1 March 2010
My new satellite system was installed on Friday and it’s wonderful. I thought I might get half a dozen or so Spanish stations but I can actually get 14 and there may be more that I haven’t found yet.
The installation went smoothly, the guys from Challenge TV in Tenterden, [...]
26 January 2010 This is one of my “must watch” weekly programmes. I used to watch it on television but now that TVE has gone from Sky I watch it on my PC.
It is a half hour news and human interest show aimed at the hard of hearing, all the dialogue is at normal speed, [...]
24 November 2009 TVEi has definitely left Sky, they blame Sky for withdrawing from the agreement to retransmit their programs and they suggest any complaints go to Sky. They are still transmitting for free from Eutelsat Hotbird 8 but for most people in the UK with Sky systems this is not much help.
The cheapest [...]
8 October 2009 It looks like TVE has gone from the Sky listings. It disappeared from channel 795 about a week ago, for a couple of days it was possible to select it manually through “Other Channels” in the menu, but even that doesn’t work any longer.
Some good news is that the TVE website carries [...]
15 August 2009 TVE and Euronews
The two satellite channels that I view regularly are TVE channel 795 on Sky [see here for update on this channel] and Euronews channel 508 on Sky. Euronews is normally set up in English. If you want Spanish (or French) you need to go into the menu section of your [...]
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Bill Ferguson |
Spanish Teaching Resources Getting good quality teaching and resources
The information I am going to share is an honest account of what I have tried over the past year and my opinions are just that, opinions. I will share my likes and dislikes, what works for me and what doesn't. This is a personal experience, I am not an expert but if you share my ambition of learning to communicate in a third, foreign language, then maybe we can help each other along the way.
According to Friedrich Nietzsche: "One who speaks a foreign language just a little takes more pleasure in it than one who speaks it well. Enjoyment belongs to those who know things halfway."
I think he is right. Its hard to define halfway but I think the fun starts when you know enough of a language to be able to make yourself understood, given sufficient time to think. At this stage you are not merely tolerated but treated as an honoured guest in a foreign country. People see you bravely struggling to speak and understand, and give you credit for trying. They are nearly always kind and supportive.
Go beyond this to fluency and its like a toddler growing up, you are no longer cute and vulnerable. You are competing for resources, in the adolescence of language acquisition unless you have a definite role you are treated with suspicion. Maybe that is the stage to consider moving on to another new language ...
Getting good quality teaching and resources is vital to success: encouraged by an influential book by Harry Ferber I now view language acquisition as a military campaign, I need to use my resources efficiently to overcome all resistance, I need to capture vocabulary and not let it escape. I need to wear down the opposition by attacking daily and not allowing it time to regroup. I need to learn the predictable tricks that the new language will play on me and be ready for them (this means learning grammar). Like any military campaign good quality intelligence is vital. Learning a Third Language My current ambition is to be able to communicate comfortably in English, French and Spanish. I began to study Spanish in 2008. I have been a student of French, on and off, for about 30 years and up to last year ....read more Strategic Planning When I started to think about taking on a third language I realised I had two main worries: firstly I didn't want to lose my second language ...read more Fear of Losing French As I see it there is a simple choice ....read more |
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