I love doing crosswords and often buy such magazines[always with the hope of winning something as well as having some fun!.]
In one magazine the editorial was answering the question “Why is a bonfire so called?”Bon is French for good of course.Does it mean a “good fire”?
Apparently it comes from the Middle English ”banefire” in which bane refers to bones.
Bones were incinerated, usually from animals killed for meat. Later the word was used to describe fires on which corpses were burned or texts which were considered heretical.
Today, however, bonfires come closer to the idea of “good fire “as they are usually lit for the celebration of happier occasions.
. Here is something to think about.Our body has ten fingers and ten toes and many of us still use our fingers for counting. This led me to thinking of the power of ten and recently I discovered a site called www.powersoften.com.Do go and have a look. If nothing else it will open your mind in lots of different directions. So what has the power of ten to do with learning a language? Can you learn ten words in a day, a week, a month? What can you learn in ten minutes, ten hours, ten weeks, and ten months? It adds perspective and focus and the variables are enormous. Once you have learnt ten words how can you learn a hundred? Can you encourage ten people to learn a language?
Can you apply the power of ten to any other aspects of your life?
Let us know. Let’s have a long list [minimum ten!]
Cheers
Anne
www.languagesforall.co.uk
Here is Frances talking about how languages impacted her life. The importance of language skills is something my colleagues at the Regional Language Network (RLN) realise only too well. They help businesses and individuals in the West Midlands to access language skills and services and generally provide advice and information to anyone with a language or culture-related query.
Programme Co-ordinator, Frances Pallett, enjoys promoting languages through her work with the RLN. Having taken A level French at school and proceeded to University to study International Business Studies, Frances’s language learning appeared to be on track. She was studying Japanese alongside French and was due to spend a year working in France as part of her degree course. Things did not go to plan, however, and by Christmas of her second year Frances was forced to leave university due to ill health.
2 years later M.E. was finally diagnosed and by this time the only contact Frances had with language was helping her younger sister study for her French A Level. As the illness progressed Frances realised her hopes of working abroad were fading along with her state of health and when she finally pushed herself back to university it was to study something else she was passionate about – English and Archaeology.After a three year struggle, Frances gained her BA honours degree, but was still unable to work full time or take on anything too taxing. Languages, by this point, had become a thing of the past. Frances worked part time doing a variety of roles for several years before taking time out to have a baby. It was on her return from maternity leave that Frances started working for the RLN – combining two of her passions – writing and languages. She says:
‘Although I am not actually speaking or using languages at the moment I feel as though I am still doing my bit through promoting their importance to others. I hope that when time and health permit, I will be able to refresh my French and perhaps even learn a new language.’
Just shows what you can achieve if you remain positive!
If you would like to find out more information about the RLN please contact Frances on 0121 329 3297, e-mail frances.pallett@rln-westmidlands.com or visit the website www.rln-westmidlands.com
There are many reasons for learning a language ,one of which is buying property abroad. Many people start this too late and sadly they can sometimes find themselves in great difficulty when they have moved if unusual circumstances arise [as they sometimes do]
It is best of course to make this a top priority as some people do beginning the process 2-5 years before they are thinking of moving. This greatly adds to their experience and enriches their lives immeasurably. In the meantime if you are thinking of buying property abroad send for our free leaflet “ Ten tips for buying property abroad.” at the following e-mail address.
anne.taylor@languagesforall.co.uk
Well fame at last! There we are three of us with our pictures in the paper and all in the name of raising money for a library in India. The newspaper is the Birmingham Independent[U.K.] and it specialises in publishing good news.It is a free newspaper delivered to some houses and also with some distribution centres around the city.So keep a look out for it. The article was in last Friday, March 30th. If you are local [or not] you may wish to look at this site www.bookcrossing.com
There are people all over the world and also groups in various cities and towns.I hope to meet some bookcrossers in Finland this year. It is a good way of meeting other people and also a good way then of meeting and talking to people who speak the language you are learning.
Cheers
Anne
