This week we'll start our discussions of our next topic, Language. Any presentations you'd like to give are welcome!! Please just drop me a line by email or text or phone if you'd like to share a presentation on Language with us. We had a lot of good ideas during our last class brainstorm, including:
Poetry, "the flower of language"
Body Language
Language Learning Tips
the History of a Word
Bilingual Education
Bilingual, Trilingual, etc. Speakers
Sign Language (Taiwan's or other countries')
the Origins of Writing
Computer Languages
Language Extinction
Fun with Language: Jokes, Puns, Riddles, etc.
an Introduction to French, or Japanese, or Welsh, or Atayal, or any other language!
Language Families
Translation
Mother Tongue Education
Linguistic Anthropology
"Colorful Language" (= Swearing!!)
Language and the Brain
Secret Codes
Oral History
Writing vs. Speaking
The above are just a few directions you could go in to prepare a presentation on Language! I can't wait to hear all of your opinions and ideas about Language!!
Below are two interesting TED talks, about 10 minutes long each. Please take a little time over the next two days and try to watch one or both of these! (Remember, you can find both English and Chinese (Traditional) subtitles when you wiggle the cursor over the video screen!) We'll briefly discuss these videos in class on 10/18! Don't worry about understanding every word the speakers say, but just try to get an idea of what you think the speakers' main points are, and what you find interesting or memorable about their presentations!
The first talk is about how babies learn language, and gives us a peek inside the brains of babies! This video features a moment where a researcher is speaking to American babies in Mandarin.
Patricia Kuhl: The linguistic genius of babies; 10 min, 18 sec
In the second video, an English teacher asks, "Is the world's focus on English preventing the spread of great ideas in other languages?" and "What if Einstein had to pass the TOEFL?"
Patricia Ryan: Don't insist on English! 10 min 35 sec
Finally, here are some quotations to get you thinking about Language:
"Language is the dress of thought." ~Samuel Johnson
"Language is the means of getting an idea from my brain into yours without surgery." ~Mark Amidon
"A different language is a different vision of life." ~Federico Fellini
"Learn a new language and get a new soul." ~Czech Proverb
See you on 10/18!
Sincerely, Abbie
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