June Roundup
Exams, peasants, a great deal and what's coming up in July
In addition to teaching classes and writing on Substack, I work as an examiner. That means I assess candidates’ spoken English in oral examinations.
It’s an interesting job, but it tends to be very exhausting because it requires a great deal of concentration and on the spot decision-making.
When the students have the right level and are well-prepared, it’s a gratifying experience for all of us, but when they aren’t ready, it’s emotionally draining. For some of these people, their entire futures depend on this one exam.
This work takes up most of my time in May and June, so I’ve had to put language learning on the back-burner.
In any case, here’s what my language practice has looked like this month:
What I’ve Been Reading
La Casa de los Espirítus /The House of Spirits
All of my reading has been dedicated to our book for The Lit Club.
I first read this novel many years ago, but it’s great to come back to it now with more experience/wisdom, a better level of Spanish, and a changed political/social landscape. It’s such a relevant read for this particular historical moment, so I recommend it in translation, too.
What I’ve Been Watching
In addition to re-watching Tanguy for our Cinema Club in French (which was funnier than I remembered), I recently watched Le temps des paysans (A History of Peasants) on ARTE in French.
This series, like everything on ARTE, is available in several languages.
I watched the full series several times. It has informed my way of thinking about the distribution and organization of wealth/power/resources.
I keep coming back to some of the ideas in it as I’m reading La Casa de los Espíritus which revolves around many of the same themes, but in a narrative format.
Other Resources
I haven’t had much time to dedicate to my usual self-study, which is why I’ve been loving Daily Italian. It’s a seriously great resource, with something for everyone.
There’s a community chat, for authentic text-based conversations with lovely teachers and other learners, challenges, exercises, songs, journal prompts, grammar resources, recipes and vocabulary sets in Quizlet.
BUT the best part is the weekly conversation classes included in the membership.
Honestly, joining these has been the best thing I’ve done for my Italian in the past year of study.
These sessions challenge you to practice speaking in a safe, friendly environment.
Each session follows a clear structure: the teacher introduces a topic, you review vocabulary and some key structures, practice through guided questions, then move to breakout rooms for freer conversation. At the end, you get feedback.
I leave feeling motivated and challenged (and often with a list of notes in my notebook).
🇮🇹 Katarzyna Ciszewska has a generous offer for Love to Lingo readers: 90% off an annual membership.
A whole year’s membership costs less than a tourist menu near the Trevi Fountain. 🍝
Even if you’ve only dabbled in Italian, don’t miss this.
Ci vediamo alla prossima conversazione! 🇮🇹 🍕🍝
The Foreign Language Department:
June kicked off our first events for the Foreign Language Department. Whoo!
A huge thank you to the teachers and participants who made this possible. ♡
Paid subscribers can see the replays now.
On 30 June we have our first discussion for the Lit Club and then we’re into July. (Register here if you haven’t already!)
July:
1 July: Reading Guide Chapters 6-10 La Casa de los Espíritus sent to participants
10 July: Guest Lecture in Italian Comunicazione Interculturale with Emanuela B
17 July: Guest Lecture in Spanish Arte Rupestre en Andalucía with María C.J
31 July: Lit Club Session in Spanish 2 La Casa de los Espíritus
June-August Pilot Edition of Self-Study School in French (paid subscribers can sign up here)
Paid subscribers can join all of these events and have immediate access to The Language Practice, a 56-page self-study guide.
Not ready to commit? Individual event tickets are available too. Just click on the posts.
Earthquakes in Venezuela
Finally, I want to mention the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela this past week.
Seeing as Bianca González, our Lit Club guide for La Casa de los Espíritus is from Venezuela, I’ve donated my June Substack earnings to World Central Kitchen in her name on behalf of Love to Lingo.
I encourage others to join me.
(World Central Kitchen is an NGO headed by José Andrés, a celebrity chef from Asturias, Spain, where I currently live. They provide meals in emergency situations.)
Have a wonderful month of July! Happy Language Learning. ♡
Thank you so much, Christina. It is truly amazing how much Love to Lingo is blooming on Substack. So many projects, so many fresh ideas. I immediately started thinking about how to start learning Spanish and French!
I just found out that The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende has been translated into Japanese, too! Now I'm really looking forward to reading it. Thanks for the recommendation!