Archive for the 'Language' Category

Tri-lingual children’s book teaches selfworth

Published on June 2, 2011 in Guatemala, Language, Resources and Reviews. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

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Tri-lingual childrens book helps bring selfworth to children in three languages.

Ishi, Un Simple Monito (Ishi, the average monkey), published in 2008 (ISBN 1-930992-23-8) is a beautifully illustrated book by Todd Aaron Smith that helps children realize that they are unique, valuable and special.

Written in English, Spanish, and the Mayan language of Quiche, the story is set in the Guatemalan highlands and features native animal characters like the quetzal, Guatemala’s national bird and namesake for Guatemalan currency, jaguars, and of course, Ishi, the monkey.

The artwork depicts many features of Guatemala including volcanoes, cornfields, futbol and more.

From what I understand, Smith originally wrote this book for and featured his adopted Guatemalan daughter as a secondary character.

We’ve been able to help distribute some copies of this book in the Guatemalan highlands among the Quiche Mayans.

Part of the Mayan Children Missions Project, this book has the unique feature of being in three languages.

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Spanish Language Schools in Guatemala

Published on May 20, 2011 in communications, Language, missions, Resources and Travel. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

 

Michael with teacher Luis.

All language schools are not equal, nor is finding the best place for you as simple as reviewing a few schools online and then picking one. I’ve been there and there’s a lot of info out there, but making a decision of where my wife and I were to spend our next six months or so as we studied Spanish was kind of like diving into a river after talking to others who swam there before. We hoped to hit the right spot and not drown or hit any rocks in the process.

When you’re looking for a place to learn Spanish there are many elements to take in to account: Location, Cost, Perks, Experience and more.

First of all there is the consideration of countries. There are lots of Spanish Language schools in Spain, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and probably every Latin American country on the map. Here’s a list of 90 schools in 14 countries. We wanted to learn Latin America’s version of Spanish and we have plans to be in Guatemala for a while so we chose to study in the beautiful highlands of Guatemala. Once the country was settled, it became a matter of what city: the main choices are: Antigua, Xela / Quetzaltenango, or Panajchel but about 10 cities offer language studies in Guatemala. Private tutors can be found in other places, but you’ll need some sort of contact to connect with them since there’s no central way to find them.

Getting the right teacher is very important. One thing we learned is that in one-on-one teaching sessions, the individual teacher really makes a difference. Don’t be afraid to change teachers if one doesn’t work for you. Usually within one week you can know whether or not you and your “maestro/a” are a good match. If you’re not, change so you can get a better fit and learn all that you can. Continue reading ‘Spanish Language Schools in Guatemala’

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Ojibwe Language Resources

Published on February 12, 2011 in Language, missions and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

North American native languages are surviving. One of them is the Ojibwe tongue  which is spoken by about 50,000 people in the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and by about 30,000 people in the US states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Montana and North Dakota. (Ref. omniglot.com)

Want to learn the Ojibwe language? Here are  some helpful links:

  • A simple site with common words to get you started.
  • A  great overview of the history of the Ojibwe language. (It gets a bit technical but could be helpful, especially to linguistics nerds.)
  • A list of schools where you can study Ojibwe

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How to pick a Spanish Language School in Guatemala

Published on September 11, 2010 in Language, missions, Resources and Travel. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

We want to be more effective and actually learn to speak Spanish so, we’re moving to Guatemala to learn the language.

Guatemala365 Web search for Spanish Language Schools in Guatemala

Through our searching we found that picking a language school is about like picking a college. You have to weigh cost, quality, recommendations and more to know what you’re getting into.

We found resources like Guatemala 365 which highlight various schools and has a great search tool for narrowing down schools by region. This was helpful, but it’s hard to tell from a Website what will be a really good school and which ones just had a good web designer. Click for more suggestions on choosing a Spanish language school.

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