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THE TIMELESS JANE AUSTEN

Jane Austen is a timeless classic whose novels still thrill and excite the modern reader. She vividly depicts the sophisticated atmosphere of her time and the intricate relations existing between the people of the higher society.

Happy New Year :)

May all your dreams come true, and your life be full of never ceasing wonders. Be daring and aspiring. Be clever and inspiring. Be YOURSELF. But above all ENJOY life.

Seminar 1 - 5 March 2010

Last month I attended a seminar on 'Peculiarities of Written, Consecuitive and Simultaneous Translations' organized by the Association of Professional Translators of Moldova.

Personally, I found it interesting and useful. What I liked most is that I had the opportunity listen to professional translators who were willing to share their experience with us. I believe it is much more interesting to listen to people speak from their own experience than read books in theory of translation.

Don't get me wrong. I don't deny the importance of the theoretical background a translator should possess. Yet, I think an aspiring translator needs more practice than theory. In order to become a good translator one should practice translation not study it.

At the opoening of the seminar, Ms. Eleonora Rusnac, the president of the associaiton, gave us a hearty welcome. She has an impressive carrer as a translator.

The first day Ms. Rusnac and Ms. Rufa simulated consecuitive and simultaneous translations. The organizers of the seminar invited two Americans. Ms. Rusnac did the consecutive translation of the official speech delivered by one American (the speach dealt with human rights). Ms. Rufa did the simultanious translation of the financial speech of the other guest.

I was extremely impressed by the professionalism. They did not teach but they actually showed how a professional translation should be done. These two simulations helped me realize what exactly a translator's job consists of and how he behaves.

I noticed, for example, that in consecuitive translation, the translator was making notes. She also made sure she could see the speaker's face. Simultaneous translation seemed very difficult to do and I had the impression that the translator was very tense. I think this is normal as the translator should understand and translate the speaker's message at one and the same time. Moreover, the translated message should be extremely close if not identical to the original. (Three days later I found out that in simultaneous translation translators work in teams, where one takes the place of the other in 15 - 20 minutes.)

At the end od the first meeting another professional translator, Ms. Elena Bivol, spoke on 'Advantages and Disadvantages of Being a Translator'.

The next day the younger generation of professional translators gave a presentation on 'Written Translation'. Although there were issues I disagreed, I still found interesting and useful what they had to say. I especially liked the proposed way of evaluating a written translation. They also gave a lot of useful sites a translator may use and they shared their own tips.

Wednesday was dedicated to consecuitive translation, where Ms. Rusnac explained its peculiarities and involved the audience in practical activities. The next day we were taught simultaneous translation step by step. The last day was a great closing of the seminar.

What I liked at this seminar is that its organizers tried to involve the audience in practical activities. Yet, the participants were too shy and insecure. They were afraid to cut a foolish figure in front of professional translators.

My belief is that the information got at the seminar together with our persevierence and hard-work will help us become professional translators as well.

HAPPY EASTER!!!

CALL FOR PAPAERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANKSGIVING!!!

The above film was made to celebrate Thanksgiving. My students did their best. Don't be harsh on them, they are only freshmen! We had great fun while making this film. We tried to render the spirit of this traditionally American holiday in the movie. I'll challange my students to do another film next year and VISUALIZE their improvement.

I think film making on a cultural specific item is a good way to enhance the acquisition of a second language. Try and see!!! :)

GETTING READY FOR HALLOWEEN!!!

Thanks God I have a model at home who willingly tried on all the masks. I don't know what about the others but he loved them. He didn't know which one to choose. However, being a spiderman fan he said the spider is the best. He also added that girls are afraid of spiders.

To be continued ...

SPECIAL TAHNKS

We'd like to thank our photographer, Helen, for her help and contribution to the lesson. I also think I should tell the names of the heroes, excuse me, heroines, who are working with me:
ALISA
CRISTINA
LENA
LINA
(alphabetical order, as they are all important)

THEY ARE THE GREAAAAAAATEST!!!

CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THE PROJECT!

It was fun just like usual only tiresome. This is the worst side but the positive side is that it is a great experience. As I'm used working with grown-up kids, getting into contact with 5th grade-students is a real challenge. I made a big discovery it's the same fun. What can I do: teaching is my cup of tea!

My biggest problem is that I'm a BIT forgetful, yet even with this handicap I managed to do everything I planned. My girls are the best (one laughed that this is what I always tell, Can't help it, Helen, this is the truth). Each has her own individual style but they all are very responsible and like what they are doing. I think their attitude should be inspiring for many teachers.

It's difficult to deal with kids, they are noisy, naughty, but at the same time they are very receptive. They can inspire you, they can make you reconsider many things. The only thing you should have is PATIENCE!

This Friday's topic was HOLIDAYS. I thought it's a good continuation of the previous material and a wonderful preparation for HALLOWEEN! Indeed, up till now we covered AUTUMN, SCHOOL, and FRIENDSHIP. So I thought it would be nice to speak about the holidays Americans celebrate in autumn to which they might invite their friends. This lesson was meant to arouse cultural awareness in the pupils' bright minds minds. As usual, we were ready with interesting activities and when I say "interesting", believe me, I'm being modest.Wonderful handouts and posters just like the previous times.

Do you know what holiday was on October 21?
Rediscovering America. The Young Columbuses.

Our boat casts off.Sailing to the port of HALLOWEEN.

The work with the new vocabulary
THIS IS HALLOWEEN! THIS IS HALLOWEEN!
(wonderful song, a must see)
Knock, Knock. Treack or Treat?
Singing Together
We're going to Eurovision!Mark - the mummy
Group WorkThanksgiving in NovemberCartoon Time!!!

THANK YOU ALL!!!

COMING SOON

This Friday we are going to deal with holidays. I thought it's a good continuation for the previous topics. This lesson is meant to encrease cultural awareness in the pupils' young minds. I also hope they will enjoy discovering America together with Columbus, finding out the origins of Halloween and learning the culture of Thanking.

In a week we' re going to celebrate HALLOWEEN (it's a kind of preparation). However, as far as I understood I'll have to give money out of my own pocket again to have the trick or treat part. This is terrible. No mun no fun. I was told the money from the project is not allocated for this. But this is cultural specific. Am I wrong? If you explain to the kid what is the significance of Halloween and you are going to sing the trick or treat song, shouldn't you treat the kid?

THE SAME PROJECT WORK

This time it was difficult. I don't know but I felt tired. However, we tried and did our best. The girls I worked with were great just like usual. They did everything I wanted and came with wonderful ideas. It's a pleasure working with them. This time we focused on friendship. We sang, danced and, of course, STUDIED. There's always something to learn from those kids and I hope there's something in our meetings that will stay with them forever.

BEST FRIENDS Moment

Grammar Focus: Fill In the Right Form of the Verb "To Be"

Let's Sing Together

:) "We did our homework!" :)

Friends at School

The Friendship Crossword

The Friendship Spidergram

Our Friends' Faces

Dou you recognize yourself?

The Magic Box!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can come under my umbrella!

An accident happened during our "You can come under my umbrella" moment. One of the kids broke my umbrella. Definately I was "devastated" and I liked the girls' optimism, they said: "Don't worry, a friend will take you under his/her umbrella". It was real fun!!!!!!!!!!