As a Language and Culture Learner, How Have You Grown?
How have you grown as a student of language and culture in the last fifteen weeks?
Please write your reflections as a comment to this blogpost.
Think about how much speaking and listening practice you have had in our online sessions. How has this affected your comfort in speaking English and understanding native speakers? What can you do now that you couldn't do at the beginning of the class?
Consider the cultural topics we worked with during the semester: humor (New Yorker cartoons; Exporting Raymond and the other TV shows we looked at), American digital news resources and the Occupy Wall Street movement (Michael Moore, Occupy Louisville interviews, photos, videos and texts), Literature (The Story of An Hour, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, She Can Kill With a Smile, others....). Which did you enjoy the most? Which did you learn the most from? Be as specific as you can.
Summarize your progress toward goals for this semester’s language and culture learning experience. Did you learn what you were hoping to learn? Did you develop skills you were hoping to gain? Did you push yourself to learn and learn-to-learn in ways that were unexpected to you?
How do you plan to continue contact with the language and culture you are studying in the future, when the semester is finished?
As you write, think about what kind of advice you might offer another student, new to the translators’ program. If you got a do-over, how would you approach it differently? What have you learned about how you work?
This is about putting it all together, as a way to make sense (or meaning) of the whole experience.
I hope that one thing you take away from your semester in America and Americans Today is an appreciation of your ability to sift and sort through an incredible amount of data and come out with a holistic view of the process and how you make it work for you.
“It’s not what you look at that matters. It’s what you see.”
–Henry David Thoreau
December 18th, 2011 - 15:42
As for me, the last fifteen weeks were a very good practice of speaking and listening.At the beginning of the class, it was not easy to understand native speakers well, but gradually it became more and more easy. Very interesting topics were proposed to us during the semester.I enjoyed discussing humor and comparing english and american humor. I took an iformation from this lessons and use it in the discussion with my american partner. Also, lessons concerning Occupy Movement were very informative for me.I have never heard about it before.I think, I improved my skills in language and culture learning, as expected.When the semester is finished, I plan maybe to find a work and to try hand as a freelance interpreter. On the whole, translators’ program is a great experience!
December 18th, 2011 - 23:44
This 15 weeks were very interesting. First of all it was a great practice of listening. As you remember first time we often (students) asked you “Could you reaped the question?”, and then we stopped to do that. I suppose that we (in several me) began to understood you clearly. Also our lessons were a good practice of speaking. We were discussing humor, American digital news resources, the Occupy Wall Street movement, literature, world news, holidays and other topics. I learned a lot of new information from our discussions, e.g. about Occupy, also I read 2 interesting story they are: “One hour” and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”. I liked to discuss humor. Maybe it would help me to understand English jokes))).
I would like to find a work that would be connected with the language. Also I would read books, news etc. and watching moves on English as a language practice.
December 19th, 2011 - 01:15
I really like what we were doing in the online classes all last semester. Obviously, the time what we spent made a positive mark. I got the pleasure of communicating with professors and discuss various topics. Everything happened very active, with presentations, photos. There were very helpful comments of professors, who wrote in the chat complicated moments, or just explained something.
I also like the good level of organization and attention to each student. I like the topics what we discussed: literature, humor, media. It was very interesting to discuss and listen to the opinions of other students and professors. I did get not only extra experience in reading, speaking in English, but a lot of information, which broaden my worldview. During the semester, I got used to American speech of my American professors. Now it is perceived not as hard as before.
When I finish the program, I’ll have more free time, which I would like to spend to improving my English, because that would be terrible to forget what I learned in the class. Of course, I also wanted to find a job which connected with language.
Thank you very much.
December 19th, 2011 - 06:29
I was pleasure to work with you. And I’m happy that you could find time for us. All this was incomparable experience for us. I think that I learned to understand better native speakers. The most interesting theme for me was humor. There we became closely to each other: we laughed together, joking. It was really cool. I think that meant that we broke a barrier between cultures.
I hope that I will have possibility to speak to English and become it better. But now I want to have a rest.
Thank you for all.
December 19th, 2011 - 14:30
It was a pleasure to spend those 15 weeks to communicate with you. I learned many new and interesting information. as for me, I liked about the topic of humor, she broke many of the assumptions are not correct about America. and was very interested to learn about Occupy Movement, because I previously knew nothing about it. Of course,now i have a more higher level of knowledge then early about culture in America and the language level
I hope i will speak in english fluently and now i would read books and watch the films in english)
December 20th, 2011 - 03:29
I will repeat again and again that on line classes has give me the opportunity to communicate with American professors. I think, like another students, at the beginning was difficult to understand the speech of Americans. At the first time, the value of the project is the ability to perceive aurally the American language. The second value is the completion of the vocabulary. The third is the ability to express our meaning on foreign language.
We were offered a lot of topic for discuss, who in their own interest. As for me was funny to see the cartoons about lawyers from New Yorker. We valued from our side the manifest “Occupy the Wall Street”. The topic of literature we red small stories. And discussed they. Also, with the big pleasure I’ve seen the film The secret life of Walter Mitty.
I think, that all it in general helped to begin to think on American.
I don’t want to stop to learn the foreign language and plans to connect my job with foreign language.
I like the teaching of Joe Liro and Jan Marston. Thank you for this chance.
December 20th, 2011 - 11:39
This semester gave us a lot. For example, for me it was very interesting to talk with an American partner – our topic was humor. It seemed that humor is humor everywhere, but during the preparation to our conversation, it turned out a bit wrong, as I represented myself. In my opinion, this is a unique opportunity where there is a chance to talk with native speakers. All what we did during this semester went just for the benefit , and I plan to apply my knowledge in practice next year.
December 20th, 2011 - 12:56
This courses are very interesting for me.Online-lessons are so useful and wonderful!I knew a lot of new things for me!!!!Thanks a lot, I will glad to continue our communicate in future! =)
December 20th, 2011 - 12:56
P.S.
I am Dima Bondarev
December 20th, 2011 - 12:57
I like these courses cuz with their i knew a lot of new information about American culture.Our lessons were interesting and modern,we used an internet and on-line lessons it useful for me.Teachers are literate,kind and friendly very much.So i hope that our lessons will be the same))))
December 20th, 2011 - 13:00
This semester was very interesting for me. We learnt a lot of things about American culture and I found it rather intersting. It was a very nice opportunity for all of us to communicate with the American native speaker. It’s really useful because we need practice in speaking. And I think when you are able to understand a native speaker it’s really wonderful. Also I like some of our topic, for example humor and Exporting Raymond. I found them intersting because for example humor is not like our humor, we didn’t understand some things and just because we don’t know enough about American culture. This course helped us to improve our English skills and in my point of view it’s fantastic. and It was really intersting to know about Exporting Raymond. I’ve never thought that it was so difficult to do the sitcom “voroniny”. I can say that I love that semester. Thank you so much that you gave us such opportunity.
December 20th, 2011 - 14:35
This semester was very interesting.I learned many new and interesting information about American culture. It was a good opportunity for all to communicate with the American native speaker.I especially want to make a point work of American professors.This course helped us to improve our english skills. I learned a lot of new information about Occupy.It was a very good semester.Thanks for all
December 20th, 2011 - 15:13
We had one meeting in on-line. We were discussed about humor, but we also discussed other topics. Jake said about an american humor shows and humor cartoons. I especially remember the cartoon comedy Family guys. We talked to Jake about russian comedy movies and humor TV programs. Most of the russian comedy programs have been borrowed from the American media. Jake was in Moscow and told us about his impressions of the city. It is wonderful to have a project where students communicate with each other in different languages. Especially, if they are native speakers.
December 20th, 2011 - 15:38
It was a good practice of translation, speaking and listening. In the begin of online classes I did not understand native speakers. But in the end of classes I began to more understand. I became more distinguished speech. (Words and sense of sentences). We discussed different topics. I especially remembered the discussion about humor and literature. Lessons were very informative for me. I read two stories: “One hour” and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”. I would to planning read more English texts and stories, and listening English language. I am grateful to professors. Thank you for all.
December 20th, 2011 - 15:43
I can say about my English language that I have made, because two months ago I could not talk at all. Now is not that hard for me. I speak and understand English. I understand when speak others. Unfortunately, I understand not all, but I want to work hard . and succeed.
in the course of English, we had a lot of interesting topics. Very interesting was the humor.
I like to watch American films and TV shows and talk about it in class (online class).
I think that online classes are very useful because we know the culture of America and talk to the American people and listen as they speak. This is useful for our pronunciation.
I want to online classes were in the next year
so I like to teach English, American culture, talk about the problems in America and in Russia. I think that those months were a period of adaptation. I do not think it would be easier but I want to work harder on my English next year
December 21st, 2011 - 06:40
It was very interesting 15 weeks for me. Because I knew many new about American culture. Every online classes I knew something new about American, learning new words, that is let improve my English. And of course I get invaluable experience in communication with native speaker. I like to work with American professors because they help me better knew American culture.On our classes I really can see differences between Russian and Americans and I enjoy this. It was great semester for me and I hope that we meeting in next semester. Thanks for all.
December 21st, 2011 - 14:29
I like this course. This semester was very interesting and this course helps me to make my english language better. I spoke and listened in our online-class.. may be not everytime because I had technical problems, but I think it’s important for our course. We talked about American culture and compared with our culture.. russian culture. and we saw that they are different. I knew about that but never think. To know American culture is very important because we can’t understand them just knowing english language. And what about American humor.. We found some pictures.. law pictures and tried to understand. It was pretty hard and sometimes russian people can’t find what’s funny. But I think it’s ok . We can’t always understand them because we don’t have some deals with them everytime. We can solve this problem If we will go in America. And we talked about American news what’s important too. It’s hard for understanding but useful and pretty interesting. At the and I want to say that each tasks are very important for us.
December 22nd, 2011 - 01:39
I am very glad that i decided to go to these classes. It’s a great experience for my future career and life too. I know a lot about the culture of America, about the everyday lives of Americans and their slang. Especially love the online classes and chat with an American professor. Sometimes it’s hard, but professors are helping us. For three months I got a huge impression on English lessons. And now …. I am not afraid and I can talk in English with foreign carriers. The reason for this occupation in the group. I’m sure will be even better. Thank you for a wonderful semester!
December 22nd, 2011 - 07:27
15 weeks passed very quickly, but useful and interesting.
Online sessions were particularly good because it is very useful to listen to the pronunciation of native speakers. Each session was in some way unique. Presented by a variety allowed me to significantly improve my own knowledge of American culture. Interesting was the topic of humor, which we compared the American and Russian humor and found similarities and differences. Topic ‘Occupy Wall Street’. It was rewarding follow the development of the movement; see different parts of the movement in different cities of the United States. Then, a very cognitively topic was dedicated to politics. I knew much information about the U.S. political system, about the candidates in the upcoming presidential election. The topic about literature was also very helpful.
I really liked this course. I hope that next year, our work together will continue. Thank you.
December 22nd, 2011 - 10:41
Our translators have written a lot of positive comments, and I am not an exception)) Online sessions was very interesting and helpful. We discussed a lot of topics (Humor, politics, occupy movements) Its a big progress when you talk with native speakers! But…when you’re talking with Professor – its a double progress!:-) Thank you Pete, Jan, Joe! communication abroad project was interesting too, with Emily we discussed different topics, talked about her Russian textbook “Тройка” etc. I hope for her to talk with me was not like (maybe) order, and she was itrested in our conversation
I support Andrew and want to continue our work together)