Surprise ! Surprise !

Last time we talked about accents.

I have found a video made by an English young man, with him it’s as if we listen a lot of  different people speaking English  (The English Language In 24 Accents)

Watch it and open your ears !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dABo_DCIdpM

The next weeks I am going to improve my accent in the US .

See you later

the 10 ways to look like a local in Asia

It took me quite a long time to find something that made me smile. News websites are not full of good news . Moreover when you don’t share the same sense of humor , it’s like a Hercule’s work  to laugh .

At least I found my article on CNN . It’s about the 10 ways to look like a local in Asia .( http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/02/03/cnngo.look.like.asia.local/index.html)

It explains what to do or not to do when you travel in Asia countries, what is in is not written in guidebook ;-)

You will learn a way to cross the street in Indian, what not to order in sushi bar in Japan, or what have you to do to look like a local  with your girlfriend in China.

I must confess you that I didn’t really understand the Singapore paragraph : do they kill their grandparents ?   

The strangest paragraph I have read is the South Korea one: is the Korean society categorised with blood type as we do in France with astrologic signs ?

In my opinion, the funniest paragraph is about phoning in train in Japan . As I was reading it, I have thought about our public transports . Sometimes you can learn nearly everything of the private life of your neighbour while she is phoning to her close friend .

So, the only thing we have to do where we are travelling abroad is to open one’s eyes, one’s ears  and forget for a while the rules we’ve learn in our  culture .

How Peru has reduced illiteracy by half in four years

This article is about the National Mobilisation Programme for Literacy in Peru (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/01/peru-literacy-amazon-pronama-barbier)

The aim of this program is to learn to read , write and do basic calculations to the 11% of Peruvians who are illiterate, as adult or child .

In the past, many villages were too far from teachers and school ( some of them were several days away from school), so that many adults could not go to school during their childhood

This four-month courses has began in 2006 in the Andes and then has been extended to the whole country

It has been difficult to convinced adults to come to school because of many reasons. First of all, the Sendero Luminoso had left a very bad memory to indigenous people. Now they have difficulties to trust intruders. Facilitators must have been recruited to facilitate contacts between population and this program and its teachers. The second reason is that most adults say that they can’t learn any more, that’s too late, in fact they can’t say they’re ashamed .

The 2007 census said that 16% of Peruvians speak another language than Spanish . The success of this programme is in one idea : the course must begin in the dialect of the village where the school takes place .

With this program every body will be able to write a short paragraph which will allow them to be understood. Moreover at the end they will be able “to sign community agreements in their own name “.

For me this programme is the nicest way for indigenous people to become a real subject of their country , not anymore a person of second-rate.

the future of English

This article shows the place of English language in the world in a different light.

The sholar explains why and how a lingua-franca can spread in Europe or all around the world in the course of years : it's essentially for economics reasons .

Nowdays English language is mainly used in a convenient way : to communicate abroad or with people we don't share the language.

Usually learning a language is a way to discover another culture and the history of a country . Is it still true for English language ? Which ideas and which values are carried on through English language today ?  Doesn't it help American culture to spread all around the world ?

Because of this lack of spiritual ideas around the English language I agree with the autor when he says that technologie will kill english as a lingua-franca .

Vocal Technologie will not stop discussion but will make it easier . So the exchange of  ideas won't stop  with technologie but technologie will free the exchange between people .

Anyways I will not stop coming to the course , technologie is not ready yet !!!

Nice holidays in great britain

Dear mrs Carmenen,

I’m pleased to suggest you a two weeks holidays in great Britain , to discover celtic culture.

You will discover in few days the capitals of Scottland, Ireland , Wales and England .

You will stay five days in Edinburgh, four days in Dublin , three days in Cardiff, two days new London and three days in Cambridge.

For your comfort you won’t have to go Paris to take off . You will take off from Lyon airport so you’ll have to take the shuttle at Grenoble station  .

So your first stop will be in Edimburg . You will discover the Scottish culture .

Your hotel is not far from the city center in Holiday inn express (www.holidayinn.com).

You will enjoy the old city, the castle, Gladstone’s land, the Holyroodhouse palace, the royal museum and the museum of scottland, and the national gallery of Scottland , the royal Mile , the Georgian house, Dean village.

With the Edinburg pass(www.edinburgh.org/pass), you could visit a lot of places, go all over town in a open-top bus, have a nice jazz cruise, and appreciate many others nice attractions .

Don’t miss to devote at least half a day to do shopping in some of the biggest shopping centers of the city : Jenners with its hundred of shelving, Harvey Nicols with its five floors of fashion shops .

Your stay would be incomplete if you don’t taste at least one kind of beer in one of the pubs . If you like brown ale try a Douglas Ale. If you prefer a light ale ask for a Gordon finest one, but be careful it’s quite a strong beer .

If you stomach and you liver are strong enough, taste two specialities of Scottland : the haggis and the Aberdeen Angus . You will never forget it.

To stay in great shape don’t forget to bring with you your running shoes so you will be able to take part in the great winter run which takes place every 8^th of January(www.edinburghguide.com/events/edinburghgreatwinterrun)

Another evening if you want to taste several kind of whiskey have a look before on its special website (http://www.scotchwhisky.net/) to be helped in your choice .

You carry on your holidays by a few days in the capital of Ireland

Your guest house is not far from

O’Connel street

, one of the most famous street of the town.

With the 3-days freedom ticket(www.dublinsightseeing.ie/FreedomTicket.aspx), you can go free from the airport to the city, you will visit a lot of places without paying the bus, and go all over town in a open-top bus.

You will visit Dublin in four days.

First of all, you will go all over the town at the north of Liffey river : you will walk along

O’Connell street

, Parnell square, visit the municipal art gallery and the four courts.

On the second day you will continue with the medevial part of the city on the south of liffey river . You will discover temple bar, Ha’penny bridge, Dublin castle, Christ church, and St Patrick Cathedral.

If you have some time left you’ll have a break in Phoenix park.

The third day will be the best time of your stay in Dublin. In the most famous crossroad of the town south of the town : the  College green. There, you will observe the bank of Ireland , have a walk in the trinity college and its famous library . There is a fabulous collection of papyrus and books , in particulary the book of Kells. Don’t forget to visit the National Museum of Ireland, and the National Gallery, they are both free . A superb exhibition of Turner is taking place there only on January .

As  you are fed up with cultural visits, you can go shopping all day long . (www.dublinuncovered.net/areas.html) 

You must not leave Ireland if you have not taste the famous Irish stew .

You carry on your holidays by two days in the capital of Wales : Cardiff.

Your guest house is not far from the cathedral : its name is Church Guest house (www.visitcardiff.com/site/accomodation)

You can visit the city (www.cardiffhistory.co.uk/index.php?p=9) on the first day without forgetting the free National Museum and then you can go shopping (www.visitcardiff.com/shopping) on the second day .

After Edimburg, Dublin and Cardiff, let’s go for a fews days around London.

The first day you will visit Kew gardens , it’s a very nice place (www.kew.org)

After a short trip by train between Cardiff and London Paddington, you will take the South West Trains from Waterloo, via Vauxhall and Clapham Junction, and stop at Kew Bridge station. From Kew Bridge station it takes a 10-minute walk to Kew Gardens (Main Gate entrance).

Before visiting Kew gardens you will leave on the way to the park your luggage in the inn near Kew garden (www.viewlondon.co.uk/pubsandbars/the-inn-at-kew-gardens-info-17181.html)

The day after, you will go to Cambridge.

You’ll take the train (www.raileasy.co.uk), leave your luggage at the gonville hotel (websites.thedms.co.uk/ee-cc/thedms.aspx?dms=2&pid=0199970#Availability).

You have two days to go all over town and observe the architecture of this old city (king’s college chapel …).

Have a look on the website (/www.visitcambridge.org/VisitCambridge/WhatsOnList.aspx?ix=1&start_date=20/01/2011&start=1&period_id=1) and choose what you could see .

On the last day you’ll take the train back to London Kings cross , you get to London Victoria to catch a train to Gatwick airport .

At Lyon you’ll catch the shuttle to Grenoble with two weeks of souvenirs in your mind for only 3929€ which not included all the gifts you will bring back to your friends !

I would have prefer taking you to Sydney but the budget was too small !!

Don’t forget to take hot clothes because winter is quite cold this year in Great Britain .

Have nice holidays .

Balance sheet		1.15	For two
Shuttle Grenoble –Lyon return			66€
Fligth from Lyon to Edinburgh with Easy Jet 14.10-15.25	6/01		188€
Shuttle Edinburgh to the center of the city at 11am	6£ return	12£	14€
Holidays inn Express in Edinburgh city center	87£	435£	504€
Fare of Visits : Edinburgh pass for 3days	51£	103£	120€
Flight from Edinburgh to Dublin with Ryanair 18.25-19.25	11/01	56£	65€
3-days freedom ticket	26	26	52€
Abbot Lodge Guest house in Dublin	45	225	225€
Flight from Dublin to Cardiff with Aer Lingus 10.00-11.10	16/01	45	45€
Bus service X91(airport to city center)		£6.80	8€
Church guest house in Cardiff	55£	165£	191€
Train from Cardiff to London Paddington 8.55-11.01	19/01	65£	75€
Train from London waterloo to kew gardens	4£	16£	19€
The inn at Kew gardens	130£	130£	151€
Fare to Visit Kew gardens	14£	28£	33€
Train from London Kings Cross to Cambridge 11:15-12:01	20/01	62£	72€
Best western the gonville hotel	130£	260£	301€
Train from Cambridge to London Kings Cross 9:28-10:31	22/01
Each day for food for two including breakfast and pubs	100€		1700€
Train London Victoria to Gatwick airport	22€	44€	44€
Last flight London Gatwick to Lyon 16:25- 19:05	38€	56€	56€
			3929€

which one ?

The use of would

Would is used to express a conditional situation

 -  I would go to Florida next spring if I had enough money to pay my trip

 - You would have more success in your restaurant if your menu was cheaper

The use of should

Should is the conditional of shall

It can be use to express a conditional situation, or an obligation, or a purpose 

-         I should have call him yesterday

-         you should not have bring chocolates

-         we hope nothing serious should occur during the expedition

The use of could

Could is the conditional of can

It can be used to express a possibility

- Look at your watch, You could have come on time !

 It can be used to express a permission

- Could I come tomorrow morning ?

It can be used to express a skill

- Despite its narcolepsy Could he stay up till midnight ?

is that true or false ?

the Eyak language

This language had been spoken by hundred of Eyak people . They were living near the Copper River on the Pacific coast of Alaska until the end of the twentieth century.

They were indigenous of the southcentral of Alaska . Eyak people are still alive but nobody among them is able to speak a fluent and native  Eyak language.

The last person   who was able to speak this language as native is dead two years ago, her name was Marie Smith Jones .

This language has gradually disappeared under the pressure of migrations of people coming from other regions of Alaska  as Tlingit or others states and speaking English .

This language is still spoken by a few people and some of its words have been inserted in the Tlingit which is the language of Eyak people now.

The article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/28/native-eyak-language-may-_n_628265.html) describes how a young French linguist tried to learn Eyak language with the help of a documentary on DVD about Marie Smith Jones . The meeting he had later with her daughter was full of emotion.