The Jeffrey And Tracey Info Emporium

Even if you don’t know a single word of German, you can probably read and understand the following German text. Did you know that English and German descended from the same language? (Proto-Germanic) Many words in both languages are the same or similar.

A link to this story’s translation will be provided at the end of this article.

* GERMAN STORY *

Guten Tag! Mein Name ist Monika. Ich bin Autorin. Ich habe einen Bruder namens Bob. Bob ist auch Autor. Ich bin Bobs Literaturagentin. Er schreibt interessante Artikel und Bücher. Er schreibt nun ein neues Buch. Der Titel ist: «Das Telefon klingelt für Dich.» Letztes Jahr hatte er 2 Bücher auf der Bestsellerliste.

Bob lebt in Kanada - in Montreal. Er ist 30 Jahre alt, mit blondem Haar und blaue Augen. Er hat ein altes Auto. Freitags geht er mit dem Auto zum Supermarkt.

Im Supermarkt findet er Kaffee, Tee, Mineralwasser, Milch, Zucker, Butter usw. für Mutter. Er findet auch Frucht wie Bananen, Äpfel, Orangen usw. Dann geht er zur Bank und wartet eine Weile für Mutter. Er geht nächst mit Mutter zu Hause und parkt sein Auto.

Das Haus ist weiß und blau. Es hat einen Garten mit wundervollen Blumen und luxuriösem grünem Gras.

Im Haus sitzt Bob auf dem Sofa und trinkt oft ein Glas Bier oder Wein und hört das Radio (laut). Mutter sagt: «Bob! Das Radio ist zu laut!» Bob lacht und geht in den Garten.

Im Sommer, wenn die Sonne scheint, sitzt Bob im Garten. Wenn Mutter will, mäht Bob das Gras.

Im Winter schaufelt er den Schnee oder sitzt im Haus beim Feuer.

Meine Mutter hat eine Katze namens Löwe. Löwe ist braun, grau und orange. Sie miaut, wenn sie Bob sieht, springt auf Bobs Knie und schnurrt laut. Mutter hat auch einen Hund - namens Bär. Bär ist ein Dachshund.

Ach! es ist spät - Mitternacht. Ich muss zum Bett gehen. Gute Nacht! Ich schreibe mehr morgens.

* MORE EXAMPLES *

Winter kommt im November.

Sommer kommt im Juni.

Die Toilette ist beige.

Das Papier ist weiß.

Mein Hand hat zehn Finger.

Mein Arm ist gebrochen.

Wir haben eine Party!

Bring den Salat hier!

Der Mann tanzt und singt.

Der Wind ist eisig.

Die Tomate ist reif.

Das kostet 5 Dollar.

Komm hier!

Er hat Hunger und Durst.

Der Film beginnt um 8.

Sie fotografiert die Familie.

* HOW DID IT GO? *

Maybe you didn’t understand the German text completely. Read it a second - and then a third time.

If you are observant, you will notice a few details:

*German usually uses a ‘K’ instead of a hard ‘C’: Canada=Kanada, Monica=Monika.

*The English ‘ph’ often becomes ‘f’: telephone=Telefon.

*Nouns are capitalized: fruit=Frucht, milk=Milch, butter=Butter, sugar=Zucker.

*Possessives are not formed with an apostrophe + s: brother’s=Bruders.

*The English ’sh’ becomes ’sch’: shines=scheint, shovels=schaufelt.

*Many words are exactly the same: Winter, November, Finger, Party, Wind, Hunger, Film.

Now that you have a few hints, you can probably read the German text again and understand even more. Think of the words in context, and allow your mind to fill in the blanks.

Related words, like the ones above, with common ancestral roots are called ‘cognates’. There are many, many more than those presented here.

Over the years, however, many words that used to mean the same thing in both languages have evolved and have acquired different connotations. For example, the old German word for ‘wife’ - ‘Weib’ is nowadays generally applied in a deprecating manner. It might be used in a phrase that means ‘you crazy woman!’ or in instances where an English person would say ‘broad’ or ‘dame’.

The German word ‘Gift’ does not mean ‘gift’ - it means ‘poison’.

The point that is being made here, however, is that you should actively search for similarities. Over time you will discover the exceptions. You will feel comfortable with the similarities and form a foundation on which you can build. The learning task then becomes less daunting - and even enjoyable.

Over the centuries the world has become a melting pot of cultures and languages. Many words and phrases have crossed borders. Globalization - spurred by newspapers, radio, TV, the internet, and jet travel - has accelerated the process. We often use foreign-derived words without even realizing - angst, soup du jour, cafe au lait, poltergeist, bona fide, carte blanche, nom de plume, savoir-faire . . .

Every time you come to a new text passage, scan it to find what you already know (or can guess) for a general sense of what it means. Then tackle the unknown parts.

Your learning will progress more quickly as a result.

Author’s Note:

*The German passage is presented in parallel translation at A-Language-Guide.com.

*You will also find more German-English texts and some helpful language articles.

“I want to learn Chinese but just give me the basics!”

That’s what this Chinese pronunciation guide is all about. It’s all that you need to know about the pinyin system of Chinese pronunciation to get by.

The 80% that’s important. (Spend 20% of time to learn the 80% that’s important.)

To speak Mandarin, the first thing is to learn Chinese pronunciation of words using the system known as pinyin.

Pinyin is the Romanized Chinese phonetic system and is the most effective aid to learn Chinese pronunciation today. (Romanized means using English alphabets.) Pinyin was invented in the 1950’s so that anyone, especially English speaking people, could learn Chinese pronunciation easily.

Most of the letters in pinyin have the same sounds as letters of the alphabet – with only a few exceptions. It’s really a very practical system that reduces the time it takes to learn Chinese words.

Can you imagine an English speaker trying to pronounce Chinese characters without pinyin?

First, “The Four Tones” of Chinese pronunciation

Chinese is a tonal language. This means each Chinese character is a syllable with a fixed tone. A different tone is a different Chinese character and hence a different meaning. To learn Chinese, you’ll have to learn Chinese characters individually.

Chinese pronunciation involves four tones, each indicated by a tone mark. The tone marks are placed over the vowels. (If the letter “i” has a tone mark over it, the dot is removed.”

First Tone: a high, level tone represented by “-“ as in mā 妈 “mother”

Second Tone: a rising, questioning tone represented by “/” as in má 麻 “to have pins and needles”

Third Tone: a drawling tone falling then rising represented by “v” as in mǎ 马 “horse”

Fourth Tone: a sharp falling tone represented by “” as in mà 骂 “to scold”

Each syllable is written as a combination of consonants and vowels, plus the tone mark. Some syllables don’t start with consonants. And the only consonants that come after vowels are are the nasal “n” or “ng”.

(From here on, I’m just going to use 1, 2 3, 4 to represent the four tones in Chinese pronunciation.)

You can see the importance of getting the tones right when you learn Chinese pronunciation to avoid misunderstandings and comic situations.

A friend of mine just learnt the Chinese words for “secretary” “mi4 shu1” and instead said “mystery book” “mi2 shu1”. I bet you’ve heard stories like that of people.

It will take some time to get the tones right because they’re not “natural” to English speakers. Do your best when to pick up the tones when you learn Chinese, but don’t be deterred. Eventually you’ll get it. But just so you know, you don’t have to be perfect.

I have American friends living in Shanghai who get by fine with a flat tone. Of course, breakdowns in communication arise now and then, but the Chinese people can see you’re a foreigner learning the Chinese language (i.e. their language) and they’ll try hard to make sense of what you say.

So, they’re doing all the “hard work”!

Want to learn Chinese for pleasure and profit in less time? Like to creatively enhance your life with Chinese characters and symbols? Liow Kah Joon is your guide. Sign up for his free Chinese Symbols ezine at Living Chinese Symbols

Do you ever wonder as a translator whether you can one day be good enough to translate English to Spanish without a dictionary?

Well, let me tell a short little story. When I was in college starting my training to become a Spanish translator, I always wondered if my language ability would ever be good enough so that I wouldn’t have to use a dictionary and I would be able to translate English to Spanish off the top of my head.

However, the more I studied, the more I realized how much is out there to learn about a language and that I would never reach that point of not having to use a dictionary. At first I was disheartened because I thought that having to use a dictionary would reflect on my knowledge of the language; however, I soon came to the realization that having to use a dictionary to translate English to Spanish is not necessarily a sign of weakness in a language, nor is it a crutch.

Dictionaries are an aid. Translators shouldn’t try to be “master translators” and think they are so good that they don’t need dictionaries. Even native speakers of a language often go to dictionaries to get more precise meanings of words, as well as synonyms and antonyms of specific words. Without dictionaries and other reference materials, translators put themselves at a disadvantage in their work.

It’s like a doctor working without medical reference materials. There always comes a time when they have to consult other resources and not rely on their own knowledge. They owe it to their clients to consult every resource at their disposal. In the same way, translators owe it to their clients to use every means they can to translate English to Spanish or any other language combination in order to provide the best product they can deliver.

So don’t fall into the trap that I did and think that your translation skills will only be top-notch if you never have to use a dictionary. Nothing could be further from the truth. Professionals realize that by relying on outside resources and materials, their skills will only improve. So will yours.

Intonation in English.

Intonation, the “music” of a language, is perhaps the most important element of a correct accent. Many people think that pronunciation is what makes up an accent. It may be that pronunciation is very important for an understandable accent. But it is intonation that gives the final touch that makes an accent correct or native. Often we hear someone speaking with perfect grammar, and perfect formation of the sounds of English but with a little something that gives her away as not being a native speaker.

Therefore, it is necessary to realize that there are three components to an accent, pronunciation, intonation, and linking. In other places we will examine pronunciation, the proper formation of vowels and consonants, and linking, the way that syllables within a word, and the beginning and ending of words come together.

We will look at three places that help us to hear clearly the difference that intonation makes in the daily use of a proper North American English accent. The practice with the following three situations will help you to notice, practice, and master the different intonation patterns that you will discover as you concentrate more on your use of North American English.

The three situations are: 1. the different intonation of the same word when it is used as a noun or as a verb; 2. the different intonation of the same word when it is used as an adjective or as a verb; 3. the intonation of expressions of two words.

You can find more on this topic at: http://www.goodaccent.com
There are resources at: http://www.goodaccent.com/accentbooks.htm
And in Spanish at http://www.inglesparlatinos.com/Pronunciar.htm

1. Intonation: Noun Verb

Knowing when and where to stress the words you use is very important for understanding, and is part of a good accent. A clear example is that of the different stress in nouns and verbs.

It will be useful for you to be aware of the stress in both cases. Here is a list of a few that will get you thinking and give you some practice in identifying them and using them correctly. Underline the syllable that is stressed, and write a brief explanation to indicate that you understand the difference. I start the exercise with two examples, the words suspect and present. You do the rest. And make sure you pronounce the words OUT LOUD.

VERB

to suspect

to have an opinion

NOUN

a suspect

a person under suspicion

VERB

to present, to give

to introduce

NOUN

a present,

a gift, now

to conflict

a conflict

to contest

a contest

to contract

a contract

to contrast

a contrast

to convert

a convert

to convict

a convict

to default

a default

to discharge

a discharge

to incline

an incline

to insult

an insult

to object

an object

to permit

a permit

to present

a present

to produce

a produce

to progress

a progress

to project

a project

to protest

a protest

to rebel

a rebel

to recall

a recall

to reject

a reject

to research

a research

to subject

a subject

to survey

a survey

Can you tell the difference in the following sentences?

You need to insert a paragraph here on this newspaper insert.

2. Intonation: Noun/Adjective and Verb

In the previous case, we saw that verbs of two syllables often have the stress on the second syllable, while the related noun has the stress on the first syllable.

This case, along with the previous case, is an example of the effect that meaning has on intonation in English. Many native speakers do not realize that the “rule” of this section is pretty rigorous. To know it can help you in building your vocabulary at the same time as you perfect your intonation.

There is another intonation pattern that you must master. Verbs ending in the letters “ate” pronounce the letter “a” of the last syllable with the “long a” sound (the name of the letter “a”, the sound of the words steak and make).

Related nouns or adjectives pronounce the letter “a” of the last syllable with the indefinite schwa sound (the sound of the “a” of the word about>, or the second “e” in the word elephant )

For each word, indicate that you realize the effect of meaning on intonation by clarifying the difference between the two uses of the same word (“same” meaning having the same spelling.)

First, give a brief meaning of the word used as noun or adjective and put the letter I to indicate that the final letter “a” is the indefinite sound of the “a” in about..

Next, give a brief meaning of the word used as a verb and put the letter A to indicate that the final letter “a” is the sound of the “long a”. I start the exercise with two examples, the words alternate and appropriate. You do the rest. And make sure you pronounce the words OUT LOUD.

alternate I

Noun: A substitute

alternate A

Verb: To take turns.

appropriate I

Adjective: Correct or suitable

Appropriate A

Verb: To take over.

approximate

to approximate

articulate

to articulate

associate

to associate

deliberate

to deliberate

duplicate

to duplicate

laminate

to laminate

graduate

to graduate

intimate

to intimate

moderate

to moderate

predicate

to predicate

precipitate

to precipitate

Read the following sentences, pronouncing the words with the proper
intonation according to their use in the sentence.

The facilitator wanted to separate the general topic into separate
categories

How much do you estimate that the estimate will be?

……………………………

3. Two Word Stress

Knowing when and where to stress the words you use is very important for understanding, and therefore, as part of a good accent. A clear example is that of stress in two word expressions.

The place of the stress depends on whether the two words are used to describe something like a “white HOUSE” (meaning a house that is painted white, and not blue or gray). In this case the most important note is the noun because we are talking about a house that happens to be white. Similarly, a fat BOY is an overweight young male.

But sometimes-short two word expressions are set and “consecrated”, and mean something special, like “the WHITE house” where Mr. Bush lives. In this case, the emphasis is on the adjective because we are more interested in stressing that it is the house that is known because it is white. Similarly, FAT boy is the nickname of a boy, chosen because it emphasizes his weight.

It will be useful for you to be aware of both types of two word expressions. Here is a list of a few that will get you thinking and give you some practice in identifying them and using them correctly. Underline the syllable that is stressed, and write a brief explanation, for both uses of each phrase. I start the exercise with two examples, the words white house and light bulb. You do the rest. And make sure you pronounce the words OUT LOUD.

WHITE house

In Washington

White HOUSE

House painted white

LIGHT bulb

Shines with electricity

Light BULB

A bulb that is not heavy

Dark room

Dark room

A cold fish

A gold fish

The paper box

The paper box

An old key

A door key

A nice watch

A wrist watch

A sticky web

A spider web

A clean cup

A coffee cup

A toy gun

A water gun

A bright star

A movie star

A new ball

A foot ball

A sharp knife

A steak knife

An old brush

A hair brush

A dry leaf

A fig leaf

A pointy tack

A thumb tack

A blackboard

A black board

A gray hound

A greyhound

A down payment

A late payment

He’s a big man.

He’s a big man.

A green house

A green house

The author, Frank Gerace, Ph.D, has worked in communication and education projects in Latin America. He has taught in public and private universities in Peru and Bolivia. Currently he teaches English to immigrant adults at an important branch of CUNY, the City University of New York. He also does private consultations for accent reductioon. He can be reached at accent@leerespoder.com. His website is http://www.GoodAccent.com and in Spanish it is http://www.InglesParaLatinos.com/Pronunciar.htm

As the world grows smaller; people travel across the globe more frequently and more business is done internationally, translation services are increasingly in demand. A translation service can now be needed for anything from the translation of an education certificate to translating a website. Due to the demand there are now hundreds of translation agencies across the globe.

Finding a translation service can be daunting. Where does one start to look for a translation service and when they find one, how do they know if they will be able to do the job well? What questions should one ask? This article will offer some useful tips on how to find a translation service to meet your needs.

Where to find a translation service?

There are three main ways of finding a translation service.
The first port of call should be your local directory such as the Yellow Pages. If you have a specific business directory for your area then even better. Simply look up “translation” or it may sometimes be under “translators & interpreters”. Have thumb through the listings and earmark some to contact.

The second, and easiest, means of finding a translation service is through the internet. Using the main search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN can bring up hundreds of listings. One added advantage of using a search engine is that you can be more specific with your searches. For example, if you are looking for a translation service local to you type “translation service London” or “translation service Oxford”. Similarly if you are in need of a specific language try something like “German translation service”.

With search engine results you will be presented with two types of listings, paid listings (advertisements) and organic listings (non-advertised results). It is good to bear in mind that those with organic listings are there for a reason, i.e. the search engine naturally sees them as important sites for translation services. On the other hand paid listings will be from companies that need the business. This is not necessarily a negative thing but good to consider when making a choice.

The last means of finding a translation service is to ask colleagues, friends or family. A personal recommendation is always best.

Contacting the translation service

Once you have a list of the translation service providers you want to contact, it is then key that you are prepared with information necessary to get an accurate quote.

Any decent translation service will want to know what languages they are translating from and into, the length of the document (especially the number of source words), the nature of the text (is it business or technical?), the format of the document (is it a paper document, an email or brochure?), when you need the translation delivered by and if necessary what format it should be delivered in. These details will help the translation service price your piece of work. However, remember that many translation service providers may not give you a concrete quote until they see the document. This is because once they see it they may realise they under-quoted you due to unforeseen elements such as the format, poor image quality or technicality of the document. It is always a good idea to have your translation in a format that can be emailed or faxed.

When speaking to the customer service agent make sure you thoroughly explain your needs. A good translation service however will always ask the right questions so they get a decent grasp of what you will need.

Questions to ask the translation service

Once you have established the cost of your translation it is always a good idea to probe the translation service with a few more questions to gain a better understanding of their capabilities.

For example here are 10 basic questions:

1. If they gave you on price, ask what their charge is per 1000 words?

2. Will they charge you per source word or per target word? For example, if you are having a document translated from Italian to English, Italian will be the source language.

3. Is the quote they gave you fixed? i.e. they can not charge you more afterwards.

4. Are all their translators qualified? What is their procedure for hiring translators?

5. Do their translators work solely into their native languages?

6. If your deadline is missed how will you still have to pay?

7. Does the price include proof-reading by another translator?

8. If your translation is specific or technical, do the translators have experience in the subject matter?

9. What format will they return your translation in?

10. If it is a large or important job it is possible to ask for a trial translation – however, this may not always be free.

These questions for your translation service should give you some insight into their understanding of the industry and their capabilities.

Which translation service?

Ultimately for many people, when it comes to the crunch they choose a translation service based on cost, location and speed of service. There are no hard and fast rules as to how to choose a translation service and it is really up to the individual to go with what they feel it best for them.

In the general scheme of things most translation service providers are bona fide and professional outfits. If when asking the questions above to a translation service you sense a level of uncertainty then it may be best to go with the service that seems to know what you want and how to give it to you.

Neil Payne is Managing Director of Kwintessential, a UK based consultancy providing cross cultural solutions to today’s businesses. They provide cultural awareness training, translation services, interpreters and multilingual DTP and website design.

Visit http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/translation/translation.html for more information.

As we saw in our previous mini-article, children acquire language through a subconscious process during which they are unaware of grammatical rules.

Their interaction with the environment (i.e. primarily parents and people they have constant contact with) added to their innate capacity to acquire language results in a perfect or almost perfect mastery of their native tongue in a relatively short period of time.

In other words, their need to communicate added to their innate capacity plus the exposure they get from their environment drive their language acquisition process.

In short, it is through interaction and meaningful communication that they acquire the language.

What is important to highlight here is that although this is the process we all go through while acquiring our mother tongue, this mechanism is not restricted first language acquisition. And that is great news for us!!!

In a second language setting , that is to say, with people learning a second language and of any age group, by applying the same principles that rule first language acquisition we can make our students “acquire” the language naturally.

What does this mean?

That to gain mastery of a second language it is necessary to have a classroom in which…

a)communication, NOT grammar is the absolute focus of the class AND

b)everything presented must be meaningful to the student.

Reflection:

Think about your Spanish learning for a moment.

Have your lessons revolved around communication and meaningful interaction?

Do you feel the approach used by your teachers has been appropriate in the light of current research? Explain

This is the end of the second in our series of mini-articles on language acquisition.

By Julio Foppoli Teacher of English as a Second Language, Teacher of Spanish as a Second Language, Creator and owner of http://www.esaudio.net, an online educational website with a technological edge, specialized in the teaching of Spanish as second language via audio-conference to native speakers of English from all over the world. The website offers free listening comprehension activities with Spanish from all of the Spanish speaking world.

You’ve probably been told that the best time to learn a foreign
language is when you’re small child, and you may have even been
told that learning a foreign language to a high level of mastery
is impossible after a certain age. What you may not know is that
it is only true for you if you choose to believe it.

You have to option to choose to believe that you can use some of the same resourceful beliefs and behaviors that children use,
and get the same great results in mastering a language. So, what
can you discover from the way children approach learning a
language?

Children are indeed the greatest language machines on earth. How
do they do it? There is all kinds of research explaining the
mechanics of how they work the wonderful language magic that
they do, but let’s set that aside and learn from what their
attitudes and behaviors that can serve older learners of foreign
language equally well.

Children understand the importance of feedback, and do whatever
it takes to acquire the skill. It never occurs to a small child
that s/he may not master the language, does it? They just keep
experimenting until they get the result they are looking for.

Children have no need to do things perfectly. If they can
successfully communicate their ideas, they are satisfied and
feel good about their achievement. And when you do successfully
communicate an idea with another person in a foreign language,
it is an achievement, isn’t it? Celebrating your achievement
is a good thing to do.

Children keep working with language until they get the desired
result. If something doesn’t work within the first few tries,
they keep at it for however long it takes. It is common for
toddlers to make hundreds of attempts to get the results they
are looking for, right? If you have been around small children
for prolonged periods of time then you know exactly what I’m
talking about. They can drive you a little nuts with their
repetition as they are mastering a language.

When a child is listening to someone, s/he doesn’t freak out if
s/he doesn’t understand every single word — s/he makes her best
guess, or asks for clarification, and then she moves on.

The final area of genius children have is that they play with
language. They don’t sit down to memorize it all at once. They
play, and through playing and enjoying life the language comes
to them naturally.

So, how childlike would you like to become in learning and
mastering a language?

Here’s to Your Success!
Teresa Bolen

Copyright © 2006 by Teresa Bolen. All rights reserved.

Teresa Bolen is a teacher at Todaiji Academy, one of the top 5
schools in Japan, and the author of Master Plan to Master Exams:
How to Discover Your Hidden Abilities to Create the Success You
Desire. You can get her ‘Academic Excellence Report’ at
http://www.MasterPlanToMasterExams.com.

‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life
you have imagined.’
— Henry David Thoreau –

Once again, Scuola Leonardo da Vinci, one of Italy’s largest provider of in-country Italian courses in Italy, is announcing the new programs for the year 2006 presenting innovative plans to promote the learning of the Italian language. Now, universities, colleges, community colleges, high schools and students worldwide are invited to read about our wide choice of Italian language and cultural courses.

This year following the great success of the inaugural Academic School Year in 2005, Scuola Leonardo da Vinci will feature the Academy School Year course in Italy in all its school centers (Florence, Milan, Rome and Siena).

The “Academic Year” is a 32 week language and culture course for students who wish to experience living and studying in Italy. The course combines not only language courses with Italian culture classes at the Scuola Leonardo da Vinci but the syllabus also incorporates the fundamental elements of level C2 of the European Language Portfolio. “All in all, the course offers students the opportunity to see at first hand the various aspects of Italy’s rich history and culture”, said Chiara Poggi, the Head of Studies of the Italian School in Florence.

Needless to say, lessons are taught only in Italian from the very start. “At the end of the course, the student is ready to write a final dissertation on a topic related to Italian culture (art, history and business Italian)”, said Wolfango Poggi, director of the Italian language school Leonardo da Vinci in Milan.

Created to provide an opportunity for motivated and deserving students to experience the magic of study abroad one year, the Academic Year Program in Italy aims to:

• progress from the Beginner and/or the Elementary level to the Intermediate stages, working on the basics of Italian grammar (articles, prepositions, present and past tenses) to more complex subjects such as the subjunctive.
  
• develop speaking and listening skills through daily conversation classes.
• give an introduction to the everlasting beauty and charm of Italian art.
• take you through the world of business and current affairs and the world of fashion: a sector where Italian artists are at the leading edge, where we aim to reveal some of the secrets behind the “Made in Italy” label.
• allow you to understand the mixture of tradition and change which characterizes contemporary Italy.

When asked about her experience, Sanda S., who studied in Milan with Scuola Leonardo da Vinci last year, commented: “I was delighted at the chance to travel to Italy and attend Scuola Leonardo da Vinci for 32 weeks. I believe the programme helped me to improve my Italian in a friendly and supportive environment. I really enjoyed meeting people from around the world. Being able to study in Italy also helped me gain an understanding of the Italian culture. It was certainly an experience I will never forget and intend to repeat in the future.”

Program details and supporting information, including students opinions and histories on the Academic Year Experince in Italy, may be found on the Scuola Leonardo da Vinci Web site at http://www.scuolaleonardo.com/gap-year-in-italy.php. Next Starting dates, as written on the Web Site, are 02 January, 08 May and 25 September 2006.

For 29 years, Scuola Leonardo da Vinci, the market leader in in-country Italian language courses, has been exclusively dedicated to the teaching of Italian to foreigners. Each year the company welcomes students from 60 countries to its schools in Florence, Milan, Rome and Siena. The company’s Web site, http://www.scuolaleonardo.com, an Italian language portal offering informations and pages of Italian language courses, culture and resources on 12 languages, receives more than 3,000 visits daily.

For general business-related questions, contact the Marketing Office of Scuola Leonardo da Vinci.

Information and Registration Center (Florence, Italy)
Tel.: +39-055-29.03.05 - Fax: +39-055-290396
http://www.scuolaleonardo.com - scuolaleonardo@scuolaleonardo.com

Scuola Leonardo da Vinci is one of Italy’s largest provider of in-country Italian courses in Italy since 1977. It is present in the most beautiful cities of Italy (Florence, Milan, Rome and Siena). Each year the company welcomes students from 60 countries to its schools.

Sniffing, then squinting and holding up a Kiwi fruit a Chinese student muttered something I wasn’t sure I wanted to have translated. A classmate from Brazil leaned over, pointing to a photo in a picture dictionary. Two Korean ladies giggled, their hands covering their mouths.

The lesson on food was bombing big time. When the ESL class ended, none of us were satisfied, but at least the topic had been broached. “Review your vocabulary materials before next class”, I encouraged. They were all new to the USA. Some had only been in their new country a few days, others a few weeks. A few for a couple of months or so, but none had yet crossed over into the realm of communicating on a daily basis in English. I had to do something to help my multi-cultural class of ESL students start to internalize the language. Thinking back on my own French language struggles in Paris and French Canada, the answer struck me. The next class I was ready.

“Okay, everybody, let’s go” I requested. They all gave me quizzical looks.

“Where are we going?”

“Just wait. You’ll see.”

Earlier, I’d arranged with the manager of a local supermarket located three blocks from where we had our English classes, to bring the 15 adult learners for a field trip. Representing Colombia, Brazil, Poland, China, Korea, Puerto Rico and Vietnam, the group made a curious sight as we stumbled through the remnants of a week-old snowstorm. Many of them had experienced snow for the first time only a matter of days ago. Two of the newly immigrated Chinese men wore sandals. I kept my comments on this to myself, confident that they’d learn soon enough. I just hoped they didn’t get Pneumonia.

“Okay, where are we?”, I asked.

“La tienda”

“El supermercado”

“store for food”

“big market”

It didn’t take long to realize that none of them had been in a large supermarket. Mostly they food shopped at small, local grocery stores that catered to the tastes of their immigrant neighborhoods. Their reactions ranged from shock and disbelief to awe and wonder. There was more than a little curiosity present as well.

For the next forty minutes or so with notebooks and writing pads open, we methodically wandered up one isle and down the other exploring the vocabulary of food and containers presented in previous lessons. Stories we swapped in broken English. Anecdotes emerged. One student offered to push the shopping cart along to collect the items I’d have to pay for later.

“No, you can’t buy just one egg”, I explained.

“Back home you can buy just what you need”, several students responded.

“Two eggs or a cigarette, even a half loaf of bread or a cup of rice” they explained as best they could.

They fondled grapes, sniffed, licked and nibbled new fruits, and strange vegetables like brussel sprouts, pumpkin and acorn squash. I bought watermelon, varieties of apples, canned goods, jars of sauces, pretzels and pickled goods to take back to the class for sampling. That class outing used “realia” or actual physical objects, to make the lesson “real” for the learners. It generated discussions, jokes and humorous stories until the following spring and beyond.

Use actual objects and items instead of just pictures to make your language learning real and more natural. Think of the difference it makes to have a can or jar of something in your hands versus a picture of a can or jar in a book. Other containers, box, bottle, bag, package, roll, and tube, came alive and were instantly assimilated by learners who brought in full (or empty) containers of products from their respective countries. Try a nearby Zoo for animals, a museum, a pizza shop, the cinema, even a local park to breathe life and reality into your foreign language classes like we did. Problems? Yes, a few, but you and your students will be astounded at the difference it makes in internalizing the language. Whether you’re an EFL or foreign language teacher or a language learner, using realia will go a long ways in making your new language “real” for you. It’ll be lots of fun too. I promise.

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is a bi-lingual copywriter, expert author and photographer specializing in business, travel, food and education-related writing in South America. His work has appeared in Transitions Abroad, South American Explorer, Escape From America, Mexico News and Brazil magazines. He now lives in Colombia and teaches at a university in Cali. Want lots more free tips, help and information on language learning, public speaking, writing and mental skills development? Go now to: http://bettereflteacher.blogspot.com .

Why do I love to teach English as a Second Language? Let me give you ten reasons (and ten paragraphs about why this should matter to you):

One: I love to teach.

Two: I love English.

Three: I love language in general; discovering the connections between English and other languages is a bonus.

Four: I love to hear other people speak their native languages fluently, easily, and beautifully.

Five: I’m very patient and a good listener, and I love to practice things I’m good at.

Six: I love to travel—no, that’s wrong. I don’t travel. But spending time with people from other cultures enables me to imagine that I travel.

Seven: I love to feel like an ambassador to…whatever country my student is from.

Eight: I love learning about history, and most other countries on the planet have more history than mine.

Nine: I’m a writer; writing is my primary source of income, and I love to write. But writing is a solitary activity; teaching allows me to interact with people and adds another layer of richness to my life.

Ten: It gives me something wonderful to dream about. Please continue reading….

Why should you care that I love to teach ESL?

Here, in ten brief paragraphs, is my answer.

I tell my students, rather apologetically, that Americans generally don’t respect people who don’t speak English. (By the way, I don’t say this until I sense they are thinking it.) Why don’t we? True, the world is quickly becoming a global society, and English is becoming “the” international language. And perhaps someday soon every educated person in the world will have a working knowledge of English.

But how did we, as a nation, become so provincial…so arrogant…so smug? Even if your ancestors came here on the Mayflower—as mine did—or even if they are Native Americans, your people originally spoke some other language. Modern English has been around only a few hundred years.

And what a tragedy it would be if those other languages disappeared, or became ancient relics of lost civilizations, to be studied only by academicians and never used in everyday life. Think of living in a world where everyone had the same favorite color, or the same hobby…where every radio station played the same music…or every restaurant served the same food. How boring! Here’s an easy (and fun) way for each of us to do our small part for international relations: be patient with someone who is learning English, and while we’re at it, show an interest in their native language. We’re guaranteed to learn something fascinating.

Wherever we live, wherever our ancestors came from, our language is intimately intertwined with our history, our culture, our sociology…even our biology. Consider that whatever sounds are absent from our native language, unless we somehow learn them as young children, will be lost to us forever. We lose a big piece of our cultural identity if we pretend that Modern English is the only language that counts.

Now, my dream…for many years, I’ve wanted to travel to England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales—the lands of my ancestors. A few years ago, I began to study Italian, and became enamored of not only the language, but the food, the art, the architecture, and of course the history. Now I want to go to Italy.

More recently, as I worked with a student from Switzerland, I was soon awed by what I learned of the rich cultural history, the variety of natural scenery…the castles and cathedrals and trains…the large number of language groups for so small a country…and now I want to go to Switzerland. Given enough time and experience, maybe eventually I’ll want to go just about everywhere. But for starters…western Europe.

So I dream that some day I’ll be invited to stay with a family…perhaps a non-English-speaking family in an English-speaking country, or perhaps a family in Italy or Switzerland…and be a tutor and companion to the adults and/or the children in the family. While they learn English, I’ll learn about their culture…and travel! And I will be a goodwill ambassador, an example of the generous spirit of America.

I hope all my fellow Americans will find it in themselves to appreciate the languages of the world and the people who speak them. If you do travel, please make an effort to say a few words in your host country’s language. You probably won’t have to say much, for the people you meet will probably want to take the opportunity to practice English. But I believe they will appreciate the effort. If you don’t travel, just look at the people around you and notice the diversity of backgrounds.

Can we believe that something good can come out of every bad thing that happens? The Old Testament story of the Tower of Babel describes God’s punishment of mankind for their pride in thinking they could reach heaven by building and climbing upon this great tower. Suddenly speaking many different languages, they could no longer communicate and were unable to finish the project. The good that has come to all of us because of it is this: we have the immeasurable treasure of thousands of languages, and the social, cultural, and natural diversity that go with them.

Go out of your way to spend some time with someone who doesn’t speak fluent English. The joy of communication that transcends language barriers will be yours.

About The Author Lisa J. Lehr is a freelance writer with a specialty in business and marketing communications. She holds a biology degree and has worked in a variety of fields, including the pharmaceutical industry and teaching, and is a certified ESL instructor. She is also a graduate of American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI), America’s leading course on copywriting. Contact Lisa J. Lehr Copywriting www.ljlcopywriting.com, for help with your writing and/or ESL needs. This article © Lisa J. Lehr 2005. lisa@ljlcopywriting.com