Wednesday, April 1, 2009

¡ I Swear it´s True!

Week 2 seems to be settling into a bit of a routine and I am now meeting the same classes again that I did last week. This Thursday is the day of Remembrance for Las Malvinas (Falkland Islands for those playing at home). As often happens, when I start asking questions about Argentina, I end up discovering more about New Zealand so I decided to show some photos of previous ANZAC Days at Waiuku and explain the ways we remember those who went to war. It seemed strange to explain the significance of the poppy – one person said they had always wondered about the flower that people wore. I don’t know why I thought that everyone would have known that. Spot the Euro-centric. I was describing that no matter how small a community was, after World Wars 1 and 2, people built or created memorials to acknowledge and remember those who served. I gave examples of how many ways World Wars 1 and 2 were remembered in Waiuku and districts and it was quite a surprise to realise there were so many.


My next class was an adult beginners and usually revolves around the personal information stage of vocabulary. I have now introduced the words “moggy’ and “chick flick¨ to them. There was a bit of an embarrassing moment for me when I boldly used an (unknown to me) inappropriate word in Castellano (think donkey in English) when talking about new vocabulary for body parts. It was I word I had picked up in a saying I had heard and thought I had a grasp of its meaning. I now have a much more...appropriate word for that which is sat upon.

Conclusions and Observations:
- Inappropriate words in another language tend to not have the same frisson of risk-taking or boldness when spoken by a learner of that language. No alarm bells ring in your head and there is no indication in its sound or appearance that this word is a no-no.

- No word leaps out and grabs your ears in the context of another language as much as one of your own language’s swear-words used in passing by a non-English-as-a-first-language-speaker and probably without a real understanding of its gravity.

I received a message that Migael de Cervantes Saavedra (see previous post) was closed for the day because there was no water due to public works maintenance, so I stayed on at STEP and caught up with correspondence. Then home for a two hour siesta (I know, feel sorry for me) and eventually back at night for the adult conversation class. We discussed problems which had arisen we we thought we knew enough of the language to get by, but once you find yourself in the ¨real thing¨you discover that native speakers do it differently, faster and with an unintelligible accent...and it´s even worse when you are on the phone. I recounted my bus-from-Buenos-Aires story as my evidence of language-shock.

I have taken several English classes by myself and it´s quite fun... it´s not too hard when there´s only been a maximum of 11 in any one class... remember it is a private language school. I have learned just as much about the language-learning process by helping people here learn English, as I have from my own trials and tribulations with Castellano. (Note... I spelled it incorrectly a few posts back ).

It continues to be hit-and-miss connecting on Skype with friends and family - and my lovely students of Huia 1 who seem more excited to see me and talk with me when I am pretty much as far away as I can possibly be before I start coming back again, than when I am standing in front of them. (Not to self,... cherish these moments and remember them on those interminably long wet lunchtimes in the middle of winter when we have all had enough of each other.) I very much appreciate those of you (Lynn, Mum, Julian, Huia 1) who think you are about to have a conversation with me and then you discover you are the focus of an English language lesson. Students of English in Parana now know the temperature in Tardun, Western Australia and in Broken Hill, New South Wales, and the names and ages of my students; but more importantly, they know how to ask relevant questions in real time in a relevant and authentic context to real speakers of English... and how to answer those same questions themselves. And my NZ students rattle of a very limited repertoire of all they know... quite confidently. It´s great to hear my Parana students say, por ejemplo (for example), ¨Hola, ...tengo trece años,¨and hear my NZ kids all say, ¨He´s thirteen.¨

Breaking news: the former president of Argentina (Alfonsin) has died, not unexpectedly, but thousands of people are thronging the streets of Buenos Aires to pay their respects. You have probably seen this on the news in NZ. I am just watching the headlines on TV now, ¨La democracia esta de duelo... Miles de personas despiden a Alfonsin.¨

And, now I head off to Iguasú. I am armed with industrial strength insect repellent and malaria medication. Watch this space.

¡¿¿¡¡¿¿¡¡¿¿¡¡¿¿¡¡¿¿¡¡¿¿¡¡¿¿¡¡¿¿¡¡¿¿¡¡¿¿¡¡¿¿ññññññññññññ¿¡¿¡¿¡¿¡¿¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¿¿¿¿¿¡ (Because I can - on this computer - with one simple touch of one key!. I know, I am showing off but it´s so nice to be able to use all those keys without using about three other keys first. I guess this is an intercultural moment.

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