Alex Rawlings, Oxford University Student, Speaks 11 Languages

Alex Rawlings and other Polyglots

via huffingtonpost.com

Meet Alex Rawlings. He is a student of foreign languages, but he's not really like you or me...

1. Watch the video and decide what the secret to his success is.You can find the video at the BBC site... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17107435#
2. What does it really mean to be "fluent" in a language?
3. Read some of the comments people have made. Whose opinion do you agree with most?
4. Alex can currently speak 11 languages:  English, Greek, German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Afrikaans, French, Hebrew, Catalan and Italian.  Group them according to how similar they are.
5. Cover up the language in the top left and try to guess which language he is speaking. How can you tell? What are the distinctive features of  Dutch, compared to Afrikaans, for example.

Here are some interesting polyglots. Who do find most impressive? Tim, Benny, or Alex?

Timothy Dorner and other Hyperpolyglots
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/nyregion/a-teenage-master-of-languages-finds-online-fellowship.html?_r=2&src=me&ref=general&

Benny the Irish polyglot

Myths about Bilingual Children

via youtube.com

Have you ever wished you had grown up speaking two (or more) languages? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a bilingual upbringing?

Listen carefully to Brenda explain the 4 main myths and what experts like her feel is really the truth when it comes to raising kids bilingually.

I have two kids myself and I must say they turned out just fine :)

How the Arch got its Shape

This is a pretty cool video. I learned the word catenary from one of my TU students who studies architecture.
Do you know how to pronounce it?

Now the culture question: In what American city can you see such an arch, a really big one?

Watch the second video to learn more...

Symmetry

Marcus du Sautoy: Symmetry, reality's riddle

Radiolab Presents Symmetry

Germany vs USA

Today I was looking for a short video that explained some of the main differences between the school system in the States and in Europe. I stumbled upon a fun-to-watch youtube video channel where 2 guys talk freely about their respective countries.

http://www.youtube.com/user/walkaboutlanguages

From their main page:

What happens when you take a good'ole, Bible-belt, Mississippi conservative and an urbane, plurilingual, liberal, Euro-German and put them in the middle of San Francisco?

Germany vs. USA (GvU) explores the contrasts and joys of two unlikely friends, Jim and Alex, as they learn more about each other's cultures, languages, and the greater friendship between Europe and America. Insightful, whimsical, educational and always genuine (not to mention unscripted) the show aims to bring a slice-of-life perspective to viewers around the world.

Can you guess where my accent is from?

Challenging kind of quiz where you watch a short video of a speaker reading a portion of the Rudyard Kipling poem “If.” You’ll then be asked which country he or she is from; answer correctly and you may be able to score bonus points by identifying the speaker’s home city or region.

Think you can tell the difference between an Australian, a South African, and a New Zealander?

Not as easy as it sounds!

Give it a go!
http://www.languagetrainersgroup.com/accent_game.html

Men with Banjos Who Know How to Use Them

Steve Martin and Earl Scruggs, along with some other guys who know what to do with a banjo.




The song is a bluegrass classic called Foggy Mountain Breakdown

Here's a version featuring other instruments too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icMTVV5Lwaw

And another classic tune called "Earl's Breakdown" played first by some hillbilly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reT_pg5s10s&feature=related


...and then by Jose Feliciano (on the guitar)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ydy_EakGfY&feature=related

Arnie's English skills

I know (some of) my students are studying for their midterm exam on Tuesday, so just in case you need to take a break from all your "learning", here are two rather amusing
links to distract you (or maybe inspire you to get back to your books immediately?!..)

http://www.isnichwahr.de/r80879022-schwarzeneggers-englishskills.html

http://growabrain.typepad.com/growabrain/schwarzenegger/index.html


and I because this video is so educational and has a cross-cultural theme I need to include it as well...
http://www.isnichwahr.de/r89237268-warum-oesterreich-nicht-gleich-deutschland-ist.html

Now enough fun already! Back to grammar and vocab!

Obama’s Speech on Race

This link will take you to an interactive video and transcript of Senator Barack Obama’s speech in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008.

It is a long speech (37 minutes) but you can jump to the various sections of it and read along with the transcript as Obama speaks. Listen and read for a few minutes and you will see what a fantastic speaker this man is.

The man is an amazing speaker. He appears to be delivering this speech without ever glancing down at a sheet of paper. And as far as I can tell he is not reading from a teleprompter either.

I like what he has to say about race in America. It is a complex problem and he reminds us that it is not one that will simply go away.

Hillary answers a few questions

In the interest of fairness, I thought it would be interesting to post this video about Hillary Clinton running for President of the US of A. It is an exciting idea really to think of a woman calling the shots in the White House. She has a lot of experience, that's for sure, and even as First Lady, the better half of Billary some say, she wanted to do a lot more than just bake cookies. Too bad her health care plan failed.

In this video Senator Clinton seems like a person who really truly wants to serve her country for the right reasons. And Chelsea is in it too.

Yes We Can

Barack Obama’s Yes We Can Music Video

The man seems to be a good speaker and a lot of people are ready for a change, especially Americans who are not happy with the Administration in power since 2001.

But we have to wait a few more months to find out whether the American voters say

Yes he can lead the country.

or Yes she can...

or "Mac" can.

Talent

There is a speaking activity I know where students have to answer the following question:

If you could wake up tomorrow with one talent, what would it be?

Well, I think I have found the answer I would give if somebody asked me that question...

I would like to be able to play the guitar like this guy..

What talents would *you* like to have?

How to Invent a Language

If you're sick of trying to learn English, then why not invent your own damn language.

Good luck trying to get other people to speak it!

Seriously, this is a topic that interests the linguist in me.


And I also found WikiHow, a wiki that has lots of HOW TO information
Great potential for us to share what we know about how the world works.


Actually, that's exactly what sites like videojug, for example, state as their mission:

VideoJug (http://www.videojug.com) is every aspect of life explained and illustrated through an ever-growing number of straight-forward, informative, helpful and (often) entertaining videos. It’s like having an army of top-class experts at your fingertips 24/7 to “show you how” and to help you out. And you can contribute your own knowledge, experience, wisdom and tips too - we’re aiming to create a place that people come to share - as well as find - knowledge.

Videojug is great practice for listening comprehension!
http://www.videojug.com/tag/careers-airline-pilot

TASK: Turn this HOW-TO business into a language learning task by writing or talking about what you think of the advice given or what alternatives you can think of, perhaps even improving the method given.

Language lessons at euronews.net

I have always liked euronews.net because you can get the same video and text in 7 different languages. Today I saw that they offer free language lessons now using one of their current videos. There's a new lesson every week.

TELL ME MORE® offers 3 languages: British English, Spanish and French.
Each lesson lasts 30 minutes and is based around a video from EuroNews in its Original Language, in a way which encourages learning.


What do you think?
Any good?

Online Video Guide

Watching videos can be a great way to learn something...


...YOU decide WHAT!

Videos anyone?

Some are educational...

Most are not...

Classic Monthy Python

There are so many brilliant clips to choose from!



Here's one of my favorites in two parts:

Part 1

Part 2


Brilliant humouuuuuur!

Michael Caine explains how to talk like a Texan

...and why Texans talk so slowly.

Enjoy!

Can Bonobos write? Or play Pac-Man?

This video will make you think about just how "unique" we humans are. Are we the only beings with "Culture"?

I liked the comment one person made:

The most striking statement that I heard was that there was not deliberate or forced teaching but rather opportunity presented that could be accepted or denied by the Bonobo. How fascinating.

Isn't it true for students too? It's really what you do with your opportunity to learn something that counts.

Happy Ishtar

Aren't some people incredibly creative?