Good evening "Time Outers"! Long time away from here, we had too many classes to teach, a wedding and honeymoon...but now we are back to work and you can expect some great posts here at Time Out! This first one in May is dedicated to something really important: our new logo! We have decided to develop a new identity to our blog and business and today you will have the chance to discover it, take a look:

What do you think? Cool right? I hope you all liked it and we expect you to visit us whenever we post here ok? Keep in touch and remember: Time Out is open 24/7 to make you learn English! Cheers!!!!!!

Gustavo Caldas Brito
Time Out Coordinator

TIME OUT wants you!

As we have announced before, TIME OUT CTS - Cooperative Teaching System is looking for new partners, TEACHERs willing to earn better per class, TEACHERs looking for an opportunity to work with state-of-art material, TEACHERs willing to run away from bosses who don't give a damn about how they feel.
If you are one of these TEACHERs, come on, contact us, submit your CV, we will call you and schedule a meeting to check if TIME OUT is for you and if YOU are for TIME OUT! Write now
thetimeoutproject2011@gmail.com


JOIN us!

TIME OUT NEWS: Cooperative teaching system is now official!

Good morning guys!!!!
We have some big news for you:


Cooperative Teaching System


it is so interesting and so important to us
that I'm going to explain it in PORTUGUESE:
Enquanto autor e coordenador do projeto TIME OUT,
conto com mais de 15 alunos particulares estudando INGLÊS e FRANCÊS. Meus horários disponíveis já não são muitos, ainda assim continuo recebendo pedidos de alunos querendo aulas (o que é maravilhoso). Por isso tive que criar um sistema para me ajudar a acolher os novos alunos no projeto TIME OUT, e isso incluiria outros professores! Convidei então meu antigo co-autor aqui no blog e amigo, Sann Wyll. Ele me passou a disponibilidade dele e passei a indicar alunos que não poderia receber. O trato é funciona de maneira simples: Pra cada aluno que indico a ele, recebo um percentual na hora/aula que ele recebe. Para cada aluno que ele me indica, ele recebe um percentual na hora/aula que recebo. Cruzando nossos horários disponíveis e maximizando as chances de receber novos alunos, criamos uma forma de incluir cada vez mais estudantes no TIME OUT!
Mais professores foram convidados, então aproveito a oportunidade para apresentá-los:


SANN WYLL

Former TIME OUT co-author
Wise Up teacher
Years of experience living in the USA
Great charisma and amazing teaching
skills with teens and adults.










LETÍCIA MAZZELLI

Wise Up teacher
LEMEC teacher
Bzone teacher
Very experienced teaching kids and adults,
she also teaches german.














LUIZA MOTA

Former Brasas teacher
Wise Up teacher
Many years living abroad (all over the world!)
Very skilled teacher and ready to roll teaching all levels!




Se você é professor e também tem dificuldades para encontrar horário disponível para dar aula, não perca seus alunos, traga-os para o TIME OUT! Eles ganham, você ganha e nós também!
JOIN US!
JOIN the Cooperative Teaching System!
O percentual é igual para todos, sem distinções!!!


Cheers

OLD HABITS vs PRESENT HABITS

I know, I know...this blog was updated more regularly.
I have to admit that, 2012 brought me too much work and less time to communicate with you here.
I used to post like, two, three times a week, with my own videos or with Fran and Sann, but now I'm more used to working and preparing classes. Present Habits beat Old Habits!
Since we are talking about that, let's explore the subject in a proper way:
Check out this video:

Axl uses the expression "Used to"in this song to express an OLD HABIT, can you feel that?
OLD HABITS are thing you did with a certain frequency but now you don't, because of many reasons...got it? When we want to give emphasis to past regular activities or past routine, we have to go with USED TO. To be even more specific about it, let me introduce you to the common sentence structure in this case:


SUBJECT + USED TO + ANY VERB + OBJECT
He used to love her


Now, if you want to give emphasis to PRESENT HABITS, you should also go with USED TO. However, the sentence construction needs to be DIFFERENT. In order to express present regular activities or present routine, pay attention to the structure below:


SUBJECT + TO BE + USED TO + VERB (ING) + OBJECT
She is used to drinking vodka
They are used to going by car
I am used to teaching at night


Got it? Doubts? Suggestions?
Why don't you send us a message or leave a comment,
we will love to read and answer!
Cheers
ps: I promisse we'll fly back to the old habit of posting twice a week


GUSTAVO CALDAS BRITO             

THE TIME OUT PROJECT is PROUD TO PRESENT...

Hello guys!
Today I am here to introduce two new products from THE TIME OUT PROJECT:

THE TIME OUT LAB: It is our official TWITTER and a new space in which I am going to post about UNORTHODOX english teaching methods and INNOVATIVE learning techniques!
Just follow us: @TIMEOUTLAB

THE TIME OUT TEXT SHOP: It is our new blog, focused on WRITTEN DISCOURSE, for BASIC, INTERMEDIATE and ADVANCED students who wish to learn new techniques or perfect skills and strategies! You can send us 1 text per week, we correct it for FREE!
www.timeouttextshop.blogspot.com






I hope you liked the news
Follow us!!!


Have Fun!

STILL ON VACATIONS...but WORKING!

Hello TIME OUT people!
Your author, the one who is writing now, is still on VACATIONS,
but working like a dog!
We've got big news for you:
THE TIME OUT LAB! Our new TWITTER page, check it out:
https://twitter.com/#!/thetimeoutlab

Esse será nosso novo espaço de inovação e experimentação!!!!
Vou deixar dicas de aulas diferentes, de estratégias diferentes,
para alunos e para professores de línguas, não só do inglês mas do francês também!


Espero que gostem!!!
Mais breve do que vocês pensam minhas férias acabam e o 
TIME OUT PROJECT volta com tudo!!!!


FOLLOW US! TWITTER & BLOG!


Cheers


Gustavo Caldas Brito

SHORT BREAK FOR BIG COMEBACK!

Hi everyone!
I hope Christmas and New Year have treated you well!
This is 2012 now, according to Mayas, the END is near, but not for us here at THE TIME OUT PROJECT! Meanwhile, check out this awesome R.E.M song...try to sing with the Band, I dare you...

We are gonna take a very short break, kind of vacations for the Author, so We can comeback in Full Throttle Mode!
See you next MONDAY with a NEW VIDEO from the CHRONICLES...You'll love it!
Cheers
Gustavo Brito

THIS IS IT !

Good morning people! Today is very special for me...
It's my last day as a WISE UP teacher and I've decided to post about it! I have been their teacher for more than 3 years and I've never hidden from anyone the most beautiful and the most terrible moments there! It was not always easy, there were days I thought I would kill someone, but I ended up solving most of the problems and overcoming bizarre situations. There were also fantastic days, most of them with fantastic workmates, friends who helped me, teased me and also annoyed me (it's sometimes necessary, I know). I'll never forget the training with many teachers and my future friends Louie, Dani (in Puerto Rico now, married and happy) and Chris (this one has vanished somehow, he's maybe back to his Netherlands), or the day I was hired...Throughout the years, I've met various teachers who were part of my routine, some of those were memorable, like Carol, Little Carol, Victor, Cinthia... some were even better, like Henry, Erica, Beatrix, Walter, Jackie... and some are more than special, like Fran (my sis!), Sann (my nephew!), Sam, Louie (my good brother!), Letícia, Tereza, Rafael, Lulu (my niece!), Sandra, Nathalia and Laís!


Jamais esqueceria das muitas outras pessoas que passaram pela Wise Up e que me ajudaram, com coisas pequenas e grandes, tais como as meninas da recepção, administração e operacional: Danne Levy, Raquel, Priscila, Yanna, Bete, Lud, Lidiane, Cláudia (vulgo Cráudia), Mayra, Helena, Patrícia e Cristina. Além delas, ressalto com enorme prazer a amizade, a camaradagem e os papos de futebol com o grande Ale!


Agradeço também ao franqueado, Jorge Américo, o já folclórico "J", pela oportunidade que me foi dada, sou grato e não me esquecerei.


Para fechar com chave de ouro (with golden keys, como já diria minha coordenadora), exibo em primeira mão o vídeo da entrega das minhas últimas provas corrigidas na WISE UP! Espero que gostem, take a look:

Não vou dizer que é um "até breve", pois se tomei a decisão de sair, foi para me dedicar aos meus projetos pessoais e profissionais, mas vou dizer que Niterói é uma cidade pequena, que não me custará muito passar para um "oi" e para marcar uma cerveja, ou pizza, aqui e acolá.


Thank you for everything,
stay tuned to THE TIME OUT PROJECT, I will be here full time!


Cheers, abraços,


Gustavo Caldas Brito

ONE FOR THE REAL ADVANCED ENGLISH STUDENTS or TEACHERS...

Woody Allen is one of my biggest inspirations, not so much for his personal life but his PROFESSIONAL success!
So, nothing better than using him to test you guys with a very challenging LISTENING activity:
Watch and PAY ATTENTION to the video. Try to LISTEN to it for at least 3 times, but, BEFOR you do that, read the questions below, so you can focus on what you have to answer!
1)How does he describe his wife?
2)Why did he describe her that way?
3)Why did he say it was also his fault that they got divorced?
4)When they were deciding their lives they had 2 options. What were these options?
5)Why did they choose what they have chosen?
6)What would they need to prove to get a divorce in NY?
7)What did he convince her to do?

Remember that LISTENING is like PHYSICAL EXERCISE...There's no point in doing it once in 3 weeks...IT MUST BE DONE EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!!


Good luck and Keep visiting us!

DESCRIBING YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Hello people!
Today I have a SPECIAL exercise for BASIC 1 students:


DESCRIBING A NEIGHBORHOOD!


Pay attention: I am going to DESCRIBE the NEIGHBORHOOD using PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE!

In my neighborhood THERE IS a POST OFFICE NEXT TO the FIRE STATION. There is a HOSPITAL BEHIND the SCHOOL and a POLICE STATION IN FRONT OF the BLUE HOUSE. There is a LIBRARY NEAR the SCHOOL too!

I used 4 PREPOSITIONS: NEXT TO - BEHIND - IN FRONT OF - NEAR

Now, THINK about YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD and WRITE a SIMILAR DESCRIPTION, using the 4 PREPOSITIONS!

It is an excellent PRACTICE for TESTS!

Send your DESCRIPTIONS to the email, I correct them:

thetimeoutproject2011@gmail.com

STUDY and HAVE FUN!

thank you FRAN and SANN!

Good evening everybody!
Tonight is a very different night. Our blog is going under reconfiguration, we are preparing a lot of nice surprises for you to enjoy in 2012 and we expect you to stay with us next year!


2012 brings a lot of changes and with big changes come big responsibilities and big losses too...


You may have noticed that our co-authors, FRAN SARTOR and SANN WYLL, no longer have their photos here. It doesn't mean they're not co-authors anymore, it just means they're going to participate in our posts less frequently, sometimes, now and then, whenever they have the time to it! ;)


FRAN has her personal projects and many different activities going on. As the author of the TIME OUT PROJECT, I was feeling bad for making her even busier than she is, so now, as an occasional co-author, she'll have more time to produce and will not feel pressured to deliver! hehehehehe!


SANN is a young teacher at WISE UP and his professional and personal obligations keep him busy for most of the time. He's also dedicating his time to professional growth and I felt it would be unfair of me to demand posts or videos from him when he is in such an important moment of his life....I am sure that, as an occasional partner, his productions and posts will be even better, because they'll be produced whenever he can and not under pressure!!!!ahahaha!


FRAN and SANN are much more than co-authors for me, they're my SISTER and my NEPHEW, my good friends and brilliant co-workers! I hope they keep producing here with me, posting videos, sharing ideas and making me feel lucky to have them onboard!


Thank you guys, I hope we can record many CHRONICLES FROM MY KITCHEN with FRAN SARTOR and CHRONICLES FROM MY SHAVING CREAM with SANN WYLL in 2012!


CHEERS!


GUSTAVO CALDAS BRITO

REVIEWING MODAL VERBS!

What's up guys??

December is coming and with it many students will be tested in english. Today, our post is an opportunity for INTERMEDIATE students who are desperate because of MODAL VERBS!

The most famous are CAN & COULD

They express POSSIBILITY, ABILITY...

Check the video:

WOULD is a modal verb that expresses hypothetical situations,

it is a reference to something ideal but not real...

Let's watch the video?

If you are looking for a modal verb to give suggestions, SHOULD is the perfect one for you, since it expresses ADVICE!

The video gives you another chance to understand it:

Next Thursday I will post more videos about MODAL VERBS for INTERMEDIATE students! Stick around!!!
Cheers

ENGLISH vs EMBROMATION - Featuring Mr. Adriano Rougemont!

Good afternoon everybody!!!
We have been talking about fluency lately and today we continue discussing the topic...But in a very different way!
THE TIME OUT PROJECT 2011 is pleased to feature ADRIANO ROUGEMONT, also known as the "Brazilian Ewok"drunk and singing JEREMY, from the grunge band PEARL JAM!
Why did I decide to post it? Well, first of all, I laugh my ass off listening to it. Secondly, it reminds us of how important it is not to EMBROMATE, but how nice it is to try to imitate the sounds and the intonation! Finally, ADRIANO's bizarre interpretation helps us understand how important it is to dedicate time to learning english properly!
Check it out:

ENJOY!!!!!!

WHAT IS FLUENCY ABOUT?

Good evening guys!
As you may have noticed, this last month things got slower here at THE TIME OUT PROJECT...We have been working a lot to prepare many surprises and new video series for you to study, so we are saving the posts for a better moment. However, we will continue posting here, as frequently as possible, so keep visiting us! We will have a retrospective week with many videos about VERB FORMS and MODAL VERBS, so if you are going to have tests by the end of the year, stay tuned!
Today we keep looking at FLUENCY. I have prepared this animation for you to understand what kind of ingredients you need to develop a good level of fluency. If you need help with different exercises and some state-of-art techniques to learn english, don't hesitate! Send us an email: thetimeoutproject2011@gmail.com


Take a look at the animation:

REMEMBER: THE TIME OUT PROJECT is also an ENGLISH COURSE! We are preparing the SCHEDULE for 2012 and if you're interested in PRIVATE or SMALL GROUP CLASSES, contact us by email or call us! The phone number is on the top of our BLOG!

Cheers!!!

IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT?

Good morning everyone!!!
First of all, I'd like to apologize for being absent lately, the last months of 2011 have been crazy for me, with plenty to do, so I was away from the blog for a week or two. But I'm back, and today I'm back with a question: IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT?
This is for all of you, english students seeking for the HOLY GRAIL:
F L U E N C Y
The next videos expose different levels of it, choose the one you want and study for it!

have fun!!!!!!!

Teaching kids...

Hello again guys!
I am back here to talk to you about some recent experiences I'm going through lately: TEACHING KIDS!
Most of you know me teaching adults, but I also teach 7 to 11 year-old kids (boys and girls)...both English and French.
I had to prepare totally different strategies to make my teaching work with them and one of the videos that inspired me was this one here:

As a teacher and as a future father (god knows when, but it'll happen one day), I'm concerned about how to reach kids, because
if I can manage it, I can manage pretty much everything!
If you have kids or if you are a teacher out there, looking for tips, don't forget to become a follower of our blog here or to follow TED.COM!
Thank you and have a nice weekend!!!!

TIME OUT LIVE! TIME OUT LIVE? YEAH! CHECK IT OUT!

Hey! What's up guys???

E aí galera, tudo bem???

If you read the title and had problems to understand, let me explain it to you: By DECEMBER 2011, I am going to launch TIME OUT LIVE, my own ENGLISH PROGRAM for BASIC, INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED students!

Se você leu o título e teve problemas para entender, deixe-me explicar direitinho: A partir de DEZEMBRO de 2011, estarei lançando TIME OUT LIVE, meu próprio PROGRAMA de AULAS de INGLÊS para alunos de nível BÁSICO, INTERMEDIÁRIO e AVANÇADO!

The idea is to provide SPECIAL TAILOR MADE classes, connecting the exercises to my students personal interests, creating and using NEW techniques to develop the most important LANGUAGE SKILLS. My objective is to show you how easy and funny english can be. 

A idéia é fornecer AULAS SOB MEDIDA, conectando os exercícios aos interesses pessoais dos alunos, criando e usando NOVAS técnicas para desenvolver as habilidade LINGUÍSTICAS mais importantes. Meu objetivo é mostrar o quão fácil e divertido pode ser o inglês.

As you might know (or may not know), learning english will depend on YOU. However, It is my job to create new strategies, new tools, to help you UNDERSTAND + ANSWER = SPONTANEOUSLY!

Como vocês devem saber (ou não devem saber), aprender inglês vai sempre depender de VOCÊ. Entretanto, é meu dever criar novas estratégias, novas ferramentas, para ajudá-los a ENTENDER + RESPONDER = ESPONTÂNEAMENTE!

TIME OUT LIVE will be avaiable in JANUARY 2012, with INDIVIDUAL and GROUP (no more than 4 students per group) CLASSES. Avaiable SCHEDULE: Early Mornings & Early/Late Evenings! EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK! 

TIME OUT LIVE estará disponível em JANEIRO de 2012, com aulas INDIVIDUAIS e em GRUPO (não mais do que 4 alunos por grupo). HORÁRIOS disponíveis: Manhã e Noite! TODOS OS DIAS DA SEMANA!

TIME OUT LIVE WILL TEACH YOU AT HOME if you prefer.

In public places if you are an outdoor classes lover! In TIME OUT headquarters if you really feel like coming over here!

TIME OUT LIVE VAI TE DAR AULAS EM CASA se você preferir. Em lugares públicos caso você seja um amante das aulas ao ar livre! No QG do TIME OUT caso você realmente queira nos visitar!

CALL TIME OUT LIVE at 21 79115301

GARANTEE your classes for 2012!!!

LIGUE PARA TIME OUT LIVE no número 21 79115301

GARANTA suas aulas para 2012!!!

CHRONICLES FROM MY COCKPIT - Episode 9: FUTURE PERFECT

Hi there guys!
It is monday, the perfect day to start a brilliant week of work!
We have surpassed 4000 visits and now we have a new goal: 5000 by the end of November...Help us!
Today we have something special for you: CHRONICLES FROM MY COCKPIT, Episode 9!
We are going to explore the last verb form in our series: FUTURE PERFECT!
If you have sensibility, if you see yourself as a Nostradamus, future perfect is perfect for you! Take a look:

Remember guys: FUTURE PERFECT is, like any other verb form, 
the best way to express actions, so practice will help you make automatic in your oral and written speeches. Get to it!!!


THIS WEEK:
We will have a new SERIES starting this week:
IDIOMS!!!
AMERICAN & BRITISH IDIOMS!!!
We will act, like actors, and help you understand how to use common EXPRESSIONS! Get ready for a lot of fun!


Cheers!
GUSTAVO CALDAS BRITO
FRAN SARTOR
SANN WYLL

IT's SATURDAY NIGHT!!!

Good evening everybody!

This rainy weekend is tearing our plans apart...

No beach, no outdoor sports, nothing.

Well, worry no more! We're here to entertain you with another video! 

This is special for ADVANCED students willing to practice DATA ANALYSIS!

Remember the 3 main STEPS to analyse graphs in a very objective way:

1) COLLECT ALL THE INFORMATION POSSIBLE, PAY ATTENTION TO ALL THE DATA, TAKE NOTES!

2) ANALYSE THE DATA COLLECTED, ATTENTION TO CONTRASTS AND DRASTIC INCREASES OR DECREASES, HIGHLIGHT THE MOST IMPORTANT TRANSFORMATIONS!

3) TRY TO CONCLUDE FROM THE GRAPH, USING RATIONAL ARGUMENTATION, CULTURAL AWARENESS!

Guys, graph analysis exercises are not only BRILLIANT for those who work with it but also EXCELLENT for those students who want to practice different techniques to ABSORB, DECODE, EXPLAIN AND ARGUE.

Don't miss this opportunity, send us your analysis!

thetimeoutproject2011@gmail.com

VIDEO PRACTICE!

Good Afternoon guys!
It's sunday and we don't want to give you too much work,
but this video, by TIM BURTON, is an excellent exercise 
because it gives you the chance to work with listening skills, 
vocabulary, british expressions and pronunciation!
take a look and try to answer the questions about it:

1. How old is Vincent Malloy?
 He's eight years old
 He's seven years old
 He seven years old
2. Who does he want to be like?
 Vincent Price
 Vincent Slice
 Edgar Allan Poe
3. Vincent Price was...
 A musician
 A politician
 An actor
4. Does Vincent Malloy have any pets?
 Yes, a dog and cats
 Yes, a dog and a cat
 No, he doesn't
5. What is the name of his dog?
 Roomba
 Sauna
 Abercrombie
6. What does he imagine doing to his aunt?
 Dipping her in wax
 Dipping her in chocolate
 Dipping her in cream
7. Who is Vincent's favourite author?
 Vincent Price
 Stephen King
 Edgar Allan Poe
8. What poem does he quote before "dying"?
 The Navel
 The Raven
 The Tomb
9. Who is the author of the poem?
 H.P. Lovecraft
 Arthur Conan Doyle
 Edgar Allan Poe


Have a brilliant weekend, we see you with the week plans and new videos for you!!!
Cheers


GUSTAVO CALDAS BRITO
FRAN SARTOR
SANN WYLL