How to improve your English

Advice for Black Friday

Going to the beach

Don't do this if you are a tourist

Marketing techniques that make us spend more

There's a reason your mother told you to make a grocery list and stick to it.

Every part of the supermarket from parking lot to checkout counter is designed to make you spend more money and buy more food than you need.

Banco Imágenes INTEF - by Paul Bangs

1. We'll start with the shopping cart. This 1938 invention was designed to let customers make larger purchases more easily.
2. Most supermarkets put high margin departments like floral and fresh baked goods near the front door, so you encounter them when your cart is empty and your spirits are high.
3. Another reason to start with flowers and baked goods is the smell, which activates your salivary glands and makes you more likely to make impulse purchases. Likewise these pleasant departments put you in a good mood and make you more willing to spend.
4. Supermarkets hide dairy products and other essentials on the back wall so that you have to go through the whole store to get to them.
5. Once customers start walking through the 'racetrack' aisles, they are conditioned to walk up and down each aisles without deviating.

   

   Banco Imágenes INTEF

6. Most stores move customers from right to left. Due to this flow and and the practice of driving on the right side of the road, the items you are most likely to buy tend to be on the right hand of the aisle.
7. The items the store really wants you to buy are at eye level. In the cereal aisle, for instance, bulk cereal is placed at the bottom. Healthy cereal is placed at the top. Expensive brand name cereal goes right at eye level. Favored items are also placed at the end of aisles.
8. And then there's kid eye level. This is where you'll find sugary cereal, Easy Mac and other items a kid will grab and beg his parents to buy.
9. Sample stations and other displays slow you down while exposing you to new products.
10. Size matters. In crowded stores people spend less time shopping, do less impulse shopping, purchase fewer items, are less social and more nervous
. Notably Asians are more tolerant of crowding, while the British are the least tolerant.
11. Warm colors attract people to a store. Cool colors encourage more contemplation and higher sales. We suggest brick exterior and cool blue interior.
12. Hear that music? Studies have shown that slow music makes people take their time and spend more money. Loud music makes them move through the store quickly without affecting sales. And classical music leads people to buy more expensive merchandise.
13. The most profitable area of the store is the checkout line. This is where after a few minutes in line you'll succumb to the temptation of the candy rack and a magazine you've been leafing through.
14. Time to present your Valued Shopper Card. While giving you the occasional deal, this card keeps you as a regular customer for the store. It also provides valuable tracking data.

by Gus Lubin
http://www.businessinsider.com/supermarkets-make-you-spend-money-2011-7

10 New School Year Resolutions

September is a great time to reflect on the changes we want to or need to make in our studies. This is a good set of ideas for you to improve your results:

Keep a calendar

1. Stop procrastinating. Don't postpone  the work you have to do. Do it as soon as possible as tasks usually take longer than expected.
2. Commit yourself to getting good grades. Good grades are essential for  any student. They will help you get to your favourite "instituto", faculty, etc. so make your mind up and start right now.
3. If a subject is too difficult, ask your teacher outside school, study for the subject with other classmates but don't leave anything that looks too difficult for the end of the term when you won't have much time for everything.
4. Don’t do it all. It’s better to concentrate on a few things and excel in them than if you join every sport, activity and club that you comes accross. Just do a couple of things and make sure you have plenty of time for your studies.
5. Keep a calendar. Deadlines creep up quickly. And the closer the date, the more you’ll feel the pressure. You can use a traditional paper diary or use an online calendar, such as Google Calendar but all exams and deadlines should be written down.
6. Take your exams seriously and study for them on time. Waiting for a second chance is not a good idea as you will be losing opportunities
7. Don't forget handing your school reports on time and remember that a percentage of your final qualification depends on them so don't underestimate their importance.
8. Try something new. Secondary school is a great time to spread your wings. It’s about new experiences and self-discovery. You can try a new sport, learn a new language, find new topics of interest or join an NGO. Just try.
9. Explore your possibilities for the future, consider what you would like to study and find information about those studies, where they can be carried out, etc.
10. Banish the self-doubt. Doubting your own abilities only holds you back from achieving what you want to achieve. Just say no to these thoughts and others like them:
• “I can’t do this.”
• “I’m not as smart as my classmates.”
• “I’ll never get better than a 2.7 grade-point average.”
• “I’ll only get into a community college anyway”
• “There’s no point in thinking I’ll get into my first choice college.”

adapted from http://internationalcollegecounselors.com/es/10-new-year-resolutions-for-high-school-students/

Tips for learning English

These are the ideas mentioned in 3º ESO for those of you who want to improve your English or any other foreign language.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

• Go to a country where that language is spoken, if possible
• Listen, read, write and speak in English as much as possible
• Read books in English (original or adapted)
• Read a book in English that you have previously read in your first language
• Watch TV in English (change the language/original version with/without subtitles)
• Play videogames in English
• Minecraft, etc.
• Listen to songs (YouTube, radio, i-Tunes, etc.)



keep a small notebook or journal for new expressions

• Songs with the lyrics
• Read the news online in English
• Keep a small notebook or journal for new word and phrases
• Accept mistakes as positive, as part of the learning process
• Watch YouTube videos for songs, dialogues, speeches, documentaries, etc.
• Speak to foreigners who speak English
• Set your phone in English (settings)
• Try

WHAT YOU SHOULDN'T DO

• Speak in Spanish in your English class
• Translate everything
• Use a translator (Google Translator, for example)
• Look up every single word you don't know
• Not speak trying to avoid making mistakes
• Study a lot of English in a short period of time