Stephanie Dodaro, Author at Lessons with Stephanie

Tips To Improve Your Language Skills, Part 2

Posted on July 8, 2022 by Stephanie Dodaro

Tips To Improve Your Language Skills, Part 2

See part one in the previous post. To continue our discussion on tips to improving your language skills, next up is:

Teach Someone Else

This may seem strange or even hard to imagine for some people, but it does work! If you feel as if your language skills are at least at an intermediate level, you should be more than ready to teach a beginner. If you get yourself a good beginner’s textbook, the lesson plan is already made for you. By following the book, you will have a very organized and methodical technique for working with a beginner. It will be a fantastic way for you to review the basics and refresh your knowledge and understanding of the grammar and vocabulary that you may have forgotten. It will challenge you to improve and refine your language skills, so it is a benefit to you and your student! In addition to making this crucial revision in order to teach a new student, you will also gain a much-needed confidence in speaking and using the language. You will probably learn a lot of new stuff as you go along, like new words you’d never come across before, and you will even likely improve your own understanding of grammar points that you may not have perfected the first time around. Being able to explain grammar and vocabulary will come easier for you, since you had to learn it the hard way just as your students are doing. You will be able anticipate the difficulties they will encounter because you had the same ones, thus being able to better help them.

Join A Conversation Or Book Club Group

If you do a quick search in your area, you may find a language school or Meetup group that hosts a conversation circle that meets maybe monthly or as frequently as weekly. Here, we have several Meetup groups that meet on various days during the week, daytime or evening. You can maybe find a group that meets your language level or interest. Sometimes the group may meet to discuss literature or simply to have drinks or dinner in the evening, or coffee or lunch during the day or weekends. Language schools like Alliance Française or Deutches Haus, in addition to language classes, may host free or low-cost events in which members may be able to participate. These could be book clubs, seminars, presenters, film clubs, or even parties for Christmas or national holidays. Participating in these may be beneficial for you to meet native speakers, or other language learners with whom you can practice speaking in a very relaxed atmosphere.

Create An Immersion Environment At Your Home (see blog)

I wrote about this recently, so refer to the blog I posted (March 2021) for more details. I just want to reiterate that having as much immersion in the language you are learning is crucial! Subscribe to magazines or newspapers, get CDs or stream music, watch the news, movies or videos in your target language, put up posters of verb charts or vocabulary, change your phone or computer language, anything and everything you can do to have the language all around you will reinforce and strengthen your confidence and abilities.

Talk To Anyone/ Everyone, Even If They Don’t Know The Language You’re Speaking!

There is also another option, which might annoy your family and friends, but which could be fun and interesting to you (and possibly to others), and that is to just talk in your target language every time you want to say something, and then translate it. If you want your spouse to pass you the butter, say it first in the language you are learning, and then translate it. It sounds nuts, but I have students who do this. It gives them the chance to practice their language skills, figure out how to say what they want to say, but still get the message across in the translation. Their family members may even learn something in the process! It’s a little like the one from part 1, in which I said you could just talk to yourself. However the difference (and maybe an added benefit) is that it needs to come out quickly and in good pronunciation, intonation and rhythm. Thinking to oneself is a little different from speaking out loud. Give it a try. You may realize that you are a little slower at speaking out loud than you are at thinking what you want to say.

Write Daily

In an article posted on my blog (Feb 2017) I talked at length about writing to improve your language skills. For more details, please refer to this post. Briefly, I believe writing is critical to the development of language skills, and I have seen this put into practice with great success by many of my students. When students began a habit of writing daily, even as little as a few sentences to a few small paragraphs, they would often notice great improvement in their ability to form their thoughts and ideas in the language they are studying. It challenges them to think about how things need to be said in the language they are learning, for example, the vocabulary or grammar needed and so much more. Especially if you are going to be writing by hand, I believe the memory for words and phrases that you write down is stronger and will last longer. Whether it be personal memories, experiences, daily activities or even on more abstract topics like friendship or success, taking a few minutes every day to write in a notebook will work wonders on your skills in all areas.

Get a Tutor / someone to talk to to practice/ language partner.

So finally, I will end with the obvious one. When all else fails or is still not enough, or when the above opportunities do not present themselves, and you just want or need more, you may just need to get a tutor or private teacher. Taking a class is great for the interaction that you will have, but it may not give you the individualized attention you need or want. If you have very specific goals in mind, for example to pass a test, to prepare for an upcoming trip or to apply for a job, then a tutor is probably the best option. I would also say that a private tutor is also best for someone with some experience studying the language here and there and may have a level that is difficult to place in a class. If you live in a very rural area and there are not a lot of language schools or tutors, there are plenty of tutors (like me) who are working online to deliver quality professional lessons. Don’t knock it until you try it! I know studying online may not seem like a great experience to you, but it is in the comfort of your own home or office, may fit in well when you have an unpredictable schedule, and you don’t have the hassle of commuting in traffic or going out in bad weather. It really can be quite convenient for people with busy schedules. If you are on a budget and just can’t afford the cost of hiring a private teacher, there are also programs that connect you with a language partner with whom you can exchange language lessons, dividing the hour between your learning their native language, and teaching your language to them. It may be a slow process, and they will possibly be amateur teachers, but if you both stay on task, you could get a lot out of it. Keep in mind that it also may be very irregular and some language partners are not as committed as you may be.

In Conclusion

All in all, language learning is a process. It can be a lifelong process, and at times frustrating or slow, but it is always well worth it. A second language is a valuable skill and useful in many situations, from travel to work. It keeps the mind healthy and young and can really change the way we see the world and others. So if you are committed, go all in. I hope the above tips prove to be as useful to you as they have been to me and to many of my students. If you can think of others, please add them in the comments below. I would be happy to see them, as well as many of my students.

Useful Tips To Improve Your Language Skills Part 1

Posted on June 14, 2022July 8, 2022 by Stephanie Dodaro

Here Are Several Tips To Improve Your Language Skills

Part 1:

My students often ask me how they can improve their language skills. Of course there are some obvious answers, but sometimes it is not such a simple question. My answer really does depend on the student’s situation, where they live, what their level is and what they have the opportunity to do around them. It will depend on whether they are living in the country where their target language is spoken, whether they have friends or family that also speak this language, and so forth. Therefore, I wanted to create this blog to discuss some of the options that my students might consider trying. Add to the comments below your tips, or what you think of these mentioned here. As this started to become very long, I will have a part two coming soon.

Talk to Yourself

Obviously, the best way to improve your language skills is to get a tutor, but we will discuss that later. If you have no one with whom you can practice your language, why not talk to yourself? I know it may sound silly, but let me explain This is a very valuable technique and one which I think often gets overlooked. Anytime I ever tried to learn a language or even practice one I knew well, I would find myself thinking about how to discuss a situation in which I might find myself and pondering the way I would or could express it. I could be on a bus or in a café while having an imaginary conversation with someone about what I did earlier, how I would say it, searching for the vocabulary I would need to have for this conversation. Then, possibly I would realize that I don’t know a certain necessary or important word, which would then lead me to the question of how I could rephrase it or describe the word that I am missing. Oddly enough, this kind of preparation could help a lot when you actually do find yourself having that very conversation one day. Maybe you imagine describing what you cooked earlier, what your recent trip was like, what kind of work you do, the book you’re reading now, or any other type of conversation you could have with a stranger or friend you encounter somewhere. When I was in Japan, I was alone and struggling with Japanese. I imagined any number of ordinary situations where I would have to talk to someone. It often helped later when I did have to have that discussion. Sometimes I would even go home later and search for the words I realized I didn’t know or ask a friend for help with it.

Labeling/ Signing

Labeling things in the house with little sticky notes is something I did when trying to learn Latin. It is another very useful technique, especially if you are at the beginning stage of learning vocabulary. Even more than that, in fact, you can take advantage of all those moments when you are doing something monotonous like brushing your teeth, washing the dishes, or folding the clothes by sticking up verb conjugations, word lists etc, by the place where you stand doing those things. Even just momentary glances at those lists can help with the memorization of words and phrases while you work.

Sing Along With Music

Discovering great music in the language you are learning is a great way to help you along with your language skills in terms of vocabulary, fluency, rhythm, intonation, pronunciation and speed. I recommend finding good song writers, though. Watch out for pop songs that use too much slang or dirty language. That is why I recommend that you choose carefully; otherwise, you might risk learning some bad habits, or too much colloquial or informal language before really understanding it. Getting the lyric sheets or CD booklet to read along as you listen will be helpful in the beginning, not only to understand the words but to learn them as you listen. However, sometimes I just try to learn the words by listening to the songs over and over again. That is why I suggest finding something you like. Over time, I learned the words, started singing to it, while trying to keep up the speed. It was really challenging at first, but it made me so excited to be able to eventually keep up and sound native! Ask me for my recommendations for French music.

Read, Read, Read…

As I have written in many previous posts (Jan 2021), reading is one of the best ways to improve your language skills. You can search some of my older posts for information on why and how to go about it. I really stand by this one, as it is tried and tested and proven to work. I have rarely spent more than a few weeks in France and yet managed to develop a fairly good vocabulary, fluency and C2 level of French. Yes, I studied for many years in school. Despite that, upon leaving my program, I still felt as if my speaking level was lower than it maybe should have been after all those years. I feel that I mostly improved my speaking skills through abundant reading. Now, I am not saying to pick up any novel and just start reading if you are not at an upper intermediate or advanced learner. At A1 or B1 levels, I think it is useful to pick up what’s called a “graded reader”. These are student editions of popular novels, classics etc, scaled down to a certain language level with a certain vocabulary base, so that it can be understood by language students at that level. If you are a beginner, you may look for A1 or A2 readers, intermediate level B1 or B2, or maybe you are advanced then you can search for C1 or C2. These readers may have vocabulary listed in the margin, at the bottom or a glossary for students, maybe even comprehension and vocabulary exercises. For English learners there are the Penguin classics. For French learners there are all kinds of such readers. They are designed to be self-paced; however, I still think that these are probably useful done in coordination with a tutor.

Easy Readers/ Facile a Lire series: http://www.easyreaders.eu/french.aspx

Eli International: https://www.elionline.com/francais-fle/?idc%5B0%5D=482

Black Cat CIDEB: https://www.blackcat-cideb.com/en/catalogue/french/

Hachette Lire en francais facile readers: https://www.hachettefle.com/outils/hw_education_disciplines/lecture-13490

Cle Language direct easy reader: https://www.languages-direct.com/shop-by-language/french?book_format=278

Stay tuned for more tips. In my next post, I am going to discuss why teaching someone else might be one of the best ways of better learning what you are studying, as well as three other tips. As always, language learning is a life-long journey. There will always be something new to learn. Multiplying the number of things you do and varying your experiences will make it easier and sometimes even more fun.

The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Stephanie Dodaro

In 1998 a book came out that detailed the birth of the first English dictionary which began in 1857. No joke, there was nothing quite like a “proper English dictionary” before that time. It would take me nearly two decades to discover this book. The book is called The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester. If the title alone did not whet your appetite, then possibly nothing will. This was yet another lucky book fair find, and I could simply not resist this one. It is the true story of the making of the famous OED (The Oxford English Dictionary) and of the famous or even infamous men who made it happen. It is an absolutely awe inspiring story of the dictionary that almost did not happen, the dictionary that men died making never to see completed. Our main characters are Dr. James Murray, editor of the OED, and Dr. W. C. Minor, main contributor of thousands of entries for the dictionary and permanent inmate at the asylum for the criminally insane.

There are many aspects about this book that I loved. There are actual dictionary entries reproduced at the beginning of every chapter, almost setting the theme for the chapters themselves. Chapter 1, for example, begins with the very lengthy listing for “murder”, with all the etymology and changes for the word over the years. By seeing these entries, the reader gets a sense of the immense project it was to put together a dictionary of such scope. It was a monumental task. Even those taking on this task underestimated how long it would take, which in total took about 70 years. I also very much appreciated the author’s language, which is very elegant and sophisticated. For “word nerds”, myself included, it can be refreshing to read something so eloquently written, with such academic vocabulary, rich in meaning.

The book retraces the history of both men from childhood and how they found themselves in their individual situations, and to a degree, what made them the men they became, especially in the case of Dr. Minor. It leads us to the moment when Dr. Minor finds a flier with a call for contributors for the dictionary. Finding himself with a lot of time on his hands and an extensive library in his cell, he could work and occupy his time and his mind. It could possibly have proven to be therapeutic in the end.

Overall the story of these two men, and the incredibly ambitious project they undertook was fascinating, to the point that I even found myself reading little bits to friends who were willing to humor my enthusiasm for this book. To imagine that this was done mostly by mail, submissions on little slips of paper, handset typeface, and compiled manually, in the mid 19th century makes my head explode. To think that in Shakespeare’s day there was no English dictionary, to think of having no way to check the meaning or spelling of a particularly strange or unusual or new word, is difficult to imagine. We take it for granted.

So as you may imagine, I devoured this one not only as a bibliophile, but also a word nerd and lover of historical fiction and etymology. It is meticulously researched and eloquently retold. Undoubtedly a must read for anyone looking to improve vocabulary (whether English is your native language or not!) and especially for someone who underestimates the importance of and need for a dictionary.

How Did English Become So…. Unique?

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Stephanie Dodaro

Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue, John McWhorter

Rarely can I walk through a bookstore without something catching my eye unexpectedly. I was not looking for this book in particular and had not even known of its existence when I came across it. It was particularly serendipitous for me as an English teacher to find this book. I dreaded having to answer the question “Why do we have to say it like that?” or “Why like this and not like that?” and those questions often come up. Hallelujah! This book answered all of those questions for me!

For the language learner, no other language in the world seems like English. In fact, according to McWhorter, “[T]he pathway from Beowulf to The Economist has involved as much transformation in grammar as in words, more so, in fact than in any of English’s close relatives. English is more peculiar among its relatives, and even the world’s languages as a whole, in what has happened to its grammar than in what has happened to its vocabulary.” (Introduction, p. xii) If you have ever wondered why English grammar is like it is, this book will help you understand. What really happened to English along the way? When did verbs lose all of their endings, except for the third person singular? Many languages have very complicated verb conjugations and a whole pile of irregular ones, as well. If it is a Germanic language like German, where are all of the noun declensions, case markers? Why does it not look German-esque at all? I studied German, briefly, and can say that it is very, very different. English grammar, McWhorter suggests, is quite easy compared to languages with all those things, at least in the beginning. In my opinion, it is the massive vocabulary that makes English so challenging, not its grammar.

McWhorter tells a very animated tale of English through the ages, from the Viking invasions to Norman invasions, then Latin. He can be quite humorous in his retelling of the history of the language, making it a rather enjoyable read. However, it is an academic text in which he explains the grammar and history, which are at the heart of his study. However, the read is worth it because it is so important to understand why the language is the way it is. This is especially important for me in teaching and explaining it. He will show that the evolution of English is more than just the simple borrowing of words. There was real grammatical evolution happening by the Welsh and Cornish, later the Vikings, who never managed to speak it well and thus how we lost most of the grammar that had remained by that time, and finally, this is what we are left with. He will also explain that what is considered a grammar mistake by some grammarians is illogical. His arguments for these are hard to refute.

There is only one part with which I did not quite agree. He feels that grammar and language do not shape our thoughts or the way we see the world. I have read other articles to the contrary and have tested this theory on many students in my years teaching. I still read the chapter to see his arguments, but I have not been convinced by this part. Maybe you will be, or maybe you will also not be convinced. If you want to read the other side of the argument, ask me for links to two really well written articles.

One of the most interesting chapters is the last one, discussing what happened to English before it was actually English (Proto-Germanic), the changes to the language as it evolved as spoken by non-native speakers.

This book is cleverly written, entertaining, if not occasionally heavy and thick with grammar and sophisticated vocabulary, a very academic read, but worthwhile indeed. I would highly recommend this for serious language learners, linguists, English grammar or writing teachers and lovers of historical linguistics. It is definitely a book I plan to review again and again.

Create An Immersion Environment, Wherever You Are…

Posted on March 24, 2021March 24, 2021 by Stephanie Dodaro

It is well known that the best way to learn a language is to move overseas and work or study in the country where that language is spoken. To be around a language every day and all day is the best way to learn a language quickly and with possibly much less effort than if you were not there. However, that option is not feasible for most people. Whether it is an issue of money, time, any other number of possible issues, most people will learn a foreign language at school, with very few opportunities to be around native speakers of that language. That can pose many problems for people, slowing down the process and making it difficult to stick to it, as well as making fluency very difficult to achieve. Like most people, I learned French in school, only starting from high school, which is relatively late. However, I did manage to achieve fluency with a lot of effort, a lot of dedication and many trips abroad. If you are not studying a language in the country where it is widely spoken, there are ways to create a kind of immersion environment at your home. To do this though, you will need to really commit to it. Follow these tips and ideas daily or weekly to make the most of your regular practice, as if you were living overseas!

Change the language on your devices (iphone, computer) to the language you are studying. You will not believe all the words you will learn in doing this. The translation of things we use daily will surprise you. How is the expression “unlock screen” or “settings” translated into the language you are studying? It might surprise you. It also might surprise you how quickly you get used to this. I handed my ipod to a friend to use, and she was so confused by what she was looking at. I had totally forgotten this and had to find for her the thing she was looking for.

Subscribe to newspapers or magazines for home delivery. It is a wonderful thing to receive newspapers in the language you are studying delivered to your door. It sometimes makes me feel like I am traveling abroad. I prefer the printed press to digital media. It’s easy to carry to a cafe, to read on a bus, train or plane, and it never needs batteries. Its very presence is a reminder to read it, whereas a newsletter or subscription that arrives in your email box is too easily lost in a deluge of other daily messages and quickly forgotten. Having an international newspaper is a way to stay informed of the culture and events of the country and at the same time learn new words in the language you are studying. Languages are always changing and this is one way of staying up to date with new terms and expressions. It is also really nice to share these newspapers once I am done with them. I receive a newspaper weekly from France. Once I have read it, I usually pass it on to friends and other francophiles who get the chance to enjoy a newspaper in French from time to time.

Live stream news on your computer or subscribe to a cable channel in your target language. There are now so many opportunities to get television programs or news in different languages, especially French, Spanish or even Arabic. I love France24 because I can live stream the news 24-hours a day on the internet website or even via the app. This same channel also has an Arabic version. You can just steam it during the day when you are not working and let yourself get used to hearing the language as if you were living in the country.

There is also, of course, TV5 for French and many Spanish language channels on cable TV. It can be a good opportunity to see programs or news in the language you are studying. Additionally there are many TV shows and movies in foreign languages on programs such as Netflix, Hulu or Amazon. Just ten years ago, this was not possible, and it used to be very difficult to rent movies in a foreign language. Now these kinds of programs are widely available. I don’t recommend using translated subtitles, as they are usually paraphrased, and quite often not what the people actually said word for word. I do recommend trying it with the subtitles turned off or set the subtitles to the original language of the movie. Just remember that the subtitles and what they actually say may not correspond exactly. This has actually confused me from time to time. Watching movies or television programs in the language you are studying (with or without subtitles) will give you extra practice in the language. There is one word of caution: this is extremely difficult. If you get frustrated, maybe it is too soon for you to be trying this. It has taken me a very long time to be able to watch movies or television in French. Some programs use more slang and popular expressions than others. You should be aware that comedies will use slang more than dramas and that maybe you need to start with documentaries or news before moving on to comedies.

Listen to music, radio, podcasts or CDs in the language you are studying. To really expand on your total immersion atmosphere, search for CDs of music in the language you are studying. If you do not have a CD player, there are programs that have a lot of international music like Pandora, or satellite radio. I prefer CDs because I can listen to the songs over and over again, learn the words and practice singing along as quickly and fluently as the singer. They may also come with a booklet of lyrics, so it helps to understand and learn the lyrics. I found that singing along with songs I loved really helped with my ability to speak. It seemed to help with pronunciation, speaking more quickly, intonation, even sounding more natural. Remember that just like talking on the phone, radio has no visual clues, so this is going to be a challenge. Having it on in the background is nice because it will get you used to hearing the language without the pressure of trying to understand. You may pick up on a thing or two here and there, but eventually get more and more as you do it. The idea here is just to create that immersion situation, build up your ability and train your ear.

Participate in social groups that share your interest in language. There are groups like Meetup.com and others which gather from time to time just to practice the language and participate in activities related to it. I had a fun Meetup group in Houston that met at least once a month to dine in a French restaurant and talk in French. There were quite a number of expats too, so it was really fun for me, since I was no longer a beginner. The host made sure to seat people according to their language level and ease of speaking, and we all got the chance to practice the language with people who could help. You can search groups meeting in your area, say to speak French, English, Spanish, Arabic, and can limit the travel area to as large or small as you would like. You will very likely find a group, sometimes one that even meets weekly or several that meet on different days of the week, ones that meet for coffee, drinks, dinner, or just to sit in a park and chat. If one does not exist yet, consider starting one. It will probably surprise you the interest people have in things like that.

Look for local cultural organizations that have regular events. Even some culture and language schools have events that they host, inviting students and expats to participate in meetings, presentations, celebrations, holidays and festivals. You can become a member and then receive notices that announce events in which you can participate. Here we have Deutsches House for German students, which also hosts events; Alliance Francaise and Union Francaise both for French events, and there are probably other cultural centers for Spanish or Chinese that I don’t even know about. The more often you do these events, the more frequent the chances you have of practicing your language, meeting people in your community who also speak that language and learning more about the culture.

Seek out shops and boutiques where the owners are native speakers. Make a habit of patronizing shops, boutiques or restaurants where the owners speak the language you are studying. We enjoy a couscous restaurant where the owner is from Tunisia. It feels like we are travelling when we are there. We can order and chat with the owner in French and enjoy a great meal. There are other places in town too, like boutiques specializing in French housewares, French bakeries, even bars where we can meet the owners, speak French and get local goods.

These are just some of the ways in which I have created immersion at home here. I am lucky that I live in a French city, where so much French culture already exists. My partner is French, and even though we use English at home, I also get to communicate with his family in French at least weekly. I use French in some way every day, and I think that has helped me enormously. I recommend that you try some of these tips, and if you think of others, please post them below in the comments. The key is daily use, even if you do not have the opportunity to live overseas. Especially if that is the case, then you need to replicate that experience as much as possible where you are.

Studying from home? How to make the best of it.

Posted on February 7, 2021February 12, 2021 by Stephanie Dodaro

As is the case for many of us, this past year has kept us at home, locked in to our living spaces which have now become at the same time, home, school and office. How can we make the best of it and still manage to succeed at our work and study while not being distracted by all the things around us? Your situation may differ depending on how comfortable or roomy your space is, but there are still things that you can do to make the best of it.

Have Your Own Work Space

If possible, have a designated space. If you live in a multi-room space, house or apartment, try to designate one room as your office/ study room. Even if it’s the living room, a spare room, small vestibule, or foyer, make sure that the people that like with you know that certain times during the day, you will need to use this space for work or study. If you don’t have a spare room because you live in a studio or one-room apartment, maybe take a corner of the bedroom, or the kitchen table, and only use that space for work during that time, symbolically making that a work space to contrast with the rest of your free time. To more clearly define your space, you might like using a paper screen or a curtain to more clearly mark off the space. This can serve two purposes, first, hiding from sight the rest of the house, thus eliminating visual distractions. Second, if you need to use video conferencing, it can also hide the rest of your house from the caller. It can make your video conferencing more professional-looking and also give you some privacy.

Block Out Noise

If you live with roommates or family, distractions can be auditory as well as visual. To eliminate noise distractions, try using headphones. Noise cancelling headphones can be especially helpful, even if you are not trying to listen to something. They can help block out distractions, allowing you to concentrate on your work. As stated above, get support from your family or roommates that this time is for your study and ask that interruptions be limited to very important circumstances. Even here where I work from home, we make sure to not interrupt the other as much as possible. Even if one of us has to walk through the room, we do so quickly and as quietly as possible. We also use headphones when we are working at the same time, to limit the amount of noise interruption for each other.

Prepare Your Space For Efficiency

If you are working or studying from home, then making that space more efficient is essential to your concentration. If you sit at a desk, or wherever it is that you choose to work, make that space efficient by having what you need at hand, writing utensils, paper, notebooks, textbooks, reference materials, a small desk lamp, even making sure to have a beverage or healthy snack nearby can help save precious minutes. The moment you get up to grab something can cost you an hour, just by getting distracted, thinking you need right now to do the laundry or wash dishes or check messages on your phone.

In addition to having a good space conducive to work, make sure you have a comfortable chair or place to sit and do your work with ample lighting. These things can make all the difference. A good chair will prevent back pain, leg pain and overall make your work more comfortable. Proper lighting will help you stay alert and awake. If the lighting is too dim, staring at the computer screen will hurt your eyes, and you will start to feel too tired to concentrate.

Dress for Work or School

Remembering that you are going to school or work, even though you are in actuality just sitting down in front of the computer in your home, is important to your attitude about it. So my advice is to dress the part. Put on a good shirt or top, even if the bottom is a comfortable pair of sweatpants. Even something as simple as putting on “outside” clothes can change your attitude. You can even change your clothes at the end of the day or when your studying is done, to symbolize that the day is done and you can now relax and play.

Get Organized

Another way to keep you on track is to outline your projects for the day. Making sure you know what absolutely has to be done today, what your deadlines are, and what can wait for later is key to staying on task. I keep an agenda open on my desk, with all my courses listed for the week. I can easily see what courses are coming up and whether I need to prepare something for them. I put a check next to each one when I have done my preparation for them. I also have a column down the side of the page where I note some additional projects that I need to remember to do.

Set Alarms

It could also be helpful to set an alarm to warn you about the passing of time. I used to find it very useful to have an alarm going off 30 minutes before my lessons, so that I don’t get carried away with an activity and miss my class. Alarms can be set to remind you of the end of a break, so that you don’t go too long, warn you about upcoming meetings, the end of lunch time, or for project deadlines. Speaking of breaks, make sure that you do in fact take a break. It is very important for your brain, for your motivation, even for your creativity that you have a reasonable amount of time for a rest. There is only so much information your brain can absorb in a matter of time. Therefore, it is preferable to stop, have a snack, take a rest, do something enjoyable, go outside and take a walk. Just be sure to set that alarm to let you know when that break is over.

Hide the Cellphone

However, a word of warning about using cell phone for alarms, silence it for all other alerts. I recommend turning off push notifications. They can be distracting and keep people from concentrating on work. They encourage users to pick up the phone and look at alerts, read articles, and then they get lured into reading mail and other messages. Before you realize it, an hour has passed while you are supposed to be studying or working. It is better to put the phone on a “do not disturb” setting, or even airplane mode. It is true that this could prevent your phone from ringing, causing you to miss important calls, but there may be a way to have a “breakthrough” message or call from certain selected numbers in your contact list. That will probably depend on the phone. I also suggest hiding the phone in a drawer or out of site while you are trying to work or study.

Keep Your Goals In Mind

Finally, I understand that for most people this situation is not ideal. Some workers miss the office camaraderie, interacting with colleagues; students must miss the classroom experience, seeing friends and socializing in between classes. It is essential that people remind themselves of why they are doing this. If you are a student, you must have a goal. Maybe you are studying to improve your life, build skills for your professional life, for a better job, college entrance, or for international travel one day. All of these are really great reasons to continue your study despite the government orders to close schools to on-site courses. Keep your goals in mind as this is going on. It will keep you motivated. For professionals working from home, remember the above tips and make sure to balance your work and private life. Make that distinction clear. Close the door to the office at the end of the day, change your clothes, and turn off the computer. There are a lot of ways our work can bleed into our home life when working from home. Keeping the balance is important.

How to improve skills in your second language… Read!

Posted on January 17, 2021January 17, 2021 by Stephanie Dodaro

Many of my students ask me what I think is the best way to improve their speaking skills in their second language. Of course the simple answer is to practice speaking. The language student should seek any and all opportunities to speak their target language, even if that means traveling overseas where the language is spoken, joining clubs, language schools, speaking with international tourists that one may encounter, or with friends from school who are also studying the language.

However, that is not necessarily the best answer, and it is certainly not the only answer. What would a person do if he has only few or no opportunities to speak the target language? This is often the case for a person learning a language in a country where the language is not widely spoken. I lived in Japan for a few years, and very seldom met people with whom I could speak French. Even when that rare opportunity occurred, we were usually in a mixed group where the common language was English. Even then, the French speakers were not likely to correct my French or offer assistance. The only thing I could do to maintain my language skills was to read.

Speaking more, practicing conversation, to improve one’s speaking skills can only help if someone corrects the speaker. Yet the student is not necessarily going to build on skills as much as maintain what he already has. The vocabulary already at his disposal is not likely to be forgotten, but he may not add much to it without the help of a teacher conducting a conversation class dedicated to building vocabulary and editing grammar.

Why Reading Works

If one is living in a rural area without a multicultural population or in a small town without international tourism, expats, or access to conversation classes, then the argument for reading to improve speaking skills is much stronger and the overall benefits are numerous. When reading, a person is going to see much more than vocabulary. He is going to build on his understanding of syntax, the use of articles, verb tenses, prepositions, idiomatic expressions, the particular way a language expresses things, the way phrases are built, colorful, descriptive language, and so much more. These benefits don’t just come at the early learning stage, but throughout your language learning journey. Just the other day, I came across a beautiful phrase in a French novel that I was reading that I hope to use one day. The author was describing a friend from her past, and said of her that she was “belle comme le soleil” (beautiful as the sun). I thought that this was such a lovely phrase and wanted so much to remember it for a future time when I can use it that I wrote it down in my notebook. I also found equivalents to English idioms that I recognized, even though they were phrased somewhat differently. We really do continue to learn at any age, at any stage of our education.

Why Not Use a Dictionary?

The way students should deal with new and unfamiliar vocabulary is not to spend hours looking in the dictionary for every new word they come across. Obviously that is dull, makes reading laborious, and can lead to confusion if they pick the wrong definition or if the word is part of an idiom or used metaphorically. The student should just keep reading. Does the new word impede the meaning of the passage as a whole? Is the general idea of what’s being said understood? If so, the student should just make a guess about the word and keep reading. If the word keeps popping up, and the student thinks that maybe it is important to know exactly what the meaning is, only then would I say it is best to look it up. The student may find himself surprised to realize that he had understood it all along, which will absolutely help with his confidence for the next time. Eventually this word may become part of this repertoire, adding to his growing vocabulary at his disposal. I have very distinct memories of what book I was reading when I learned certain words.

Other Skills Learned through Reading

While reading, it is not just vocabulary that the student is developing. He is also being exposed to the usage of prepositions, how and when they are used; articles, which ones are used and in which situations; and common expressions and how they are framed in the language that he is learning. We often make the mistake of simply translating expressions directly from our native language into the language that we are learning, and that often does not work well. I can honestly say that my full understanding of which articles to use and when did not only come from my grammar classes, but by seeing their usage again and again in books I read. I would sometimes stop and reread a phrase asking myself why one article was used and not another. After some consideration of the meaning of the phrase, it would become clear why it was used. This momentary contemplation cleared up my confusion and has added to my understanding of the grammar.

Final Thoughts…

This all can happen quite naturally, without distracting the student from what he is actually reading. One word of caution, the student should not be translating in his head while reading. If the book is at the right level for the student, the words should be familiar enough for the student to simply read, as it is written, in the language and enjoy what he is reading. If he is actively trying to translate simultaneously, or pronounce the words in his head, he will get lost in that activity and will lose the meaning in the process. Therefore, when reading in a foreign language, it is especially important for the chosen book to be at the appropriate level for the student so that the student does not rely too heavily on translation or the dictionary. Too much can be lost in meaning, and none of the other benefits will be gained from the reading.

So, what are you waiting for? Pick up a great book and begin today!!

** Check out my Book Club courses for suggestions on great books to read for French or English language learners, and contact me for more information***

Uniquely Louisiana French (and English!)

Posted on September 5, 2020September 5, 2020 by Stephanie Dodaro

Uniquely Louisiana French, and Part Two of Louisiana English à la française!

In the exciting follow-up to my article from last year, I want to share some of the things that I have recently learned are “uniquely Louisiana French” expressions. As may already be evident by now, we speak a bit differently here, even in the way we use English. However, some of our French expressions are also unique to this area and not used anywhere else in the French-speaking world, which by the way is big, involving over 40 countries!

Français à la Louisianaise

Café du Monde by Chelsea Audibert on Unsplash

Last time, I mentioned our use of a 19th century word, banquette, which here is the sidewalk, and now the French of L’hexagone use differently (the meaning now refers to a small bench). Yet another expression that we use, that no one outside of New Orleans uses, is vieux carré, meaning “old square”. We call the old historical part of our city, the downtown area, this way, even though it is more like a rectangle really, a set of original streets laid out in a grid pattern, 14 by 8 blocks, a configuration which hasn’t changed since 1725. It is a logical way to call the area, and yet we equate it with meaning “the old city” or “the historical district”. That does not quite work the same way in Europe, where old, historical cities were built in a different way, with more winding roads and starbursts. If we were to use this term with French speakers in Europe or elsewhere, they will likely wonder what we mean by it.

Another (possibly) obvious New Orleaneanism is our motto: Laissez les bons temps rouler. This is a likely translation, from English into French this time. We say “let the good times roll” in English, but in fact this is not a sentence one would likely say in French. For as my dear Philippe says, “good times don’t ‘roll’ in French”. Refer back to Part One of this series, times “pass” in French. We can “passer un bon temps”, but not roll it. It had never occured to me after all these years in Louisiana that this would not be possible to say in French. Imagine my surprise!

English “New Orleans Style”

Moving on to more English expressions that are unique to New Orleans, and possibly with French roots, there is the very colorful way that we order our sandwiches. Here in New Orleans, we order our sandwiches “dressed”, which means served with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. I always wondered why non-locals looked perplexed at the question. Does no one else out there order their sandwiches dressed? (Please tell me in the comments section below!) If not, what do they say, then, when they want all the usual stuff on it? After much research and discussion with French speakers, we came to the conclusion that there is a culinary equivalent, “habiller” (to dress), used when preparing poultry or other things, by removing innards, feathers, etc. It would seem that the idea is to “dress it up”, in other words, “make it pretty”. It sounds like a logical conclusion to me; although, I doubt that the French order their sandwiches “habillés”.

A student of mine once asked me if there was some French correlation to the expression used locally for putting away the dishes, which here is “save the dishes”. I think it is possible that it could have come either from the translation of “garder” (to keep or save, for example “garder la maison”, to take care of the house) or from “ménager” (“to keep, save, manage” as in “ménager son bien” manage or conserve one’s fortune”). Le ménage is the household, and let us not forget that faire le ménage means to clean or sweep or tidy the household. I can not say for sure where the Louisiana expression came from, but I hope some of my readers can shed some light on this for me.

When we want to say “over there”, in Louisiana we say “up the road” as in “my friend lives up the road a bit.” It is more or less the same in French, en haut de la rue. Additionally, when we want to say “that day or week in the past”, we say “that week there” just like in French, ce jour-là, cette semaine-là, (literally that day there, that week there).

There’s one that I cannot determine yet, but may add an update here if I can get some information from those of you who are locals out there. In French to say the day of the week, it is either aujourd’hui c’est.. (today is..) and the name of the day of the week, or nous sommes… and the day. This last one translates as “we are… “, as in “We are Monday.” Do any Louisiana locals say that? I have a feeling that it is something that may be said here, but I cannot be sure.

This last one was recently brought to my attention (Thanks, Faye!). When we “pass by your house” here in Louisiana, we may also say that we are not “going to get down”. That is our way of saying that we are coming by to see you, but not getting out of the car. That also comes directly from the French who use the verb descendre (literally: to descend, go down) to say “get out of (a car or bus)”.

I love the charming, colorful way that people speak here. It is like its own foreign language in America, centered on this little tiny space in the deep South, on this tropical island, the northernmost city of the Caribbean. French is so integrated into our daily lives here that we are not always even aware of it. When I have pointed out some of the similarities in the way we speak here to the French my students are learning, they are often amazed. It is in our blood, in our lifestyles, and it is a vital part of our identity.

Vieux Carré street sign
by Naveen Venkatesan on Unsplash

If there is anything to add, please write to me in the comments. If you have any questions about local Louisiana expressions that you think might be of French origin, also please write me here and I can look into it for you!

I Heard the Owl…

Posted on July 1, 2020August 23, 2020 by Stephanie Dodaro

I Heard the Owl Call My Name, but Margaret Craven

This is a classic which I first read during my bachelor’s program in the spring of 1995. I have since read it several times with some of my ESL students, and each time we did a very close read, discussing themes and topics along the way. With every new reading, I am reminded of how deeply philosophical it is, how it emphasizes the strength and importance of community, and how a village is really like an extended family. I am moved every time by the reading. This is really the kind of book that a person might reflect upon from time to time for years to come, and a great book to enjoy at a time like this, so isolated and separated from our own communities.

Based on a true story, it is the life of a priest, Mark, who unbeknownst to him is dying, of what exactly the reader never knows. Due to this unfortunate news regarding the young vicar, the bishop decides to send him to his most difficult parish, the remote Native American village of Kingcome, in the Pacific Northwest. The bishop knows that Mark has a lot yet to learn and wants to help him do so as quickly as possible because he does not have a lot of time left. The post will be a challenging one for Mark, and even the trip to arrive there is arduous. He will have to go from one boat to an even smaller boat upriver, through mountains, not to mention the harsh climate he will have to endure, the isolation, and the task of understanding or getting to know the villagers. However, Mark is wise and patient. He knows the value of waiting and keeping silent, listening. Over time he learns more about them, while never fully understanding them, as even he admits. He does in the end, however, end up being respected and even loved by the villagers who mourn his passing in the traditional ceremonial way.

Here is a place of myth, of old legends, where the river is life itself, linking all the other villages, the only way in or out, where the boat he drives becomes an extension of himself. From chapter one we learn the meaning of the title, which also is a legend in which the owl will call the name of the man about to die. Here nature is One with man, and they are all connected, and even dependent on each other. We learn of the slow and steady bond growing between him and another Indian named Jim, of how important that bond becomes, of how much he has influenced the villagers and how much they have influenced him. In fact, their influence on him was so great, Mark could not imagine returning to his world. He was a changed man. He would never again belong to the modern world, and worried a lot about when the time would come that he would have to return there.

This book reminds me of the importance of stillness, or the simpler way of life, of how isolated we have become, in our own worlds separated from society. In the village they suffered together through the rains and the harsh winters, helping each other, sharing food, but in this modern society we have built for ourselves, we suffer alone. The villagers seek to preserve their traditions and rites through dances and stories, but we throw away the old and replace it with new and shiny. The only other man in the village not a Native American was the teacher, who stayed apart from the others. At the death of Mark, he was unable to open the door to join the others, thinking that, “To join the others was to care, and to care was to live and to suffer.” (158) We shy away from death, hide it behind closed doors because the reality is scary. We hide from life too often because being a part of it means risking loss, which is scary. Yet, death is a part of life in the village, and everyone shares in it, takes part in the responsibility of it. It is the cycle of life and a part of everyone and everything in the village.

It is on the short list of books that have made me emotional. I ended up absolutely loving the characters, especially Jim, Mrs. Hudson, Marta, and Keetah. They are charming and caring and wise. This book is inspiring and philosophical, a truly memorable book to remind us of the essential things of life.

***** This book is available for English Book Club**** See Courses for details.

Home, Sweet Home…

Posted on May 3, 2020May 3, 2020 by Stephanie Dodaro

There’s no place like home.

While we are all sitting at home, confined inside our houses and apartments, it is a good time to think about the meaning of the word “home” and how it differs from “house”. What does it really mean? How many definitions are there and which, if any, is most accurate or correct? Does every language have an equivalent, or even a different designation for house and home? It was recently brought to my attention that in French this distinction can be made. For house, there is maison (which could also be home) or even domicile; otherwise there is foyer for home, but the usage is very specific and is a word that also refers to the hearth, or fireplace, words often used metaphorically for the warmth of the home.

Home is where the hearth is.
Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash

Yet my question is really whether people think of the two words, house and home, differently or use them interchangeably without considering even a nuanced difference. For me, a house is simply where you lay your head at night, but a home is something more abstract. It is a feeling, or maybe even an ambiance. For some people it may be where they were born, spent their formative years, where they had their first memories, where their family is now, or anywhere that their family currently is, or even any place that they are currently living. They may go “home” for the holidays, to their childhood home, for example. However, if their parents moved somewhere, would they then have two homes? If not, would the new house be their new home, or would the old one forever be home and the new one just where their parents are now? How do they choose? My family has moved 5 times since I was born, and my “home” is none of those places. I do not have a single memory of the place where I was born, and the place where I spent my first 15 years in school is not special to me.

How does a person feel when he is home? Does he have a different feeling when he is elsewhere? If a person goes on vacation or goes to visit friends, does he have a different feeling in those places? What can a person do to make the place where he lives feel “homey”? For me, home is a place that I have chosen because it is a place where I have found myself to be most comfortable. It is a place where I can be myself, where I am free to express myself, where everyone is so open about who they are that no one person stands out. It is a place welcome to all manners of lifestyle, and has been so throughout its entire history, so this welcoming attitude is really built into the fiber of the city, as if part of its “cultural genetics”.

This home of mine is a place that embraces three of the things I value most, food, community, and leisure. Food is celebration, as is evidenced by the fact that all of our festivals here involve, or even feature, food. There are countless food festivals here, too many to mention, and we have nearly run out of weekends in the year for them. We have a caring, warm, embracing community here. Neighbors speak to each other, look out for each other, smile sincerely and warmly as if they have known each other all their lives. Shopkeepers remember their customers, remember their orders, say hi and even learn their names. I have never felt so important as a customer anywhere else but here.

As for leisure, it is a way of life, nay, it is an art form in this town. We must move slowly here, being just too hot and soupy most of the year to bother being in a rush. It feels sometimes like walking through a pool of water thigh-high, my legs heavy and slow. Yet, what is the rush? Our goal is to enjoy life, to the fullest, and our festivals are evidence of that, not many lasting less than an entire weekend. Our meal times are an event. I once spent 3.5 hours at a table in a restaurant. We had long finished eating, but were too busy enjoying the conversation and finishing wine to realize the time that had passed. That is the point. The waiter never pressured us to finish our meal either.

The pace of life is exceptionally slower here than other places I have been, like Tokyo or Paris, where I often felt pushed along with the current, adrift on a sea of people. The frenetic pace of cities like that was dizzying and left me feeling wind-blown. Only after leaving Tokyo, 30 minutes into my train ride home and over two rivers, did I feel as if I could breathe again. Where is everyone going in such a hurry? For us here in the deep South, here in soulful New Orleans, porch-sitting is a local pastime. I often sit on my porch, occasionally talk to neighbors walking by, watch the birds, breathe the banana-infused, Magnolia-soaked air, while reading a book with a nice hot cup of coffee next to me, letting the time slip by. I dreamt of that one day. When I awoke, I smiled and said, “Yes, that is it. That is what I want.” That is what home feels like to me.

I would love to hear your contributions! Make a comment below and tell me what home means to you.

Tutoring of English and French Conversation, Language, and Composition

Author: Stephanie Dodaro