language
‘I adore the way people speak English in Ireland. The language is amazing’
Originally from Volgograd in southern Russia, Polina Cosgrave came to Ireland after living in Moscow in 2015, to write. “Ireland has such a rich literary tradition,” she says. “It’s the land of words. There are a lot of treasures to explore.” Cosgrave read her first book in English at the age of 12, and wrote short stories in English in her teens; she later trained as a linguist, and worked with creative writing groups in Russia. After visiting Ireland as a tourist, she returned to work and study, thinking she would move on to another country after some time, but soon […]
Social cohesion: Home Affairs wants migrants to speak English, ‘fully integrate’ | SBS News
Migrants must fully embrace Australian values, including learning English, in the face of new threats to social cohesion, the Department of Home Affairs has declared. In a lengthy submission to a parliamentary inquiry on nationhood, the department detailed new challenges to social cohesion including foreign interference, fake news and the use of digital platforms to recruit potential terrorists. “Australia is not exempt from these global trends,” it said. “Recent global events, such as the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attacks, have heightened the need for Australia and international partners to be proactive in anticipating and responding to emerging challenges.” Despite the rapid […]
Florida Politician Tells Puerto Rican Teen to “Cut Grass” & “Speak English”
Last week, a Florida politician was caught on camera telling a Latino teen practicing tennis to “cut grass” and “speak English.” According to NBC News, the 15-year-old athlete from Puerto Rico, who did not want to be identified, was invited to play in the Casely International Championship at the Bath & Racquet Club at the Celsius Tennis Academy in Sarasota, Florida. During practice on November 26, the teen was approached by Martin Hyde, a candidate for the Sarasota City Commission, who allegedly made several racist remarks at him and his friends. The incident was caught on video and posted on […]
Hispanic Walmart employee tells El Salvadorian customer to speak English: ‘We’re in Texas’
An elderly Hispanic American Walmart worker was filmed telling an El Salvadorian customer to “speak English.” Joel Aparicio said he was shopping at a Walmart in Pasadena, Houston, when the checkout machine he was using malfunctioned, prompting him to ask a worker for help. A staff member called Cecilia approached the machine and fixed the problem – but when Aparcio asked if she spoke Spanish, she answered “no.” Before long the machine malfunctioned again and when Cecilia returned to fix it once more, she told him in Spanish, according to Aparicio, that he should not be in the US if he couldn’t speak […]
“The Secret Student” – How to motivate your students to speak English
The nr. 1 challenge of CLIL teachers: motivating language output When asked what topic I needed to write an article about in the Facebook CLIL Community, the number one topic was ‘secret student’. Which is not unexpected: motivating CLIL students to produce spoken output is a challenge for many. In this post I’ll share an activity you can use to do just that! Estimated time to read this article: minutes Quick Navigation The nr. 1 challenge of CLIL teachers: motivating language output Why motivate student output at all? Key Take Away The ‘secret student’ activity Keep an eye on one […]
10 Wacky Reasons to Learn French – Lawless French
10 raisons loufoques d’apprendre le français (Republished with permission from Frantastique) Let’s face it, anyone who tells you that learning French is an essential part of the changing global landscape is either French themself, or trying to sell you something. That doesn’t mean that speaking “la langue française” isn’t cool, cultured and a hell of a party trick however. With French in your arsenal, you’ll certainly turn heads in the discotheque, the bistro, the bedroom, and especially the bidet. Here are the 10 most legitimate reasons to learn French. Reason #1: Dominate your dinner menu With just a handful of […]
15 Superb Songs with Lyrics to Learn English Through Karaoke | FluentU English
Have you ever heard of an empty orchestra? The word karaoke means “empty orchestra” in Japanese. Karaoke lets you sing along to your favorite songs by removing the singer’s voice and leaving only the music. “Empty orchestra” makes sense now, doesn’t it? If you’ve never tried karaoke, you’re truly missing out! Whether you do it alone or in a group, it’s fun to sing as well (or as terribly!) as you want. You can pretend you’re the famous singer, in front of a huge audience. And while you’re at it, you can learn an incredible amount of English. If you already […]
5 best apps that help learn English fast
You set the aim to learn English, but do not know where to start? The Internet is full of training courses, but such courses are quite expensive and time-consuming. Fortunately, there is a great alternative, thanks to which everyone can learn a language every day, without leaving home or even getting out of bed. We propose to consider the top five best apps for learning English. The result comes soon if you take classes regularly. If you urgently need to hand over homework the tutor, and there is catastrophically little time to study, then we suggest that you turn to […]
Better Than a Black Friday Deal: How to Learn French for Free
With Black Friday and the end-of-year holidays coming, you’re probably being bombarded with advertising and incentives to buy just about anything imaginable. This might include French courses, apps, and learning resources. After all, nothing good in life is free, right? Actually, that’s just Black Friday talking. There are lots of ways to learn and practice French without spending any money at all. Can you really learn French for free? When you use free resources to learn French, you’ll have to be a little more proactive than you would if everything was just bundled together in a paid academic or online […]
PSJA ISD students learn Arabic language, Egyptian customs
“How many Arabic countries are in the world?” Nermeen Aboughoneim, PSJA ISD’s sole Arabic teacher, asked a room full of students at Zeferino Farias Elementary School in Alamo earlier this month. The answers were varied, students asking more than declaring their responses. Three? Five? Ten? A 120? “A 120, that’s very precise,” Aboughoneim laughed. The correct answer was 22. Aboughoneim, who joined PSJA ISD this year to teach Arabic at Memorial Early College High School in Alamo, says it’s not uncommon for students to know little to nothing about the Arabic speaking world, a problem she’s trying to remedy in […]