The Vent and Rant Thread

[SameOldStory]

My power supply fan is a bit too loud. I keep it because my wife always has the TV turned up in the next room. I simply consider the fan as "white noise".

I really have gotten to the point where I can't stand TV due to the insipid nature of most shows. AND the commercials. Did you know that you can't fast forward either TV shows or commercials?

For some reason I'll never understand (and know better than to ask) she bought me a flat screen TV to replace my 10-15 year old TV (heck, it still had another 20-30 years on it). The only good thing about it is that the new TV also work as a computer monitor too. Now I just need to buy another video card and I'll have three large screens for my flight simulator.

[mrscoach]

I have to say, I'm all for immersing yourself in a language to learn it, but there are exceptions. I once worked in the special education department of a school and was assigned to a beginning Spanish class. The teacher started the class by introducing herself in Spanish and then asking questions of each student, in Spanish, and expecting the responses to be in Spanish. Um, HELLO?? This is a beginning class, these students don't KNOW Spanish!

The first couple of students were from Hispanic backgrounds and spoke Spanish (well, TexMex) at home, so they knew what was asked and answered appropriately. All the non-Spanish speaking students looked at me, panic-stricken. I had to speak up and inform the teacher that the students didn't know what was being asked or how to answer. She became upset and ranted how the last teacher did such a poor job. I then had to tell her that they HAD no previous teacher because this was Spanish I. She was still upset that they wouldn't speak in Spanish. Yeah, she lasted half the year then quit. (I won't even go into the time she gave the wrong test and insisted it was what they had been working on. I even had the packet they were to study, and it looked nothing like what was on the test.)

So, immersion is ok, if you know at least a bit of what is going on. I am totally lost if someone only speaks Spanish, or any other language, around me. Put me in a classroom only with another language and I wouldn't know anything.

[maianhvk]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

got into a small fight again with my mom @_@ she doesn't want me to go to the gym because she says i'll get fat.

really, what else can you say after that? :|

Originally Posted by kennyc

I thought it would have the opposite effect.

no, Kenny, in wyndslash's case the effect would be her getting fatter. really, what do you think she would do after sweating at gym?

Originally Posted by Mortis

Listen to your mother young'n they are never wrong!

I would have argued with her if she told me that, but I have been wrong before, my mother told me so!

right, I put on 10 lbs or so when I was studying hard in the preparation for the university entrance exam

Originally Posted by kennyc

Then you have to stop kissing the boys. They have germs.

you seem to be obsessed with kissing boys

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

What Mortis said about language learning I can confirm - I learned german being thrown in col water. You have to think in the language you aim to use. Everything else is like walking on crutches.

@kennyc
I think she doesn't kiss em.
She's far too much afraid of the boys :P

I agree with every word you said on both things: language learning and wyndslash's kissing

[maianhvk]

Originally Posted by mrscoach

I have to say, I'm all for immersing yourself in a language to learn it, but there are exceptions. I once worked in the special education department of a school and was assigned to a beginning Spanish class. The teacher started the class by introducing herself in Spanish and then asking questions of each student, in Spanish, and expecting the responses to be in Spanish. Um, HELLO?? This is a beginning class, these students don't KNOW Spanish!

The first couple of students were from Hispanic backgrounds and spoke Spanish (well, TexMex) at home, so they knew what was asked and answered appropriately. All the non-Spanish speaking students looked at me, panic-stricken. I had to speak up and inform the teacher that the students didn't know what was being asked or how to answer. She became upset and ranted how the last teacher did such a poor job. I then had to tell her that they HAD no previous teacher because this was Spanish I. She was still upset that they wouldn't speak in Spanish. Yeah, she lasted half the year then quit. (I won't even go into the time she gave the wrong test and insisted it was what they had been working on. I even had the packet they were to study, and it looked nothing like what was on the test.)

So, immersion is ok, if you know at least a bit of what is going on. I am totally lost if someone only speaks Spanish, or any other language, around me. Put me in a classroom only with another language and I wouldn't know anything.

that's what I always wanted to say! you did it perfectly

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by mrscoach

So, immersion is ok, if you know at least a bit of what is going on. I am totally lost if someone only speaks Spanish, or any other language, around me. Put me in a classroom only with another language and I wouldn't know anything.

Sorry, I have to disagree. If it is done correctly, it works very well. It's the basis for all the better language schools and programs, Rosetta Stone, Pimsler, DOD Language Center in California, and Vermont's Middleburry College's Language School, considered the finest language learning institution in the world.

Obviously, a teacher can not go in on the first day and ask a student for a synopsis of Canterbury Tales or to explain the relationship of Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, Thymine in the DNA helix. But if the teacher extends his/her hand and says in the language "Hello. My name is Mary" and repeats the action and words a couple of times, any student above the age of 6 will realize what is expected and respond correctly. It does require that the teacher knows how to teach in this fashion, and it's easily done incorrectly. Total immersion requires proper teaching, not just speaking in the language.

Having done total immersion study with several different languages, I can assure you that it works. And yes, at the very basic level often a word here and there in the native language can speed up the process, but only a word here and there. If we want to learn a language quickly and correctly, we need to learn it IN the language, not translate.


Stitchawl

[Mortis]

Originally Posted by mrscoach

I have to say, I'm all for immersing yourself in a language to learn it, but there are exceptions. I once worked in the special education department of a school and was assigned to a beginning Spanish class. The teacher started the class by introducing herself in Spanish and then asking questions of each student, in Spanish, and expecting the responses to be in Spanish. Um, HELLO?? This is a beginning class, these students don't KNOW Spanish!

The first couple of students were from Hispanic backgrounds and spoke Spanish (well, TexMex) at home, so they knew what was asked and answered appropriately. All the non-Spanish speaking students looked at me, panic-stricken. I had to speak up and inform the teacher that the students didn't know what was being asked or how to answer. She became upset and ranted how the last teacher did such a poor job. I then had to tell her that they HAD no previous teacher because this was Spanish I. She was still upset that they wouldn't speak in Spanish. Yeah, she lasted half the year then quit. (I won't even go into the time she gave the wrong test and insisted it was what they had been working on. I even had the packet they were to study, and it looked nothing like what was on the test.)

So, immersion is ok, if you know at least a bit of what is going on. I am totally lost if someone only speaks Spanish, or any other language, around me. Put me in a classroom only with another language and I wouldn't know anything.

It sounds like the teacher in you case was a poor teacher. Total immersion works, millions of people have learned a second language that way.

Berlitz International has been around in one form or another since 1878, and the Berlitz method works very very well. The Benesse Corporation of Japan liked it so much for its employees that they decided to buy the company, it was joked that it was cheaper than continuing to send executives for English lessons.

This works, the method of teaching grammar works if you want a student that has the best grammar in the world, but can't speak the language. I had a student that if you only listened to her read from a book you would have thought she spoke English like a native speaker. Ask her how her day is and she would look at you like you had 3 heads. She was one of the most difficult students I taught, because she was fixated on the "Rules", native speakers generally have pretty poor grammar on paper, but know when a sentence sounds "Wrong".

[dsvick]

Originally Posted by SneakySnake

Bloke only just rebuilt it for me and I had one good day out of it.
...
Bloke reckons the mother board has whiskers.

Originally Posted by SneakySnake

Bloke has fixed it sort of.
...
Bloke has the shits with me ....

Maybe if you could remember his name he wouldn't ....

Unless his name is bloke, in which case ignore this post

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

no, Kenny, in wyndslash's case the effect would be her getting fatter. really, what do you think she would do after sweating at gym?

How funny?! My girlfriend and I used to always hit the diner for big juicy cheeseburgers after working out. Ironically, we were both in amazing shape. Whenever someone would ask me how I can stay in such great shape eating the way I do, I have always said, "Are you kidding me?!! I work hard so I can eat like this!!"

[SneakySnake]

Originally Posted by dsvick

Maybe if you could remember his name he wouldn't ....

Unless his name is bloke, in which case ignore this post

hahaha! He knows I call him bloke in here, but I do use his real name at home. (after 23 years you would think I would remember even if he doesn't remember my birthday!)

Shhh he is off to the computer joint soon (whilst I go to the gym) to obtain a quiet fan for my big computer.

[SameOldStory]

I have to get up tomorrow morning at 4:30 AM!

I'm not a happy camper.

I need to take a two hour drive to meet a customer at an air national guard base. Forty years ago it wasn't a problem getting up that early.

Time to get out the second alarm clock.

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

I have to get up tomorrow morning at 4:30 AM!

I'm not a happy camper.

I need to take a two hour drive to meet a customer at an air national guard base. Forty years ago it wasn't a problem getting up that early.

Time to get out the second alarm clock.

I won't even be asleep that early!

[SneakySnake]

I thought it was easier to get up early when you got older?


I can loan you Mr M. he gets up at 4am so he can go out! He is very noisy!

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by SneakySnake

I thought it was easier to get up early when you got older?


I can loan you Mr M. he gets up at 4am so he can go out! He is very noisy!

It is!

And easier to go to bed early

In fact I'm feeling it a bit now....dang it's only 5:45 PM though.

[SameOldStory]

I was always a backward child. I used to wake up before dawn in the summer to enjoy the sunrise.

Nowadays I only wake to the sound of flowing water.

[SneakySnake]

I usually wake up to the need to make a running water sound!