Category Archives: E-Tutor

Eric Learns Japanese: eTutoring Experiences

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Living Language Note: Over the next few months, our new friend Eric will be learning Japanese and sharing his journey on the blog! When he’s not studying with Living Language Platinum Japanese, Eric is an English instructor at Temple University’s Tokyo campus and at Kikokushijo Academy. Make sure to leave a comment & say hello in the language you’re learning.

 

Konnichiwa mina-san! (Hello, everyone!) I’ve just finished an eTutoring session with Living Language’s lovely Japanese tutor, Sakura-sensei. Sakura-sensei has been helping me to apply the language I’ve learned in the Living Language Platinum Japanese course to actual conversation skills from the comfort of my own home. Even though I live in Tokyo, it can be very difficult to find someone to speak with at my level of Japanese. Sakura-sensei has been a real lifesaver!

Today we practiced using several of the different ways to count people and objects. Japanese is a bit different from other languages in that it has a lot of different ways of counting. For example, there are specific numbers to use when counting people, as opposed to books, newspapers, and magazines, as well as machines, cylindrical objects, etc. All of these counting systems can be really confusing, but practicing with Sakura-sensei has really been helping me to choose the right words on the spot in conversation. As a language teacher myself, I know that speaking is the most difficult skill for many learners to use in a new language because of its on-the-spot, sporadic nature. That’s why I’m very happy to use the eTutoring feature of the Living Language Platinum Japanese program, which allows me to apply what I have been learning in a productive way with the help of an encouraging, talented tutor like Sakura-sensei.

Not only does Sakura-sensei cover all of the material from the lessons—she also gave me a lot of usage tips to help me sound more natural, especially when choosing between different counting words. For example, when counting 7 people, we can use the words shichinin or nananin. Sakura-sensei taught me today that shichinin sounds more common, as opposed to other counting words for 7, which are more likely to use the prefix nana- instead of shichi-. This is a terribly confusing concept for an American with a background in French and Swedish, so I want all the help I can get from Sakura-sensei when it comes to Japanese!

Sakura-sensei, I want to say arigatou gozaimasu! Thanks so much for all your help! To all you other learners out there, be sure to take advantage of the eTutoring feature to make your language learning experience all the more meaningful.

Peaceful Cruises on French Waterways

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Hidden from most roads, deep in the lovely French countryside, are a multitude of waterways. These ancient forms of navigation are still used to transport goods on barges across regions of France. But they are also enjoyed by plaisanciers (boaters), and several companies rent boats where a family or a group of friends can spend several days exploring the French back country.

Nivernais Canal

Taking such cruises harks back to slower times, when barges would be pulled by horses walking alongside the banks. The scenery is peaceful: calm waters, passing breezes, quiet woods, rolling vineyards, sleepy villages; this delightful rhythm is occasionally broken by the écluses (locks) designed to raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels.

It would be difficult to pick a particular region, as many possess their own unique little charm. The Canal du Midi in Southern France is one the most famous of these waterways. Built in the 17th century, the canal is 150 miles long and connects the Garonne River to the Étang de Thau on the Mediterranean. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It features locks, tunnels, over 40 aqueducts, and rows of stately plane trees lining the canal’s sides originally planted to stabilize the banks.

Canal du Midi

 

Le vacanze di Natale - The Christmas holidays

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The Christmas holidays are the biggest family holiday in Italy. Like Easter, they are part of the canonical Christian holidays with many rituals andculinary traditions. Christian holidays have ancient roots in pagan times and these traditions have been incorporated into Christianity.

It is tradition to spend either la Vigilia (Christmas Eve) or il Giorno di Natale (Christmas day) with family. Many Italians also follow the tradition of attending La Messa di Mezzanotte, (Midnight mass) and mangiando di magro (literally “eating lean”) which involves eating fish instead of meat on the Vigilia.

Vigilia is traditionally a Vigil and involves some sort of fasting – although this has changed over the centuries. Many regional cuisines have traditional Christmas dishes, especially i dolci di Natale, typical Christmas cakes and sweets: Il Panettone (literally “big bread loaf” – a brioche-like fruit cake with raisins and candied fruit) and il Pandoro (similar but without the fruit, the name “golden bread” aptly describes its warm yellow color and buttery taste) are associated with Milano and Verona respectively, but they are widely popular all-over Italy. I ricciarelli (soft almond cookies) and il panforte (very dense candied fruit and nut cake) original of Siena also popular all over Italy.

il Pandoro (“golden bread”)

Characteristically Italian is the tradition of Il Presepe The Crib and nativity scene with statuettes that can vary in size from small to live-sized and even to live people (a tradition in Napoli). Many towns have Presepi on display in public places. Although taken over by Christian iconography the Presepe goes back to the pagan tradition of honoring defunct family ancestors, as in the Roman cult of I lari e i penati The lares and the penates, thought to protect the home.

Italian Christmas traditions have been influenced by northern Europe with the adoption of the Christmas tree l’albero di Natale, and Babbo Natale or Father Christmas who brings I regali di Natale (Christmas presents) to children. A typically Italian tradition is La Festa dell’Epifania (Epiphany) on January 6, more popularly associated with the name of the friendly witch La Befana who brings candy. December 26, is Santo Stefano (St. Stephen, Boxing day). Many stores are closed for both days and as always on holidays in Italy one has to plan shopping for food in advance of the shop closures.

La Festa di San Silvestro or Festa di capodanno, New Year’s Eve, is still a big event with many booking dinners in restaurants for the Cenone di Capodanno or alternatively gathering with friends for more low-key dinners. Fireworks or i Botti (literally “the bangs’) are also popular (causing casualties every year). This end of year celebration also has pagan roots marking the end of the harvest year, and rituals of doing away with the old and welcoming the new, including the tradition of scaring away the evil spirits by making loud noises.

 

Important Japanese family holidays

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Japanese traditional dishes for new year

お正月(oshougatsu), which is the beginning of the calendar year, is the most important family holiday in Japan. The exact duration of oshougatsu is a bit tricky, but generally January 1st to 3rd are considered to be the height of the holidays. Some people go back to work on the 4th, but others enjoy the holiday until the 7th.

Although oshougatsu is the Japanese New Year holiday, it is similar to Thanksgiving in several ways.

Oshougatsu and Thanksgiving are both holidays that involve family and both revolve around a specific dinner menu. During oshougatsu, people eat traditional New Year’s dishes called お節 (osechi). It consists of fish, beans,and vegetables. Many of these dishes are cooked with sugar and soy sauce, so they last for a few days. People finish making osechi (or getting a store-bought osechi) by the New Year’s eve. The idea is that oshougatsu is the time to take a break from chores and enjoy spending time with the family, so you don’t do any kitchen work during the New Year’s. People also enjoy eating お餅 (omochi), which is rice cake, during oshougatsu.

Perhaps a sign of the times, both Thanksgiving and oshougatsu also signal the start of a major shopping season. In Japan, most stores are closed on January 1st, but when they re-open for the first time of the year, they hold big sales events. In many stores, especially department stores, they sell something called 福袋 (fukubukuro), which means “lucky bag”. The idea is, you only know a category of things in each paper bag, but you don’t know exactly what you’re going to get. For example, you can buy a bag that says “kitchenware”, “wine”, “ties”, “women’s clothes, size 6″. So if you get a wine lucky bag, you know you’ll find wine in the bag, but you don’t know what kind of bottles or how many bottles you’ll get. You can only open the bag after the purchase. What’s good about getting such a thing? If you buy, for example, a $50 lucky bag, you usually get goods worth around or over $200. It’s kind of a gamble and fun. But also it’s a guaranteed bargain!

Thanksgiving Day

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Thanksgiving Day is one of the America’s most important family holidays. It is a day when families gather to spend time with their loved ones and “give thanks” for all of the good things in their lives. It is also a holiday that that emphasizes traditional American food.
Thanksgiving celebrates the meeting of the Pilgrims and the Native Americans in Massachusetts the year of 1621. The Pilgrims, who were immigrants from England, had many problems adapting to life in America. They had trouble hunting and finding food to eat. In a gesture of friendship, the local Native American tribes helped the Pilgrims to grow crops and hunt animals, such as deer and turkey. At the beginning of winter, the Pilgrims and the Native Americans came together to celebrate their friendship and give thanks to their gods.

Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. While the exact date changes each year, the most import traditions stay the same: families meet at a relative’s house and eat a large meal together. The meal consists of traditional American food, such as turkey and stuffing, cornbread, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Some families take a few minutes before dinner to explain what they are “thankful” for in their life. Football is also very popular on Thanksgiving and family members might play football at a local park or most likely watch a game on television. Another popular Thanksgiving television event is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which takes place on New York City on the morning of Thanksgiving.

German Unity day

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The Berlin Wall opened on November 9, 1989 but the unification is celebrated on October 3 because the treaty of unification was signed on October 3,1990.

Germany celebrates on October 3 their annual reunification. It is a public holiday therefore schools and most places will be closed on this day.

What are some of the main German terms you can think of when you are thinking back to the reunification? Maybe Wiedervereinigung and/or “die Wende”* (reunification) , Berliner Mauer (Berlin Wall), Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR (German Democratic Republic).

*Die Wende may have different definition, but in this case we can use it for another term to describe reunification.

How do Germans celebrate their Wiedervereinigung? Do they use fireworks like the U.S. on the Fourth of July? Not really. Germany celebrates the Unity Day each year with a ceremonial act and a citiziens’ festival, so-called Bürgerfest. This year this is taking place in Munich. So, if you plan on visiting Germany for the OktoberFest, you might experience some major delays and cancellation for public transportation as Munich is expecting over 500.000 people according to newspaper Süddeutsche.de

 

Brooklyn Is New York’s Art Capital

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DUMBO is located between two bridges in Brooklyn

For decades, downtown Manhattan was New York City’s art capital. But during the 1990’s the cost of renting an apartment or studio space in Manhattan became extremely expensive. So, many artists moved across the East River to Brooklyn, one of New York City’s other boroughs. Brooklyn had always been a place rich in culture, and now it has become New York City’s, and maybe America’s, new art capital.
DUMBO (which stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) is one area of Brooklyn that has become famous for art. DUMBO is a neighborhood located between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. It used to be an industrial area with warehouses and shipping companies, but now many of these buildings have become artist studios. The DUMBO Arts Festival (September 28-30) features exhibitions at dozens of DUMBO galleries and displays the work of hundreds of local and international painters, sculptors, photographers, and video artists.
Another area of Brooklyn that has attracted artists is Gowanus. This is the neighborhood that surrounds the Gowanus Canal, which is one of the dirtiest bodies of water in America. The neighborhood used to be an important place for industry and shipping, with dozens of ships sailing up and down the canal. But these days Gowanus has become a popular place for artists to live and create their artwork. During an event called Gowanus Open Studios (October ), hundreds of artists invite the public to their studios to look at the projects they are creating. At night, some studios have big parties with performance art, DJ’s, and dancing.
Along with DUMBO and Gowanus, the neighborhoods of Greenpoint, Crown Heights, and Bedford-Stuyvesant have also become popular places for artists to live and work. However, the downside is that the cost of living in these neighborhoods is increasing and many artists are again looking for cheaper places to live. But for now, Brooklyn is still New York’s best place to see new and interesting art.

Practing German with tongue twisters

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It does not matter which language you learn, you will always have some sounds that will irritate you where you are not sure how the pronunciation goes. Many of the German students have difficulties with the German R and the ich- and ach-sounds and of course the Umlauts!

Try to let go of figuring out the mechanics of those unknown sounds. As a native English speaker, you have never used those articulators but you know that they exist and intuitively you are trying to find them somewhere along the air passage from your lip to your throat.

The best way to improve them is, not to focus on them with a strict attitude of being able to master them. Try to let go of figuring out the mechanics of those unknown sounds. A fun and a very efficient way of practicing those unknown locations of your articulators is practicing tongue twisters.

Here are a few you can start practicing today. There is no deep meaning in tongue twister, so in the translation you won’t find anything super smart. :

Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut und Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid. Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid und Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut. (Red cabbage remains red cabbage and wedding dress remains wedding dress. Wedding dress remains wedding dress and red cabbage remains red cabbage.)

* * * * *

Bäcker Braun backt braune Brezeln. Braune Brezeln backt Bäcker Braun. (Baker (Mr.)Brown bakes brown pretzels. Brown pretzels is being baked by baker (Mr.) Brown.)

* * * * *

Zehn zahme Ziegen ziehen zehn Zentner Zucker zum Zoo. (Ten tamed goats pull ten ton sugar to the zoo)

 

Keep in mind that tongue twisters have “traps” in them where you are expected to say it wrong. Even native speakers have difficulties saying this twisted phrases out loud simply because they were determined for that. So, don’t be so hard on yourself when you practice.

 

Viel Spaß beim Üben!

 

 

What to Expect from an E-session

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Once in our lives we all probably have had a tutor in one of the subjects for school or even in college. As a school student, we don’t give much thoughts on what to expect from a teacher, from a tutor or from a subject in school, but as an adult we have some expectations. Especially when it comes to the modern way of teaching and learning, namely E-sessions!

Our e-session are always for 30 minutes and there will not be more than three students in the same class. This will give everybody plenty of options to practice.

I have been teaching for more than a year now as a Living Language German E-tutor and these are the things you can expect:

  1. Sehr viel Spass! (A lot of fun) E-session can be fun because you do not have a strict “teacher/tutor” setting like in a physical school building but rather having a friend, your e-tutor, help you.
  2. Struktur und Hilfestellung (structure and support) If you are a beginner, you should definitely sign up for one of our Orientation sessions where we go over the content that Living Language provides and how can get the best out of all outlets that offer. At the end, I always give some personal advice based on your own learning habits.
  3. Wiederholung (repetition) You may sign up to as many classes as you like even the same level. Constant repetition will help you to store information in your long-term memory.
  4. Ausprache üben (practice pronunciation) Many of my students enjoy practicing and focusing on their pronunciation and intonation. You might start laughing when I demonstrate how to practice your German R or the ich- vs. ach- sounds. So the fun factor is guaranteed.
  5. Spezifische Fragen stellen (Ask specific questions) You can ask questions you have always wanted to ask while you were studying on your own but nobody was around to ask.

One thing is guaranteed, even when you do not speak any word of German at the end of the session you will have mastered your first few sentences and I think that’s worth trying one session at least.

 

¿Cómo se Dice? Spanish Pronunciation Tips

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1. Vowels

Learning the vowels correctly will improve your Spanish and your ability to be understood by native Spanish speakers. Spanish vowels are simple, brief and consist on a single sound. a-e-i-o-u Lets practice and repeat!

“a” as hat (casa/house), “e” as pet (pez/fish), “i” as me (mi/my), “o” as old (oso/bear), “u” as boot (mucho/a lot).

Master your vowels in Spanish and your pronunciation will have come a long way!

2. V and B sounds

V and B they both have the same sound, like an English B for boy. Bueno and Vino sound exactly alike!

3. The R sound

That famous “trilled r” some learners get nervous about. Many English speakers find this sound difficult but there is nothing to worry about. Practice is the clue and if you don´t master the “R” don’t worry about it! You’ll just sound exotic and interesting to native Speakers!

There are to kinds of “R” sounds:

STRONG R

- R at the beginning of a word is always strong: RAMÓN, ROSA, ROJO

- RR in the d of a word is also strong: ARROZ, CARRO

SOFT R

The soft R sounds a little bit like D in English. ÁRBOL, PARTE

4. H sound

The H is completely mute, as opposite than in English.

Hotel, Hospital, Honesto, Huevos, Alcohol

Do not stress the H as in English and you will sound like a native Speaker!

Practice, practice and practice is the only clue!

Practicing out loud you will develop confidence in your Spanish pronunciation skills and you will learn quicker.