develop our listening and writing skills. It was challenging, but it worked least I managed to write some words correctly. I understood what he was saying and wrote it down on DeepL. This activity was the one that marked me the most, and I really liked it. During the class, the teacher made some comments about the group, which also caught my attention. After that, I realized that learning English is a daily pursuit: if I don’t make an effort, I’ll still be in my comfort zone and won’t achieve the progress I need so much.

Understand longer written or spoken texts

During the online class, I noticed that I was understanding better what the teacher was saying, even though it was difficult. That made me realize that little by little, I am improving my listening skills and learning to identify words and expressions that I didn’t understand before.

Summarize and rephrase what I’ve read or heard

In this activity, by listening to the teacher and trying to write what he was saying on DeepL, I was able to practice both my listening and writing at the same time. This helped me understand the sound of words better and how to write them correctly. This experience was very meaningful to me and made me reflect on the importance of practicing every day.

Even though I got a low grade (1) in the evaluation, I learned a lot from this experience. I realized that I need to improve my writing skills and my ability to express ideas in English. I couldn’t write an explanation about how to teach grammar to elementary students, but now I understand what I need to practice more.

During the activities, I tried to understand longer written and spoken texts and summarize the grammar rules from the slides. This helped me notice my progress and also what I still need to work on to get better results next time.

• Write short paragraphs using future tenses correctly.

• Keep watching videos from Professor Beto to practice verbs, who, what, and where.

• Try to speak short sentences in English every day.

• My new action point:
  Write and record myself saying sentences using “will”, “be going to”, and “Future Perfect.”

  
  

Frustrated; Frustrada; To express my feelings about my progress; I felt frustrated because I couldn’t see real improvement.

Progress; Progresso; In my reflection about my results; Even if I don’t see much progress, I know I am learning something.

Motivation; Motivação; In thoughts about keeping trying; I need to find new motivation to keep learning English.

Patience; Paciência; When thinking about the process; Learning a language takes time and patience.

• Try to study in shorter and more focused sessions, instead of long and tiring ones.

• Watch short videos in English and repeat some sentences to practice pronunciation.

• Be patient with myself and celebrate small achievements, like understanding a new word or sentence.

• Keep a positive mindset and remind myself that progress takes time.

Even if I don’t see big results yet, I’m learning to believe in my process.