Alan's Multi-Language Blog

Reading text at two speeds Jan 8th

2008-01-20T08:41:00.000Z

ulian Beever's Inspired Pavement Drawings
Ken Wilson, UK
Julian Beever is an English chalk artist, who has been creating anamorphic pavement art since the mid-1990s. Anamorphic pictures are designed so that they appear to be three dimensional from certain angles. The drawings must be seen from one particular angle. If the viewer moves from the position, the illusion is lost and the drawing becomes an unrecognizable distortion.
Julian also paints murals and is famous for his replicas of well-known works of art. He has worked in the UK, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Germany, the USA and Australia. He has been called "the Pavement Picasso," because the importance of three dimensionality in his work is reminiscent of Picasso in his Cubist period.
This material was spotted by Ken Wilson, a teacher trainer and ELT materials writer, with more than 20 titles to his name. He writes both coursebook and supplementary material and his recent course material includes a Senior High course for China. He also wrote a book to accompany Channel 4 TV's first-ever ELT soap series. He was artistic director of the English Teaching Theatre until 2002

Alan's Weekend Words 6th January

2008-01-06T01:15:00.002Z

Hello everyone,
Welcome to Alan's Weekend Words. This week I decided to talk a little bit about two books I have that help know more about the English language.
The first one has become very well known and has sold many thousands of copies. It is called "Eats, Shoots and Leaves", written by Lynne Truss. It is a book about punctuation. Basically, the title shows the idea behind the book. It shows that with written English, punctuation can make a big difference to meaning. The title shows a very good example: the idea is that the sentence describes the food of a Panda. A panda eats shoots and leaves. When we apply punctuation, that is a comma it means something different. Eats, shoots and leaves would mean something like this: a person walks into a restaurant, he then eats something, then he shoots his gun at someone and then leaves the restaurant. So, he eats, shoots and leaves. Can you understand the difference? What has happened is that with the panda sentence the only verb is "eats" whereas with the comma put in, then the words eats, shoots and leaves are all verbs (action words)
This books shows more examples and was written by Lynne Truss to show the importance of punctuation with written English.
The other book I want to mention is called "Eats, Shites and Leaves"
This book is a jokey title which has copied the "Eats Shoots and Leaves" book.
Shite is another word for crap and also sounds a bit like "shoots" Basically this book is a parody of the first book - as its subtitle is "Crap English and how to use it" written by "A. Parody". Even though the idea behind this book is a joke about the seriousness of the first book - it is actually quite a useful book for understanding more about how English is sometimes used badly - and where this can lead to misunderstandings and awkward moments.
So, I recommend both books. They both have their uses when learning more about English. Next time I'll discuss some examples from the books. In the meantime, if you would like to buy or borrow them from a library (if it is possible where you live) I've put the ISBN numbers on the podcast text.
Take care and bye for now
"Eats, Shoots and Leaves" by Lynne Truss ISBN 1-86197-612-7"Eats, Shites and Leaves" by A.Parody ISBN 1-84317-098-1

New Year Resolutions

2008-01-06T01:15:00.001Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7162692.stm.
New Year's resolution success tip have chance to Only 25% of people succeeded in quitting smoking Most of us will make a New Year's resolution - maybe to quit smoking or lose weight - but only one in 10 of us will succeed, say researchers. But before you give up altogether, it is possible to boost your chances of success, UK psychologists report.
A year-long study of 3,000 people found men should set specific goals and women should tell the world about their resolution if they are to succeed.
And the key for everyone is not to leave the decision to New Year's Eve.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS Men should set specific goalsWomen should tell others about their resolutionChoose a new approachDo not leave the decision to New Year's Eve
Study leader Professor Richard Wiseman, who is based at the University of Hertfordshire, found more than half of those in the study believed they would be able to stick to their resolution.
But by the end of the year, just 12% had been successful.
Giving up smoking seemed to be the hardest goal to stick to, with three-quarters of people lighting up again in the New Year.
Only 28% of people succeeded in losing weight and 29% of people who vowed to improve their fitness managed to do so.
Tips
Men were 22% more likely to succeed when they set goals for themselves, such as losing a pound a week rather than just saying they wanted to lose weight.
Telling others increased women's chance of keeping resolutions by 10%.
They benefited from family and friends encouraging them to stick to their goals.
Deciding to revisit a past resolution sets you up for frustration and disappointment. Choose something new, or approach an old problem in a new way
Professor Richard Wiseman
Professor Wiseman said it was possible to increase the likelihood you will keep your resolution.
"Deciding to revisit a past resolution sets you up for frustration and disappointment.
"Choose something new, or approach an old problem in a new way.
"Think through exactly what you will do, where you will do it, and at what time."
He said those who made vague plans were more likely to fail - for example instead of planning to go running twice a week you should plan to go running at specific times every week.
He added: "Men may be more likely to adopt a macho attitude and have unrealistic expectations, and so simple goal setting helps them achieve more.
"Likewise, women might be reluctant to tell others about their resolutions, and so benefit more from the social support provided by friends and family once they have made their goals public."

Just a New Year chat cast

2008-01-06T01:14:00.001Z

Hello, Text is below this time (for those who can't view my blog)
Well hello everyone and welcome to my podcasts and also to 2008! This time, uhm, for this time I thought I would just chat. Usually I try to prepare a script of sorts, a text… and then I use the text to make the podcast. But this time round I thought it might be more interesting for you to just hear me speaking. I will make a text, but I will obviously listen to what I have said and then write it down afterwards. So, at the moment, I’m just speaking , uhm, as I think about things and hopefully you will find this podcast just as interesting as the others. Uhm, I’m using a new microphone. Hopefully it will have a good sound. It’s just something I got before Christmas but I didn’t have chance to try. So, I’m trying it today and hopefully it will be clear and you will be able to listen to what I am saying without any problem.
So, 2008 is here. It’s a quiet day in England and I’m just relaxing before I go back to work. So, what will 2008 bring I think for us this year? Let’s hope it brings some good things. You know, for my part I’d like to learn more French, German and as you know, I’m learning Mandarin and I’ve just started Spanish again so, language is my hobby, my main hobby. I do play guitar as you know, you’ve heard my guitar tunes and I’ll play a few more guitar tunes I think on my podcasts. I’ve also planned to make a musical podcast in other words make some songs and record them and do a bit of singing maybe and put them on another podcast website and then you can listen to them if you want to. So, it’s a bit different for me just chatting to you, because I’ve got to think as I speak, well will you find this interesting? I think for those of you who are learning English, it will be interesting for you to listen to just a very normal “everyday” conversation, or whatever I can make that seem to be – as I’m speaking really to myself but obviously I know people will listen to it.
So I just wanted to speak a little and hopefully you’d hear when I do the pauses and when I make some corrections and when I hesitate a bit. That’s. uhm, all the things that happen when people are speaking in their native language. No one is perfect of course in their native language, I make mistakes just like other people do. So, I thought maybe a “conversational type” podcast just speaking about not so much (laughs) would be just as interesting for you as one that I prepared about a certain subject – and I don’t have any subjects today because I’ve been relaxing over Christmas. I didn’t.. prepare anything. But I thought, well I’ll still make a podcast on January 1st – New Year’s Day and say hello to everyone. I’ve had (some) quite a lot of downloads. I think I’ve had something like 1700 last week which…well not downloads…”views”… I think downloads were about 600 but even so, 600 downloads is a lot So, somewhere out I think there people are listening, hopefully getting something from my podcasts, uhm, and I do listen to other peoples’ podcasts. I find some of those interesting and some I find quite boring but it depends what subject your interested in doesn’t it?
So, anyway, Happy New Year to everyone. To all the people who have listened and who are listening and who will listen to my podcasts and for the moment and for the future and so – have a nice time. If you are still on holiday, if you are back to work or you’re busy doing other things….well you know, don’t work too hard and enjoy yourself in 2008.
And I’ll speak to you all very soon so bye for now

Thankyou to all podcast listeners and blog readers

2007-12-19T22:10:00.002Z

Hello everybody,

I would like to thank those people who have listened to my podcasts and read my blog over the past year. It's fantastic for me to know that people like what I have prepared and discussed. I am not a teacher - but as a language student (although quite old now...lol) I can understand the difficulties faced when learning languages and so, maybe I could consider myself a sort of friendly language guide.

Please let me know any subjects about English life, culture and language you might be interested to know more about and I'll see what I can do in 2008!

One thing I can tell you is that next year the city of Liverpool is to be the "city of culture 2008" which is exciting - and after all, this is the home of "The Beatles" - one of my favourite bands.

Next year I am planning a new podcast site for some guitar-based songs I am recording. I hope you like them.

I hope next year you can all realise your ambitions and dreams. In 2008 I would like to improve my Spanish, Dutch and Mandarin Chinese - I hope I can do this.

So to each and everyone of you, a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Lancashire, England.

Vielen Dank, merci bien, gracias, obrigado, spasibo, xie xie .......

Here's a website about my region of England: www.pendle.net

Many thanks once again

Bye for now

Alan

Thankyou to all my

2007-12-19T22:10:00.001Z

Twas the Night before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore

2007-12-16T14:19:00.000Z

Hello everyone, welcome to my podcast and today I'm just going to recite a poem. It's a christmas poem- very famous in England called: "t'was the night before Christmas"- and you may have heard it already.

Anyway, you can hear me saying this poem and you can read it on my blog. Also, I've put some of the more difficult words there for those of you who are learning English, with some explanations for you.

And so, as I said, it's a rather informal chat just now and then I will go and read the poem. So, thank you for those of you who have given me some feedback. It's always nice to receive it.I do enjoy reading your feedback, I'm glad you're enjoying, er, listening to my podcasts. So, here is the poem"t'was the night before Christmas" and I'll hopefully do another podcasts before Christmas- so you can listen to that when I've done it.

So, see you next time, bye.

T'was the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there. (T'was = It was. St Nicholas = Santa Claus)

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap. (nestled all snug= comfortable, 'kerchief=handkerchief, nap = sleep)

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. (clatter = noise, flew like a flash=quickly, tore open = opened quickly, sash = type of window slide opening)

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer. (breast (here) = on the top of, lustre = appearance of the light)

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name! (coursers = (here) the reindeers)

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!" (dash away = move away quickly)

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound. (prancing and pawing = the movement of reindeers hooves on the roof, with a bound (here) = jumped quickly out of the chimney)

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack. (peddler = old name for street trader, flung = swung onto with force)

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow. (twinkled = sparkled/shone, droll = amusing)

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly! (stump = short end of something,encircled = all around, wreath = circular garland, jelly = geletine dessert)

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread. (chubby/plump = quite fat, jolly = happy, dread= fear)

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose! (straight to = immediately, jerk = quick movement, finger aside of his nose (here)= a gesture with finger meaning that the other person should not speak, nod = tip head forward, rose= went up)

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!" (down= soft featherlike part of thistle, thistle =plant, 'ere =before)

Alan's Weekend Words 2nd December

2007-12-02T20:53:00.001Z

Hello everyone
I hope you like my new guitar tune introduction which I recorded yesterday. I wanted a new tune for 2008 – but I’m starting early by changing it now.
Today my weekend words is about Christmas traditions in England. It might be interesting for you to see what we different traditions we have here compared with where you live.
Firstly, the celebration of Christmas is not just a religious festival here. It has become the main winter holiday for England and most people now can take maybe up to 10 days off work to celebrate Christmas and also the New Year. In the USA for example, there are other celebrations that the whole country can take part in, such as Thanksgiving and Independence Day. In France, Bastille Day is very important. However in my country there a very few holidays where many people take a holiday at the same time. Christmas and New Year represent our biggest holiday celebration of the year where people give presents, remember family and friends with presents and cards and also take some time off work or even have a holiday in another country.
So unless you are particularly religious, for us, Christmas actually begins on the 25th December. Some people do have family parties on the evening of the 24th, but this is quite rare.
Those people who are religious would go to church on evening of the 24th. Catholics for example have "midnight mass" which is held late in the evening. For other people, the 24th or "Christmas Eve" is the time to go out to visit friends, go to pubs or clubs and enjoy the holiday late into the night.
For those with young families, it is the night when Father Christmas (or Santa Claus) visits and brings presents. When I was young, we used to hang up an old pillow case or large stocking by the fire which would have presents inside it in the morning.
Usually the day starts with presents being given to family – especially children. The most common traditional family lunch is roast turkey (or chicken) with roast potatoes and mashed potatoes, boiled or steamed brussel sprouts and carrots for vegetables, a rich meat gravy sauce and stuffing which consists of breadcrumbs and herbs baked in the oven as a soft dough. Some people prefer pork and this can be eaten with apple or cranberry sweet sauce. Of course for those people who are vegetarians, there is the choice of maybe some roast vegetables with garnish of herbs such as parsley or thyme.
The traditional dessert is "Christmas pudding" which is a steamed pudding using a mixture of dried fruits and cake mixture to bind it all together. This is eaten with a white sweet sauce to look like a snow cap. Some people don’t eat the pudding with sauce or maybe they would eat ice cream with it.
To finish off the meal, there are mince pies which are small pastries filled with dried fruit sweet sauce called "mincemeat" – which in the past was real meat, but now is fruit.
For drinks – many people like to drink whisky or brandy (and sometimes some brandy is added to the christmas pudding and set alight for a few seconds prior to serving it. This makes the flavour very strong.
The afternoon is usually the time to visit family or invite friends to come and visit. The day will be quite quiet as many people have eaten a lot by then. Even meals can be a buffet snack so that people can eat as much or as little as they prefer to.
Often the children will be tired and maybe ready for bed quite soon as they had woke up very early to see what presents "Father Christmas" had brought them.
For other people who don’t have children, or young adults – they often go out to visit people or go to a pub (public house)
So that is "Christmas Eve and Christmas Day" – I’ll tell you about the 26th of December (known as Boxing day) next time.
Take care and bye for now

Alan's weekend words November 24th

2007-11-24T22:01:00.000Z

How to keep motivated when learning languages
Hello again. Sorry it’s been a while since I left a podcast episode. I’ve been very busy lately.
I’ve decided for this podcast to go back to my "chatcast" idea – where I talk as a would in a conversation – as much as I can do. It’s funny, but very few people who listen to these podcasts give me feedback or comments. In fact I just realised that I rarely give feedback to other podcasters myself - and it’s quite difficult to know why. So, rather than keep mentioning this, I’ve decided to make podcast knowing that there are around 1000 views per week – so obviously people must find them interesting.
I always feel more like making a podcast at weekend – it’s not just because I may have a little more free time to make one, it’s also a time where I tend to reflect on things a bit more. You know, when I’m not at work or so busy with things.
As you know I enjoy learning languages – but just as importantly I find that it is a way of better understanding other cultures as well.
Recently I started an evening course in Mandarin Chinese. Now this language is very difficult to learn for westerners I think – at least it is for me. We have a very enthusiastic lady teacher orginally from China who speaks English very well indeed and can explain the lessons very well too.
I find that starting a new language is very much like walking through a thick fog where you can’t see very well at all. As you learn, the fog clears little by little and it then gets easier to walk along. Another analogy for language learning is like making a very large jigsaw puzzle with many thousands of individual pieces. The secret to success with jigsaw puzzles is to look for the correct pieces and then you can discover the true picture when you start to complete it.
With Mandarin – there are very few clues to find from English. The only word I’ve heard so far that sounds a little like an English word is "ka-fei" which is coffee.
What impressed me is the enthusiasm of the teacher. She tries to link words to real situations. Also, she tries to make the language and culture join together not only through the lessons themselves, but last Sunday, she organised a Chinese meal for her students at a Chinese restaurant in Manchester "China town" . I found that having some chinese food and discussing language at the same time – helped me see how language can be made to be more "real" by a good teacher who wants to keep students’ motivation high.
Motivation and time are the key to learning anything – not just language, but as languages take some time to master – then keeping motivation as high as possible – it something that we should strive for.
Personally speaking, I have moments when I lose my motivation to some extent and I devised a list of things to help to keep interest high. I have to admire my Chinese teacher who herself must have her own list on how to motivate students to keep learning well.
My list is as follows:
Realise that motivation goes up and down and that everybody can have moments when they find language learning difficult. Sometime we also feel a bit lonely and this is when language classes can help as we can then see people making similar mistakes to ourselves and also making improvements too.
One we have realised that motivation can vary – then find ways to take away the some of the reasons for low motivation. Tiredness for example – if you’re tired – don’t work too hard!
Look for interesting things about the culture or history that are reflected in the language for example why do we call the game "Rugby football"? Learning the history behind this can make us enjoy the language more.
See if you can find someone who speaks the language in your area, or find a correspondent that speaks the language you’re learning - penfriend or business contact
Read some magazine articles rather than serious books when you find books are very difficult or tedious. Reading short articles can make reading more fun and less tiring.
Keep your "eye on the ball" that is – make sure you are honest with yourself about progress – many people think that they are not learning so much and become demotivated – but if they really think about it – they are probably just not learning as quickly as they would prefer.
When a topic interests you – look up some related words/phrases: e.g. Christmas:- Yuletide, Christmastime, the season of goodwill etc.
I think that will be enough for today – I don’t want to demotivate you by making this podcast too long.
Christmas is not far away – I’m looking forward to a trip to the Christmas markets in Cologne in December – so this should motivate me to keep learning German – I’ll look at some words relating to Christmas now…
Take care
Until next time

Link words in English conversation October 13th

2007-10-13T22:33:00.001+01:00

Linking words to help you time your english conversation
Hello everyone.
It has been some time since I made a podcast – but I have a little time today and I have made a short podcast for you.
Please leave me some feedback about my podcasts. It’s nice to receive it – as it’s not possible to know whether they are interesting or not. Anyway, I’ll leave it to you to decide. In any case thanks for listening.
In England, there are words we use that help us with keeping our thoughts on track during a conversation. They give us a little more time to decide what we want to say. When people learn English, these little words and phrases can also help to give more time to choose the right words and keep the conversation going.
Here’s an example. I’ll try to make this seem like a natural conversation as much as I can.
The first example is without the linking words:
Example 1 (I can say) " Hello David. How are you? I haven’t seen you for a while and it’s nice to see you. What are you doing these days? The last time we spoke you told me that you were working in a bank and that you were enjoying it – are you still working there?
Example 2 "Well hello David. So, how are you then? You know, I haven’t seen you for a while and it’s nice to see you you know.
So, what are you doing these days? Let me think… the last time we spoke you told me that, hmm, you were working in a bank – is that right? Well then, tell me…I think you said you were enjoying it – so,, are you still working there?
You can see that the second example uses the following extra words:
Well, So, then, Let me think, you know, hmm,is that right, well then, tell me
It could be said that these words aren’t really necessary - and example 1 would suggest this to be true. But in conversation, many words are often added or even taken away to make the conversation more informal, more friendly, simpler. Also, it gives the speaker more time to decide what to say and the listener more time to think how that want to answer and what they would like to say.
David says: "Hello there Alan, yes, well – I believe it was, hmmm, about 3 years ago wasn’t it? Yes, I think that we met up in a pub or something, yes, that’s it. You asked about my job, well, yes I’m still sort of enjoying it"
David could have said "Hello Alan, yes about 3 years ago? I think we met up in a pub or something. You asked about my job, well, yes I’m still enjoying it"
So David’s response uses these link words and phrases: there, yes, well, I believe it was, hmmm, wasn’t it, that’s it, well yes, sort of.
No this might seem to complicate the conversation – and for someone who isn’t used to English conversations – or doesn’t have a high level of English, it could seem to make listening more difficult. But this could actually make this easier – as it takes longer to say and gives you more time. It is also a good way to make things more friendly.
These extra link words and phrases are very popular in England and there are many more than those I’ve mentioned today.
So, have fun with link words – find as many as you can and try using them for conversational English!
Take care and see you next time

Les cactus aie! aie!

2007-09-07T19:22:00.000+01:00

Le monde entier est un cactusThe entire world is a cactus
Il est impossible de s'asseoirIt’s impossible to sit down
Dans la vie, il y a que des cactus
In my life there are only cactiMoi je me pique de le savoirI sting myself to know it
Aïe! Aïe! Aïe! Ouille! Aïe! Aïe! Aïe!Dans leur cœur, il y a des cactusIn their heart, there are cacti
Dans leur portefeuille il y a des cactus
In their wallets there are cactiSous leurs pieds, il y a des cactus
Under their feet, there are cactiDans l'heure qu'il est y a des cactus
At whatever time it is there are cactiAïe! Aïe! Aïe! Ouille! Ouille! Ouille! Aïe!Pour me défendre de leur cactusTo protect myself from their cacti
A mon tour j'ai pris des cactusFor my part, I took some cacti
Dans mon lit, j’ai mis des cactus
In my bed, I put some cactiDans mon slip, j'ai mis des cactusIn my underpants I put some cacti
Aïe! Aïe! Aïe! Ouille! Aïe! Aïe! Aïe!
Dans leur sourire il y a des cactus
In their smile there are cactiDans leur ventre il y a des cactusIn their stomachs there are cacti
Dans leur bonjour, il y a des cactus
In their hello there are cactiDans leurs cactus, il y a des cactusIn their cacti, there are cacti
Aïe! Aïe! Aïe! Ouille! Aïe!Le monde entier est un cactusThe entire world is a cactus
Il est impossible de s'asseoirIt’s impossible to sit down
Dans la vie, il y a que des cactus
In my life there are only cactiMoi je me pique de le savoirI sting myself to know it
Aïe! Aïe! Aïe! Ouille! Aïe! Aïe! Aïe!Aïe! Aïe! Ouille! ...

Informal style conversation

2007-09-01T22:21:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone.
It’s nice to know that you enjoy my podcasts, thankyou for your feedback. Please feel free to leave comments on the podcast site or my blog.
Today, I’m going to make a slightly longer podcast – actually, this time – more of a "chatcast" as I see it.
Talking with you as I would talk with friends and family. Basically I’m talking about "everyday" conversational English. What I am talking about is language people use when they are chatting to family and friends and also to people we meet in the street, or on a train or on holiday perhaps.
Firstly I have to say that I am talking about a style of speaking with English as it is spoken in England. As we all know, English is a very widespread language –and many people around the world can speak my language. I can only talk about things that I know and my own experience. Although I have not travelled a great deal, over the years, my family and I have welcomed people from other countries to stay with us, either through the twin town or language exchanges, or from friends we have met from holidays or correspondence. When people visit us, we always try to speak in a conversational way – that is, quite informal.
When people learn English in classes, often they are learning a formal-style of English. Of course, this is very good in enabling people to learn to make hotel reservations, or to buy things in shops, ask directions etc, but it isn’t so useful if you stay with a family and want to chat about things in an informal way and just enjoy the opportunity to talk in another language.
For an informal chat though, it should always be a less stressful exercise and more enjoyable for you as there are some differences from speaking in this style.
It gives you the chance to learn more about how people live, their likes and dislikes
It gives you an opportunity to make mistakes without worrying and if you do make mistakes, find some alternative words and phrases that can move the conversation along.
Allows you to get to know people better and make friends
Gives you a better chance to get to know some slang words or local sayings
Gives you a chance to share jokes and different expressions
Helps you to think more in the language e.g. form and reform sentences before you say them as a casual listener.
There are drawbacks:
Sometimes native speakers forget you are a learner and speak faster or use words and expressions that you are unfamiliar with
If you are speaking with a group of native speakers for instance at a table eating a meal – they will speak normally with each other and you can feel a bit alone – a bit left out if you don’t understand everything
Here is an example of formal English and informal equivalent:
Scene, in a restaurant
Waiter: Good morning Sir. Can I help you? What could I get you please? Would you like the menu and would you care to start with some drinks?
You: Oh, Good morning. I would like to have some time to decide. Yes, I would like the menu please and firstly please bring me a glass of wine and then I can look at the menu.
Waiter: Of course Sir, here is the menu and I will bring you a wine.
Typical scene, at home with a friend
Friend: So, what would you like to eat? Maybe, I think, you’d like to try some typically English food such as fish and chips? We could either make them at here home or go to a fish and chip shop and buy some – what d’you think?
You know, I really like fish and chips and I’m sure you’d like them. Did you know that we put vinegar on them? It really makes them taste better I think. Maybe you’d like it? If you don’t like it – it’s ok - just try some salt or mayonnaise.
You: Oh, yes, I think I’d like to try fish and chips – I have never eaten them before.
Friend: Well, I’d try them if I were you – because now you’re here in England, you know, they are one of the most well-known meals in England and you can find fish and chip shops in nearly every town and village in Britain.
You: Really? So they are very popular then?
Friend: Yes, really popular – although I find that some shops sell fish and chips which taste better that others.
You: I’d love to try them – thanks for the suggestion.
I am trying to show that, with the conversation with a friend, there is more language used to discuss something like chosing a meal. Also, more information is usually discussed: what to try, whether to buy or make them at home, maybe try some vinegar, some information about how popular fish and chips are and some information about how many fish and chip shops there are.
So the informal conversation would often involve more information being given without asking for it, and also mean you will need to listen more carefully:
In an informal situation or a friendly conversation:
I’d is often used instead of I would
I’ll is often used instead of I will
Words are added like "you know", "I think" "maybe" "it’s ok" "well" "so"
More questions are asked to get information back from you to "what about?" "would you like?" "how about?"
So, you need to listen more, and allow the conversation to develop. You don’t need to say much more than in the formal situation if you choose not to.

I’ll use some informal language now to tell you something about England.
" well, what can I say about England? It’s a nice place to visit, with many interesting places I think. You know, we do talk a lot about the weather in England. People say it rains a lot here – but I think it is often cloudy.
It’s always nice travelling around England to different places. I like the Lake District – so many lovely hills and mountains – wonderful scenery – it’s particularly nice in Autumn.
You know, it’s a while since I went there, maybe a few years now. Perhaps we should have a trip there?
Maybe soon, what do you think?"
More formally would be:
" What can I say about England? It is a nice place to visit, with many interesting places. We do talk a lot about the weather in England. People say that it rains a lot here – but I think that it is often cloudy weather that gives this impression.
It is always good to travel around England to visit different places. I very much like the Lake District – with its many lovely hills and mountains. It has such wonderful scenery and it is particularly nice to see it in the Autumn.
It has been a while since I went there. I believe it is a few years ago. Perhaps we should have an excursion to the Lake District?
Perhaps soon, what do you think?"
I hope you can hear and read the differences in style that shows the first example as more "conversational" to the second example. Both use slightly different word choices and language "style" However they are both discussing the same thing.
Take care and see you next time

Everyday phrases

2007-08-20T23:27:00.000+01:00

Here's a chatcast about those "everyday phrases" in common usage in English.
The book I mention is "Red Herrings and White Elephants" by Albert Jack which is available from Amazon.com ISBN 1-84358-129-9
It's surprising how much we use these phrases and expressions in English conversation...
Feedback/comments welcome :-)

Hello everyone,
Today I’d like to talk about "everyday phrases" that we use so often in English. In fact it’s only when we native speaker start to talk with non-native speakers that we start to realise just how much we use these sort of expressions and how much we need them in our everyday speech.
I found a book called "Red Herrings and White Elephants" by Albert Jack (ISBN 1-84358-129-9) which I’m acknowledging as the source of the explanations of my examples today to introduce some of these common phrases. It is available on amazon.com should you wish to buy a copy for yourself. The book is really good as not only does it give us the meaning, but also some of the history behind why we use each expression.
Here are some typical ones. I’ll start obviously with the two in the title of the book:
Red Herring. (BOOK)" This is used to describe something that provides a false of misleading clue"
Example: "That tourist brochure is a bit of a red herring, as the seaside resort it told us was so good was nothing like that when we went there!"
White Elephant (BOOK)"is an expression used to describe something useless that has, or will become a huge burden to those who possess it"
Example: "That car you bought is a white elephant, it is always breaking down and it cost you too much money!"

Here are some more everyday phrases with examples (which are my examples – you won’t find these in the book) There are many more in the book – but I’ve chosen some of the phrases I use a lot in conversation.
"Codswallop" is something worthless, rubbish or nonesense. "That’s codswallop! – you can’t use those scissors to cut wire!" Actually, I also use it to dismiss something as rubbish " You can buy a beer for a 50 pence? Codswallop! Where??
Tarred with the same brush – is to be part of a group regarded as all having the same faults and weaknesses, often unfairly.
"I’d tar him with the same brush – he can’t draw a picture any better than his brother"
"Neck of the woods" is used to imply a person’s neighbourhood. " He’s from the same neck of the woods as that friend of yours" (same town as your friend)
"Bite off more than you can chew" is an expression we use to indicate someone has taken on more than they can cope with or manage
" I’m learning French, German, Spanish and now Chinese. Do you think I have bitten off more than I can chew?"
You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours" Is a saying we use to suggest two people will do each other a favour, or look out for each other so that both benefit from each others’ actions.
"Can you baby-sit for me next Saturday please? You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours – I’ll baby-sit for you next month…"
Take care, let me know if you like these and I’ll record some more for you
See you next time

Something about the East coast of Yorkshire in Northern England

2007-08-13T21:29:00.001+01:00

Hello everybody

I’ve just come back from a nice holiday “by the sea”. I went to the North East coast of England with my wife and son last week. This area is well-loved area for tourism in England and there are some nice sea-side resorts as well as the National Park the “North Yorkshire Moors”.

A few things that you may not know, Whitby is a small fishing town on the East Coast – and is really popular with tourists. It has a fine beach, some really good fish restaurants and an interesting old abbey, but it is also famous for being the place where Captain James Cook worked and set sail for his voyages of discovery in the southern hemisphere. There is therefore a “Captain Cook museum” and many references to the famous explorer are in the town – most notably a fine statue on the hill near the beach.

Whitby also is famous for being the place where Dracula came to England aboard a russian ship and the author of the book Bram Stoker was living in Whitby when he wrote the book.

Further inland, there is a steam railway called the North Yorkshire Moors railway. The journey starts in a market town called Pickering and goes all the way to Whitby. On of the train stations on this line is in a village called Goathland, and this train station is well-known as the train station used for filming the Harry Potter train that takes Harry to Hogsmeade.

In Goathland, there is also the oldest railway tunnel in the world.

We also went to a place called Eden Camp near the town of Malton which was originally a prison camp for Italian and German prisoners of war – which is now a second warld war museum and very well restored.

Pickering has a steam rally every August – which is where many restored steam tractors are shown in working order. The steam engines will slowly travel around the town and many people come to watch the old engines puff out their smoke – it really gives an impression to what it was like around 100 years ago.

Other towns on the Yorkshire coast are Scarborough – which is a popular seaside resort with a castle and Filey, a small seaside resort with a fine beach and rocky coves.

We also visited York – which is the county town and probably the most historic city outside of London. It used to be England’s second most important town after London and has been there since Roman Times.

I’ll tell you more about York in another podcast.

Bye for now

English can be a bit silly sometimes

2007-08-04T07:29:00.001+01:00

Hello,
Today I’d like to talk about how the meaning of what we say in English can vary or change, either depending on the stress on the words, or sometimes just the words that we use. This happens in quite simple sentences – not just in complicated ones.
An example for you:- If I say this sentence:
Take your bag
without accent, it can sound like a simple instruction or invitation
If I say:
Take your BAG. This would mean a bag, not your camera, watch, cup or anything else you may feel like taking
If I say:
Take YOUR bag - I’m meaning your bag, not someone else’s bag
If I say:
TAKE your bag - this emphasises the word "take" rather than kicking it, or whatever else...
Even with so simple a sentence, a changed accent can give a different meaning.
Another example of the way English can be difficult is when the meaning isn’t so clear. We can emphasise this in two silly examples
I like Ice cream sundaes - I like Ice cream on Sundays
Do you like fruit fool? Do you like fruit you fool?
There are some ways of saying things that sound a bit strange
Hang up the telephone (put the telephone receiver back on the telephone or press the button to finish the call)
Lay the table (hens lay eggs... why do we say lay the table for meaning put the knives and forks and crockery onto the table before a meal)
Climb the stairs (we climb mountains as well!) simply means go up the stairs
Mow the lawn – which just means cut the grass
Catch a cold – how do we catch the virus that we can’t see? It just means we become ill with a cold
I go to bed – but when I get to the bed – I have to get on the bed to sleep I think....
Fall asleep – which means to go to sleep – Personally I just lie in bed and then sleep – I don’t fall anywhere...well, hopefully I don’t fall out of bed...
Throw away my old clothes – I don’t ever throw them – I just put them in a waste bin
Put the kettle on – I just switch on my electric kettle on to heat water. This is an old saying from when people placed the pot on a fire to heat water.
Take a bath – (have a bath) – My bath is still in the same place it hasn’t moved.
To fire someone – means they lose their job – they don’t get burned – we’ll unless the boss has other ideas.... It’s no easier in England as we say "to sack someone" which also means to lose their job – do we put someone in a sack??

Why do we say "I can’t wait for Christmas!" (meaning, "I’m eager for Christmas to arrive") when quite obviously we have to wait
So, English is quite a silly language sometimes
Bye for now
See you next time

Isn't English a bit odd sometimes?

2007-08-03T23:22:00.000+01:00

Hello,

Today I’d like to talk about how the meaning of what we say in English can vary or change, either depending on the stress on the words, or sometimes just the words that we use. This happens in quite simple sentences – not just in complicated ones.

An example for you:- If I say this sentence:

Take your bag

without accent, it can sound like a simple instruction or invitation

If I say:

Take your BAG. This would mean a bag, not your camera, watch, cup or anything else you may feel like taking

If I say:

Take YOUR bag - I’m meaning your bag, not someone else’s bag

If I say:

TAKE your bag - this emphasises the word “take” rather than kicking it, or whatever else...

Even with so simple a sentence, a changed accent can give a different meaning.

Another example of the way English can be difficult is when the meaning isn’t so clear. We can emphasise this in two silly examples

I like Ice cream sundaes - I like Ice cream on Sundays
Do you like fruit fool? Do you like fruit you fool?

There are some ways of saying things that sound a bit strange

Hang up the telephone (put the telephone receiver back on the telephone or press the button to finish the call)

Lay the table (hens lay eggs... why do we say lay the table for meaning put the knives and forks and crockery onto the table before a meal)

Climb the stairs (we climb mountains as well!) simply means go up the stairs

Mow the lawn – which just means cut the grass

Catch a cold – how do we catch the virus that we can’t see? It just means we become ill with a cold

I go to bed – but when I get to the bed – I have to get on the bed to sleep I think....

Fall asleep – which means to go to sleep – Personally I just lie in bed and then sleep – I don’t fall anywhere...well, hopefully I don’t fall out of bed...

Throw away my old clothes – I don’t ever throw them – I just put them in a waste bin

Put the kettle on – I just switch on my electric kettle on to heat water. This is an old saying from when people placed the pot on a fire to heat water.

Take a bath – (have a bath) – My bath is still in the same place it hasn’t moved.

To fire someone – means they lose their job – they don’t get burned – we’ll unless the boss has other ideas.... It’s no easier in England as we say “to sack someone” which also means to lose their job – do we put someone in a sack??

Why do we say “I can’t wait for Christmas!” (meaning, “I’m eager for Christmas to arrive”) when quite obviously we have to wait

So, English is quite a silly language sometimes

Bye for now

See you next time

French song - Ne me quitte pas (Jacques Brel 1959)

2007-08-01T00:31:00.000+01:00

Ne me quitte pas
Il faut oublier
Tout peut s'oublier
Qui s'enfuit déjà
Oublier le temps
Des malentendus
Et le temps perdu
A savoir comment
Oublier ces heures
Qui tuaient parfois
A coups de pourquoi
Le cœur du bonheur
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Do not leave me
It is necessary to forget
All can be forgotten
Who flees already
To forget the time of
Misunderstandings
And wasted time
Namely how
To forget these hours
Who killed sometimes
With blows of why
The heart of happiness
Do not leave me
Do not leave me
Do not leave me
Do not leave me

Moi je t'offrirai
Des perles de pluie
Venues de pays
Où il ne pleut pas
Je creuserai la terre
Jusqu'après ma mort
Pour couvrir ton corps
D'or et de lumière
Je ferai un domaine
Où l'amour sera roi
Où l'amour sera loi
Où tu seras reine
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Me I will offer to you
Pearls of rain
Arrivals from a country
Where it does not rain
I will dig the ground
Until after my death
To cover your body
Of gold and light
I will make a land
Where the love will be a king
Where the love will be law
Where you will be queen
Do not leave me
Do not leave me
Do not leave me
Do not leave me

Ne me quitte pas
Je t'inventerai
Des mots insensés
Que tu comprendras
Je te parlerai
De ces amants-là
Qui ont vu deux fois
Leurs cœurs s'embraser
Je te raconterai
L'histoire de ce roi
Mort de n'avoir pas
Pu te rencontrer
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Do not leave me
I will invent you
Foolish words
That you will understand
I will speak to you
Of these lovers
Who saw twice
Their hearts ablaze
I will tell you the
History of this king
who died not having met you
Do not leave me
Do not leave me
Do not leave me
Do not leave me

On a vu souvent
Rejaillir le feu
D'un ancien volcan
Qu'on croyait trop vieux
Il est paraît-il
Des terres brûlées
Donnant plus de blé
Qu'un meilleur avril
Et quand vient le soir
Pour qu'un ciel flamboie
Le rouge et le noir
Ne s'épousent-ils pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

One has often seen
The rekindled flame
Of an old volcano
That one believed too old
It is it seems
Burned grounds
Giving more corn
Than the best April
And when comes the evening
with it's blazing sky
Red and black
don't they match together
Do not leave me
Do not leave me
Do not leave me
Do not leave me

Ne me quitte pas
Je ne vais plus pleurer
Je ne vais plus parler
Je me cacherai là
A te regarder
Danser et sourire
Et à t'écouter
Chanter et puis rire
Laisse-moi devenir
L'ombre de ton ombre
L'ombre de ta main
L'ombre de ton chien
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas.

Do not leave me
I will not cry any more
I will not speak any more
I will hide there
With you to look at
To dance and smile
And to listen to you
To sing and then to laugh
Let me become the
Shadow of your shadow
Shadow of your hand
Shadow of your dog
Do not leave me
Do not leave me
Do not leave me
Do not leave me.

Alan's Weekend Words 22nd July

2007-07-22T18:06:00.000+01:00

Alan’s Weekend Words July 22nd

Sleep

I’ts surprising how many things we can talk about related to sleep in English. Apparently the Swedes have 95 different words for sleep. I don’t think we have anything like that many in English, but even so, we talk abou sleep and sleeping in quite a number of ways.

For instance, we have:

sleep for the noun
to sleep, sleeping – the verb

and other words that describe sleep in different ways> Examples:

A nap or a “catnap” = a short sleep – usually in the daytime

to snooze, or a snooze” same as a “nap”

Often, an alarm clock will have a “snooze” button – so that we can sleep a little longer and then another alorm will sound.

To doze – where it’s describing someone not sleeping too deeply. “Don’t doze off when you’re driving!!” an important thing to remember.

There are other slang words or expressions. Here are some I know and quite like:

“Shut-eye”
“Kip”
“40 winks”
“Nod-off”
“Zonked” (usually after someone has had a lot to drink”
“Slaughtered” (very tired)
“Dead to the world” – when someone can’t wake up very easily – after a late night

I remember that Americans sometimes say “bushed” – meaning tired – but maybe they don’t use that so much these days...

We sometimes use the Spanish word “siesta” to talk about sleeping during the daytime – for a rest, when on holidau or having a sleep when the weather is very hot.

There are many others I can’t remember just now. Perhaps you’d like to do a bit of research yourself!

When someone needs to get to sleep, we sometimes “count sheep” in our heads. The idea is to get so bored counting sheep – you fall asleep! Try it!

See you next time

German/English Deutsch/Englisch post

2007-07-21T16:45:00.001+01:00

hallo, wie geht’s. Diesmal ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch. Ich lerne es seit 6 Jahren, aber ich habe Deutsch schon in der Schule gelernt vor vielen Jahren!!.

Heutzutage, wenig Leute lernen Deutsch im Vergleich als ich jung war. Deutsch ist noch immer eine wichtige Sprache aber ich glaube viel mehr Leute aus verschiedenen Laendern wollen englisch lernen . Weil ich Engländer bin, ist es fuer mich sehr interessant, andere Sprachen zu lernen, und ich finde Deutsch sehr interessant und besonders wenn ich in Deutschland bin, weil ich mit meinen deutschen Freunden auch deutsch sprechen kann.

Ich kenne gut Hessen, die eine Region in der Mitte von Deutschland ist. Besonders die Stadt Kassel, wo meine Frau und ich Freunde haben. Ihr könnt ein Podcast von unseren Besuchen nach Kassel das wir im Mai gemacht haben hier lesen und hoeren.

Heute habe ich mit einem Freund aus Deutschland im Paltalk gesprochen und er hat mir gesagt, daß das Wetter in Deutschland schoen ist. Leider ist das Wetter hier nicht so gut - zu viel Regen. Weil das Wetter nicht so gut ist, habe ich mich entschieden - dass ich Zeit genug habe, diesen Podcast zu machen.

Vielleicht, ist das nicht so langweilig fuer Sie, ein Podcast ueber das schlechte Wetter zu hoeren... aber das ist ein sehr wichtiges Thema fuer einen Englaender!

Bis zum naechsten Mal

(many thanks to Bettina for the corrections)

In English....

Hello, how are you? This time I’m speaking a little German. I’ve been learning it 6 year, but I did learn German when I was at school – a long time ago!

Today, not so many people learn German compared to when I was young. German is still an important language but I think many more people from other countries want to learn English.

Because I am English, I'm also interested in other languages. I find German very interesting and particularly when I'm in Germany as I can speak German with my friends there.

I know Hessen well, this is a region in the middle of Germany. I know Kassel especially well, where my wife and I have some friends. You can read and listen to a podcast about our visit to Kassel which we did in May.

Today I spoke with my friend from Germany in Paltalk and he told me that the weather in Germany is very nice. Unfortunately here it isn’t so good – too much rain. Because the weather is bad, I decided I had enough time to make this podcast. Perhaps it isn’t so boring for you to listen to a podcast about bad weather – but it’s a very important topic for an English person!

Until next time!

The owl and the pussy cat

2007-07-21T08:57:00.000+01:00

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to seaIn a beautiful pea-green boat:
They took some honey, and plenty of money
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

Pussy said to the Owl,
"You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing!
Oh! let us be married; too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the bong-tree grows;
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand on the edge of the sand
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

Edward Lear

French/English podcast

2007-07-16T22:17:00.000+01:00

Hello,

This time I decided to record a podcast in French as well as a translation in English. I don’t know how many visitors to this site understand French, but I think it is worth putting a podcast completely in French here.

I have been learning French for 16 years. It is always difficult for me, but despite this difficulty I continue with my hobby and improve my French. The French word “pefectionner” is an interesting word, because there isn’t really an equivalent in English. We say “develop”, “learn” or “improve” when we talk of language learning.

A few years ago I was an admin for a chatroom with www.about.com. It was great to have the chance to meet with others who were learning French like me as well as people who spoke French as a mother tongue.
Thanks to the visitors I got lots of information and other interesting websites. Amongst this, someone recommended me to read an “online” book which I am recommending to you. This is a book written by an american whilst working in Paris. Here’s the site. The book is in English and well written for students of French – but it could be useful for people learning English too.

http://www.signiform.com/french/

I find singing songs very useful for language development. Sometimes I sing French songs and I’ve put a few on this podcast site for you which I recorded some months ago following a few concerts at French language learners evening meetings around my area in the UK.

Bye for now

Podcast français/anglais

2007-07-16T22:16:00.000+01:00

Salut.

Cette fois j’ai décidé d’enregister un podcast en français ainsi que une traduction en anglais. Je ne sais pas combien de visiteurs du site comprennent cette langue – mais je pense ça vaut la peine de mettre un podcast sur ce site complètement en français.

Je parle le français depuis 16 ans. C’est toujours difficile pour moi mais en dépit de ça – je continue perfectionner mon français comme passe-temps. C’est un mot interessant : « perfectionner » parce qu’en anglais ce mot n’existe pas. On dit en anglais : « developper », « apprendre plus » or « amelioerer » quand on parle d’un apprentissage d’une langue.

Il y a quelques années j’étais administrateur pour une salon de bavardage (chatroom) chez www.about.com. C’étatit très bien d’avoir l’occasion de faire les rencontres aux autres personnes qui apprennaient le français ainsi que les francophones. Grace aux visiteurs, j’ai trouvé les informations et d’autres sites Internet très interessants. Parmi ces visites, quelqu’un m’a conseillé de lire un livre « en ligne » et je vous propose ce site pour lire ce livre écrit par un americain pendant son sejour à Paris quand il travaillait la.
Voici le site. Le livre est en anglais et c’est un livre bien écrit pour les étudiant de la language française en particulière.

http://www.signiform.com/french/

Je trouve les chansons bien utiles pour aider le developpement d’une langue. Moi, je chante de temps en temps les chansons francaises et j’ai laissé certaines ici sur ce site que j’ai enregistré il y a quelques mois. Je les ai enregistré après des concerts aux cercles français qui exisitent dans ma region de l’Angleterre.

A bientôt

Foule Sentimentale (words and music by Alain Souchon)

2007-07-10T23:24:00.000+01:00

Alain Souchon
Foule sentimentale
Oh la la la vie en rose
Oh the good life
Le rose qu'on nous propose
That they offer us
D'avoir les quantités d'choses
To have things in abundance
Qui donnent envie d'autre chose
Which makes you want even more
Aïe, on nous fait croire
Oh, they make us believe
Que le bonheur c'est d'avoir
That happiness is to have
De l'avoir plein nos armoires
Our wardrobes full
Dérisions de nous dérisoires car
It’s a mockery, because
Foule sentimentale
The sentimental crowd
On a soif d'idéal
They are thirsty for the ideal
Attirée par les étoiles, les voiles
Attracted by the stars, the sails
Que des choses pas commerciales
Than the mundane
Foule sentimentale
Sentimental crowd
Il faut voir comme on nous parle
We need to see it as they speak to us
Comme on nous parle
As they speak to us

Il se dégage
It comes easily to us
De ces cartons d'emballage
From these product wrappings
Des gens lavés, hors d'usage
From washed out, worn out people
Et tristes et sans aucun avantage
Sad types, with nothing going for them
On nous inflige
They inflict us
Des désirs qui nous affligent
With these desires that distress us
On nous prend faut pas déconner dès qu'on est né
Feed us rubbish from the day we are born
Pour des cons alors qu'on est
Fools that we are

Foule sentimentale
This sentimental crowd
On a soif d'idéal
They are thirsty for the ideal
Attirée par les étoiles, les voiles
Attracted by the stars, the sails
Que des choses pas commerciales
Than the mundane
Foule sentimentale
Sentimental crowd
Il faut voir comme on nous parle
We need to see it as they speak to us
Comme on nous parle
As they speak to us

On nous Claudia Schieffer
They give us Claudia Schiffer (famous model)
On nous Paul-Loup Sulitzer
They give us Paul-Loup Sulitzer (self-made millionaire)
Oh le mal qu'on peut nous faire
The the harm that they can do to us
Et qui ravagea la moukère
And which ravaged the harlot
Du ciel dévale
From the fallen sky
Un désir qui nous emballe
A desire that thrills us
Pour demain nos enfants pâles
For tomorrow our pale children
Un mieux, un rêve, un cheval
The best, a dream, a horse

Foule sentimentale
The sentimental crowd
On a soif d'idéal
They are thirsty for the ideal
Attirée par les étoiles, les voiles
Attracted by the stars, the sails
Que des choses pas commerciales
Than the mundane
Foule sentimentale
Sentimental crowd
Il faut voir comme on nous parle
We need to see it as they speak to us
Comme on nous parle
As they speak to us

Thanking people in English

2007-07-04T20:53:00.001+01:00

Thanking people
In English classes, the most taught forms are:
Thankyou – useful for nearly any situation – formal or informal
Thankyou very much – useful for emphasising that you are very grateful to someone
Thanks – more informal – matter of fact – used in nearly any informal situation
We also use other words and phrases for thanking:
The most popular word these days in England is: "Cheers"
This can be a bit confusing as it is also the word we use for toasting someone with a drink (usually an alcoholic drink) "Cheers!"
Cheers – when we mean thanks is a popular way of thanking people for many things: in shops, on the street, with family etc
Other words we use:
Thanks a lot – we tend to use this in two ways: one to emphasise that we want to thank someone for their help "Thanks a lot for helping me with my homework". But also a negative way to say "I wish you hadn’t said that, or done that…thanks a lot!"
Thanks a million – is a very friendly way of saying thanks when someone has done something really special or helped you personally. "Thanks a million for your kind donation to the charity fund!"
Thanks so much - similar to "thanks a million" "thanks so much for all your help"
Thanks a bundle – this is like "thanks a million" - "thanks a bundle for the loan of your car"
Thanking you! This is a way of saying thanks in a way that shows other people you mean it. "thanking you for your help last week when you took my son to school"
"Thankyou kindly sir" (or madam) or "thank you kind sir" (or madam) we say this when we want to appear to be appreciating someone’s help in a pseudo formal style – deliberately to sound a little old-fashioned. Really we are saying this to friends or family to put a little more emphasis on the idea of thanking someone.
Nice one! An easy way of saying to friends the equivalent of "thankyou for this – I really needed it" example: lending someone some money..
Good one! Similar to "nice one"
Sound! (colloquial) Similar to "nice one"
We occasionally use a foreign word such as "gracias" or "merci" just to be a little different
Bye for now

Asking questions in English

2007-06-26T23:46:00.000+01:00

It’s interesting how many ways we can ask questions in English.
I wanted to explain a little in this podcast about the different ways do this. In fact I had to think about this a lot before I recorded the podcast – as a lot depends on the situation and who were are talking to.
Regarding asking people for things. In English we use the "conditional" form a lot. This is where the question sounds more polite.
For example:
"Could I have a cup of tea please?" sounds more polite that "Can I have a cup of tea please?"
The reason is that English people usually ( but not always of course) try to be polite and the word "could" means that the person who is being asked would feel that the person asking the question was not demanding a cup of tea – almost that the person being asked has a choice. Of course if you were in a café asking this question, it would seem a bit silly that they would not want to give you some tea – but this way of asking questions still stays in our language.
"I would like…" is similar
" Could I trouble you for….?" Is very polite and fomal
Between friends and family, it is less formal:
"Can you lend me a garden rake?" is perfectly acceptable.
"I want a…." is not normally used – as it sounds impolite. However as always, there are exceptions. " I want a holiday – I’ve been working too many hours" could be used as a statement. But, if you were to ask your boss for a holiday, you would say "Could I have next week off please? I want to go on holiday"
"Have you got some stamps?" is ok to use when asking for stamps in a Post Office
Also,
"Do you have some(any) stamps?" Would be the right question to see if the place selling stamps had any e.g. Newsagents
"Do you sell stamps?" would also be ok – if you were in a shop and wanted to see if they sold stamps
To add emphasis, we often say:
"I really would like…… do you have any? (or "could I have?)
"Do you mind if I take….?" A useful phrase in, say a Tourist Information office and they offer leaflets and you think that they are being offered for free – but you are not sure.
"Will you come to my party?" a direct question to a friend – which means that they should give you an answer "yes" or "no"
An alternative (and more polite) would be " Would you come to my party?" this means that the person being asked might say "no thanks – I have to visit my mother – thanks for asking me"
"Shall we go to the seaside for our holidays?" is more direct than "should we go to the seaside for our holidays?" and usually you would get a different response.
The first question would normally mean the person being asked would say "Yes, it sounds a good idea" or "No, I don’t want to go to the seaside this year"
The second question would normally mean the person being asked would say "Let me think about it, it might be worth doing" or " I’m not sure – whether I like the idea or not"
So, it is worth learning the different ways to ask for things in English and see what response you get. If you find that the question seems too direct – then try using:
Could I/you/we?
Should I/you/we?
Would I/you/we?
Might I/you/we?
Another very polite way is "is it ok if?" or "do you mind if?"

More direct ways or asking questions are
Can I/you/we?
Shall I/you/we?
Will I/you/we?
Don’t be worried about using these ways of asking if you need help or are in trouble or you need a direct "yes" or "no" answer.

Petite Marie

2007-06-24T23:38:00.001+01:00

Francis Cabrel
Petite Marie
Petite Marie, je parle de toi
Little Marie, I speak of you
Parce qu'avec ta petite voix
Because with your little voice
Tes petites manies, tu as versé sur ma vie
Your little habits, tu have poured on my life
Des milliers de roses
Thousands of roses
Petite furie, je me bats pour toi
Little wild one, I fight for you
Pour que dans dix mille ans de ça
So that in 10,000 years from now
On se retrouve à l'abri, sous un ciel aussi joli
We’ll find ourselves a shelter, under a sky just as pretty
Que des milliers de roses
As 1000’s of roses

Je viens du ciel et les étoiles entre elles
I come from the sky and the stars only
Ne parlent que de toi
Speak of you
D'un musicien qui fait jouer ses mains
From a musician whose hands play
Sur un morceau de bois
On a piece of wood
De leur amour plus bleu que le ciel autour
Of their love more blue than the sky above

Petite Marie, je t'attends transi
Little Marie, I wait for you transfixed
Sous une tuile de ton toit
Under a tile of your roof
Le vent de la nuit froide me renvoie la ballade
The cold night wind brings me back the ballad
Que j'avais écrite pour toi
That I had written for you
Petite furie, tu dis que la vie
Little wild one, you say that life
C'est une bague à chaque doigt
Is a ring on each finger
Au soleil de Floride, moi mes poches sont vides
In the sunshine of Florida, my pockets are empty
Et mes yeux pleurent de froid
And my eyes cry from cold

Je viens du ciel et les étoiles entre elles
I come from the sky and the stars only
Ne parlent que de toi
Speak of you
D'un musicien qui fait jouer ses mains
From a musician whose hands play
Sur un morceau de bois
On a piece of wood
De leur amour plus bleu que le ciel autour
Of their love more blue than the sky above

Dans la pénombre de ta rue
In the shadow of your street
Petite Marie, m'entends-tu ?
Little Marie, do you hear me ?
Je n'attends plus que toi pour partir...
I’m only waiting for you to be able to leave
Dans la pénombre de ta rue
In the shadow of your street
Petite Marie, m'entends-tu ?
Little Marie, can you hear me ?
Je n'attends plus que toi pour partir...
I’m only waiting for you to be able to leave

Je viens du ciel et les étoiles entre elles
I come from the sky and the stars
Ne parlent que de toi
Only speak of you
D'un musicien qui fait jouer ses mains
From a musician whose hands play
Sur un morceau de bois
On a piece of wood
De leur amour plus bleu que le ciel autour
Of their love more blue that the sky above

Words and music - Francis Cabrel
English translation: Alan Palmer

Runaway/Vanina

2007-06-19T22:34:00.000+01:00

As I walk along I wonder a-what went wrong
With our love , a love that was so strong
And as I still walk on, I think of the things we've done
Together , a-while our hearts were young
I'm a-walkin' in the rain
Tears are fallin' and I feel the pain
Wishin' you were here by me
To end this misery
And I wonder
I wa-wa-wa-wa-wonder
Why
Ah-why-why-why-why-why she ran away
And I wonder where she will stay
My little runaway , run-run-run-run-runaway

Loin de toi je me demande
Pouquoi ma vie ressemble
A une terre brûlée
Mais quand l'amour prend ses distances
Un seul être vous manque
Et tout est dépeuplé
Vanina rappelle-toi
Que je ne suis rien sans toi
Vanina si tu m'oublies
Je serais pour la vie
Seul au monde
Oh ! Mon... mon... mon...monde
Toi, toi…… si loin de toi
Et le monde
N'existe pas
Si tu es loin de moi, loin loin loin loin de moi

Original version by Del Shannon
French version by Dave
This version by me!

Alan's Weekend Words 17th June

2007-06-17T22:37:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone

Thanks for all your feedback on my podcasts – I really appreciate it.

Today I want to talk some more about the way we speak in normal conversation as opposed to the language you read in text books or in English language classes.

Obviously I can only talk about my own experience in England,

When people speak quickly, it happens that some words become harder to distinguish and this can be difficult for English language learners I think.

For instance, If I asked a friend of mine, “would you like to go to the cinema?” it can often become “would yer like t’go to the cimema?” You can hear that the word “you” becomes more like “yer” and “to” becomes more like the letter “t”

This can be considered lazy speaking, but between friends, with work colleagues etc it is just easier and doesn’t mean that we are lazy.

Another example is “Do you want to?” which often becomes “do yer wanna?”

Here is a list I have made of some common phrases that can often be shortened.

I have got to go – I’ve gotta go
When I come back – when I’m back
What time is it? = what’s the time? (what time do you make it?)
I need to put some fuel in my car – I need to fill up (my car)
Do you sell sandwiches? Have you any sandwiches (sarnies)
Do you have a pen I can borrow please? Have you a pen please?
Could you pass me the salt please – could I have the salt please?
Did you take any good photographs when you were on holiday? did you take any good pictures(photos) on your holidays?

I’m trying to show you examples of where we use alternative sentences to those that would normally be taught in English classes.

I’m also trying to avoid (as much as I can) using examples of dialect – because some dialects in England shorten words as a feature of the dialect.

I’ll give you an example: Do you have a pen I can borrow please – often becomes Have you got a pen please? and in my dialect, I could say “d’y’ave a pen please?”

So I’m not trying to show you dialects in this podcast – I’m simply discussing how we choose different sentences sometimes – because they seem less formal, friendlier, easier to say – for quite a number of reasons. Often it may be simply because of habit. Do y’want a coffee? is much more common to ask as a question to a friend or member of the family than “would you like a cup of coffee?”

This type of “everyday speech” is, I think, what can make it more difficult for English learners to understand when listening to spoken English – it is quite often not like the written standard forms.

Some other examples:

Hello! it’s very nice to see you, please come in – “Hi, come on in!”
Well, I am really tired so I should go to bed – “I’m off to bed - I’m tired”
Did you enjoy that TV programme that was shown yesterday evening? Did you like that programme on telly yesterday evening?

Hopefully, you’ll be able to hear and read these differences and it may give you more understanding of why English may seem more complex – when in fact, it is often being made simpler to make it easier and quicker to have a conversation between friends and family.

See you next time

Bye!

My trip to Germany (Kassel)

2007-06-07T22:14:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone,
Today I’d like to tell you about my trip to Germany. Last week I went with my wife and son to Kassel, which is a city in the centre of Germany in the Hessen region. We were taking part in an exchange group visit with the "Pendle-Kassel Community Exchange". This was a great opportunity to visit the town once more, meet with our friends from the German side of the group and to stay with these families in the city.
The Pendle-Kassel community exchange has been in existence for 26 years and my wife is the chairperson on the English side. Pendle is my home region which comprises of 3 towns. Together, these towns make up the same number of people as those who live in the city of Kassel – around 150,000 people.
The idea of the exchange is quite simple. Each year a group of exchange group members will travel to either Germany or to England. This year it was our turn to visit Kassel. Each group has about 50 members. This year 32 members of the group travelled by aeroplane (Air Berlin) from Manchester to Kassel. We stayed with "host families" (called Gastgeber in German) who were all so kind as to welcome us into their homes to stay as guests for 7 nights.
So that we don’t abuse their hospitality (in other words, so we don’t take too much of the families’ time) each day of the week we take part in activities or excursions. Some of our hosts will organise these activities or act as guides on the excursions. This way, it allows our hosts to still go to work or do things that they need to do and also gives us (the visitors) chance to see more of Germany and German life.
The exchange started in 1981 between a school in Pendle and a school in Kassel. At that time, it was just school children and teachers that took part in the exchange. Later, the exchange group opened up a welcome to parents and their friends. Now it is open to anyone who is interested – of any age. In reality, this means all ages from quite young children with their parents through to quite elderly people. I like this aspect, because it allows different age groups to do things together and this is quite a rare thing in my country these days. Where there are young children visiting, these children will stay with a parent, although when the children are a little older, they may stay with a family on their own.
It is also an opportunity to develop language skills (for those who wish to) and to discover more about German way of life, peoples’ interests and hobbies, food and drink and well as to see some of the sights.
Each day in Kassel is an opportunity to get to know our hosts better and make friends at the same time. For those visiting for the first time, the first few hours after arrival are be the most difficult. Even though it may seem daunting, it always seems to work our well and soon the new people make become friends. Even language difficulties are not such a problem because those who take part do so volutarily and they will try hard to make sure that visitors are comfortable and feel at home.
A lot of communication can be done by guesswork and even by gesturing and language difficulties never seem to hold back people from enjoying themselves. Of course, quite a number of the German people speak some English and this helps the English people enormously. Some English visitors speak German as I do, and of course this offers many opportunities to experience another language in a "real-life" situation and a chance to learn and share language.
The visit then becomes almost like an activity holiday. Each visitor is free to take part in the organised activities – such as an organised walk, a visit to a museum or a visit to town for shopping.
The programme this year was very well organised. We had a couple of free days with the families to decide what we could do together and then each of the other days, there were excursions by "Reisebus" (which is a tour bus) to visit interesting places.
The excursions took us to: Eisenach and Wartburg (in the former East Germany where Martin Luther translated the Bible)
Wiesbaden near Frankfurt – to visit the regional parliament building and go shopping in the town.
Willingen in Sauerland where we visited a church that is now a restaurant and had a trip on a chair lift used for skiers in winter.
We also visited the famous "Herkules" monument and park just outside Kassel which has some marvellous "wasserspiel" or water games twice per week. http://www.wilhelmshoehe.de/home.htm
We also had the chance to look around Kassel. I particularly enjoyed a visit to a Flohmarkt (garage sale or flea market)
One thing that must be said is that good friends can be made during this visits. Me and my wife stayed with a very nice family for the first time in 2001 and since then, we have visited a further 3 times with this year’s visit making it our fourth visit
On the Thursday morning we visited the "Rathaus" (City Hall) for a chance to present the mayor with a small gift.
On the Saturday evening everyone met at the school hall for a party night. This was a great chance for everyone to discuss how well the week had gone, and to thank all those who had worked hard to prepare the excursions and also it was an opportunity for giving presents. Later in the evening there were some music, dancing, food and drink for all.
The final day (Sunday) gave people chance to say their individual thanks and to get their suitcases packed and then later in the day we were off back to the airport (Paderborn) for the flight back to Manchester.
Of course, before we left, we invited the German members of the Exchange group to come over to England next year and to spend a week in our region. This is planned to take place in May 2008 and my wife and I will be happy to welcome our friends once more to stay with us.
This exchange is a great way to make friends and understand people from other countries and long may in continue!

More on accents

2007-05-24T00:33:00.001+01:00

Hello everyone
As I’m travelling to Germany this coming weekend, I am recording my chatcast today.
Today’s chatcast is about language learning and accents.
I think a lot of people who learn English have concerns about their accent. First and foremost, is it understandable to other people? Does it sound "right"? What do native speakers think when they hear it? Will it ever become like a "native speaker"?
Many questions like this come to mind. I have talked to many people over the years who are learning English and I often hear them say " I would like to improve my English" and also " I would like to improve my accent – to sound more "British" or "American"
I often wonder why this is. Why does it seem important to have a "near-native" accent? Maybe it is because it is a personal ambition to speak well, where people will appreciate the learner’s ability to speak naturally, without the need to explain "I am from this country or that country"
On the other hand, it can be a desire to lose the accent of the mother tongue, because maybe the learner don’t like their own language so much and would prefer to speak English – or even to live in an English-speaking country.
I get a bit concerned that some people would like to "hide" their accent and work very hard to sound exactly like a native speaker, because which accent should they copy? For instance in England there are many different accents and dialects that are not the "standard" accent – which in our country is called "received pronunciation"
More native speakers speak with a regional accent than speak "received pronunciation"
The important thing surely is communication? As a native English speaker I hear a lot of different accents when I travel around the country, on TV and radio and when I travel to other countries. I’m sure I speak for many of us native speakers when I say that for us accents matter less than good communication. In other words, a person speaking with a foreign accent is fine as long as we can understand what is being said. We are used to hearing many different English accents – not just across the country but from around the world. We don’t think it so important when we meet someone from another country who is learning English and we hear an accent.
In fact, very often many people from foreign countries speak more clearly and with better grammar than many native speakers.
My advice is to try to improve your accent if you want to or if you can, but don’t get too concerned about it if you feel you are not making progress.
Having said all this, I can give you some tips and hints for a more natural-sounding English.
First, relax! Try not to get stressed and anxious about speaking – most people are friendly and appreciate that you are speaking English. Some mistakes are acceptable.
Secondly. Take your time speaking – don’t rush to say all you want to say. Many non-natives try to speak too quickly when they speak English. Try listening to a few English native speakers and you’ll realise that not many speak very fast.
Thirdly. There is no need to apologise for example "I’m sorry my English isn’t so good" A better approach would be " I keep trying to improve my English"
Fourthly. Take note of the stress that is put on words. This is very important in English for a good pronunciation – irrespective of what accent we have. To show you an example: the number 42 is pronounced FOURTY -two. If it said without stress on the first syllable "four-ty-two", it could sound like "for tea too"
To give you an idea what I mean. See what you think about these words, the first pronunciation is correct
Confident – conFI-dent – Con-fi- DENT
Solution – SOL – u- tion - SoluTION

I hope you have a nice weekend
Bye for now

Transcript - Alan's Weekend Words

2007-05-19T20:47:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone
Here is a new chatcast. I’m calling this "Alan’s weekend words". I usually have a little time at the weekend to make a podcast and this weekend is no exception. I’m happy to know that you find my recordings interesting and I hope to keep on making them and hopefully keep your interest at the same time.
One of the reasons I decided to make these recordings was to create a small "language corner" where I can tell you some of the things I think are interesting and important about language. Also, whilst I think language lesson podcasts can be very good and helpful, I didn’t want to make mine into language lessons. Firstly, because I’m not a teacher and secondly (and more importantly in my opinion) because I think that people who are interested in languages, or are learning languages seriously need a way to hear that language spoken in a normal, everyday way. A podcast is one way of these people getting that opportunity.
I try to make my presentations like a "chat" and hopefully this will mean you will hear something different to language drills or situational dialogues and vocabulary or grammar tests in my recordings. I will try to just "chat" (inverted commas) in that, I will just talk about things that interest me or things that I have heard about that you might find interesting too.

In a week’s time, next Saturday, me and my wife will be going once more to Germany. We will be going with the Pendle/Kassel community exchange group. My wife is the leader of the English side of the group. This is a cultural exchange where a group of people from Pendle (the region in England where I live) will travel to Kassel in Germany to stay for a week. We will stay with families in the town.

This exchange has been in existence for 25 years and started as an educational exchange between a school in Pendle and a school in Kassel. This originally was for a group of students from each school to take part and visit their counterparts in either Germany or in England. The idea of the visit was to stay for a week with families, enjoying life with a family, and having excursions through the day to visit interesting places. Each year one school would host the visit and the other year they would be guests. This means that the visits took place annually – England one year and Germany the other year.

After a few years of successful student annual visits, some of the students’ parents were interested in taking part and they also enjoyed visiting and staying with families. These days, anyone can join at any age. We have members as young as 12 and as old as 78. This is a good opportunity for older and younger people to do things together, although of course not all the activities we do are for everyone. For example maybe the adults would visit a museum and the younger people would go swimming.

I like this exchange visit very much. It also gives me a chance to speak German and see more of the country and culture. My wife does not speak German, but she is fine because some people in the group can speak English and often language problems can be overcome easily by taking a bit of time to speak slowly. If necessary, we can always use a dictionary or phrase book or even make a sign of what we want to say.

I think these sort of exchanges between people from different countries can work very well and I’m looking forward to going and telling you about it afterwards.

As I am just chatting using my normal way of speaking, if you find some of the vocabulary difficult, please let me know and I’ll explain it more next time I make a podcast.
Don’t forget that you can read the transcription at my blog: www.alanpalmer.blogspot.com

Bye for now
Tschuess
A la prochaine
Zaijian!

Podcast #5 songwords

2007-05-19T14:33:00.000+01:00

Les Champs-Elysées

Je m'baladais sur l'avenue le cœur ouvert à l'inconnu, J'avais envie de dire bonjour à n'importe qui

N'importe qui et ce fut toi, je t'ai dit n'importe quoi. Il suffisait de te parler, pour t'apprivoiser

Aux Champs-Elysées, aux Champs-Elysées Au soleil, sous la pluie, à midi ou à minuit

Il y a tout ce que vous voulez aux Champs-Elysées

I was strolling down the avenue wondering what I should do. I felt the need to say “bonjour” to everyone

Then suddenly you came to view. I came right up to talk to you

And everything felt right there on the Champs Elysees

Oh Champs Elysees, Oh Champs Elysees. In the rain or in the sun - from morning till the day is done - There’s all that you could need there on the Champs Elysees

Tu m'as dit "J'ai rendez-vous dans un sous-sol avec des fous, qui vivent la guitare à la main, du soir au matin"

Alors je t'ai accompagnée, on a chanté, on a dansé et l'on n'a même pas pensé à s'embrasser

You told me that you’d a rendez-vous -at a café bar where there are people who
Like to party through the night - until daylight
So I came along and we danced and sang - to the sweet music of the band
Didn’t even stop to kiss there on the Champs-Elysees

Aux Champs-Elysées, aux Champs-Elysées Au soleil, sous la pluie, à midi ou à minuit
Il y a tout ce que vous voulez aux Champs-Elysées

Hier soir deux inconnus et ce matin sur l'avenue - deux amoureux tout étourdis par la longue nuit
Et de l'Étoile à la Concorde, un orchestre à mille cordes - tous les oiseaux du point du jour chantent l'amour

Aux Champs-Elysées, aux Champs-Elysées - yesterday two strangers who, this morning on the avenue
Are lovers weary from that long and special night. And in this new Parisian scene
We’ve just begun to live our dream - and sing our song of love there on the Champs Elysees

Aux Champs-Elysées, aux Champs-Elysées Au soleil, sous la pluie, à midi ou à minuit
Il y a tout ce que vous voulez aux Champs-Elysées

Oh Champs Elysees, Oh Champs Elysees. In the rain or in the sun - from morning till the day is done - There’s all that you could need there on the Champs Elysees

Podcast #4 Transcript

2007-05-14T23:04:00.001+01:00

Hello
Welcome to my 4th podcast
This time I wanted to carry on the theme of making my podcasts more like a Chat. When we learn languages, it’s often quite difficult to get the chance to actually hear someone speaking in a casual way, as we do in a conversation, I am hoping to do this today a little with my podcast.
I think it’s a good way to see how everyday speech sounds. I know it’s a little difficult to have a "chat" as I’m speaking on my own, but on the other hand I am so used to using text chat in Paltalk and other chat programs, that I thought I could just talk and write down what I said and hopefully it will sound like we are having a conversation – you and me.
I was very grateful to Alba, from Paltalk for telling me about the Podcast website, because it means that I can easily post (as it is called) a podcast to the site when I have made them.
I’ll put the text on my blog.
It is interesting how words are created. Computer and Internet terms are springing up all the time and the two words "blog" for "weblog" or web diary and podcast from "I-pod and broadcast" are two quire recent words which are now well known in Internet circles.
The English language is always expanding. It’s interesting to think how many words have come into the language since I was a child. Also words become old-fashioned and disappear from use. This makes English one of the biggest languages in terms of vocabulary as well as number of people who speak it.
In Britain there are many accents. I speak with a Northern English accent, or more precisely with a Lancashire accent, but even in Lancashire there are quite a number of slightly different sounding accents. So I could say that I speak with a East Lancashire accent. Even then, I could say that some words and vowel sounds are a little different between the town where I live and the next town nearby.
These differences are quite small and you would probably have to have been brought up in the region to hear it. In fact accents are changing quite a lot in my country. Most people used to speak with a pronounced (or strong) regional or local accent, and many still do, but a lot of the accents are not as strong as they used to be and this is because people move around the country more than they used to in the past. Also, TV and films have a big influence and people modify their speech to make themselves more understandable to others.
Some of the more noticeable differences are the short open vowels in the North such as "bath" where in the south it would sound more like "bath" (long a)
In the North people often shorten the word where the "th" in the word "the" sometimes is shortened to "t" - walking t’dog instead of "walking the dog". A recent Northern pronunciation which sounds quite funny is " t’Internet" instead of "the Internet"
I’ll talk more about accents another time.
If you find that some of the words or phrases a little difficult to understand, then please leave me a comment and I’ll try to explain it.
I’ve started to use podcasts myself for learning languages. I love Chinesepod.com for listening to Mandarin chinese. The podcasts are really interesting and helpful. I’ve also found some useful French podcasts and Alba’s Spanish podcasts here in this site are really great.
It’s great that we can listen to interesting presentations so easily these days. I remember when I was young I used to have a short wave transistor radio and I used to try an listen to other languages but the quality was always poor and the radio stations I did find were very faint and the language and country seemed so far away. Nowadays it is so easy to contact people and speak with them around the world. I think it is really fantastic that the technology exists that allows this to happen. It makes you wonder how this will develop in the future.

I hope you like the guitar tune introduction that I play on my podcasts. Although I play a few different styles, I thought this folky tune would suit my style – a relaxed style. Some of you have remarked that you like my style of presenting and I’m glad about that – as it is my preferred style and I wouldn’t want you to be bored listening.
If you have any suggestions for my chatcasts (as I prefer to call them) let me know. For the moment, I am just talking about things that interest me in the hope that you find it interesting too.
Here are some different ways to say goodbye in English
Bye for now
See you!
Ta ta for now
Byee
See you later
See you in a bit
So long
Cheerio
Toodle-oo
See you next time

Podcast # 3 supplementary (French song)

2007-05-13T22:06:00.000+01:00

San Francisco
Paroles et Musique: Maxime Le Forestier 1973
C’est une maison bleue
It’s a blue house
Adossée à la colline
Which backs on to a hill
On y vient à pied, on ne frappe pas
You go there by foot, you don’t knock
Ceux qui vivent là, ont jeté la clé
Those who live there have thrown the key away
On se retrouve ensemble
We meet up together
Après des années de route
After years on the road
Et l'on vient s'asseoir autour du repas
And we all sit together to eat
Tout le monde est là, à cinq heures du soir
Everyone is there until 5am
CHORUS
San Francisco s'embrume
San Francisco is in the haze
San Francisco s'allume
San Francisco is lighting up
San Francisco, où êtes vous
San Francisco, where are you?
Liza et Luc, Sylvia, attendez-moi
Liza and Luc, Sylvia – wait for me

Nageant dans le brouillard
Swimming in the fog
Enlacés, roulant dans l'herbe
Rolling on the grass
On écoutera Tom à la guitare
You can hear Tom on the guitar
Phil à la kena, jusqu'à la nuit noire
Phil on the Ken flute until night falls
Un autre arrivera
Another is coming
Pour nous dire des nouvelles
To tell us the news
D'un qui reviendra dans un an ou deux
Of someone who’s coming in a year or two
Puisqu'il est heureux, on s'endormira
Since he is happy, we’ll sleep easy
CHORUS
San Francisco se lève
San Francisco is rising
San Francisco se lève
San Francisco is rising
San Francisco ! où êtes vous
San Francisco, where are you?
Liza et Luc, Sylvia, attendez-moi
Liza and Luc, Sylvia – wait for me

C'est une maison bleue.
It’s a blue house
Accrochée à ma mémoire
Hooked onto my memory
On y vient à pied, on ne frappe pas
You go there by foot, you don’t knock
Ceux qui vivent là, ont jeté la clef
Those who live there have thrown
the key away
Peuplée de cheveux longs
Populated with the long hairs
De grands lits et de musique
Big beds and music
Peuplée de lumière, et peuplée de foules
Populated with light and crowds
Elle sera dernière à rester debout
She will be the last one standing
CHORUS
Si San Francisco s'effondre
If San Francisco falls apart
Si San Francisco s'effondre
If San Francisco falls apart
San Francisco ! Où êtes vous
San Francisco – where are you?
Liza et Luc, Sylvia, attendez-moi
Liza and Luc, Sylvia – wait for me

Podcast #3 transcript

2007-05-13T15:30:00.000+01:00

Hello

Welcome to my third podcast. Bonjour, Guten Tag, Buenas dias, Bom dia, goeden dag, ni hao Jo napot

This time I’ve decided to call this a “blogcast” because I thought that it might be a nice idea to just talk about a few things, writing it down as if I were just chatting with you.

So, I’ll talk for a few minutes about a few things that I’m interested in regarding my language.

The first thing I’d like to talk about is expressions

English people love using expressions and sayings when they talk with each other. It adds interest to conversations and “colour” to the language. It always surprises me that when I am talking with non-native speakers I notice just how many expressions I want to use – but then have to think about whether the person I am talking with would understand them.

When I was in France in 1997 to learn French, I made a comparison between English and French expressions. It was interesting to discover which were the same (when directly translated) as for example, “walls have ears” and others that were not quite the same:

Never in a month of Sundays (English)
Never in a week of 4 Thursdays (French)

The meaning was the same – it means that something will never happen.

Here’s a good website that explains lots of expressions: http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/

I often wonder how people keep motivated when they learn something. Language learning is difficult and it’s easy to get a little bored or feel that things are a bit too difficult. I also think that keeping motivation high is not always easy. Here’s a good expression I found on the Internet:

Be respectful towards yourself:
"Don’t shout at the apple and demand that it ripens!
It won’t ripen any faster and all you’ll get is a sore throat!!!"

This really does apply to language learning I think – even the part about shouting !

Have you ever tried singing in a different language to your own native language. I’ve been learning French songs for a couple of years and it’s very difficult! On the other hand it’s really interesting to have a try and see how pronunciation can improve – it also interesting to be able to see what the songwords mean – depending on the song these can be difficult to understand.

One thing that is difficult for language learners is when native speakers speak fast and it is difficult to follow them. I have had lots of problems with this in the past with French and German people speaking too fast for me – and it sometimes still happens.

I have a technique that seems to work for me and I’d like to share it with you. This involves trying to listen carefully but also to listen mostly for key (or the most important) words so that you can follow the sense of what is being said. Also, don’t be afraid to interrupt (politely) with an interjection something like “ oh yes?, I see” or if you don’t understand so well, then repeat what you think was said.

Here’s an example of what I mean:

Main speaker (native speaker)

“ Ah, so you are learning English, and how do you find it – do you find it interesting, difficult sometimes I suppose. We talk a bit too fast maybe it’s difficult for you to follow everything that is said…”

Here the words to listen to

“ Ah, so you are learning English, and how do you find it? – do you find it interesting, difficult sometimes? I suppose you would. We talk a bit too fast maybe it’s difficult for you to follow everything that is said…”

You could say:

“Ah, yes, I’m learning English” - it is interesting – sometimes I find it difficult yes

The idea is to keep listening to the important points, and if you don’t understand something completely, then always be prepared to say so “oh, sorry, I didn’t just catch what said there – could you just tell me that again please?”

Bye for now

See you next time

Podcast #2 transcript

2007-05-13T15:29:00.000+01:00

Hello

Welcome to my second podcast. Bonjour, Guten Tag, Buenas dias, Bom dia, goeden dag, ni hao Jo napot

Today I’d like to talk about common mistakes which people make when they are learning English. These are often only small mistakes and really don’t matter to a native English speaker like me when we hear them – but I thought it might be interesting to discuss some of these small mistakes here,

Remember that part of my learning philosophy is to not worry about making mistakes – so with this podcast I’d like you to know that am not trying to make you worry about them – just to know a little more about my language.

The first common mistake people make is to use the word “since” when talking about things that are happening now that started in the past, for example when people say “I am learning English since 2 years” when this should be “ I have been learning English for 2 years”. We use the word “since” to describe things that started in the past, but not for talking about duration of time someone has been learning or doing something. Some examples of English using “since”

“Since I started learning English I find I enjoy writing letters more”
“Since you left I have been very sad”
“I’ve changed a lot since we last met”

Another common mistake is to use the phrase “of course” in the wrong context. If, for example someone offers you a cup of tea “would you like a cup of tea?” the correct answer would be “yes, please” or “no, thankyou”. Sometimes learners of English will say “ of course!” meaning to them “how kind of you, I would like a cup of tea, yes”

But if they say “of course” it could sound to the native English speaker something like “ yes I do, and you should already know that I do!” – in other words a little bit impolite. Of course, we do you the phrase “of course” – which I just used!

Some examples:

“Of course, when we go to the beach, we must not forget our towels”
“Of course I would like to go with you to the show – because we’d love seeing it together”
“I would, of course, need to bring my swim suit if we are going to the beach!”

These statements are used to agree with someone or affirm something needs or should be done.

Of course, there are many more uses for “of course” and of course, I would like to tell you more about it, but of course, I haven’t much time to do this today!

Common pronunciation difficulties:

The “th” sound as in think, thought, thanks as also the slightly different sound with the, these, though, there and those for example

The “r” sound for running, riding, rowing, rocking and rolling!

The “w” sound for walking a wonderful way to work

I’ll talk a little more about pronunciation next time

Bye for now

Podcast #1 transcript

2007-05-13T15:27:00.000+01:00

Hello, welcome to my language podcast. I thought that I’d make a podcast to help my friends who I speak with in Paltalk to learn more English.

If you like these podcasts, I’ll make more when I have time. Learning a language isn’t easy. I can vouch for that. I’ve been learning French for 16 years and German for 7 years – it’s never easy for me. Having said that, I find that learning a language can be very enjoyable despite the difficulties. It helps you to understand more about the people and countries where the language is spoken. In the case of English, this is a world-wide language – a “lingua franca” for the modern world. The Internet has made English even more important, and more and more people the world over are learning my native language.

You may have read my “Top 10 language tips” on my blog. I’ll explain them a bit more.

1. Keep motivated even when you are frustrated with your progress - which will sometimes happen - Rome wasn't built in a day! Don't expect to become fluent very quickly, learning a language well takes many years. But always remember that any level allows communication. I think that very often learners expect to become fluent much more quickly than is possible. This can lead to a lot of frustration and it can also make learners feel they aren’t progressing when they are!
2. Keep interested in new words - they are the key to any progress. What I mean here is that language is mostly about words – a person who knows a lot of words would communicate without much grammar. I’ve read somewhere that to speak a language in a basic way needs a vocabulary of 2000 words. This sounds a lot – but isn’t so difficult to learn with a bit of patience and time.
3. Enjoy using the language you already have - many people often say that they are "not yet good enough" - but forget what they have already achieved and what opportunities it brings. I realised a long time ago that “a little goes a long way” and I have found that it is surprising just how much communication can take place at any level.
4. Use the Internet as and when you can. There is a fantastic amount of useful material, not to mention interesting and useful blogs and chatrooms. I remember the first time I went on line which is 10 years ago this year. I thought, what a great opportunity for me, I can learn now from my own living room. These days, there is so much there for you to get for free. It’s a brilliant resource if used intelligently.
5. Read in the target language as much as you can. But don't try to read at a level too high - or you will get frustrated. Try reading for enjoyment sometimes at the level you are at - or just a little higher. You will find this encouraging. I read a book many years ago on second language learning that placed a big emphasis on reading a lot – but was careful to point out that the level should not be too high or it would not be beneficial. Too many courses in my opinion expect learners to read texts that are set at too high a level.
6. Make as many friends as you can that speak the target language - maybe you could join a language club where people learn together. I am a member of 3 French language clubs and 2 German language club. If you find it difficult to find a club, you could try to make some "virtual friends" online. This is something that takes some effort, but is really worth it. It means looking to see what is out there and where you can find the right club. I know people who form their own club for exchanging ideas and tips. I do realise also, that finding clubs and native speakers is sometimes impossible depending on where you live.
7. Don't think of mistakes as failure - this is negative. Think of mistakes as "feedback" and then you learn to find ways to reduce them by keeping a positive attitude. When did you see a young child worry about making mistakes? This is my point. When did a child think that they make mistakes? They only know it if an adult corrects them – and very often this is a parent who corrects in a nice way – so they child never thinks of mistakes – and gets on with learning. As a result – they learn quickly. We can do this as adults if we try.
8. Take every opportunity to speak the language and engage with people. If you can't find anyone to talk with, then talk about things with yourself (out of earshot or people will start to wonder...) I have some interesting conversations with myself whilst driving...! And other places too. If this is your only means to express yourself – then don’t forget to do it! Listening to yourself speak is similar to learning to play and instrument “by ear”. I’ve been learning guitar this way for 37 years and I play for myself more often than I play for other people – I’m not a professional musician. So take every opportunity to speak as much as possible.
9. Learn about the culture of the country or countries where the language is spoken when you have some spare time. For example: English culture is somewhat different to the USA but we have many similarities and we do speak the same language - or do we? In reality there are quite a few differences between American English and British English. However these variations in accent and dialect happen with other languages too. I read that one of the most important things in developing language learning is to also learn about the culture of the countries where the language is spoken. This helps make the language “real”, because it helps put the language in context.
10. Finally don't be too hard on yourself if you don't progress as fast as you would like to. Learning a language isn't a smooth process - you can learn a lot quickly sometimes - then sometimes the progress is slow. Always think of language learning as a long-term project not a short-term project and you'll enjoy it more. I can’t think of any more to say on this apart from

Finally, here is my own favourite saying (I wrote it myself)

"Enjoy what you know and the rest will only grow"

Take care

See you next time

Merci j’espere que tu l’as trouve interessant!
Danke schoen, Ich hoffe dass, alles interessant war
I hope you found it interesting

Bye!

Alan's language learning top 10 tips!

2007-02-13T16:58:00.000Z

Based on my experiences, here are my Top 10 language learning tips:

1. Keep motivated even when you are frustrated with your progress - which will sometimes happen - Rome wasn't built in a day! Don't expect to become fluent very quickly, learning a language well takes many years. But always remember that any level allows communication.
2. Keep interested in new words - they are the key to any progress
3. Enjoy using the language you already have - many people often say that they are "not yet good enough" - but forget what they have already achieved and what opportunities it brings.
4. Use the Internet as and when you can. There is a fantastic amount of useful material, not to mention interesting and useful blogs and chatrooms.
5. Read in the target language as much as you can. But don't try to read at a level too high - or you will get frustrated. Try reading for enjoyment sometimes at the level you are at - or just a little higher. You will find this encouraging.
6. Make as many friends as you can that speak the target language - maybe you could join a language club where people learn together. I am a member of 3 French language clubs and 2 German language club. If you find it difficult to find a club, you could try to make some "virtual friends" online.
7. Don't think of mistakes as failure - this is negative. Think of mistakes as "feedback" and then you learn to find ways to reduce them by keeping a postive attitude. When did you see a young child worry about making mistakes?
8. Take every opportunity to speak the language and engage with people. If you can't find anyone to talk with, then talk about things with yourself (out of earshot or people will start to wonder...) I have some interesting conversations with myself whilst driving...!
9. Learn about the culture of the country or countries where the language is spoken when you have some spare time. For example: English culture is somewhat different to the USA but we have many similarities and we do speak the same language - or do we? In reality there are quite a few differences between American English and British English. However these variations in accent and dialect happen with other languages too.
10. Finally don't be too hard on yourself if you don't progress as fast as you would like to. Learning a language isn't a smooth process - you can learn a lot quickly sometimes - then sometimes the progress is slow. Always think of language learning as a long-term project not a short-term project and you'll enjoy it more.

Finally, here is my own favourite saying (I wrote it myself)

"Enjoy what you know and the rest will only grow"

2007-02-05T20:59:00.000Z

Welcome to my multi-language blog!

My experiences learning French

2007-02-05T20:43:00.000Z

Learning French as an Adult
by Alan R. Palmer Orgininally written May 2000 for french.about.com (updated for this blog February 2007)

"I'd really like to be fluent in a second language."

A very easy statement to make, but what would it actually involve? This is what I had been asking myself for as long as I can remember. I think it all started at primary school when I was about 8 years old. A temporary teacher had been recruited for several weeks in order to help out during our usual teacher's illness. She was meant to just teach the normal curriculum, but for some reason offered the class a small amount of French language instruction one day. This both surprised and really interested me at the time and I still can remember some of the small amount of vocabulary provided: "La porte," "la plume," etc. I certainly can't remember actually stringing any sentences together. The lessons quickly stopped and soon we were back with the usual arithmetic and English lessons on our teacher's return. The event had sown a seed that was to be very slow growing as it turned out.

I started to want to learn another language from that point, but living in a small rural community in north-west England (I lived on a farm and my parents had never ventured that far in England let alone somewhere "exotic" like France!) it wasn't possible to travel abroad anyway due to the commitments of the farm and I accepted that this may not be something that I could try until much later. I did often think about what it would be like to be able to understand the strange sounds that I used to hear on my transistor radio late at night. French stations can be heard in England due to the proximity of the countries. Having waited to be able to have a serious attempt to learn French on entering secondary school (high school) at the age of 11, I very quickly found out that "the boys don't learn French, they learn German." French was exclusively for girl students. This inexplicable rule applied and I had to then start to learn "Die Tur" instead of "la porte." This disappointed me as I liked the sound of the French language and had hoped to carry on with this. Unfortunately the school's style of teaching for German did not suit me: rote learning from the blackboard, drills, grammar and more grammar. It did dampen my enthusiasm a little, but I persevered until I left school.

Having left school to become a farmer and work with my father, I found that I still hadn't lost the idea of learning a language and decided that I would start again during my spare time. I bought a small "Teach yourself Italian" book which, on trying to work through a few pages, told me that I wouldn't learn within a few weeks and this quickly ended up in a bottom drawer.
I left the farm to get married a few years later. I then had another attempt at German by attending an evening school class. This was quite successful for a while as I saw it as a way to restart my language learning ambition – but all too soon it was interrupted by the "patter of tiny feet." Family and work commitments then began to narrow down the reasons to learn. My ambition had been to actually be able to speak the language in a "real" situation by visiting the country and as this had become unlikely with having little money and a young family, I again put the idea of learning another language "on the back-burner."

Time passed and my family was growing up. It was 1991 and I had reached the grand old age of 35 and my wife and I were discussing visiting the new "EuroDisney" park near Paris, which was to be completed in 1992. We decided to save up to have our first family holiday "abroad" and also see something of France. This was my opportunity! I said to my wife that I wasn't going to France if I couldn't speak some of the language as I was determined to learn at least "enough to get by." I was lying of course, but it was my excuse to start again and learn French this time. I also wanted to know what I needed to do to be able to teach myself.

I visited our local library and found a book entitled "How to learn a foreign language quickly." I was shocked to find that I would have to (according to the book): buy lots of language books, French newspapers, magazines and audio tapes and spend at least 15 hours per week on studying at home. The book really spelled out the necessary effort that would have to be put into the task. I didn't bother borrowing the book and went home a bit disheartened but not put off. I just needed the right ideas and help.

My wife started the "ball rolling." She proudly brought home a second-hand "Complete French course" which comprised of audio tapes and books. I thanked her for her efforts and began this course that was going to help me speak "like a native." Unfortunately it was very old and consisted of learning sentences such as: "Please ask the maid to enter the room." I couldn't see myself having need for this, not actually having the money to employ a maid! On the other hand it was quite useful for helping with the difficult task of starting to learn French pronunciation.
I then decided to opt for the good old BBC. The British television channel was offering some good beginner's courses in French and at reasonable prices so that was my best option. People have asked why I didn't opt for more evening classes and I have to say that I really wanted to teach myself. It seemed that I would be able to decide how fast I learned and what methods were best for me within reason. Obviously I needed resources and help from somewhere. The self-instruction BBC courses I started to use seemed good enough to be able to start to make real progress.

After a year of listening to tapes, reading through the texts and slowly picking my way through the exercises, we were ready for the trip to France! We had a marvelous holiday and it was also a great success from a language point of view, as I actually was able to try out my beginner's vocabulary and phrases directly with the natives. Most responses to my feeble attempts went over my head, but in general I enjoyed the experience and did certainly "get by." We also met a French family one evening at our holiday centre and spent the following day with them on their invitation. This provided me some "real" language experience and some amusing moments where a dictionary was called-for in order to sort things out!

On our return to England I was determined to carry on and make this my "hobby." I needed to continue to devote quite an amount of time to the venture and decided I would have to be very patient and take my time in order to become "fluent." I had by that time a demanding job as a Production manager and didn't want to affect my progress in my career or disrupt my home life either.

"The main quest had then begun"
We found the money to be able to visit France the following year and again had a great time. I found that I could do more than just "get by" by that stage – but I realised my vocabulary was still limited. I felt I needed to expand my level in the language and I had heard about a new course offered by the Open University of Great Britain. Although established as a University and offering many different courses, a language course was a new venture for the OU. All courses offered by the Open University are basically offered as correspondence courses, but of a very high quality. This suited me as I knew it would offer me an academically challenging course that I could do mostly at home. I realised on taking a preliminary test that I wasn't at the right level and waited another year to try again. I managed to start the course "Diploma in French" in 1995 which was to last for three years.

I followed the course through each year which comprised an academic year from February to October. The course consisted of structured lessons with a number of assignments marked by either a computer or tutor. Things had really started to develop now and I became aware of how much I needed to learn and also excited by the challenge.

The first year went well and I passed the end-of-year exam with a satisfactory result. This meant that I could carry on to the following year. This second year was much more demanding, but involved a week "summer school" at the University of Caen in Normandy. I really enjoyed the chance to meet other adult students who were doing the same course and we had a really interesting week with some intensive lessons and trips into town, taking notes and visiting different parts of the town. The third year saw a much increased workload and a welcome repeat visit to summer school in Caen . By this time I had realised I was putting in 15 hours per week (as the library book had suggested!) and I made the effort to achieve a pass result when the final exam came in October 1998. I had achieved a qualification in French! This was something I had not expected when I started learning.

Did I feel fluent? Well I could hold a conversation fairly well without many mistakes and I realised that my initial concept of fluency had now changed. Where I had hoped to be able to speak just about general topics, I could discuss more specific things and understood quite a lot more of the French and Francophone culture.

What was I to do after the end of the diploma course? Well I had already joined a local French association that organised visits between "Twin towns" - a European idea where towns are "twinned" for cultural exchange with a counterpart in another European country. Our local town was twinned with a town just outside Paris and my family and I were lucky enough to be able to stay with a French family during a visit in 1998. This was particularly enjoyable as I could use my improving language skills and help other colleagues who weren't French speakers during the visit.

More recently I have had some private lessons at home with a French teacher. Just one hour per fortnight which I found particularly useful for helping to improve my conversation skills and pronunciation.

To conclude, I find that Paltalk.com has become an excellent follow-up to all I have done before concerning learning a second language. I have found, since starting to visit the site 4 years ago, that my ability to communicate in French does not now just extend to France only – but thanks to the Internet, to a whole world community of French learners and native speakers.

I have the blog and my room in Paltalk which now extends to other languages, where I can share my learning experiences and meet people who feel similar things about learning French as I do. My 15 years of seriously learning French has been very enjoyable as well as challenging and I have found it can be a life-enhancing venture to learn another language. I still am not sure whether I'm fluent yet or not, but to be honest, I'm more interested now in just using my existing skills and trying to keep developing. This probably means you never actually completely "learn" a language - rather you "keep trying to learn." It is important that you learn by whichever method suits you best. I also think it's important to remember to keep a sense of achievement for what you have learned.

Alan's English,francais, Deutsch & Nederlands Language Blog

2005-07-23T22:10:00.000+01:00

Alan's English,francais, Deutsch & Nederlands Language Blog

Hello! I am 49-year-old Conformity Manager from Northwest England. I am married with two grown-up sons. My interest in learning another language began when I was young and I started learning German at 11 years old, but I didn't take up learning French until the age of 35. Since that time I have pursued the goal of fluency as a serious hobby. I restarted German in 2001 and I have just started learning Dutch. I have a language room in Paltalk.com with this name also.

Hallo,
Ik ben een 49 jaar oude Conformitymanager uit Noordwest Engeland.
Ik ben getrouwd en we hebben 2 volwassen zonen. Mijn interesse in het leren van buitenlandse talen begon al toen ik jong was, ik begon met Duits toen ik 11 was. Maar met Frans begon ik niet eerder dan toen ik 35 jaar oud werd. Sindsdien werd het mijn doel om vloeiend te worden in deze talen. Ik ben in 2001 opnieuw met Duits begonnen en sinds kort met Nederlands. Ook heb ik in Paltalk.com een room met deze naam.

Bonjour,

J'ai 49 ans et je suis responsable de conformité de l'Angleterre du nord-ouest. Je suis marié et nous avons deux fils adultes. Mon interêt sur les langues a commencé quand j'étais petit et j'ai commencé l'allemand à l'âge de 11 ans, mais je ne commence pas le français jusqu'à l'âge de 35 ans, Depuis ce temps la, je continue à suivre mon objectif de parler avec facilité comme passe-temps. J'ai récommencé d'apprendre l'allemand en 2001 et je viens de commencer le niérlandais. J'ai une "room" sur Paltalk.com avec ce nom également.

Hallo!
Ich bin 49 Jahre, Conformitymanager aus Nordwest England. Ich bin verheiratet und habe 2 erwachsene Söhne. Mein Interesse Sprachen zu lernen begann bereits in meiner Jugend. Mit 11 Jahren fing ich an Deutsch zu lernen. Erst mit 35 Jahren habe in angefangen Französisch zu lernen. Seit dieser Zeit habe ich mir zum Ziel gesetzt diese Sprachen zu beherrschen und betreibe es als ernsthaftes Hobby. Im Jahr 2001 begann ich wieder Deutsch zu lernen. Auch habe ich jetzt angefangen Holländisch zu lernen. In Paltalk.com habe ich einen Chatraum mit dem gleichen Namen.

¡Hola! Tengo 49 años de edad y soy Gerente de la Companía Conformity en el Noroeste de Inglaterra. Estoy casado, y tengo dos hijos, ya adultos. Mi interés en aprender otro idioma comenzó de joven , y comencé a estudiar Alemán a los 11 años de edad, pero no emprendí el estudio de Francés hasta la edad de 35. Desde ese entonces, he perseguido la meta de adquirir fluidez como un hobby, pero con mucha seriedad. Reinicié el aprendizaje de Alemán en el 2001, y recientemente he iniciado mis estudios de Holandés. Tengo también una sala de Lengua en Paltalk.con con éste mismo nombre.

After the introductions, this is my first posting of my blog! Well, I'd first like to thank all the nice people who visit my room in Paltalk and particularly "Happy to learn Russian" for his help with the Dutch translation. I've a long way to go to be able to write Dutch that well! I'd like to also thank Hipfe for the German translation - prima!

Well, it's over 2 years since I opened my Paltalk room and I am so pleased with how things have progressed. I'm planning to put some interesting information here for both myself and my chat friends. Time will tell how useful a "blog" is. My son convinced me to set one up. He's a web designer and he set the blog up for me - but to tell the truth it wasn't that difficult - even I could have done it ;-)

Well that is about it for today. My idea is to post in the four languages - so as usual I set my sights high!

For today, I've left you a lovely picture of Pendle Hill taken from my parents' farmland by a French friend who visited my region in 2003, Jean-Marie. Thanks Jean-Marie for one of my favourite photos!

Take care everyone!

Alan