Has Anyone Ever Eaten ...These?

Has Anyone Ever Tried ...

When I asked, “Has anyone ever tried Saino?”; having tasted this species of wild pig called Peccary in English and native to many of the jungles of South America, I did regain a little respect for my “adventuresome” eating. But what brought the house down was my tale of breakfasts in America’s south with fried pork brains scrambled with eggs along with fried slices of pig testicles, known as “mountain oysters” in states like South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia. Mouths dropped open and glazed-over eyes seemed to double in size. Then they started talking.

Conversation Practice
One of the language aspects of most interest to your students will be conversation practice. As a native speaker, you represent the best that English has to offer in pronunciation, grammar usage, idioms and expressions, vocabulary, fluency and communicative ability. You are the ultimate example of English in use. But how can you regularly stimulate your students to speak spontaneously without timidity or fear of making mistakes?

The use of controversial questions and topics can help. In class ask something like: “What’s the most unusual or strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?” You can then give the answer for yourself first as an example. When I said the strangest thing I’d ever eaten was toasted or fried ants (called Hormigas Culonas here in Colombia) the students weren’t impressed. In areas of Mexico, insects like Agave worms (used in tequila), shiny, iridescent Humiles beetles, and leaf cutter ants and their eggs, are eaten as a matter of course. “I ate flowers once”, I piped up trying to regain some ground. Still no good. Flor de Calabaza, the bright orange flowers of a pumpkin plant, is passé in the areas around Tepoztlan, south of Mexico City. As a matter of fact, they’re delicious sautéed and wrapped in a hot, blue corn tortilla. Did I mention that I frequently dine on the deadly, fear-inspiring, razor-toothed Piranha? But that’s no big deal here.

The Students' Turn
It was the students’ turn and each had stories to tell. And tell them they did. “My aunt likes iguana”, one student blurted out. “Have you tried iguana eggs?, another asked. “Yes, I have”, I smirked. Stories began to flow. Slowly at first, then faster as memories and emotions mounted. Tales of iguana, turtles, caimans (a species of alligator), donkey meat, reptile eggs, armadillo, a Guinea Pig relative called “Cuy” and Dagger fish emerged enthusiastically - bursting with anecdotes, humor and sometimes a bit of disgust. It not only got them speaking fluently, but was quite informative too.

“You can always tell a dagger fisherman”, one Mexican student explained, “because of the strange scars they get from the fish.”

I wanted to know more and they obliged. They spoke not only of things they’d tried, but of meats and meals they’d heard of others eating. Opinions of what, where and why added richness, depth and flow to the conversation. In the end I had to halt the session which ran well overtime with no indication of ending anytime soon.

Other Conversation Topics
Other topic questions might address places visited or dreamed of, an imagined conversation or date with a famous person, or what students imagine it’s like to do or be any number of occupations, people or things.

“If Latin pop singer Alejandro Sanz or actor Brad Pitt called you on the phone, what would you say?”, I asked.

Giggles erupted from girls around the room, then responses began to trickle out. For the boys’ question it was Mexican singer Thalia, American actresses Pamela Anderson or Julia Roberts. Role plays, interviews, chain stories, social issues, drugs, crime, even proverbs and superstitions all have their place in stimulating the students as speaking activities. Ideas for questions and topics abound. Conversation references can be helpful too. One I use, “Conversation Inspirations for ESL” by Nancy Ellen Zellerman (published by Pro Lingua Associates) has been around for years. Try a controversial conversation question or two in your classes, it’s almost guaranteed to get and keep your students talking.

They're Cute, Cuddly and Delicious
Oh yeah, I still haven’t tried the “Cow’s Eye soup” in Colombia or the steamy, animal-blood-sprinkled “Yaguarlocro” of Ecuador. But the chicken feet often found in “Sancocho”, Colombia’s national dish, don’t get even the smaller rise out of me anymore. And earlier this year, I sampled a hearty stew of Three-toed Sloth. They’re cute. They’re cuddly. They’re delicious.

By the way, what’s the strangest, most unique food that YOU have ever eaten?

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 80 countries. Get your FREE E-books, “If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" or "7 Techniques to Motivate Your English Language Learners and Make Your Classes More Dynamic" by requesting the title you want at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

Read This Article If You Want to Give the Best Presentation of Your Life

• By giving the best presentation of your life you will expand your skills and abilities in public speaking. The expectations you have of yourself will be increased. Your progress towards greater confidence, a broader network base and a widened field of potential clients will be realized. Winners stand out from the pack. They are looked up to and people who are looked up to become leaders. You will be viewed as a leader. People follow leaders.
  
  If you are reading this article then obviously you want to improve your presentation skills. You realize that these skills are important not only in business but in other walks of life as well. You’re not content with your present status quo; you seek improvement, growth and positive change. You are to be congratulated. Just be prepared to work for that improvement – hard work, and lots of it. Paradigms are not broken and reset by slackers.
  
  Do you need to excel? To continually improve and develop? Would you relish change or do you harbor a certain uneasiness about it? Improvement means growth. Growth means change. Approaching change often triggers apprehension. Apprehension though, is not necessarily a bad thing. It can cause us to pause, think and reflect on a course of action we’re about to embark on. Jesus Christ himself said, “Who of you that wants to build a tower does not first sit down and calculate the expense, to see if he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14: 28) That is, consider in advance the outcome(s) of what you’re planning. Embrace the positives. Minimize the negatives, if there are any. Then proceed.
  
  America’s 16th president, Abraham Lincoln said, “Whatever you are, be a good one.” You should be proud that you aspire to be the best. But giving the best presentation of your life goes far beyond that. You want to exceed all now established limits – to break the mold so completely that a whole new standard is set. Your paradigms will be forever changed to a new and higher level. Be proud that you want to be skilled at such an important level. “Have you beheld a man skillful in his work? Before kings is where he will station himself, he will not station himself before common-place men.” (Proverbs 22:29) You’re now headed for higher ground. It’s time to get “gussied up”.
  
  The challenge of giving the best presentation of your life will involve work and preparation on your part. How to speak in public and presenting well requires attention to aspects such as:
  
  
• Poise and grooming
  
• Natural use of relevant language
  
• Application of quotes, anecdotes and humor
  
• Overcoming any fear of public speaking
  
• Knowledge of presentation programs and techniques
  
• Mastery of your presentation topic material
  
  With proper preparation and perseverance there is little you cannot accomplish in time. If you genuinely think you’ll succeed, you will. It’s up to you and you alone. In upcoming articles we will discuss things you can do and techniques you can apply to ultimately give the best presentation of your life – again and again and again. You have my backing and support.
  

The Headless Horseman Rides Again

Every year during the month of October and at times into early November, I show my EFL students the Disney animated version of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. The video serves several purposes both didactic and non-didactic. It continues to be popular with the students regardless of their age, major or occupation.


The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Most of you are probably familiar with Washington Irving’s classic American short story, originally penned in 1819-1820, based on a German folktale. A transient schoolmaster, Icabod Crane, arrives in the tiny colonial burg of Sleepy Hollow situated near Tarrytown, in Westchester County of New York state. As he integrates into the local society, he falls for a wealthy farmer’s daughter, Katrina Van Tassel. The superstitious pedagogue battles a local rival for the fair maid’s favors. On the night of October 31st during festivities at the Van Tassel estate ghost stories told by the guests bring out the worst of Icabod’s fears. One story in particular, that of a Headless Horseman who rides one night each year in search of a new head, terrifies the schoolmaster beyond all else. The hapless schoolteacher later encounters the legendary Headless Horseman and … Well, if you don’t know the rest of the story it’s worth a read.


Setting the stage

The full-color, animated feature runs about 30 minutes, so it is short enough to fit well into a 90-minute class session. I prepare a two-page worksheet to help the students follow the story and extract key information as they watch. To set the stage overall we talk about legends in Colombia which may include:

• The Three Crosses (Las Tres Cruces)
• Chupacabra (like a “Boogeyman”)
• El Duende (similar to a Leprechaun)
• Pata Sola (like a one-legged “Bigfoot”)


Are you superstitious?

After watching the story and working through the task sheet, we check answers and responses. We talk about their likes and dislikes which may be similar to those seen in the story. I also ask about their superstitions and reactions to situations like:

• Breaking a mirror
• A black cat or black butterfly approaching them
• Using a broom to ward off bad luck
• Walking under a ladder

The activity, in general, is useful for English levels from beginner to upper intermediate and beyond. It serves to illustrate some aspects of history, culture and customs in the USA associated with the fall of the year.


The Worksheet is available

If you have access to this particular video and would like to have a copy of the worksheet I use, e-mail your request to me at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com and Ill be glad to send you one right away.

Although I’m not a great proponent of using whole movies for their own sake in the EFL classroom, I do favor using short, 5 minute or so video clips on occasion. Audio visuals like videos do aid in lowering the affective filter of the students and can greatly promote learning when used judiciously.

By the way, are YOU superstitious?

Article Marketing Writers: Strive for Quality and Quantity

Like a number of other prolific article writers I use templates to help me to write more quickly. I don't use Jeff Herring's templates, although I'm absolutely certain there're excellent. Lance Winslow uses his own article templates too. I have developed my own sets of writing templates based on the kind of writing I produce or article series that I've seen and like.

My first post on EzineArticles.com was after mid September of this year and as of today, October 31st, I have 33 articles posted. My goal for the end of October was 30 so it was exceeded. By the end of 2005 my goal is 50. Maybe 100 will be reached shortly after that if I rely more heavily on my article templates. What’s more important to me than simply the quantity of articles posted is maintaining quality content in my length-controlled articles. Articles without quality content are virtually useless. Both your time and the reader’s are wasted.

I encourage everyone to produce quality articles on a regular basis and not get intimidated by cranking out "numbers". Unfortunately, many "articles" I've read on online I personally wouldn't call articles. They’re too short, ramble, have a disproportionately large number of grammar, spelling and other errors or provide no real information for the reader. Now there’s nothing wrong with short (200 to 300 word) articles, I’ve written lots of them myself.

The key is to provide the reader with some kind of valuable “take away” from each piece. If you don’t do that why should the reader come back to you or your next article? This is directly linked to quality content. There’s hardly any danger in saying everything in the 600 words or so in an article. But if you don’t say something of importance, the reader is lost – gone, maybe forever to you.

Among the reasons I like using article templates are that they not only aid you in producing well-formatted content in optimum time but help ensure that your articles maintain consistent standards of quality in structure and content. Remember that marketing articles only function to drive web traffic to your blog or website if people read them and click through to the link you provide in the resource box. If your article doesn’t deliver, forget any chance of a click through. Would you keep reading an author you didn’t initially like? One who didn’t give you pause to think, motivate or inform you?

So by all means do use a system for producing articles frequently and quickly, but always make sure to provide a strong “take away” aspect for the reader. The reader is the reason you’re writing and posting articles in the first place, right? Never be afraid to put in some useful references, give a meaty quote or two, drop in an anecdote, stimulate the reader’s thinking and emotions. Motivate them by your words and thoughtful assistance, not your private dreams of wealth. Write quality content, as regularly and as often as you can, the rest will usually follow.

Take a couple of minutes extra and use the spell check and grammar check features on your computer. It won’t slow you down enough to be a problem, but will lend greater quality and credibility to your writing. What do you think of a writer who has typos or simple grammar errors every few sentences in his writing?

Thanks for reading this. If it makes you think and points you toward greater production and quality it will have been well worth your time and mine.

Grammar Teaching: Implicit or Explicit?

Implicit or Explicit?
Based on my 15 years of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching experience, the statement “grammar teaching should be implicit, not explicit” could be argued both for and against. Whether to teach grammar as an extracted focus of ELT (English Language Teaching) or more passively as an inductive, integral topic has been the theme of countless debates on the part of institutions, professors, grammarians and language researchers for decades. Grammar is the branch of linguistics dealing with the form and structure of words or morphology, and their interrelation in sentences, called syntax. The study of grammar reveals how language works, an important aspect in both English language acquisition and learning.

Early 18th Century Grammarians
In the early 20th century grammarians like the German-American anthropologist Franz Boas and the Danish linguist Otto Jespersen began to describe languages and Boas' work formed the basis of various types of American descriptive grammar study. Jespersen's work was the fore-runner of such current approaches to linguistic theory such as Noam Chomsky’s Transformational Generative Grammar.

Noam Chomsky
Chomsky, (pictured above) who studied structural linguistics, sought to analyze the syntax of English in a structural grammar. This led him to view grammar as a theory of language structure rather than a description of actual sentences. His idea of grammar is that it is a device for producing the structure, not of a particular language, but of the ability to produce and understand sentences in any and all languages. Since grammar is the means by which we can understand how a language “works”, a definitive study of language grammar is essential to language study.

Strictly explicit grammar study however, and even grammar-focused lessons are often not communicatively based. They can therefore be boring, cumbersome and difficult for students to assimilate. The strict teaching of grammar / structure, except with students of the Logical – Mathematical or Verbal – Linguistic Multiple Intelligences, can be frustrating and highly ineffective. (ref. H. Gardner, 1993)

Grammar teaching should be implicit

In the early 20th century, Jespersen, like Boas, thought grammar should be studied by examining living speech rather than by analyzing written documents. By providing grammar in context, in an implicit manner, we can expose students to substantial doses of grammar study without alienating them to the learning of English or other foreign language. I also agree with this implicit approach of teaching grammar. The principal manner in which I accomplish this is by teaching short grammar-based sessions immediately followed by additional function-based lessons in which the new grammar / structure is applied in context.

The hypothesis (see Krashen-Terrell, 1984) is that adult language students have two distinct ways of developing skills and knowledge in a second language, acquisition and learning. Acquiring a language is “picking it up”, i.e., developing ability in a language by using it in natural, communicative situations. Learning language differs in that it is “knowing the rules” and having a conscious knowledge of grammar / structure. Adults acquire language, although usually not as easily or as well as children. Acquisition, however, is the most important means for gaining linguistic skills. A person’s first language (L1) is primarily learned in this way. This manner of developing language skills typically employs implicit grammar teaching and learning.


Grammar teaching should be explicit

This does not exclude explicit grammar-teaching entirely, however. Some basic features of English language grammar structure are illogical or dissimilar to speakers of other languages and do not readily lend themselves to being well understood, even in context. In cases where features of English grammar are diametrically opposed or in some other way radically different from the manner of expression in the student’s L1, explicit teaching may be required.

Aspects of English language grammar that may offer exceptional challenge to EFL students include use of word order, determiners (this, that, these, those, a, an, the), prepositions (in, on, at, by, for, from, of), auxiliaries (do, be, have), conjunctions (but, so, however, therefore, though, although), interrogatives, intensifiers (some, any, few, more, too) and distinctions between modal verbs (can, could, would, should, may, might, must). Phrasal verbs also present considerable difficulty to Spanish speakers learning communicative English.

Some students also are logical or linguistically-biased thinkers who respond well to structured presentation of new material. Logical-Mathematical and Verbal-Linguistic intelligence learners are prime examples of those that would respond well to explicit grammar teaching in many cases.

Based on my English language teaching and on my second and third foreign language learning (L2, L3) experience, an exclusive approach using either implicit or explicit methodologies is not as effective as utilizing one or the other of these approaches as required. Although it is essential to teach elements of language and develop communicative abilities in our students, there is no one best way to introduce and provide practice in them. Young learners have more natural facility in acquisition, while adults may benefit substantially from more “formal” language learning. Learning styles and intelligence strengths are also a significant factor.

"Teacher, I don't understand!"
There are many generally accepted ways of introducing the sounds, structure and vocabulary of English, including colloquial forms of conversation and the four basic communication skills. Grammar provides for “communicative economy”. Grammar teaching should be implicit, or explicit, as teaching / learning conditions may dictate helping to minimize the student response teachers fear most;

“Teacher, I don’t understand.”


Note: Academic references for this article are available on request.

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 80 countries. Get your FREE E-books,"If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" or "7 Techniques to Motivate Your English Language Learners and Make Your Classes More Dynamic" by requesting the title you want at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

English Only in the EFL Classroom: Worth the Hassle?

Introduction

In considering the use of L1 (the learners mother tongue) in ELT (English Language Teaching) on the part of the teacher, one of the first assumptions is that the teacher has a sufficient command of the students L1 to be of value in the first place. Another assumption which may well impact this scenario is that all the learners in a class or group have the same L1. While these assumptions may often be the case in numerous EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching / learning settings, many times they are not. In the case of multi-cultural classes (i.e., in the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, India, etc.) where the learners have different L1s, or when the teacher does not have a working knowledge of the learners L1, a frequent occurrence in Asia, Africa and eastern Europe, applied L1 use in the EFL classroom is severely limited or may be rendered virtually impossible.


Use of L1 in the Classroom

In my case, I'll talk about those instances where I do in fact use the learners L1 in my EFL classes. I have acquired a working knowledge of Spanish and all my university and independent students have Spanish as their L1. Although I'm against any substantial use of L1 in ESOL (the teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) classes, there are situations where its use is quite valuable. In addition, at early levels a ratio of about 5 per cent native language to about 95 per cent target language may be more profitable than the use of "English only". (Atkinson, 1987) On the first day of class with a new group, I explain to the learners that they are allowed to ask "How do you say ______ , in Spanish?" where the Spanish (L1) word or phrase is filled in the blank. This allows the students to get key vocabulary in their written or spoken expression while limiting their use of L1 in class.

When learners are stumped for abstract lexis, a word or phrase which cannot be easily elicited during the course of a lesson, I'll simply "give" them the word in Spanish to aid in continuing with the smooth flow of the lesson and not get "bogged down" in trying to come up with the elusive lexis by other means. When a student gives me production of incomprehensible language, i.e., I (nor the other learners) cannot decipher what the student is trying to say in English, I'll say "Tell me that in Spanish." Armed with this new understanding I (or one of the other learners) can then provide that learner with corrected, comprehensible forms which otherwise might elude both (or even all) of us.

During a written exam, I’ll also "give" the learners a word or phrase writing it on the board in English and / or Spanish to avoid extensive disruption of the test-taking process. Since I do not prepare the exams, new lexis can creep into readings, instructions or exercises. When a learner, and as additional learners, ask for meaning or explanation of the word(s), I'll simply point to the lexis on the board without speaking.

When playing communicative, TPR (Asher, 1966 and passim) or "fast-paced" vocabulary games such as a learner favorite called "STOP", I'll again provide a translation of new lexis to help develop the learners vocabulary. These could be lexis of places, names in English / Spanish, foods, animals or some verbs or use of the L1 in various code-switching activities. (Clandfield - Foord, 2003) This happens especially frequently when I need to explain why a particular word is incorrect or cannot be used.


L1 Use with LEP Learners

One additional instance when I switch to Spanish is when I must talk to LEP (Limited English Proficiency) learners about important administrative matters or procedures for which they do not have the necessary depth of vocabulary to understand. The importance of the material and their need to understand it outweigh the adherence of sticking to "English only" which is my "standard operating procedure" in the classroom. This is especially true in my case with groups of learners with less than about 250 contact hours of English which is equivalent to third semester or less. Note: Atkinson (1987 and passim) states 150 hours or less (second semester) for this stage although I have found it often extends into an additional semester.

On occasion, students will bring in a song or lyrics, usually Rock or Pop music, and ask the meaning of a word, phrase, expression or sometimes even the title. In providing the requested explanation (when I can), I use comparisons and / or translations into Spanish as often as is necessary. The same may occur with dialogue from popular films, movies and videos produced for native speakers of English. In rare instances, a cassette recording of a radio broadcast or book-on-tape has made its way into my classroom for the same reasons.

A final common instance in my use of L1 in the classroom is with learners in "repeat" or "remedial" classes of LEP learners. Since these learners have already demonstrated that the "traditional" teaching methods provided for in their course books is insufficient in teaching them the material. All these learners have failed the course at this level at least once, some twice or more. I subsequently use a series of alternative methodologies including translation and other types of input / feedback in the learners L1 to aid in the learning - acquisition process. These methods have, in fact, proved to be very successful. One reason may be that use of specially-targeted methodologies and altered classroom conditions help to lower the learners Affective Filters (Krashen - Terrell, 1983) and direct the new material and lexis to them in ways more compatible with their individual Multiple Intelligences and preferred learning styles (Gardner, 1983).


Conclusions

In conclusion I have stated that my use of L1 in the EFL classroom is minimal and should not exceed a ratio of more than 5% of the L1 to 95% of the target language. Key EFL classroom situations in which L1 can be utilized include:

· requesting new lexis
· explaining abstract terms
· to aid in the generation of comprehensible input / production
· during exams and other high-stress situations
· to maintain the flow of dynamic activities
· to explain idioms and expressions in songs, movies and videos
· giving information / instructions to LEP learners
· in adapting materials to the special needs of the learners

While the use of the learners L1 should be strictly controlled, it is plausible to make accurate use of it in activities to promote learning and acquisition. Ongoing language acquisition research and in-class practice supports that use of L1 should not be prohibited for its own sake, but allowed occasionally as an additional tool in the repertoire of the teacher and the learners as conditions warrant.

Note: Academic references for this article are available on request.



Prof. Larry M. Lynch has taught EFL, published ELT articles as an expert author, presented at numerous TESOL conferences and trained teachers in the USA, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Panama and Spain. His work has appeared in Transitions Abroad, South American Explorer, Escape from America, Mexico News and Brazil magazines. At present he teaches at the Universidad Santiago de Cali in Cali, Colombia. To get original, exclusive articles and content for your newsletter, blog or website or information on TEFL presentations, specialized teacher training programs or conference speaking engagements contact him at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

Six Quick Tricks for Learning a Language

Six Quick Tricks for Learning a Language

By Larry M. Lynch

Do you think that you can’t learn a new language? Think again. Our brains maintain the capacity to soak up new knowledge of all types far into our advanced years. No matter what your background or past learning experience, you CAN learn to speak another language using these six quick techniques.

There are a multitude of reasons for wanting to speak the lingua franca of another people; travel, business, education, personal pleasure, even family or friends. Indeed it’s no small feat to habla español, parlez francaise, or sprechenze Deutcsh, but the prestige, financial gains, personal satisfaction and envy that can accompany this easily nurtured skill can be most rewarding.

But, “Can I really develop good communicative skills in a new tongue?” you may well ask. Yes, you can if you’ll use these 10 quick tricks for heightening your language – learning experience and incorporating your new language into your everyday life.

1. Take a short course: A number of language courses are immediately available in most areas at a local community college or university. Courses in the continuing education department tend to be more consumer-oriented, less academic and more focused on the prospective needs of students like you. The internet likewise abounds with foreign language course offerings. You can learn Swedish, Norwegian, Danish or Finnish via multimedia at http://www.caselearning.com/ . The Definitive Worldwide Guide to Learning the Thai Language and Studying Thai Culture is online at: http://study-thai.com/ if you’re up for the exotic.

2. Mimicking: “Mom, he’s mocking me!” Have you ever heard this complaint when one sibling repeated everything the other said? One imitating word – for – word the speech, sounds even actions of the other? It’s called mimicking and it’s so effective you’ll be using this technique to get talking in record time yourself. The procedure is simple, you repeat exactly, word-for-word, everything your model says. That model can be a newscaster, character on a soap opera, documentary narrator or the voice coming from your tape player or radio. Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect. Just start by trying to get your tongue around the words. You’ll acquire speed and ease with practice. You may feel silly at first, but persevere. You’ll get there sooner than you think.

3. Reading Aloud: One of the most effective language-learning tricks is to use the counsel found in The Bible itself at Joshua 1: 8, “…and you must in an undertone read in it day and night, …” and again at Psalms 1:2 stating, “… And in his law he reads in an undertone day and night.” Read passages in the target language aloud to yourself. This powerful technique not only develops speaking and pronunciation skills, but contributes to listening comprehension, vocabulary and grammar too.
Almost any reading material in your target language will do as long as it’s interesting and fairly short. You wouldn’t start an English language learner off by reading “War and Peace” now would you?

4. Watch TV: If you have cable, is there a station broadcast in the language you’re interested in? Many metro areas carry programming in Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese. Even Chinese and Hindi are available in some regions. Check with your cable supplier or programming guides to see what’s listed. Programs to watch are the news, soap operas and documentaries. Have a VCR? Tape a couple of programs and play them over and over to accustom yourself to the flow of the language. Many VCR models have slow-motion and stop-action features allowing you to slow down the program to aid your understanding.

5. Listen to Music: In Japan, English students karaoke the Beatles. In Latin America, students mimic Bruce Springsteen. In Africa, the Backstreet Boys rule the airwaves. Lip-syncing popular songs is all the rage for English language learners, so why don’t you turn the tables and use it to your advantage. Check at music shops and bookstores for song CDs and tapes. Ask around for recommendations on where recordings in your target language might be available. Ethnic restaurants and shops are another good source for music or referrals. Lyrics to literally thousands of songs are available online. Songs are frequently available online in many major languages. Check the local library. The internet will yield hordes of song titles and stations worldwide in dozens of languages. A good online source for starters is http://www.live365.com/ which has live global feeds 24 hours a day in multiple languages.

6. Read: Stop at the library for a grammar book and some reading material. The grammar book will be an infrequent guide through those rough spots when the target language grammar differs substantially from English. But don’t overburden yourself with grammar and rules. A copious variety of entertaining magazines exists in most major languages and unless you’re learning Cochimi or Kukapa, you should be able to find something. A newspaper, general interest magazine, the bible, brochures, even comics can help you along. Short articles are best at first. Although you can wade through one or more of those in a matter of minutes, your personal satisfaction at doing so will be boundless. Try http://www.amazon.com/ for hard-to-find titles.

You can’t pick your family; but you can pick your friends and you can pick conversations with native speakers of your target language. In the supermarket, in the mall, in the park, a restaurant or a convenience store – almost anywhere you happen to meet or run into a native speaker of your new lingua franca, don’t just stay there mum – say something. People are generally flattered that you’re trying to meet them on their own terms or in their own language and are usually more than happy to chat. Surely, you can say “Buenos Tardes” to someone passing down the aisle in the supermarket. It’s also great practice for breaking the ice when you finally light out for foreign soil.

These quick tricks in conjunction with a short language course will make your language-learning efforts less painless, more interesting, more pleasurable and much easier. Try to do something each and every day. Just think how green with envy your friends are all going to be - and start packing your bags.

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is also writer and photographer specializing in business, travel, food and education-related writing in South America. His work has appeared in Transitions Abroad, South American Explorer, Escape From America, Mexico News and Brazil magazines in print and online. He travels researching articles throughout Latin America and teaches English at a university in Cali, Colombia. To get original, exclusive articles and content for your newsletter, blog or website, contact him at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com.