Author Archives: Jaime Chamberlain

新年快乐! Welcoming in the Year of the Dragon

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Jaime Chamberlain

      Year of the Dragon Chinese New Year is the most important Chinese holiday. It runs over the course of 15 days which is spent visiting and paying respect to your elders, collecting ‘lai see’ which are red packets … Continue reading →

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My Perfect Day in Hong Kong

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Jaime Chamberlain

It’s been almost 10 years since I’ve lived in Hong Kong proper but I do try and go back every year as my family and friends still live there. And obviously all the great shopping, eating and partying are also … Continue reading →

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Perfect Engrish

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Jaime Chamberlain

I read this interview with Professor Kumiko Torikai a few months ago and it made me think twice about the idea of “Perfect English’ and whether it’s essential that people learning English as a Second Language need to strive for … Continue reading →

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The history of pinyin

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Jaime Chamberlain

Mandarin (or other pictorial based languages like Japanese, Korean, Hindu, Arabic, Russian…) can be a pain to learn if, like me, you find it much easier to learn a language through phonetics. Pinyin is the romanisation of chinese characters. It … Continue reading →

Posted in chinese, jam flashcards, jam language, mandarin chinese, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Women are the best thing since sliced bread!

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Jaime Chamberlain

Okay I might be a little biased – I am one… Today, March 8th, marks the 100th International Women’s Day. Events take place all across the world to celebrate economic, political and social achievements of women. Maybe ‘celebrate’ is not … Continue reading →

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Chinky-Chonk eyes

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Jaime Chamberlain

You know that children’s song, “Heads, Shoulders, Knees & Toes“? Where, each time you sing the song, you remove one extra word and just point to your heads, or shoulders, or knees and toes… In my portuguese lesson the other … Continue reading →

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The English Language

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Jaime Chamberlain

When I first started my CELTA course I thought this is going to be a piece of piss (= very easy) but when I did my first real English test I was at a loss (=couldn’t figure it out). I … Continue reading →

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Raising multi-lingual children

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Jaime Chamberlain

I’m a terrible chinese person but a perfect example of chinese kids growing up in western culture. I was born in New Zealand, to Chinese-Malaysian parents, and moved to Hong Kong when I was 10 years old. I wasn’t able … Continue reading →

Posted in Brazilian portuguese, child development, children, english, esl children, fun for children, learn english, learning english, learning languages, learning portuguese, living in sao paulo, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The history of making New Year resolutions

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Jaime Chamberlain

The first day of January is the one day each year that everyone takes into account their year just past and makes plans for the New Year. Whether you believe in making resolutions, it’s something you will do consciously or … Continue reading →

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What’s your point of view?

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Jaime Chamberlain

I have always been a big fan of HSBC – I have banked with them since I was a 10 years old in Hong Kong and feel a real affinity for it when I see a branch overseas. I know … Continue reading →

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