A Letter From Your Teacher
Week 1 · Corporate Law Plan · AngloGold Ashanti
Dear Tatiana,
I just finished listening to all five of your recordings this week, and I want to start with this: you are already thinking in legal English, not just translating from Portuguese. That is the hardest part of this whole process, and you are doing it.
The moment that stayed with me most was in Day 2, when you built this sentence completely on your own: "A company could be sued by local communities if its activities cause environmental damage, violate land rights, or negatively affect people's health." That is a real conditional, built spontaneously, about a real legal risk at AngloGold. That is exactly the level this plan is training you for.
Everything below is small and specific — the kind of correction that polishes, not the kind that means we go back to the basics.
Day 1 · What Is Corporate Law?
This one was simply excellent. All three sentences were complete and correct, and you used "liabilities" and "transparently" the way a lawyer would — naturally, in the right context, without hesitation. There is nothing to correct here. Keep this sentence as your benchmark for the rest of the week.
Day 2 · Mergers, Acquisitions & Responsibility
You clearly know this material — the ideas were all there. Two sentences just need a small structural fix, and one word choice needs sharpening.
You said"What decision go to like the environmental, legal, financial..."
Try"During due diligence, the legal team must identify all environmental, legal, financial, and operational liabilities."
A simple habit fixes this every time: start with the context (During due diligence...), then your subject and verb.
You said"aspects" / "ungoals mining equipment"
Try"assets" — "AngloGold's mining equipment and its mineral rights"
Aspects means general points. Assets means items of value the company owns. The exercise asked for assets — a distinction worth keeping sharp in M&A conversations.
You said"hurt water sources"
Try"contaminate water sources"
More precise in an environmental legal context — a small swap, but it's the word a lawyer would reach for.
Day 3 · Compliance, Ethics & Accountability
Another sentence I loved: "AngloGold Ashanti has kept its shareholders informed about the progress of its ESG commitments." Natural, correct, and exactly the register you'll need in real meetings. Your Present Perfect passive — "have been held liable" — was confident and accurate too. And connecting this to Brazil's tailings dam failures is precisely the kind of real-world link that makes vocabulary stick.
A few small corrections here, all around the same pattern:
You said"Accountability by repairing boarding members to expose..."
Try"AngloGold Ashanti has strengthened accountability by requiring board members to disclose potential conflicts of interest."
With Present Perfect, always open with Subject + has/have + past participle — not with the vocabulary word itself.
You said"expose conflicts of interest"
Try"disclose conflicts of interest"
Expose suggests something revealed against someone's will. Disclose is the formal legal term for a voluntary, required declaration — always the right choice in corporate governance.
You said"site remediations programs" · "mine companies"
Try"site remediation programs" · "mining companies"
Mine is the physical place. Mining is the industry adjective — always mining companies, mining operations, mining sector.
Two Small Swaps To Keep Practicing
expose→disclose
mine companies→mining companies
aspects→assets
For your next cycle, here is where I'd like your attention:
- 1.Open Present Perfect sentences with the full subject. Practice this pattern daily: "AngloGold Ashanti has + [past participle]..."
- 2.Disclose vs. expose, mine vs. mining. Write one sentence with each correct form and send it to me before our next session.
- 3.Assets vs. aspects. Assets = things the company owns and that have value. This distinction matters in M&A conversations.
- 4.Sentence openers. Lead with the time or context frame first — "During due diligence...", "Since 2023...", "After the acquisition..." — then your subject and verb.
The legal content you brought into these recordings — tailings dam failures, mineral rights, land rights, ESG commitments — tells me you're not just completing an exercise. You're rehearsing conversations you'll actually have. You're ready for the next cycle.
With encouragement,
Karina
TryEnglish · Comunicação em Inglês
