It does make you think, actually. I was talking to a relation recently, and she mentioned that when she was in Russia they used to get beer from the male steam baths. The “banya” she called it. Of course, it must be spelt completely differently, being Russian. But then you think of Spanish “bañarse” and French “se baigner”. There is English “bathe” and German “baden”.
We all think of language coming either from Latin or Sanskrit. But then where did Latin come from? Snaskit, so I’m told. There are some crossovers anyway. Spanish is a Latin language and German a Sanskrit one. But what about cheese – “queso” and “Käse” with very similar pronunciation? Then you have surprises in the Celtic languages such “Eglwys”, church in Welsh, so very similar to French and Spanish.
With globalisation you would think would get closer. We are, in fact, but it’s more coming back together than coming together in the first case. Our languages seem to have grown out of an original common one, as if we all started in one spot and then moved away.
Basque remains a puzzle and shows no similarity to anything else on earth.
So, perhaps the Tower of Babel was just a symbol of man being up himself. We do pride ourselves in being superior to than animals because we have language and we think in language. But it is also one of our greatest stumbling blocks. Our lack of understanding of each other does hinder our progress – whatever that might actually be.
Sunday, 27 January 2008
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
French Connections
We had a huge family gathering this weekend. I was very happy to be invited as I’m not a direct relation of that branch of the family, but my father was always very close to one of the cousins and I’ve always liked them a lot. One couple within this subset are god-parents to my children.
We were there to scatter the ashes of one of my cousins. We did this near a bench which was the memorial to her brother. Both of them died too young, especially the man.
But what was amazing was to hear his children speaking French amongst themselves. Two of them live in France now and the other has lived there. They speak as fluently as I do and if anything their French is more French, more colloquial, and more up to date.
I learnt my French through years of study followed by years of usage. I speak it easily and I don’t notice when I’m reading it that I’m reading a foreign language. I’ve been to France often but only ever lived there for about six months, over thirty years ago. I think they have the edge.
Still, both methods seem to work. Learn it through study, or learn it by being there. Both, of course, is ideal.
We were there to scatter the ashes of one of my cousins. We did this near a bench which was the memorial to her brother. Both of them died too young, especially the man.
But what was amazing was to hear his children speaking French amongst themselves. Two of them live in France now and the other has lived there. They speak as fluently as I do and if anything their French is more French, more colloquial, and more up to date.
I learnt my French through years of study followed by years of usage. I speak it easily and I don’t notice when I’m reading it that I’m reading a foreign language. I’ve been to France often but only ever lived there for about six months, over thirty years ago. I think they have the edge.
Still, both methods seem to work. Learn it through study, or learn it by being there. Both, of course, is ideal.
Friday, 18 January 2008
Not a Piece of Cake
The other day, I had to call Spain. I speak reasonable Spanish, but even so, I could not get the person on the other end to understand what I was saying. It probably didn’t help that I had the wrong number. But with my background, I felt I should have been able to do better.
But there are reasons why this didn’t work. For starters, Spanish people use a lot of gesture and eye contact when they speak. You don’t get that on the phone. Also, they’re not used to foreigners speaking their language. They use English as a lingua franca, particularly within the tourist industry. So, they are not used to making the concessions that the non-native speaker needs if they are to communicate well.
Yes, English is spoken all over the world. But it is often limited to specific circumstances. I have a shrewd suspicion that no matter how competent the waiter, taxi-driver, tour guide, bank clerk or estate agent in Spain seem, they will rarely go above that magical level B1 of the European Languages Passport outside their area.
Interesting how we are bound by language. It is one of the things, they tell us, that separate us from the animals. Yet it remains one of our biggest barriers to communication between people on this planet. Perhaps there is something in Babel.
But there are reasons why this didn’t work. For starters, Spanish people use a lot of gesture and eye contact when they speak. You don’t get that on the phone. Also, they’re not used to foreigners speaking their language. They use English as a lingua franca, particularly within the tourist industry. So, they are not used to making the concessions that the non-native speaker needs if they are to communicate well.
Yes, English is spoken all over the world. But it is often limited to specific circumstances. I have a shrewd suspicion that no matter how competent the waiter, taxi-driver, tour guide, bank clerk or estate agent in Spain seem, they will rarely go above that magical level B1 of the European Languages Passport outside their area.
Interesting how we are bound by language. It is one of the things, they tell us, that separate us from the animals. Yet it remains one of our biggest barriers to communication between people on this planet. Perhaps there is something in Babel.
Saturday, 12 January 2008
What warms a language teacher’s heart
I used to teach languages in secondary school. Even before it became fashionable to do so, I used to explain to my students at the beginning of my lesson what we were going to do, what the object of the lesson was, what they would be able to do by the end of it, and how they might extend themselves even further. There would always be an open-ended task at the end, a sort of “differentiated by outcome” task, which all pupils could do at their own level and take some pride in. This task would have a purpose which went beyond language learning. It was all about giving them a purpose for learning and it would nearly always lead up to some connection with our exchange school.
All of this would of course be done in the “target language” – the language they were learning. I did this as well before it became fashionable. I’d had enough contact with French, German and Dutch school where English is spoken all the time in English lessons to know it can work, when the teacher is determined enough to be understood and the students are determined enough to understand. Motivation is the key.
One day I explained all about what we would be doing that lesson. I can’t remember the details now, but t was towards the end of the first term in Year 7 – i.e. 11-12 year olds, first year of learning French in this case and this was leading up to them being able to write about themselves so that they could be hooked up with a French penfriend.
One of my middle-of-the-road students suddenly let a huge sigh and said in a loud voice “Je déteste le professeur!” (I hate the teacher!) But I was delighted.
• She had been completely spontaneous.
• She had used French for her own purposes.
• She had thought outside the box. We had learnt about likes and dislikes in the context of hobbies. She had learnt the word for teacher in the context of learning about school. Students can often be very topic-bound and not apply vocabulary and structures they have learnt in one topic to situations in another.
I didn’t mind being hated, and I don’t think she really meant it anyway. Her joyful use of the language was heart-warming.
Are you a language teacher? Do you have any heart-warming moments to describe? What are your pet methodologies? What do you think of use of the target language?
All of this would of course be done in the “target language” – the language they were learning. I did this as well before it became fashionable. I’d had enough contact with French, German and Dutch school where English is spoken all the time in English lessons to know it can work, when the teacher is determined enough to be understood and the students are determined enough to understand. Motivation is the key.
One day I explained all about what we would be doing that lesson. I can’t remember the details now, but t was towards the end of the first term in Year 7 – i.e. 11-12 year olds, first year of learning French in this case and this was leading up to them being able to write about themselves so that they could be hooked up with a French penfriend.
One of my middle-of-the-road students suddenly let a huge sigh and said in a loud voice “Je déteste le professeur!” (I hate the teacher!) But I was delighted.
• She had been completely spontaneous.
• She had used French for her own purposes.
• She had thought outside the box. We had learnt about likes and dislikes in the context of hobbies. She had learnt the word for teacher in the context of learning about school. Students can often be very topic-bound and not apply vocabulary and structures they have learnt in one topic to situations in another.
I didn’t mind being hated, and I don’t think she really meant it anyway. Her joyful use of the language was heart-warming.
Are you a language teacher? Do you have any heart-warming moments to describe? What are your pet methodologies? What do you think of use of the target language?
Monday, 7 January 2008
The Erasmus Programme
The Erasmus programme is to be applauded. It allows university students the opportunity to study abroad. This is not just for language students, but for any who wish to broaden their outlook be getting to know another culture in a context with which they are familiar. Needless to say, their language skills will improve just as a by-product.
They do provide a very helpful on-line guide-book that tells students how to get started setting up an Erasmus Society. This is student-led and does put the onus, quite healthily, on the students doing the work themselves. The Erasmus society provides two areas of support: it supports the incoming Erasmus student from foreign universities and promotes the programme to students who might like to participate in the future. The may also positively promote language tandem-learning schemes – where two people of different nationalities support each other in learning each other’s language. If used effectively, these can be very powerful.
All the EU member states take part in this programme. The programme claims it improve students’ flexibility, adaptability, maturity and employability. I imagine they’re right. I know for certain that contact with a different culture and a different language does do that. Most students take part in this programme during their second or third year, depending on how it might fit in with any of their courses. The Erasmus programme does award a grant to help with extra costs incurred form studying abroad.
It all seems like a fantastic idea to me.
They do provide a very helpful on-line guide-book that tells students how to get started setting up an Erasmus Society. This is student-led and does put the onus, quite healthily, on the students doing the work themselves. The Erasmus society provides two areas of support: it supports the incoming Erasmus student from foreign universities and promotes the programme to students who might like to participate in the future. The may also positively promote language tandem-learning schemes – where two people of different nationalities support each other in learning each other’s language. If used effectively, these can be very powerful.
All the EU member states take part in this programme. The programme claims it improve students’ flexibility, adaptability, maturity and employability. I imagine they’re right. I know for certain that contact with a different culture and a different language does do that. Most students take part in this programme during their second or third year, depending on how it might fit in with any of their courses. The Erasmus programme does award a grant to help with extra costs incurred form studying abroad.
It all seems like a fantastic idea to me.
Wednesday, 2 January 2008
The Michel Thomas Method
The Michel Thomas Method
Michel Thomas has taught celebrities how to speak other languages. He has devoted much of his life to studying how learning happens and in this area which is often deemed to be difficult. He has studied what happens and has now built courses shaped by his gathered expertise.
These courses are like nothing you have met before. People who have tried them have usually been quite please, but are puzzled as to how they have managed to learn. My daughter, for instance, tried the Spanish one, and was able to manage very well on holiday after a few weeks. She could not work out how she had learnt.
You can book courses with Michel Thomas himself, or one of his trusted teachers. It’s even possible to book group courses, but you have to organise the group. These are not cheap.
However, an alternative is to buy one of the courses which is now available on CD. These are audio only and you can listen reasonably passively. My daughter listened as she cycled to work. You should answer all of the questions posed, but most of your learning happens through listening as Michel Thomas or one of his trusted teachers explains.
Usually you work with only a little vocabulary, and really get to know the structure of the language. The next step then is to work through the vocabulary builder module. Courses may be bought for about £35.00 on Amazon.
I have a sample of the vocabulary builder in French, German, Italian and Spanish. Get in touch if you would like to try it.
Michel Thomas has taught celebrities how to speak other languages. He has devoted much of his life to studying how learning happens and in this area which is often deemed to be difficult. He has studied what happens and has now built courses shaped by his gathered expertise.
These courses are like nothing you have met before. People who have tried them have usually been quite please, but are puzzled as to how they have managed to learn. My daughter, for instance, tried the Spanish one, and was able to manage very well on holiday after a few weeks. She could not work out how she had learnt.
You can book courses with Michel Thomas himself, or one of his trusted teachers. It’s even possible to book group courses, but you have to organise the group. These are not cheap.
However, an alternative is to buy one of the courses which is now available on CD. These are audio only and you can listen reasonably passively. My daughter listened as she cycled to work. You should answer all of the questions posed, but most of your learning happens through listening as Michel Thomas or one of his trusted teachers explains.
Usually you work with only a little vocabulary, and really get to know the structure of the language. The next step then is to work through the vocabulary builder module. Courses may be bought for about £35.00 on Amazon.
I have a sample of the vocabulary builder in French, German, Italian and Spanish. Get in touch if you would like to try it.
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