01.18.09
Posted in College Education, Language Resources, Self Improvement Resources at 3:33 pm by admin
Are you attracted to Hebrew, the original language of the Bible, but you thought it’s difficult: the letters are strange, the language is strange, the language is read Right to Left instead of Left to Right, then I have good news for you. I have found a series of easy-to-use Software Hebrew Tutorials. The first program is called “At Home With Hebrew”; the second program is “Hebrew Kindergarten”; and the third program is called “Shirei Ha-Shabbat.” “At Home With Hebrew” is a cool Hebrew Tutorial. Many tutorial programs will give you a word and expect you to pronounce it - almost from the beginning, but, “At Home With Hebrew” is different. First, the creator/developer of the program, Neal Walters, is a professional teacher/trainer and student himself. He knows what it is like to learn a new language; so, he developed this program with regular people like you and me in mind. You start by learning the Hebrew Alef-Bet (or Alphabet) - click on the character and hear the Hebrew letter pronounced. You’ll learn the vowel sounds which are very similar to the vowel sounds of Spanish or Italian. After that, you’ll be learning words and simple phrases. Andwhat’s cool about the program is you can mouse-over (or point-and-click) on the word and hear it pronounced and see an English transliteration of the word so you can phonetically pronounce it. The next program in the series is “Hebrew Kindergarten.” Don’t be fooled! This is your next step to learn Hebrew. It picks up where “At Home With Hebrew” leaves off; only, the program introduces you to more advanced grammar concepts. It’s just like Neal to build continuity into his software packages. With “Hebrew Kindergarten,” you get the same mouse-over (or point-and-click) feature: you hear the word pronounced and see a transliteration of the word. Butthis program has more to make sure you learn Hebrew: there are quizzes, games, video animations, and audio instructional material - you hear Neal having a conversation with an Israeli speaker. This Hebrew course comes complete with a 200 page instructional manual - Simply amazing! The last program in the series is actually the latest creation from Neal Walters and his crew. It’s called “Shirei Ha-Shabbat: Songs of The Shabbat.” This Hebrew tutorial introduces you to the sounds of traditional Shabbat-Jewish liturgy. I can’t help but say it - it’s another cool way to learn Hebrew. You learn two different styles of Canting Hebrew liturgy: Ashkenazi and Sephardi. The program incorporates a feature which allows you to hear two young cantors - one Ashkenazi and the other Sephardi - sing, or cant, some of the songs from the Shabbat Liturgical services. Plus, the program includes all the features previously mentioned above so you learn Hebrew as well: mouse-over (or point-and-click), games, and quizzes. All in all, I was very impressed by these programs. You learn Hebrew and at the same time you are having fun learning - Now, isn’t that a switch? How many other Hebrew courses on the market can say that? Learn Hebrew.
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03.19.08
Posted in Language Resources at 12:01 am by admin
Today I would like to write about a recurrent question I get in my website from many different users worldwide. They hear time and again of the importance of speaking Spanish fluently to be prepared. What they should they be prepared for? Many already know the answer to this, namely businessmen, men of vision and professionals in specific fields. However, some users still do not see why they should learn to speak Spanish.
And it may be true. Some people may not think of this language as so important to their immediate reality right now. After all, they get by using their native language or maybe a second language and they are quite successful in their lives and careers even without knowing how to say “hello” in Spanish. I fully understand their feeling. When I was a child, back home in Argentina, for many people, learning English was regarded as something “important” for the future, but not “essential” or requiring immediate attention.
Around 30 years ago, many of my friends’s parents had that idea and decided not to send their young children to learn the language. After all, they would say, “everyone speaks Spanish here. And English, well, it’s okay if you are planning to travel but that is not in our minds for a long, long time. It may never happen.”
And they were right at that moment, they did NOT need it for their immediate communicative purposes. However, in less than 3 decades the global picture has changed dramatically. Globalization has become parts of our lives; English has become the lingua-franca of the moment, followed closely by Spanish.
Most of my childhood friends graduated from pretigious universities, got very good jobs and have been quite successful so far. However, the fact that many of them did not have a good command of English has closed many doors right in front of their faces, caused lots of frustration to them and prevented them from reaching hierarchical positions within their companies for a very long time_many still haven’t and have had to put up with seeing some peers as qualified as they are rise faster in the company just for having an outstanding command of the English language Some of them could not progress professionally until they decided to take the bull by its horns and start to study the language.
Nowadays it is impossible to imagine worldwide communications and business transactions without English, just as it was over 30 years ago (in Argentina and many other countries) for many people to envision a world in which English would be not a commodity but a necessity. The mere idea of it would seem ludicrous.
At present, again, we are surrounded by world facts and trends that are just screaming in front of our faces, just as it was the case with my friends’s parents over 30 years ago. The cold facts clearly show that English as a language for international communications is followed closely by Spanish, and choosing not to consider this fact could be something we may regret in the not so distant future.
“When there is smoke, there is fire,” they say. Let’s see some facts that will hopefully show you why learning Spanish is important for you TODAY.
* Over 500 million people speak Spanish - How many doors could this fact alone open to you? How many more employment options?
* At the end of the 19th century, 60 million people were Spanish speakers. Today, nearly 500 million people across the world speak Spanish!
* Spanish is the second most used language in international communication.
* The Hispanic population in the USA has grown by 60% in just one decade.
* Latin American countries are showing strong economic growth,making them potentially major commercial partners.
* Estimates indicate that by the year 2015 the United States of America will be the largest Spanish speaking country in the world!
* The 39 million Hispanics currently living in the USA represent 12.5% of the total population. Estimates also indicate that by the year 2010 the hispanic population in the US will be the largest minority group.
As we have seen, Spanish is not only an interesting and culturally rich language to learn, it is THE language to learn.
It is always wise to plan ahead in order not to miss or see how opportunities pass by without being able to do anything about it.
“When there is smoke, there is fire.” Will you be ready to tackle the fire when it reaches your area? The answer is up to you!
Julio Foppoli is a teacher of English as a Second Language, teacher of Spanish as a Second Language. He is also the creator and owner of http://www.esaudio.net/Spanish, an online educational website with a technological edge, specialized in the teaching of Spanish as second language via audio-conference to native speakers of English from all over the world.
The website offers free listening comprehension activities with Spanish from all of the Spanish speaking world.
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