Mi esposa, La Gringrissima, ha ido a México para las tres semanas próximas a estudiar español. La ensamblaré durante la cuarta semana.My wife,
La Gringrissima, has gone to Mexico for the next three weeks to study Spanish. I will join her during the fourth week.
She has been studying Spanish for several years, both in the classroom and on her own. Not only does she enjoy learning languages (she also knows a smattering of Italian, German and Russian) but Spanish could become more useful in our community, where we have seen a marked increase in the Hispanic Community.
The green parts of this map highlight the area where she could likely find Spanish speakers:
Senora Cartophiliac will be attending the
ENCUENTROS school in Cuernavaca (south of Mexico City) where she will experience a three-week immersion. She will spend time in the classroom, take field trips and live with a local family. She anticipates that this experience will "get he over the hump" and help her be more fluent.
Next month Mr. Cartophiliac will join her there. This will be the first time I have been out of the country (not counting Canada) since 1980 when I spent four months in Taiwan pretending to learn Chinese. I expect La Gringissima to be an "old hand" and fluent in the language, so she can guide and translate for me.
I also hope I'll bring home some nice maps...
#223Labels: language, mexico
In The Three Stages of Language Fluency, an article posted on PickTheBrain.com, Steve Kaufmann argues that "billions of dollars are wasted on ineffective language and literacy instruction programs" which ignore what he calls, "the three natural stages in language growth." The key, he says, is "motivation and enjoyment, not a school or a diploma."
