Teaching Lessons Materials Resources

1) THE MEANING OF TINGO

When photographers attempt to bring out our smiling faces by asking us to "Say Cheese", many countries appear to follow suit with English equivalents. In Spanish however they say patata (potato), in Argentinian Spanish whisky, in French steak frites, in Serbia ptica (bird) and in Danish appelsin (orange).

Do you know of any other varieties from around the world's languages? See more on www.themeaningoftingo.com

The first and most essential word in all languages is surely ‘hello’, the word that enables one human being to converse with another.

allillanchu (Quechuan, Peru)
bok (Croatian)
dumela (Tswana, Zaire)
ei je (Bengali)
goddag (Danish)
helele (SeSetho, Southern Africa)
jambo (Swahili)
kaixo (Basque)
molo (Xhosa, South Africa)
ni hao (Mandarin)
ola (Galician, Spain)
tere (Estonian)
xin chao (Vietnamese)
zdravo (Bosnian)

Does anyone know any others in this vein ?

2) THE WONDER OF WHIFFLING

The Wonder of Whiffling is a tour of English around the globe (with fine coinages from our English-speaking cousins across the pond, Down Under and elsewhere).
Discover all sorts of words you’ve always wished existed but never knew, such as fornale, to spend one’s money before it has been earned; cagg, a solemn vow or resolution not to get drunk for a certain time; and petrichor, the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell.

Delving passionately into the English language, I also discover why it is you wouldn’t want to have dinner with a vice admiral of the narrow seas, why Jacobites toasted the little gentleman in black velvet, and why a Nottingham Goodnight is better than one from anywhere else. See more on www.thewonderofwhiffling.com

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Labels: allillanchu, bok, dumela, goddag, helele, hello, jambo, ni hao, ola, Say Cheese, tere, The Meaning of Tingo, THE WONDER OF WHIFFLING

Using Word-less Films for Student Storytelling

Getting students to talk can be difficult - using silent films gives the class a common experience that they can share - speculate and talk about - without repeating any "heard words".


I have used a cartoon character called Bernard the Bear - originally from South Korea. These are mini-tragedies in the sense that you can tell that he is going to have a disaster and so are good for what do you think is going to happen next.

When you go to the site www.bernardbear.com you have to wait for the flash to load - make sure you have the audio on and can listen to the music and intros - I had problems getting the content pages to appear.

"The Triplets of Belleville" -- an absolutely charming and funny animated film about three mysterious ladies and the Tour de France. It's a French film, but is almost entirely wordless. you can find more info when you search on Amazon :

http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_ss_d?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=The+Triplets+of+Belleville&x=9&y=20

You can also use Short films with narratives.

The Shaun the Sheep programmes are five minutes long - have a clear narrative structure and have a resolution. They are also witty in a quirky British sort of
way. The free clips are here: www.shaunthesheep.com/clips/ you can use the links to see the DvD's for sale on Amazon.

For a wider range of topics and audience appeal you can use recent Collections of 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, Academy Award Nominated Short Films. Here is a starter link:

http://www.amazon.ca/Collection-Academy-Award-Nominated-Short

You can also look at the user reviews to gauge the quality, usability and other factors.

Always pre-view the film to make sure it is appropriate for education. Remind the students that they are for education - not entertainment.

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Teaching Lessons Materials Resources Blog URL
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Labels: 2005 2006 2007 2008 Academy Award Nominated Short Films, Bernard the Bear, Shaun the Sheep, Short films with narratives, Triplets of Belleville, Using Word-less Films for Student Storytelling