English Club

[DanilaMe 20]

Good evening to everybody,

 

In my previous message we mentioned my son Max. I would like to share some observations on teaching toddlers. Today Max turned two years and a half, and we are trying to practice English from a very young age. We do that in the form of reading interesting books in English, I also talk to Max in English from time to time when we both are in the right mood. 

 

I have to admit that this approach works perfectly at least for some children. I had my own similar experience when my dad, who is the German language specialist, was reading German stories to me and talked to me in German when I was growing up. When I grew older I travelled to Germany with him several times at the age of 8 and 11. Since then I had a very limited practice however when I was tested at Goethe Institute I had solid intermediate level without actually investing  any time in my studies. As a result of this language practice at a very early age I find it rather easy to comprehend German.

 

The same thing seems to happen to Max. He knows many English words and pronounces them sometimes even better then Russian. His English vocabulary is not as big as Russian, but it is growing fast. He knows his body parts in English, like e.g. belly button, lots of animals names, yes and no stuff, important "timeout" term, and he understands a lot. I believe that if we keep going with him in that direction he will be quite at ease with the language when he becomes a teenager.

 

So my piece of advice is: don't hesitate to start learning English with your munchkins. These investments will not be wasted, and you are guaranteed to have many happy hours with your kids. This should be true for sport practice as well, but we haven't tried it out yet.

 

Please, share success stories of your children for our mutual benefit.

Изменено 11 июля, 2013 пользователем DanilaMe

[Lady LG 4 159]

 

Please, share success stories of your children for our mutual benefit.

Unfortunately I have nothing to share. I have little experience in teaching very young children.

[Molly Malone 4 448]

 

1. “He crossed the river by boat” The student translates: ……………………………………

 

Он перекрестил речку лодкой

[Molly Malone 4 448]

 

1. He missed the bus – The student translates: ……………………………. 2. This service is free of charge – The student translates: …………………..

 

1. Он соскучился по автобусу.

2. Ich weiss nicht, я бы перевела как "эта услуга бесплатна", but the student... Is it something connected with drugs? Or with battery charge?

 

charge: одна доза, инъекция наркотика; марихуана, сигарета с марихуаной (амер)

[DanilaMe 20]

That's an interesting one. Check it out.

 

7741_625319527478328_538748565_n by danilameshcheryakov, on Flickr

[Lady LG 4 159]

1. “He crossed the river by boat” The student translates: ……………… Он перекрестил речку лодкой

Yes, Molly! Hearing that I nearly fell off the chair!

 

This service is free of charge

 

бы перевела как "эта услуга бесплатна", but the student... Is it something connected with drugs? Or with battery charge? charge: одна доза, инъекция наркотика; марихуана, сигарета с марихуаной (амер)

Everything is much easier: "Услуга свободного заряда". I wondered what the student meant and he explained that in this hotel people could charge their mobile phones for nothing and all they had to do was to put the plug in the socket. 

Изменено 20 июля, 2013 пользователем Lady LG

[DanilaMe 20]

Yesterday I read an interactive iPad version of "Little Red Riding Hood" to my 2,5 year old son and surprisingly I found an interesting minced oath that I never came across before.


Untitled

What kind of minced oath do you use? What is your favorite one? Or maybe you find them not acceptable? You're welcome to share your thoughts on this.

Изменено 22 июля, 2013 пользователем DanilaMe

[Lady LG 4 159]

 

What kind of minced oath do you use? What is your favorite one? Or maybe you find them not acceptable? You're welcome to share your thoughts on this.

I understand your question and my answer is: "No, I hardly ever use them." But most of the people in this forum have never heard of this expression.

You had better explain its meaning and give some examples to them before asking.

[Englishaddict 1]

That's an interesting one. Check it out.

 

7741_625319527478328_538748565_n by danilameshcheryakov, on Flickr

Hahahah))) Yuo never know what the British mean) 

[Lady LG 4 159]

 

Hahahah))) Yuo never know what the British mean)

I quite agree with you!

 

[DanilaMe 20]

I understand your question and my answer is: "No, I hardly ever use them." But most of the people in this forum have never heard of this expression.

You had better explain its meaning and give some examples to them before asking.

 

Lady LG,

 

You're right about the explanation. I edited my message and provided the wikipedia link.

 

You said that you hardly ever use minced oath expressions and that really fascinates me. What words and expressions do you use instead? Is it an F word if I may ask?

Изменено 22 июля, 2013 пользователем DanilaMe

[Molly Malone 4 448]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

What is Danila talking about?

 

Minced oath, F words... (The strongest oaths are straw to the fire in the blood. W. Shakespeare)

 

Victorian, Come back!

 

P.S. Danila, no offences

Изменено 22 июля, 2013 пользователем Molly Malone

[Lady LG 4 159]

 

You said that you hardly ever use minced oath expressions and that really fascinates me. What words and expressions do you use instead? Is it an F word if I may ask?

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, What is Danila talking about? Minced oath, F words..

I guess he's talking about so called "dirty" or "unprintable" words.

 

DanilaMe

 

My vocabulary is rich enough and I don't need any "unprintable" words. I use them neither in English nor in Russian.

What is so surprising about that? I'm a lady.

[Lady LG 4 159]

 

The strongest oaths are straw to the fire in the blood. W. Shakespeare

Dear Molly!

Your knowledge of Shakespeare's works is difficult to overestimate! What's your favourite Shakespeare's quotation?

[Molly Malone 4 448]

 

Your knowledge of Shakespeare's works is difficult to overestimate! What's your favourite Shakespeare's quotation?

 

Oh yes, I love Shakespeare

My favourite quotation is "Tis' an unweeded garden that grows to seed" (Дай волю травам, сад зарастет бурьяном)

 

I am a gardener, that's why I must never forget this quotation