English is not my first language and it is not my second language too… It is my third or fourth one.  Depends how you count. Oh, well…  Even if you haven’t heard me speak English, you have probably have guessed it already: I do have a heavy Russian accent in whatever language I speak. This is why I never use a word “sheet” (especially in class) as the way I pronounce it, it sounds wrong. So I have to use another word instead: “a piece of paper”  :). In addition, I have no idea how to place articles properly and this drives me crazy sometimes. I think I worry more about it than my listeners. They are often more forgiving of us than we are of ourselves. Slavic languages do not have articles and I have to be very creative to figure them out. Briefly, I have serious problems with articles in English. How can one learn them if we should say Poland but THE Ukraine or THE Netherlands? Anyways, this is my personal issues with THE English language. A native English speaker will never appreciate my struggles…

So why do I write a blog entry on a Saturday – just to tell you that I have English problems? Not really.

The reason is that despite my issues with some parts of THE (?) English grammar, I love learning new words and seeing connections between them. This is something I love about English – taking (borrowing) words from all over the world and making them your own. Today one of my students in my online class shared with me an amazing link. It is called visuwords and it helps you visualize word connections. In my view it is an amazing application of technology. I just loved it. I hope you will love it too. I think it will be useful to the students and teachers in all disciplines. Science has its own language and terminology, doesn’t it? So learning word connections make the words come alive! Have fun!

And if you would like to know more about the English language, then you should go to the library and borrow a tape by THE TEACHING COMPANY “History of the English Language” by Prof. Seth Lehrer. You can of course buy it as well. I love this course. Interestingly enough I learned a few very interesting links to science from Prof. Lehrer: think where the “shocking news” expression comes from! I wish I could attend his classes. He makes the topic fascinating. Even though he is not a science teacher, he is my role model as a Teacher and a Scholar. I learned a lot from his lectures and the way he uncovers the language for and with his students.

This is my Saturday gift to you guys. I am not sure if anybody reads my blog, but in case somebody does, this is for you.

Posted: 01|30|10 at 7:04 pm. Filed under: Uncategorized.
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