It’s time to reflect upon her story and relate it to the principles that guide you.
In the “Comment Box”, first, write about the listening strategies you used to understand this amazing Latin novelist’s anecdote. Then, tell us more about your own beliefs in your daily life.
- What are your beliefs?
- Why are they important?
- Where do those principles come from? Family history? A lesson you learned?
My listening startegies are to listen to the video over and over again. My other startegy is that when I don’t understand something I stop the podcast, and go back to analyze the words in the sentence and see if what i didin’t know I can now understand. When there’s a text that comes along with the podcast, it helps a lot to follow along with it!
I have many beliefs. One of them is to share. I believe that if you share what you have with others that don’t have it you are learning and also helping the next person. My mom taught me that when I was a little kis, but it is now that I start to understand the true meaning in the word “share”. Before I shared a doll, but now I share my feelings (happiness, sadness). I think this belief is important because everyone should learn from one’s mistakes, and always share what you have (food, happyness, money). If you show a person you care for her, she will care for you!
Dear Amanda,
Getting back to what you missed is a good listening strategy if you have the chance to play back like in a podcast. How about in a real world situation? What do you do when you don’t understand what is being said?
I totally understand you when you talk about the importance of sharing. I guess that I give my share by being an educator, trying to help others to learn, to collaborate, to construct knowledge. I guess that if you care, you show others that you’re there for them building a relation of trust and long-lasting friendship.
At first, I listen once without worring about vocabulary I don’t know.
Then, I listen over and over again trying to understand the complete sentence where there is a unknown word. If I can’t catch it, I try a dictionary (English-English), of couse, I don’t translate every single word I don’t know, I try to understand the full sentence. In my real life, when someone talk to me in English (I don’t know if I’m the right reasoning) and I don’t understand, I ask to repeat more slowly, or to give me the meaning of the word I can’t understand, but I don’t leave without be sure what the person was talking about.
One of my beliefs is to get over all obstacles I daily have to face. Isabel overcame a terible situation about her daughter by loving others, sharing with others her experience, and showing people that each lived experience has to be shared. And I believe that it’s the right way to live and live happy!
* Teacher I’d like you correct me, my text is a little bit confused, don’t you think…
Dear Luciene,
The listening strategies you used were very effective. And, if it’s a face-to-face (f2f) situation, you are right. You can ask for clarification, you can ask the person to slow down. Also, you need to bare in mind that you don’t need to understand every single word to get the general context. So, you might pay attention to body gesture, intonation (is is a question the person is asking you, is he agreeing with you or disagreeing?). If you pick up the main point in a conversation and is able to interact, communication is happening!
As for your beliefs, I agree with you that we must overcome the challenges we face in our routine. They make us stronger. We need to have emotional intelligence to deal with them and move forward. I try to act like that. Of course, perfection is impossible to achieve, but we need to find new ways to deal with what bothers us, sometimes by thinking outside the box.
Can you give me any example of an obstacle you faced recently and overcame it?
By the way, Luciene, you asked me to correct you here. Look, this is a space for free writing, free thinking in English. So, what I will do, I’ll take notes of the common mistakes I see in everybody’s post, then I’ll create a quiz for you all in order to work on language structure. Don’t worry! Your message came across nicely!
Unfortunately I read the text before listening. It was because I received a mail with the link to Isabel Allende’s listening activity, double click… When I realized I had read the text.
Of course that was easy to understand the listening…
My apologies.
Regarding my beliefs in daily life.. I strongly agree with Isabel Allende when she said that giving is most greatful, proud than receiving. I have tried to apply this concept in my daily life with my family. Thanks God and my parents’hard work, currently I have a situation that permits me to share some with my family. I realy don’t need so much to be happy, so why not to share with others that have needs. I know that I should extend the sharing with others than my family, this is the next step to achieve. I am not a perfect human, however I need to put in pratice what I learned in house with my parents: giving is better than receiving. It is more gratifying.
Luciana,
If you want to try to listen to another NPR story, there’s a recommendation in our News forum (in our e-learning Platform) with Yo-Yo Ma, a wonderful cellist. Then, you might test the listening strategies you used.
I totally agree with you that giving is a rewarding act. My main goal as an educator is to help others succeed and it gives me such a feeling of fulfillment…I like to share what I learn with my students, with friends, family and with the online groups of educators I’m part of. So, how do you think you could help others besides your family?
I had no difficulties to understand the Isabel Allende’s story, after that I’ve discovered that there was a text too… Ok.
I’m sorry, but I have to disagree with the most of you. I didn’t like the text because in my oppinion the human being is selfish by nature. We just share with those we like or we think they deserve.
I would be a hypocrit if I say that I use to help everybody in every situation without any distinction. I don’t give money to beggers when I’m driving. I don’t help junkees in the street. I only share and help those who I like or I think they deserve.
When we lose someone we like is really a cleansing experience. We start to think about what and who we are, we change concepts, we change ourselves.
It’s very beautiful to say “in giving…” but we’re not saints. The real situation is very different.
I like to help my friends, my family and other people, even those I don’t know yet. But only those my judgment says that they deserve.
It’s impossible to help everybody. If the government helps everyone there will be no more ressources in a near future. The solution is to help only those the government judges they deserve.
Sorry if someone felt bad about it, but that’s my opinion.
ED.
I had no difficulties to understand what was in the listening.
I disagree with the meaning of the text.
In my opinion the human being is selfish and we only share with those we like or we think they deserve.
Is very beautiful to say that “I like to share…” or “I always halp people…”. We’re not saints.
I don’t give money to a junkee on the street. I don’t give money when I’m driving unless I feel that person truly needs. What I’m doing? Judgement. Let’s be honest to ourselves, in the practice the things are very different.
Sorry if someone felt bad about it, but that’s my opinion.
ED.
Dear Ed,
Just like you, I’m not totally altruistic. Of course, we give our share based on the judgment of need, fairness. However, I believe in the true power of sharing. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be an educator! Teaching is about giving, sharing and taking. I’m always learning with my students.
Don’t you think that what Isabel Allende is trying to say is that she found here own ways to share her suffering, her daugther’s legacy? Don’t you think that what we’re doing here is sharing ideas, beliefs?
When you are with your friends, what do you do? Isn’t it sharing?
I’d love to know what your ideas are in relation to it. And, yes, nobody is saint!
I heard the Isabel Allende’s story several times before read the text and could understand almost seventy percent of it. Sometimes I use a listening strategies like return some seconds of the tape to understand some phrase or word that’s new for me. I’m a doctor and because of my profession I see and fell the suffering and complaints of many people. A mother who losts a child is something cruel and tragic. Isabel Allende suffered a lot but she had a opportunity to reflect and learn with her daughter’disease. She keeps the love in her heart otherwise she couldn’t continue what her daughter did: keep on helping people.
Dear Eber,
Going back to the parts of the listening activity you didn’t understand is an effective way to enhance your listening skills. It’s always a good idea to go for the general understanding of what is being said to see if you could get the main point. Then, you can focus on the details you found worth exploring.
As a neurologist, how do you cope with your patients’suffering? I guess there are two sides of it. First, dealing with the patient, giving advice, etc. On your end, I’m curious to know your ways of dealing with losses, difficult decisions…
I’d love to hear more from you from a doctor’s perspective.
After a business day, I was very tired and the last pacient trying to console me said: “You don’t choose to be a doctor, You are chosen!” There are a lot of serious diseases. Each pacient has a different approach and it depends on their cultural level, their religian and beliefs. The doctor must be human and available on the critic moments. He can be a support and comfort to the family.
About my perspective I hope a better investment of the public money in health.
Dear Eber,
I think doctors are like educators! We don’t really have a choice. It’s like a call bigger than us. I used to work for the government in a stable, nice job, but teaching became my passion and I just couldn’t resist it.
You’re absolutely right about the patient’s and the doctor’s perspective. It still shocks me how the system works in the US probably due to our more humanistic approach in the relationship doctor-patient! I get really frustrated every time I need to see a doctor here in the US.
I heard the story three times and tried to understand, then i read the text. I thought interesting Isabel Allende’s story, because in life we have to overcome the difficulties and she made it. I think that if we have a goal, it’s easier to cope with the problems. I believe in friendship and i’m happy when i can help somebody. My parents always taught me to share things and help people and I try to teach my kids to do the same.
Great strategy, Valquíria. First, getting the main idea, then reading the story to check if you really understood what you listened to.
I do exactly what you do, trying to pass on what I learned from my mom. Generosity is not an easy act and we have to “practice” being generous in small every day actions we take.
Basically, I heard the audio two times and after I read the text. Then, I heard the audio and read the text, simultaneous. I observed that the practice improved a lots the agreement of the audio.
Well, the values of each one are different, but always we are sharing exactly feelings, thoughts, little acts, words or care. I think that giving and sharing the best of us is the right way to extend a positive behavior, althougt hard, into this crazy world.
Dear Sandra,
You’re right that by listening to the audio and following along by reading the text helps the overall understanding of what Isabel Allende was saying. The fact that you tried to understand first, then read her story is an effective way to pick up the nuances of the spoken language. Keep practicing!
As for your beliefs, I also share your thought of giving the others our best to have in return the others’ positive energy. Sometimes it doesn’t happen, but we should keep having a positive behavior towards others.
My beleifs come from my own experience. Of course, living in a big family brought many things, bu t I used to live outside the group. My discoverings were almost all by my self and it became a patter to me. I love learn thigns alone, probalbly this is why is difficult to me to study in groups. But, back to the subject,I bileve that life teaches everything, but it is necessary to be up to life. I also believe that people can be verry good, but either very bad. Human being is a bridge between itself all possibilities are inside a man.
Art or destruction; beauty or dirtyness,highness and vilany.
This is the man.
Jaime
Wow, Jaime! You could be a poet. I just loved what you mentioned about our dichotomized world between good and bad, the beauty and the beast we all have!
I can totally understand that by being part of a big family, you had to look for your own identity, and probably that led you to a more independent approach. I hope that even if you like to learn by yourself, you keep sharing with us. From the little I saw here, there’s much we could learn, discuss and share with one another!
I understood Isabel, but I didn’t understand the person before.
I heard everything several times, but I need something more.
It was an interesting story but maybe it is true just when we are in difilty situations. In fact, we should be “good”, but it doesn’t happen because we dont’t have time to thing and to love. I agree with Edmilton: we just share wiht whom we love or know.
Dear Mirian,
Don’t worry about the person before Isabel. It was just an advertisement of NPR series. Keep practicing listening if you still think you need more input. Then, read the text and follow along.
You and Ed have a point when you mention that it’s easier to feel the urge of help and share when we’ve been through tough times, but don’t you think we also do good no matter the circumstances are? I wouldn’t say all the time, for it would be very naive of me, but I guess, there are many generous people around, though I have to agree with Jaime that we are generally in this dichotomy between good and bad.
Hi Carla,
Like you wrote to us: “take at least some minutes of your day”. I’m in my office between two appointments trying to keep in touch and do my tasks.
About the american doctors, I attended the Congress of American Academy of Neurology in 2006 in San Diego,CA. During the coffe-brakes three (THREE) american doctors ask me which language do we speak in Brazil. The last one I almost sad: Japanese! But didn´t do it.
Dear Eber,
I loved your in-between-appointments approach to practice English. This is great! I’m glad I sent that reminder yesterday, for today I can see lots of movement going on! Sometimes a simple sentence can change people’s behavior. I’m sure you know more about it than me!
As for the Americans, it’s hard to generalize, but there’s a tendency here for them to be more worried about internal issues than the world. I say it’s hard to generalize because I have some friends who are simply an inspiration and very cult and well-versed in terms of world economics, politics, languages, issues, in general.
So, when I tell them I’m from Brazil, they think I’m hispanic and they speak Spanish to me. It’s hard to tell them that, in fact, I don’t even know Spanish!
Hello, Carla.
I listened the story three times. In my two attempts, I only heard the story. After that, I listened again and read the text simultaneously. There are many words that I didn’t understand at the first time, but I’m very happy because I understood the main idea.. it’s a good start!!
Well, my own belief in daily life is if you have God in your heart, you can solve all your problems. My logic is: God is love and this love can change everything.
Exactly, Denise! It’s a great start. Go for the general meaning first. Then, start focusing on details and working on vocabulary.
And you’re right. You need to have faith and have your own beliefs to guide your life in the best way you can.
My strategy!
I heard the interview four times and I understood, then I read the transcription.After that, I read and heard the same time.
Then, I wrote my humble contribution. I would like to write more about Yo-Yo Ma but,with my poor English is difficult.
Best regards!
Mônica Gill
Mônica,
Don’t worry! You’re doing great! I loved Yo Yo Ma’s anecdote summary.
Keep on working on your listening skills. You’ve improved a lot since last year.
Hi, Carla.
Isabel spoke very slowly so it was easy understood the essential of the issue without read before. Her sorrow, her beliefs, her life experience are very commom to many of us.
In my personal point of view, of course there are pain in the world and Naturally we need to believe in something that support us to live on, to survive, to feel better.
My principles come from my job. I feel very useful as a teacher. Not just sharing knowledge but also feelings, encouraging people to conquer, never give up because there will be a reward in the future.
Dear Robson,
I guess it’s not that Isabel spoke slowly. I think you are good at listening ;=) In fact, this is Isabel’s regular rate of speech. The great thing is that it’s pretty clear, right?
I totally understand when you mention our job. I feel rewarded every single day with every little achievement of my students. It’s truly fulfilling!
Hi, Carla!
First I listened to the audio, but just once. So, I listened and read at the same time. Yes, I know, I should listen more times before reading, but I worry that I don’t know the tasks for the second week yet!
Everyone knows that sharing, giving and loving are behaviours that leads us to a happy life. Even if one thinks that this is impossible, certainly the way is pointed out by religions and moms. Isabel had the chance realize it and get it, although trhough a very sad event. Even not being a saint.
I believe that we all can get it someday, and I always attempt it.
Dear Flávio,
You don’t have to rush! Take your time to do the listening activities. The most important aspect is that you practice your listening skills by using different listening strategies.
As for what you said, you’re right that we should not give up, keep trying to help our kids realize the importance of sharing and caring.
First of all, it’s a bit difficult to keep concentrated in long listening like that. Even though her clear pronounce, there were some words which made me feel lost during the interpretation of her story. As a part of my listening strategies, after listen carefully to her at least three times, I tried to guess the spelling of unknown words looking them in the dictionary without read the transcript. My guesses were almost all correct meaning that it was just a matter of vocabulary. Then, I listened once again and the comprehension became easier after the right definitions of the unknown words.
My beliefs are generally about the learning processes. Every situation that we face up to makes we feel stronger even it’s an unhappy case. It only depends on how we SEE the circumstances. Everything has two sides, the bad and the good one. Of course, we’ll likely suffer a lot when something bad happen with us, but what I’m trying to say is that we have to put the bad things aside and keep with us only the good things. It’s seems easy, but it’s not! The main point is questioning ourselves: What can we learn about it? Is there a positive aspect? Believe me, everything has its good part.
Luciano,
I know that longer listenings can be more challenge, but we really need to accustom our eard to different lengths of language input. I LOVED your strategy of trying to guess the word without checking it out, looking it up in the dictionary and see that almost always you could get its spelling just from listening to the word. Very effective!
I totally agree with you that no experience is just plain good or bad. We can always learn from what we live. That’s what happens to me every single day!
Hi, Carla!
About my listening strategies, I listened to the audio three times. Then, I read carefully the text and looked for unknowed works in the dictionary. Finally, I listened to the audio again.
I think that Isabel had the biggest pain a woman can have: the loss of a son or a daughter. Parents trying to continue doing what their sons had started before died are common, because is the way to compensate the loss, the missing and to feel closed to the loved person. Some people give up themselves lives, but some of them find out a new way to live. I agree with Luciano when he said it was a learning process. The result depends on how the people lead the situation. There´s always a good way to see things, but it´s not easy.
Márcia,
Great to see that you really worked on the listening itself first and then got to the text and explored new vocabulary. Way to go!
You’re right that some parents try to perpetuate their kids’ actions just by keeping things the way their kids used to do, and others simply give up on life… It’s hard to judge because I can’t even imagine my life without my kids. However, there’s always a lesson to be learned no matter how painful the situation is, right?
Dear Carla,
I’m here. It was very dificulty to me understand every words, immediately the Isabel Allende’s anecdote, but I undertood the sense. I read the Novel “PAULA” by Isabel Allende, than It was easyer to.
About the text, and your quetions, I can say:
Along of my life, my beliefs have grew, but it’s important to say that you’re always learning in your life with the gains and loss in the moment of happiness and sadness. Sometimes the loss is hard but it’s necessary for you can continuous your journay.
When you were child, you keep everything with your family, the classmates, your enviorement, but It’is in the life that you learn.
Leila,
If you got the general sense of what she was saying, that’s what’s important. Also, you did the right thing to rely on your previous background knowledge of the author to help you understand what she was talking about.
As for your beliefs, I can see you’re an optimistic person by nature. And I just mentioned to others that no matter how hard the situation is, there’s always a lesson to be learned. Don’t you think so?
Hey teacher, now I’m understanding this things, i couldn’t see the e-learning platform, it didnt open. Well, having listened about giving, i think it is an important thing. you get what you give, like seeds. You can’t give angry and want to receive love back. Its unfair.
The fact is that if you give bad things and bad feelings, you can forget, but the life never forget it, and, one day or another, you will receive it back.
Teacher, i don’t know if you gonna read this, but i wrote. heheh
see ya.
Dear Thaline,
I ALWAYS read what each one of you writes! I’m glad you’re now finding your way around! Great!
As for what you said, you’re right. Just like you, I truly believe in the power of give and take, as well as the energy we transmit and receive from others.
Thanks for sharing your beliefs.
Dear Carla
My listening stractegies to understanding The Isabel Allende text and others, first of all I listened the story. Then I read it and listened and read together. It helps me a lot. Rarely a go to the dictionary. I try to understand the meaning of the word in the sentence.
About my believes, I like to please and help the others. I think that in giving you receive. You have to share all things: time, food, love, care, money, confort, hapiness, suport, protection, respect, etc… But for the ones that want and deseve my help. For the ones that don’t deserve it I’m a little hard. I only give money to old and handcapped people. The young ones I send them to look for a job.
About the difficult situations you “have to face the music and dance”. You have to solve this it to overcome it and go ahead.
Isabel Allende changed herself with the suffering of her daughter disease. She saw that we don’t need much to live. You don’t have to spend your life running for money or status. The hapinees is around us.
Dear Vânia,
It’s so true what you said! We generally think happiness is not attainable, but, in fact, it’s around us in little things. And you’re also right when you say that in giving we receive. I think I receive much more good things than I give, and I’m always thankful. What I do to give more is through my mission as an educator.
As for your listening strategy, it’s great that you try to contextualize even unknown words because that’s what happens in real life. You don’t have time to look up every single word you don’t understand in the dictionary. So, it’s important to develop other listening strategies as mentioned in Katy Cox’s text in week 1.
Dear Carla,
In this case, my listening strategies were to read the text twice and listen to the video over and over again. When I didn’t know an word or sentence I translated it. How I have a big difficult to understand the listening, I always read the text before. If there isn’t a written text, my comprehension about the subject is prejudice.
My believes are so different, I don’t belief in supernatural forces like good or bad spirits, gods, miracles, and so on. However I belief a lot in a human force, the Man has been able to make airplanes, computers, internet, cell phones. The Man developed medicines that avoid the death of millions of people. The Man developed technologies able to know about earthquakes, hurricanes, before them happen and saving thousands of peoples. The Man, with the knowledge accumulated and his capacity of thinking, make a world much better than it was one thousand years ago.
Although the Man has been able to make all these things, he has not been able to know about himself spirit. The Man need reflect upon about his way of life and about the relationship between his similar. So, lessons like this one by Isabel Allende can help the people to know better about themselves.
First, I listened to the audio twice and I could understand almost everything. After, I listened to it again while I was reading the text, and I could pay more attetion in the pronunciation of some words. I didn’t know some words, so tried to guess them by the context. After I checked them in the dictionary. I did this because in our day-to-day conversation we don’t have time to look for the meaning of the words.
I believe that Life is a big school, where we learn all the time. I believe that everything that happens to us has a purpose. It can be something good or not, but we always learn. This way, I can accept what happens to me easier, because I know that is something that will help me to be a better person.
My believe comes from my philosophy studies and my religion.
Milena, you said:
You’re totally right! And your strategy leads to a global understanding of what is being said.
As for your beliefs, I am with you. I believe that everything that happens to us has a purpose, happens for a reason. Sometimes it’s hard to understand the reasons, but if we can get the lesson it’s there for us, then we can become better persons.
Dear Carla,
In this case, my listening strategies were to read the text twice and listen to the video over and over again. When I didn’t know an word or sentence I translated it. How I have a big difficult to understand the listening, I always read the text before. If there isn’t a written text, my comprehension about the subject is prejudice.
My believes are so different, I don’t belief in supernatural forces like good or bad spirits, gods, miracles, and so on. However I belief a lot in a human force, the Man has been able to make airplanes, computers, internet, cell phones. The Man developed medicines that avoid the death of millions of people. The Man developed technologies able to know about earthquakes, hurricanes, before them happen and saving thousands of peoples. The Man, with the knowledge accumulated and his capacity of thinking, make a world much better than it was one thousand years ago.
Although the Man has been able to make all these things, he has not been able to know about himself spirit. The Man need reflect upon about his way of life and about the relationship between his similar. So, lessons like this one by Isabel Allende can help the people to know better about themselves.
Totally true, Daniel! Man has so many powers which are shown everywhere, but we still need to work on our spiritual development, relationships, to look around us and see the ones around us. Also, I think that man has great power to do good and build wonderful things, but there’s the dark side of self-destruction, greed, and feelings that lead to the construction of negative things and energy around us. So, we surely need to be more connected to our spirits to become a better society. My question is: what’s the way to achieve it?
As for your listening strategy, keep working on your listening skills, and even if you feel it’s difficult to understand someone speaking English, keep testing how much you can get before reading the text when it’s available. Remember that in real life we don’t have transcripts!