The Brogue Hog

You’ve probably been told that the best time to learn a foreign
language is when you’re small child, and you may have even been
told that learning a foreign language to a high level of mastery
is impossible after a certain age. What you may not know is that
it is only true for you if you choose to believe it.

You have to option to choose to believe that you can use some of the same resourceful beliefs and behaviors that children use,
and get the same great results in mastering a language. So, what
can you discover from the way children approach learning a
language?

Children are indeed the greatest language machines on earth. How
do they do it? There is all kinds of research explaining the
mechanics of how they work the wonderful language magic that
they do, but let’s set that aside and learn from what their
attitudes and behaviors that can serve older learners of foreign
language equally well.

Children understand the importance of feedback, and do whatever
it takes to acquire the skill. It never occurs to a small child
that s/he may not master the language, does it? They just keep
experimenting until they get the result they are looking for.

Children have no need to do things perfectly. If they can
successfully communicate their ideas, they are satisfied and
feel good about their achievement. And when you do successfully
communicate an idea with another person in a foreign language,
it is an achievement, isn’t it? Celebrating your achievement
is a good thing to do.

Children keep working with language until they get the desired
result. If something doesn’t work within the first few tries,
they keep at it for however long it takes. It is common for
toddlers to make hundreds of attempts to get the results they
are looking for, right? If you have been around small children
for prolonged periods of time then you know exactly what I’m
talking about. They can drive you a little nuts with their
repetition as they are mastering a language.

When a child is listening to someone, s/he doesn’t freak out if
s/he doesn’t understand every single word — s/he makes her best
guess, or asks for clarification, and then she moves on.

The final area of genius children have is that they play with
language. They don’t sit down to memorize it all at once. They
play, and through playing and enjoying life the language comes
to them naturally.

So, how childlike would you like to become in learning and
mastering a language?

Here’s to Your Success!
Teresa Bolen

Copyright © 2006 by Teresa Bolen. All rights reserved.

Teresa Bolen is a teacher at Todaiji Academy, one of the top 5
schools in Japan, and the author of Master Plan to Master Exams:
How to Discover Your Hidden Abilities to Create the Success You
Desire. You can get her ‘Academic Excellence Report’ at
http://www.MasterPlanToMasterExams.com.

‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life
you have imagined.’
— Henry David Thoreau –

So you’ve decided to learn a language - good for you! This is a great hobby that gives real results that you can use in your everyday life, whether you are planning a vacation, or want to add diversity to your resume. And with over three hundred and fifty million people in the world speaking Spanish, what better language could there be to learn?

With twenty-five countries in the world speaking the language as their official or primary language, learning Spanish makes sense. While acquiring any language as a second one has many benefits, such as improving memory and problem-solving abilities, enhancing one’s ability in any mother tongue and improving self-esteem, choosing a language that has huge practical applications increases the value of the study involved. With the US being the third largest Spanish speaking country in the world, and this language second only to English in the frequency it is spoken in homes, learning Spanish is a wise choice.

Whether Spanish is learned as part of a school curriculum or taken up in later life, the benefits of gaining an understanding of this language in particular are manifold. A knowledge of Spanish can afford an important edge in today’s competitive job markets, particularly as an increasing number of corporations are opening offices in South America. The NAFTA treaty signed by the USA, Canada and Mexico has also increased trade and communications between these three nations, making an understanding of the Spanish language more useful than ever in the work place.

Studying Spanish is also valuable in providing enrichment at a personal level, as the countries in which the language is spoken offer a multi-layered cultural heritage that can be best explored through its native tongue. Many literary masterpieces were written by Spanish authors, and can be enjoyed to their full extent in their original language. An understanding of the Spanish language also cultivates the desire to travel to foreign lands, opening up new and fascinating worlds to the student.

Learning Spanish can open up so many avenues of exploration, from those in the business world to more personal paths of discovery. Enhance your understanding of the world around you by learning about the linguistic heritage of another culture, and see the world you live in as never before.

Dave is the owner of learn-basic-spanish.info and how-to-learn-spanish.info websites providing information on learning spanish.

What’s more disappointing than a person who makes a promise he can’t keep? A person who makes a promise that is a lie. Many promises to make a “decent living” teaching English in Mexico are just thata lie.

If you do a phrase search on Google, “teach English in Mexico,” you will get almost 900,000 hits. Some of these sites are filled with tantalizingly appealing phrases like,

“For only a few dollars a week you can have_____in Mexico”.

“First-class bus travel to such and such a place is only____”.

All are allurements trying to sell their how-to book, tapes, seminars, or placement service for teaching English abroad.
They give the impression that you will be able to make enough money to live a life of luxury and ease with all that money you will make teaching English in Mexico.

We’ve met many young women who come to Guanajuato with the hope and dream of getting a teaching job making a bundle. The word “shock” is putting it mildly when they find out what their salaries will be in some of these private schools. A good pay scale would be less than $3.00 an hour. I know of some schools that pay even less than that amount.

Can you imagine how many hours you would have to work to make ends meet? Minimum wage is about $400.00 USD a month. Granted, many Mexicans live on that. But could youan American? Could you downscale to living on so little?

Four types who come to Mexico to teach English are:

1) Someone who wants a new adventuresomething different.

2) Someone who wants to build a resume, no matter the
salary.

3) Someone who wants to earn a little traveling money.

4) Someone who thinks they can earn a decent living.
Groups 1 through 3 don’t care what the dollar sign is in their salary. They have other sources of income like savings or parents who help support them while they are in Mexico. These are the most transient. Here today, promising their employers a year contract, and gone tomorrow. Some employers will not hire these “floaters.” Schools would love to hire those with ties to the community but they are rare.

Group 4, people who think they can make a living, do not accept the reality that you can rarely make a living at teaching English in Mexico. They are like those who go to Hollywood with the delusion of becoming an actor, “Oh, it’s a long shot, but maybe I can do it.”

In an informal e-mail survey I took of Mexican schools that offer ESL classes, the overwhelming majority agreed that it is rare for anyone to make a living at teaching English in Mexico. One called it “an unrealistic expectation” to believe otherwise.

“…the pay is very low and it is difficult to imagine how one
could live on it.”

Another source told me that unless the teacher had signed a contract with a large established organization before departure to the country, it was unlikely that a good salary would be waiting for them. Countries like Japan or China offer a competitive salary with benefits.

Mexico does not.

Most of the available jobs are with small private schools that pay little.

Some told me that those who do not fulfill their teaching commitments no longer surprise them. They’ve grown accustomed to this unethical practice by North Americans.

Some have come to Mexico and made a living teaching ESL. But, that is all they can dowork until they drop. They usually have to sign on to teach with at least three schools to get enough hours to earn enough to pay for cost-of-living expenses. There is little time to anything else.

A life of luxury, excitement, and adventure? Hardly. But they keep coming, filled with the delusion that perhaps they can make it work.

Sad.

Doug Bower is a freelance writer and book author. His most recent writing credits include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Transitions Abroad. He lives with his wife in Guanajuato, Mexico.
His new book, Mexican Living: Blogging it from a Third World Country, can be seen at http://www.lulu.com/content/126241

Christmas Dream by Louisa May Alcott is for certain an absorbing read, but busy schedules make getting any time hard to do. Often we do not notice that extended journeys to the office and other activities may take up massive portions of our time. Your favourite hobbies get pushed to the side for other more pressing jobs. If you love reading and find it troublesome to find any time, journeys to work may be the perfect time to enjoy an audiobook. With modern media files, you can relish Searching Heart by Janette Oke by Download Audio Book Online, or audio books recounted by Jane Goodall without turning a single page. Multi-tasking has become an essential these days. Audible books like On Writing Well by William Zinsser for sale from Download Audio Book Online occupy the dead time in life, whether it’s waiting time in a doctor’s surgery or possibly grocery shopping. Audio-books are obtainable to download as media data files suited for your PC, laptops and media players these titles include Lilac Bus by Maeve Binchy, so if you have an iPod or other mp3 player and use the time to hear a best seller or a wonderful novel, such as audible books written by Bill Bonanna without carting a heavy book with you.

An added benefit of audio titles is the opportunity to rent or purchase educational books and peruse them at your leisure. How about learning Greek? Try audio-books! You can review current business trends, or you can enjoy studying the most radical thoughts in religious thought.

Audio-books exist in a multitude of titles and literary genres. It doesn’t matter if you are a wine buff, nuts about politics even if your interested in health and physical fitness, it’s simple to access many titles now. Many options are open; you can take a subscription to a program and hire titles or else buy what appeals to you. Reading will always be a requisite skill, but a more convenient way might be the multitude of audio titles available today. Some narratives, for example audiobooks performed by Kate White, can be even better when performed by the author or a noted actor. Just reading a title isn’t quite the same experience as savoring audio books recounted by Lee Thompson, including the all the nuances of an real performance. Savoring audio books performed by E. H. Gombrich can add something extra to the story and go far beyond the words on a page.

The next time whenever you are thinking of purchasing the hard copy of a book you will likely not get around to reading, do not forget audio books as a better choice.