Soviet Winnie the Pooh is a core childhood memory of mine
It’s never been a secret — Russian is notoriously challenging, filled with confusing conjugations and challenging slang that leaves even the most experienced learners crying, screaming and pulling their hair.
But you don’t have to jump straight into banging your head with a thick Oxford dictionary — there are multiple easy – perhaps even childish – ways to upgrade your Russian skills.
Hey there! It’s been a while since we saw each other at the Language Lab. Last Halloween event was truly a blast, so we decided why not gather again? Join us for Multilingual Karaoke Night! Regardless of your language knowledge or singing ability, everyone is welcome to drop by for good music, good food, and good company!
When? NOVEMBER 20, at 6 – 8 PM Where? LIBRARY, LANGUAGE LAB (LIBRARY 33)
And if you happen to walk around GCC tomorrow, (who doesn’t?) stop by our table to learn more about what the Language Lab is, what LangLabbies do, and what fun language-themed events are on the agenda this semester!
When? NOVEMBER 19 at 11:30 AM – 1 PM Where? GRAY CAMPUS CENTER, COMMONS
Are you looking for more ways to immerse yourself in French? Podcasts are a great way to implement French into your everyday life. It’s especially important to engage with the language outside the classroom. Whether you’re taking a walk around the canyon, getting lunch in Commons, or trying to fall asleep, a podcast can add a lot more French exposure to your life. It’s a simple way to improve your French comprehension, vocabulary, and cultural knowledge. At the same time, it can be difficult to find the right one. For beginning to intermediate students, I have a recommendation for you: The Duolingo French Podcast!
Find out in the interview with Henry, the Chinese tutor!
Patricio: Can you tell me about what made you want to learn Chinese?
Henry: It was actually kind of random. I was taking a gap year between highschool and college and I didn’t have a lot going on, so I picked up a bunch of hobbies such as archery and Chinese. I found a really good Chinese teacher and I really enjoyed learning a language in my free time. I was learning French in high school, but I really struggled with that because I was being forced to learn it, but it was a completely different story when I started learning Chinese because I actually wanted to learn it.
If you’ve ever wanted to learn a language that isn’t offered at Reed, give Italki a try! Italki has tutors and teachers from all over the world, and languages from A-Z (literally). If you’re looking to start learning anything from Azerbaijani to Zulu, check out the site to discover what else they offer! Whether you’re just starting out or want to meet with a native speaker to improve your conversation fluency, you can find the tutor you need at the time you’re available.
This week I interviewed Emilio, a Spanish tutor who’s eager to help people out with Spanish. In our interview, we covered topics such as feeling disconnected from one’s culture, what it means to have a diverse cultural background for one’s identity, and how to sound natural when speaking a new language. Emilio’s advice is to be shameless when speaking! The interview is posted below and was edited for length.
Drop by the Language Lab (Library 33) on Wednesday, October 2 between 6 pm and 8 pm for some fall festivities. Catch up with friends, paint a pumpkin, and get into the fall spirit! We’ll have craft supplies and snacks.
Stop by our table in the GCC Foyer on Tuesday, October 1 between 11:30 and 1:00 to learn more about what the Language Lab is, what LangLabbies do, and what fun language-themed events are on the agenda this semester!
Today we are interviewing Basil-Anne, our Greek and Latin tutor. We talked about starting a language from scratch at Reed, the GLAM department, and studying abroad as a speaker of ancient languages!
Leilani: Would you like to talk a bit about your background, why you chose to study Greek and Latin?
Basil-Anne: Sure! I have studied Latin for a very, very long time. I started officially in fourth grade, but I think my first real Latin class was in seventh grade. So I’ve been taking it for a really long time. And I came into Reed undecided but I was very strongly either going to be a GLAM [Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies] major or be in the Sociology department. I went to the GLAM open house during O-week and fell in love and was like, “This is where I want to be.” So I dropped Intro Sociology and switched into another GLAM class and have not looked back.
L: You mentioned taking Latin prior to Reed. Did you have the same experience with Greek, or did you start with Intro Greek?
B: I started with Intro Greek, and Greek was a lot harder than Latin because I was starting from scratch. But it’s a very cool language. My favorite thing about just Greek and Latin in general, and I don’t know if this is true for all language learners, is the kind of peak you hit where you’re thinking of every single thing and all of a sudden, you’re just not thinking of every single grammar thing anymore. That’s a really fun moment for me. It corresponds with the course load, like you switch from language classes to literature classes, and that’s just such a fun transition for me, of being able to be like, “OK, I know what I’m doing, and now I actually get to talk about literature.” Which is why language is so fun. So with Greek, I really got to see that process condensed from freshman year to now, senior year. It was great.
