A Promise Kept

This is to keep a promise I made to Tiago at the beginning of the year. I may take a long time but I ALWAYS keep my promises.

We were talking about braiding hair. Tiago braided his and I told him that I had done the same once way back in high school. My best friend, Mike, was a swimmer and he said that he would braid his hair for the first home swim meet. I immediately volunteered even though I was no swimmer...just a good friend with a good sense of humour.

As it turned out, each of us went to one of our classmates' houses. I went to Bethany's house and she spent hours braiding my hair. Well, after my promise to Mike and the effort put forth by Bethany, nothing would keep me from coming in to school the next day with my hair in braids (plats in British English). Mike, on the other hand, chickened out BUT I NEVER held it against him. It was his prerogative and one can only answer for one's own actions. Besides HE was the one actually swimming in the meet, I was just supporting the team and, above all, Mike.

It wasn't common for guys to go to school like that back in those pre-hip hop as the mainstream culture days! But I'm glad I did it and I'd do it again! Recently, I came across a couple of old photos of that episode and I promised Tiago I'd scan them and post them here. Tiago, you're a great guy and I ALWAYS keep a promise!



Have a wonderful day!

Video of the Week--See the World Through New Eyes

You may or may not know that we now have Spanish classes at CAFLI. Well that's pertinent to this week's video but it's not the main point. The main point is that HOW you perceive things is at least as important, perhaps more so, than the fact that you perceive them at all. This is a beautiful video and I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks to my brother, Dave, for sharing it with me, and in so doing, with all of us!

Video of the Week--Happy New Year

Happy New Year! This week I have chosen a silent video which shows just how quickly a year goes by. In the words of Pink Floyd, "Every year is getting shorter, you never seem to find the time, plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines..." Of course we all know that time is relative. If you are bored out of your mind time seems to stand still so that you can indulge in self pity. If you are having a great time, then time speeds up so that you don't get carried away. In the words of the Grateful Dead, "Such a long, long time to be gone and a short time to be there!"

May 2009 fly by for you! And may it be far better than all of the predictions--at least for you!

Video of the Week--Merry Xmas Everyone!

Well, Christmas week is here and here is a video that should take some of us back to a simpler time. A time when Bob and Doug Mckenzie ruled the airwaves. It seems they're going to make a comeback in 2009. Let's wait and see if they do. In the meantime here is their Christmas message to you. Enjoy.

Video of the Week

Hello Everyone,

After a brief sojourn I'm back. Although I fully intend to keep writing about language learning and skills, I was struck by an idea. Why not start a Video of the Week rubric? There are so many interesting things on Youtube which you can watch and learn from. Of course there's a lot of rubbish too, it's a question of selecting. Sometimes things get hectic and there just isn't enough time to write a complete entry but there SHOULD be time to at least embed a video and perhaps that will keep people coming back....or not, if one writes mainly for oneself then one is always guaranteed at least ONE reader!

Well, I'd like to start this off with a video recommended by a former student and a current friend. This video has some profound truths that everyone should be aware of, so that 2015 won't come as such a surprise! As always, please post comments or opinions on this or any other matter, everyone enjoys getting feedback, whether it's favourable or otherwise!



Have a great day,
Fernando

PS: Tiago, you'll have to wait another couple of days!

Halloween Photos

Only a few (lucky) people made it to the CAFLI Halloween party this year. For those who missed it here are some photos to see what you missed out on! Maybe next year you'll join in the fun!

     

    

     

     

      

     

           

Speaking of Skills

Let us consider the four main language skills to be reading and listening (receptive skills) and writing and speaking (productive skills). Usually receptive skills precede productive skills. For instance, a baby must listen for years before it can speak and a child learns to read (at least the letters) before he or she can learn to write.

Learning a foreign language isn't exactly the same as learning your mother tongue. For one thing you can use your mother tongue to make comparisons, draw conclusions and so on. Also, your experience of the world informs you when learning a foreign language. A baby has nothing to draw on but trial and error, stimulus and response, and imagination to fuel its emerging cognitive abilities.

On the other hand, besides eating and sleeping a baby has absolutely nothing else to do but watch and learn and gradually piece together its view of the world. Even a small child has many other distractions: friends, playing, tv, possibly other school subjects. It's even more difficult for adults as they have responsibilities and obligations in and out of work, their families to think of, and so on.

Besides this adults have a history to bear in mind. Perhaps they were unsuccesful at language learning at school, perhaps they were highly successful--either will reflect on their current learning. Maybe they had a wonderful teacher who made them love the language, or maybe a horrible one who made them hate it. Perhaps they love or hate the language their learning for cultural or political reasons. In other words, they carry a lot of baggage around with them, to use a tired old cliché.