Teaching English...

Foto from Flickr

…is a serious matter! I’m not only a language learner, of course, I’m also a language teacher. I said ‘of course’ because when you start to study at University, people start to have a different consideration of your knowledge. You become somehow an “authority” and when they need help in your field, they come and ask.

But studying English at Uni you understand that rules work a bit differently from what your teachers used to tell you at liceo. And here starts your dissidio interiore. You want your students to be part of this truth that has been revealed to you. You want to tell them the whole story. For instance, you don’t want to tell them that ‘some’ is used in affirmative sentence, while any in negative and interrogative, but you can’t provide them an alternative rule… You don’t want to show them schemes for MODALITY where it is said that can translate the Italian ‘potere’ and HAVE TO is used when it is not possible to conjugate must and so on.

But if you try to do something like this your students will start to look suspiciously at you. No more rules in English? And what about all the things that have been said so far?! What about books written that way?! Those books that provide you few simple rules to use and understand English?! And you, as a teacher, give up and provide them those schemes and rules that make them feel safe (because that’s what their asking you).

Sometimes, you give them a different example, nevertheless, an exception that could convey to what you know is the4 whole story! Who knows, it could even create some… doubts…

How do you usually judge a book?

I must confess I do judge books by the cover, if it somehow strikes me, I'll give it a chance. When I say cover I mean the title, or the colours of the cover, or...

The author. I usually give a second chance to someone who told me a beautiful story. (but no more than a second chance, when it disappointed me...).

Then I start to handle the book, and if it smells of love story, I'll give up. I read love stories, but not when that's the main point. Love ( and death and other few topics) occurs in everybody's lives, so you don't need to consider it the main point when you're telling a story. Have you ever read a story without finding love in it?!

So far the book is in my hands...I read something about the author (if I don't know him/her) and then I read the back, usually there is a summary of the story, or something like that (the italian "quarta di copertina"). And that's the final phase, the most critical, now there must be something that strikes me, that intrigues me...
And, of course there is a very final thing that I consider, but it is just a little thing: the price. Of course I don't give up because of money (sometimes I can look for another edition), but when I didn't work, and consequently I had no money of my own, I used to go to bookshop, decide what I wanted and then I went to the city library to take it. This system never failed, and if the book was good I used to buy it.

I've been disappointed very few times by this method that I could say it is almost scientific!
And you?! How do you usually judge a book?!


P.S.
The photo has very little to do with the post, but last time I went to London, instead of the city I visited Notting Hill and Portobello road... and of course I could not but snap a pic of the very famous travel book shop!!!

Ocean Sea

Sabbia a perdita d'occhio, tra le ultime colline e il mare -il mare- nell'aria fredda di un pomeriggio quasi passato, e benedetto dal vento che sempre soffia da nord.
La spiaggia. E il mare.
[...]
The very beginning of Oceano mare, by Alessandro Baricco
(Sand as far as the eye can see, between the last hills, and the sea -the sea- in the cold air of an afternoon almost past, and blessed by the wind that always bow from the north. The beach. And the sea. translated byAlastair McEwen)


I would never dare to translate Alessandro Baricco. Never.
Because I love him, I adore him as an intellectual and as a novelist.
Ocean Sea is one of my favourite books, maybe my favourite book. I've read it many years ago, and I re-read it sometimes, when I need to read something beautiful.
Ocean Sea is a story, but it is also made of many different stories, one for each character, at least. Baricco's characters are always peculiar: children almost like angels, scientists involved in absurd researches, sailors that can tell marvellous stories without speaking, painters who use water instead of colours...

The story is set around a place called Locanda Almayer, the characters arrive here for different reason, but here they all find the sea, and that will complicate or finally solve their lives.
[...]
Questo è un posto che quasi non esiste. E se chiedi della locanda Almayer, la gente ti guarda sorpresa, e non sa.
[...]
Oceano mare, by Alessandro Baricco

When you read Baricco's stories, either this one, or any other, you must remember that nothing is there by chance, not even punctuation. The use of lay-out and punctuation is one of his main characteristic, in his novels you can find very long sentence (more than a page) and very short ones. The organization on the page tries to represent the scene he is describing, to emphasize words, and so it is a kind of description without the usual devices.
[...]
Spiaggia. E il mare.
Luce.
Il vento dal nord.
Il silenzio delle maree.
Giorni. Notti.
[...]

La prima cosa è il mio nome,

la prima cosa è il

mio nome, la seconda quegli occhi,

la prima cosa è il

mio nome, la seconda quegli occhi, la terza è un pensiero,la quarta la notte che viene,
[...]
Oceano mare, by Alessandro Baricco

The narrator plays an important role in Baricco's novel, it is a voice that follows all the stories and knows many things about the characters, s/he sometimes stops the narrations to tell external stories or to explain why they are behaving in a particular way. Humor is another great characteristic of Baricco's style, he underlines situations in order to make the reader smile.

Pensa rimugina e riflette e ragiona. Poi di scatto salta giù dal davanzale. Dalla parte della camera, s'intende. Bisognerebbe avere le ali per saltare giù dall'altra.
[...]
Rimane lì il bambino con gli occhi fissi sul mare. Ci resta per un po'. Poi guarda bene che intorno non ci sia nessuno e di scatto salta giù dal davanzale. Dalla parte della spaiggia, s'intende.
Oceano mare, by Alessandro Baricco

It is almost impossible to summarize the whole content of this novel, because there are many different stories composing one story, and if you listen to it "...you'll hear the voice of the Sea".

Here you can find a review, and probably a better description of what this novel deal with.

My own time...

Time is becoming more and more important in my everyday life, and that's something new to me. I have always been very well organized, it is not lack of modesty, but attending 2 different schools I have learned how to organize my own time in order to do what I really want to do!

But in the last year I realized that there are things I need to give up in order to pursuit what is important for me now. Time at University is different, my spare time is shorter, or perhaps just different...

And I started to think about how I spend/waste my time, how I can control it, if I still control it, and I realized that there is something wrong if you can't control your time. When you don't decide by yourself how much you want to dedicate to things you love, or you need, you don't feel satisfied (I'm not saying happy, I don't dare!).

The most beautiful present I could receive now is a little bit of time to dedicate to myself... but I'm not sure I could accept it right now!

Sometimes....

Sometimes you get up so early in the morning....

Sometimes you are ready to come back as soon as you get to University...

Sometimes you expect to hear that you have to be back for the exam the day after, and you are told that you'll be the last of that very day.

Sometimes you wait so long for your exam that you have no more hope, and you seriously think to run away...

Sometimes when you enter the door your expectations are so low...

Sometimes professors are not that bad, and somehow they try to help you...

Sometime you run to get the train and your heart is lighter...

Sometimes on the train you see a friend you haven't met for ages, and you deserve a fine talk....

Sometimes you come back home really late, but you are happy!

L'epifania tutte le feste si porta via

Well, tomorrow Christmas is definitely over, as my granmother used to say. And so the template will change and I have no excuse for my studies, no more lunch and dinner to prepare, presents to buy, or people to visit. Back to routine, and to my worries for this coming exams...

But, a new year to fulfil my dreams and to find my way, remembering all I have reflected on during this Christmas time.

I hope I can find more time to post this new year, because I'm becoming a little lazy with my blog!

Those few who come intentionally here, keep an eye on me, please, I need your help as you well know!
Anybody "new" who come across this message in a bottle in the huge sea of the Web, leave a comment, it will be an encouragement to do always my best!

A merry Christmas

My sister did her best to arrange the tree and Presepe! She did a good job indeed!

A merry Christmas, full of laugh, of people, children happy to receive so many and wonderful presents, friends smiling and joking, my family joint together, delcious food prepared with love, new traditions to carry on... That was my best Christmas present!

What about you? did you have a Merry Christmas?

Love and peace be in your heart in these days of Joy!

Buon Natale

Ashamed...

I decided to study languages because I believe in communication: I think it is a great opportunity the ability of talking with people of different culture. I like the idea of meeting people with different tradition and to communicate with them.
I was very happy, last year, when I came in contact with these technological tools that could help you to learn a language, but also to get in touch with different cultures.
Last week I was talking with a friend of mine, a not-very-technological woman, and I was explaining her that all I have done for Christmas, so far, was finding a new template for my blog. She stared at me, and said: "You have a blog?!" and I felt a bit ashamed of saying "Yes, I have".

Of course, there is nothing to be ashamed of, but my attitude to this kind of thing is that. None of my friend know the URL of my blog, and I don't want them to know it. Not because of what I write here, but...

Probably is because of the way people think about this kind of tools, and about people who use them. I don't write much personal stuff here, and I don't use it as a personal diary, but I don't want to explain every time what is the difference in my use of this things... That's probably why...

A place called home

How many places can you call home?

Well, of course there is my home, where i come back every evening, and where i'm not always happy to be back(travelling is much more fun). But there are other places that I can call home, and I realize it every time I go back there, and I can find my way there...

My Granma used to tell me that her house was our home, that we should consider it so, because whenever we need to be at home, we could go there, and so it was! Even now that she is no longer in this world and her house is something completely different, I consider it home.



One of the first time I went to my uncle on my own (after several years...) I went out for a walk in the country around there, and there I realized that I could perfectly recognize where I was and I didn't lost, I felt at home. It was ages since I last walk there, but even though I was alone I managed to find my way...











My mum's uncle live in a beautiful place near Treviso called Valdobbiadene, and they make a marvellous wine called ProseccoandCartizze. I seldom go there, last time it was a couple of weeks ago... everything is the same. Only it seems to me a bit smaller! The huge room where we used to have lunch when I was a child is now so tiny. How could we run in such a small place?! And the kitchen where my mum's aunts used to prepare so much food (those lunch started at 12 and ended not before 4 p.m., children were allowed to leave the room before the end of lunch!). And again finding things the way I can remember them I felt at home




These are the things that make me feel at home, places where I can wander, people that loves me. Places where I can arrive and leave whenever I need, where even being away for so long, once I'm back everything is the same.

So, How many places can you call home?

Nice trip into science world!

No photo this time!

Another meeting for bloggers, but without any evidence! I'm just back home (well, I had dinner before start writing!) from Pisa, where I met A.C. and qualcosa di bello, and her "baby"! We spent a beautiful day trying to understand something about scientific research. If You have any question ask qualcosadibello, she knows!

It is always a surprise that there are so many different ways to get in contact with people, and that just writing some random thoughts, you have the chance to meet such beautiful people.

I have no other words for tonight, (I had few words during the whole day!)...
but thank you!