воскресенье, 06 сентября 2009
16:01

Will the U.S. Break Up?

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
What I really do hate in this life is politics. Not a single word of truth, respect, care.
So great temptation is that a wise person being engaged in politics loses the rest of his common sense.
Two best friends starting politics inevitably become long-life enemies.
If I care about a person I dare not say a word of politics to him.

Our planet, our countries, cities, peoples - all had a beginning once. It's just a matter of common sense to admit that there should be the end sometimes.

@темы: emotions, posts&comments, I, politics

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15:59

Grammar vs. Speaking

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
Speaking is considered by so many people to be the top of the language command. At least it's the most vivid sign of the learning success. So, it looks quite natural that students of all ages and levels are longing to speak leaving other skills unmastered. Apparently, no one would boast of his high-level language knowledge because he can listen or write perfectly. However, my personal experience in language learning is that listening and writing skills turn out to be the most neglected by students as well as by most teachers.

What should a student do to master his target language?
First and foremost, lots of 'boring' work: grammar drills, vocabulary study, pronunciation exercises, phrasal verbs and idioms practice, prepositions and modal verbs mastering, listening tests, creative writing, all kinds of reading:skimming, scanning, extensive, intensive, loud, silent reading; etc. etc. ect. There are so many course books and cd-roms nowadays!

As for pure speaking practice, one can't say there's no opportunity - the Internet, and Skype in particular, give you lots of speaking opportunities. Though I fail to get the idea of such speaking since no one is going to correct your mistakes.

@темы: speaking, English, posts&comments, grammar

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15:58

What is English For You?

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
English is:
1. my hobby - it's a pleasure to watch a film, to read a book, to listen to a song, to recite a poem...
2. my job - I'm paid for doing different things in English (see above :D )
3. a very useful tool - to surf the net, to read manuals, to get various information, to communicate with people of different cultures and what not
4. another way of thinking (compared with my mother tongue and other languages): there are issues that are more convenient to think about in English
5. an amusing brain-training exercise - I find much more animation in English grammar drills than in crossword puzzles :)
6. the last but not the least - a perfect way of hiding disappointment or irritation (e.g. when I get annoyed with smb I start speaking English as if by mistake and it gives me time to pull myself together)
all in all, I'd say, English is my lifestyle, I can hardly imagine my life without it.

@темы: emotions, English, posts&comments, I

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15:55

Spare time

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
reading, thinking, listening, thinking, speaking, thinking, watching, thinking, writing, thinking, doing chores, thinking...
thinking is my main occupation, I'm afraid :)

@темы: emotions, phrasal verbs, hobbies & pastimes, I

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15:53

Who are you?

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
Desperate (in my work),
Sick (in everyday life) &
Hopeful (in my future)

sick -
1. Suffering from a physical illness;
2. Mentally ill;
3. Defective;
4. Deeply distressed;
Weary; tired;
5. In need of repairs.

Actually, I am all that - ;)


Almost everyone can be alternate strong and weak, or healthy and sick, which actually is the same. But very few people are ready to admit it.
We are educated on the ideas of humanism and are to believe that we are mighty and powerful. When something goes wrong around us, we call it stress and gladly take any medicine to be amused.
I've gained the understanding of it and that made me stronger because I am not afraid of my weakness any longer.

@темы: emotions, English, posts&comments, I

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15:52

'It is' vs. 'There is/there are'

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
Actually, it IS very easy:
you say:
It is a cat (pointing at the cat) and btw, you mean it's not a dog :)
but
There is a cat on the mat :) (you want to say what is on the mat)

next comes the plural form:
They are cats (once again - not dogs :))
There are cats on the mats (there are many cats, at least more than one)

The construction "it's" can be be used much more widely:
It's raining/snowing
It's hot/warm
It's lovely/ugly

Almost all of them can be featured like that:

it's + a noun
it's + V (verb)ing
it's + adverb

@темы: English, posts&comments, it is, there is/ are, grammar

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15:49

What Makes You Happy?

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
The only thing that can make me happy is my conscience:)
Otherwise, other things don't matter much

p.s. God bless you

@темы: emotions, happy, posts&comments, I

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15:48

The First Thing to Do When You Wake up.

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
The first thing I do when I wake up is I'm happy to live on this planet, in this very country, in this very city, with all my friends and relations and those who are not :)

@темы: wake up, emotions, posts&comments, I

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15:41

What do you think about Hittler's Germany?

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
We were taught at school that there was Hitler and there was the German nation and we mustn't put them together.

If there's a criminal in one's family who suffers more: the family or far away people? Certainly, those who have to bear this person for so long.

Instead of restoration of the Empire after the WW1 Hitler actually destroyed the nation. It can hardly be reasonable to think of him as of a national hero.


Thanks God, history is a very practical science, it doesn't know the Subjunctive mood.

You hate Lenin&Co. more than Hitler. If you are Russian, it's quite natural. But it doesn't mean that Hitler is better or less guilty in what happened. Every man is judged by his deeds. Besides, our topic here is Hitler and the way the Germans treat him now. Russian history is very complicated and, I think, deserves a special discussion.

As for Hitler and the Germans... On 18 January 1871 the German Empire was proclaimed. Can you imagine the feelings of common people hearing Hitler when their own fatherland was less than 70 years old? After so many years of humiliation and desperate poverty they were promised to live in 'Eden'. No wonder almost all of them accepted him as a true leader. Those who were clever enough to foresee the future were killed.

I can't believe he was smart. Becoming a leader doesn't always imply quick mind and high abilities. However, the actual founder of the Empire, Otto von Bismarck, wrote as if for Hitler:

“I consider even a victorious war as an evil, from which statesmanship must endeavour to spare nations”

"A really great man is known by three signs— generosity in the design, humanity in the execution, moderation in success."

"People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election"

"The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia."

If you are really looking for someone to blame for what Hitler actually did you'd better have a look at Otto v. Bismarck, a man of great skill but who left no lasting system to guide successors less skilled than himself. Most of historian consider his unification of Germany by force of arms, arresting of the development of liberal parliamentary rule in Prussia and diplomacy of secret treaties set Germany and Europe on the path to the First World War and ultimately the Third Reich.

To end up, I'd like to point out that every nation has the ruler it deserves. If the Germans are ready to restore Hitler's ideas, it's their choice. Though it's clear enough that the nearest threat is coming not from Germany.

@темы: emotions, posts&comments, WW II, I

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15:29

'There are a table and two chairs' vs. 'There is a table and two chairs'

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
As far as I remember the rule, the verb (in 'there is/are' construction) should agree with the nearest noun and I could hardly pronounce '...are one...', but know I am having a discussion with an Italian who's been living in America since 2002 and who insists on the variant 'there are one table and two chairs'.
I searched the Internet and was surprised to learn that the variant 'there are one...etc.' is considered preferable by most Americans. Though no one is ready to provide any grammar reference. On the contrary, I've got now dozens of links to different grammar books and sites where the rule is just the one mentioned above (there is one)
The thing is that in everyday speech we hardly ever use such a sentence. It seems more sensible to say 'there are two chairs and a table' or 'there is a table with two chairs'. Nevertheless, the question is rather urging as there are plenty of tests and exams for our students to pass and I'd like the students to be well prepared for them.


Actually, if we were to speak in numbers, I'd say about 2-3 % of people (mostly Americans, but not only) are skilled enough to be switched to '...are one...' combination in everyday speech. I'm not joking at all, it really requires some additional skill because we much more often use '...is one...' combination.
There about 30 % who admit using '...is one...', though they are sure they're breaking the rule by not saying '...are one...'
All the rest are absolutely certain in saying '...is one....' and they provide lots of grammar reference books.
As for grammar sites on the Internet I'd say you may find any rule you want as now grammar is changing too quickly. We know there are different variants of English: British, American, Australian etc. As English has become the most widespread language we may speak of German English, Chinese English, Russian English etc. Besides these, a new variant is said to be created - Globish (you may find a fine article on wiki about it)

Best wishes in mastering ...ish)))


What is any language for? Communication, first of all.
So, if you can communicate with other people using a certain language, then you can say you know the language.
The other side of the medal is to what extend you can communicate. In other words what's your language level.
I believe everyone here knows about language levels. According to Common European framework there are at least 6 levels. Sometimes they may be called: elementary, pre-intermediate, intermediate, upper-intermediate, advanced, proficiency.
In fact there are much more levels and it's rather challenging to determine one's level.
Linguists are trying to cope with this problem, that's why they classified 5 skills which are listening, speaking, reading, writing and use of language (in other words grammar).
I bet you know all this, I'm just trying to make things clear for those who don't specialize in languages.

Thus, if one can write perfectly well but can't understand natural speech, his level is about pre-intermediate or even low. On the other hand the same may be true for a person who can speak rather fluently but is awkward in writing.

It would be nice if everything were as simple as that, but life is much more complicated. The overwhelming majority of people
use language for communication rather then for passing tests. )) So, lots of things that are very important for linguists just don't matter at all since people can understand each other. BTW, do you always speak Russian without mistakes?

I hope that's my answer to your question about mastering English. I mean it's up to the person himself to decide what level, kind or variant of language he is going to plunge into.

As for the variety of grammar rules, just undertake a search yourself. You may pop into "WordReference - English Only". You can't even imagine how often I was shocked by some new grammar used by native speakers. The whole world is simplifying nowadays let alone the English grammar.

My reason for all these questions is that I am not a user only, I am kind of a linguist, at least that's my profession)))

Anyway, best wishes in mastering your English)))

@темы: English, skills, there is / are, I, grammar

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15:18

Russian Borrowings in English

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
Do you know that the first Russian word found in English literature was 'tapor æx'
The word is said to be found in some papers of Manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle dated back to the year 1031. The word 'tapor' means an 'axe' in Russian. Perhaps the word was brought in by a Viking who sailed to Russia and then to England. (wikipedia)

@темы: English, posts&comments, borrowings, vocabulary

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15:16

Is 'banya' an English word?

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
It's not so easy to trace the origin of the Russian word 'banya' (this is the spelling provided by the dictionaries, if they ever have such an entry) The most popular version is that the word is borrowed from Greek together with 'angel', 'icon', 'mathematics', 'torch', 'bed' etc.
In the 4th Ode of the Canon on Pentecost St. John of Damascus (the 8th century) wrote:
"Having by a word mixed the divine bath of rebirth
With a compounded nature,
You rain down upon me a stream from your immaculate,
Pierced side, O Word of God,
Sealing me with the fervour of the Spirit"
The original text was rendered from Old Greek into Old Church Slavonic where the underlined phrase was translated into 'bania pakibytia' in the meaning of 'purification for eternal life' (this English version is another translation from Slavonic)

Another variant is that the word was borrowed from Turkish 'hamam' - a Turkish hot-steam bath

Still another variant - from Latin's balneum (as well as French 'bain' and English 'bath')

So, one may choose the version he likes most ;)

The only thing worth mentioning is that I failed to find the word 'bania' in various dictionaries of the English language.

@темы: English, posts&comments, banya-bath, vocabulary

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14:41

About the Choice

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
It's really funny that everyone has to choose either the one or the other thing in every moment of his life.

:duma2:

The other side of the medal which is actually sad is that he doesn't usually realize the importance of it.

@темы: emotions, posts&comments, I, Orthodox

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14:36

Hobbies and pastimes

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
What a question! I've been thinking about things I am into for at least half an hour! :-0
Anyway, I'd say creativity of all kinds is my true passion. I enjoy drawing, sewing, knitting, embroidery, gardening, taking photos, repairing and restoring furniture.
I am always reading a couple of books at a time and listening to some music. I play the piano, though not often lately.
Besides, I am awfully curious and willing to learn, so I quite often get absorbed in philosophy, psychology, history and etc.
As my professional interests lay in the sphere of language learning I am obsessed by linguistics and teaching as well as by different languages: Russian, Old Russian, Greek, Latin, English, Italian, German. When/if I have some free time I prefer to spend it on languages (if my head doesn't mind;-))
Honestly, I can hardly draw a line between my job and my pastime.

@темы: emotions, posts&comments, hobbies & pastimes, I

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14:31

Animal consciousness

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
It happened with one of my German shepherds. We were in the country (we have a country house not far from Moscow). That summer was rather rainy and wet so all the fields and meadows around were full of mice. The dog found it rather enjoyable to dig out their holes and hunt them. I fairly doubt if she could have caught any. At that time my father was staying with us for a while. Actually he didn't approve my keeping dogs at home and tended to be more of a cat-lover. I'd like to point out that he payed no attention to my dog, in fact he hardly noticed what she was doing all days long and he was unaware of her mice hunting.
I don't remember how we happened to meet on the meadow: my father with a spade and I with the dog. While we were talking about something the dog was chasing a mouse - I could even see its tail in the hole. The hole being so deep and the mouse so quick, there was no opportunity for the poor dog to catch it. I was going to borrow the spade when the dog gave a quick glance at my father. I was really amazed to hear my father saying 'OK, if you ask, I'll dig here' as if he were answering the dog. When I asked him what had happened, he told me that the dog asked him for help and he understood her pretty well.

As a rule, animals are guided by their instincts, but not only and not always. Actually, you can hardly guess who is the best in doing one's duty by overriding natural instincts and even the one of self-preservation.

It should be admitted that both humans and animals are creatures of instinct and emotion as well as reason. It's Spirit (or 'soul' as we usually call it) that draws a distinct line between the human and the animal world.

@темы: posts&comments, I, pets

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14:04

Favourite English Words

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
As for musical features of different languages, it mostly depends on the timbre of the speaker and his accent. Lots of times I enjoyed marvellous German which sounded highly poetic. I like Polish with its lovely mixture of hissing and sonorous consonants, fricatives and vowels. Though both languages may sound very harsh as well.
As for French, it sounds like a dream or a dream of a dream. I can't imagine an ordinary human can produce such perfect sounds.
However, I'd place Greek on the top considering its musical structure.

Anyway, sound is not all that we have in a word, though it might be the most attractive detail. There are lots of minor details about the word one could hardly think of. For example, I'm in love with the word 'weird' as the combination of letters is not usual in English, so it's really a kind of enigma.

All I want is to show various ways of getting acquainted with new vocabulary in a foreign language in the most amusing way.

One can hardly overestimate the importance of vocabulary drills for a beginner or even for an intermediate student. One might have heard of neurolinguistics which is actually a comparatively new branch of linguistics that deals with the relation between language and the function of the nervous system. Its achievements are widely used in marketing and advertising now. Why not use them for the benefit of language students, then?

Everyone has his own personal perception of each word. In class we usually practise describing words regarding their size, pronunciation, graphic, meaning, origin, various associations etc. While doing this, the words imprint deep in heart and there's no possibility to forget them. Moreover, while playing these game, the students learn not just separate words but through the context (see below), so finally, they know how to use the words correctly.

There's also a question of styles. This problem can easily be solved with this language activity.


My most favourite English word today is 'sparkling'.

First of all, this word is 'wide', it's so-to-say spread upward (letters k,l) and downward (letter p).

Secondly, it's a very light word as 'the fire leaped and sparkled', 'the candlelight sparkled in the dark'.

Thirdly, it's a very rich word, as one can see 'the sparkle of diamonds'.

Then, it's a very merry word as 'we drink sparkling wine on holidays'.

Finally, it's a very romantic word as 'when moonlight sparkles the water' one can see 'pleasure sparkling her eyes'.

Do you like my favourite English word?

@темы: English, posts&comments, languages, favourite words, activities, I, vocabulary

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14:02

WW II

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
So many people suffered and died during that war! Russia is said to lose 20,000,000 people. Lots of villages disappeared and no one of their inhabitants survived. Here, in Russia we acknowledge that every family in our country has at least one defender who died in the WW2 which we usually call The (Second) Great Patriotic War.
So, we have Victory Day on the 9th of May to commemorate the end of the war. A great war parade is held on the Red Square in Moscow. We congratulate those who managed to survive. Russian Church holds services to pray God rest in peace those who gave their lives in that war.

If only people could remember it! If only we could live in peace!

Let's hope and pray, and also let's educate our children to remember all sufferings our peoples had to endure and all sacrifices they had to make so that we can live in peace. It's not very hard to do if we watch real films about the War, sing war songs and tell the children our family stories about those who didn't come back and also about brothers and cousins who were not born because their parents didn't come back...

Victory Day... In Russia it has always been a great holiday with tears on the face and woe in the heart.

@темы: emotions, posts&comments, WW II, I

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14:00

My job

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
I love my job. My friends usually joke that I don't have a job, I have a hobby which I am paid for )))
I can hardly imagine the day when I say:'I know everything and I have nothing more to master' ;) besides my generation usually talk about 'giving to one's job/profession' rather than 'taking from it' if we were to speak in Russian.

I believe one should make up his mind what benefit he is seeking in his job: money, career, vocation or anything else. In case he has chosen money there's no much sense in grumbling that the job is boring :) Otherwise there would be no one for such a dull job ;)

When I was choosing my future profession I got depressed by the necessity to spend lots of time in the office doing nothing. At last I found a job with a flexible schedule, besides I am almost the only one to be responsible for the whole process and no one to interfere.
Finally, my job turned out to be my hobby and my passion))

So many people, so many customs...


Whether to run your own business or to be employed... To my mind it mostly depends on the kind of business and, which is of more importance, the region where you're going to be registered as a businessman/woman.
Once I had a business of my own in Moscow. I didn't have enough time to enjoy my job - lol - as too much time had to be spent in legal offices of all sorts.
I like the idea of feeling free while doing my job, and I also like the idea of being safe. But to a greater extent I like the idea of being professional in my sphere and this leaves no free time for any enterprise.

@темы: emotions, posts&comments, I, job

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13:59

Faith

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
It's mainly the matter of personal experience)
As for Christianity I'd say to believe means to experience, to feel, to know as God is very personal. One may ask him and get the answer) Moreover, plenty of people throughout the history underwent a spiritual conversion by which they gained faith in God and became martyrs.

Well, it may be a little bit confusing... Just imagine your favourite banana)) Imagine, I've never tasted it and I ask you about its taste. You say, it's lovely. And I say, I don't believe you because once I've tasted a yellow fruit and it turned out to be sour. And I keep asking you for more facts to verify your judgement) Funny, isn't it?

@темы: emotions, faith, I, Orthodox

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13:57

My Zoo

Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
We've got a Labrador as well. It's black, sweet when it's asleep, loveable at the photo, affectionate (though you'd better be far away from him when he wants to show it), highly appreciate at lunchtime, and caring for nobody but himself :D) My husband brought him from England as a trained dog, now he retired and lives with us with all possible mess))
My passion is German shepherds. We used to have lots of them, now only the last one is alive. They are usually born highly educated and literate as they can understand at least four languages))) and besides they've got much of common sense as their advice is always the best) When/if I retire I'll be living in the country with a German shepherd.
I also have a cat, a lovely nuisance, which keeps mewing and purring all the time, mostly at night) She doesn't want to learn any languages and pretends to be the mistress of our home Zoo))

@темы: posts&comments, I, pets

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