Posts tagged with "teaching"

Teaching and Research

Posted by Transparent Language 1 Comment
Dec 30 2009

The comprehensive website Edukado provides a huge repository of Esperanto teaching materials. I stress the “teaching” aspect, rather than “learning,” because the site is designed with a practiced Esperanto speaker in mind. If you know the language well enough, and would like to have some documents and lessons to help you teach others, Edukado is the place to go. They also feature news, book reviews, and plenty of other resources. Take a look, and help spread the word!

While Edukado is appropriate for small-scale Esperanto efforts, there is at least one organization that supports high-level Esperanto endeavors. If you’re planning a large academic undertaking in Esperanto, check out the Esperantic Studies Foundation. In addition to sustaining programs of their own, the ESF also sponsors research pertaining to Esperanto. Whether or not you plan to embark on such a demanding effort, a visit to the ESF’s site is an encouraging one – it reminds us that the world still takes Esperanto seriously!

*Unrelated Note*: Ironically, my last comment on being unseated as a Google result drew enough hits to render my findings obsolete over the course of one night. Thank you, Internet, for frequently proving me wrong! I still place a large stamp of approval on Mr. Alper’s blog, however – be sure to visit it, if you have the opportunity!

Articles on Teaching

Posted by Transparent Language No Comments
Oct 31 2009

Do you speak Esperanto, but have some qualms about teaching it in schools? No? Well, I figured. Esperantists recognize the potential benefits of teaching Esperanto, but some people are a bit skeptical about the whole thing. I suppose I can understand the initial reluctance. Language is a deeply personal matter, and closely tied to one’s cultural identity. (Nevermind that the United States does not yet have an official national language!)

If, however, you’re a proponent of Esperanto teaching, I have a few links that you might find interesting. The first is an opinion paper from the Education Resources Information Center. It argues for all the usual benefits, but makes for a good brush-up. You can also find its PDF version, though the site links to it, as well. Secondly, Esperanto USA has yet another great blog entry that argues for the current US administration to take another look at Esperanto. Lastly, a movement on Change.org pushes for the teaching of Esperanto in public schools.

Educate yourself, and educate others! Gxis!

Motivating My Cousins

Posted by Transparent Language 2 Comments
Jun 10 2009

Bonan tagon! I apologize for the delay in posting. My week has been rather hectic, to say the least. But, now I should remain on schedule, and with luck I’ll have a couple of new posts within the next two days. Thanks for your patience!

I recently talked to my younger cousins about Esperanto. They’re both on the much younger end of the age spectrum – both have recently begun to study Spanish in their middle schools, and neither of them knows who Custer is. I asked them if they had wanted to study any other languages alongside Spanish, or why they chose to study Spanish in the first place. They both cited a lack of options – and a firm desire not to study French!

Since it seemed appropriate, I brought up the topic of Esperanto. Neither of them had heard of it. They were mildly interested at first, but I found a way to encourage them to give it a try. I suggested it could be used as their own personal code. Much like you might have spoken Pig Latin with your siblings when you wanted to keep a verbal message private, my younger cousins now do with Esperanto and their growing vocabulary.

I may have created a monster, but I think the idea is solid. Maybe one way we could encourage the younger generation to study Esperanto is to inculcate the idea of their own coded language. It could make letter-writing a lot more fun. And, if they start passing notes in Esperanto during their classes, it will only motivate their teachers to learn the language for themselves!

Having trouble with correlatives?

Posted by Transparent Language 3 Comments
May 26 2009

In my opinion, the most difficult part about learning Esperanto is tackling all the correlatives. They are quite logical in their construction (as is all of Esperanto!), and you could easily form them if you had a small, pocket-sized table on you. But, there are still a good number of them, and sometimes they can be difficult to recall because of their similarity.

One trick I’ve used to help me remember the ki- correlatives is to place them with another word, to help with the question you’re trying to ask. By recalling these compound words, you can more easily remember the necessary correlative, as well as have a quick and useful phrase memorized. The two I use most often (and the only two I can recall off the top of my head right now) are “kiudirekte” and “kiamaniere.”

Kiudirekte estas la hospitalo? – Which way is the hospital?
Kiamaniere gxin vi faris? – How (what kind of way) did you do it?

Not only are these words nice and specific – they also can help you recall the ki- correlatives. “Kiu” more or less means “which one,” which we can easily deduce from “kiudirekte,” which at a glance might make you think “which direction.” Similarly, “kiamaniere” brings to mind “what kind of” and “manner.”

Maybe this trick will help you remember your correlatives, too!

When to start teaching?

Posted by Transparent Language 3 Comments
May 12 2009

Most Esperantists will tell you, if they’ve studied other languages, that Esperanto is one of the easiest lingvoj to learn. Its vocabulary isn’t necessarily easier – there are still a whole lot of words out there! – but its logical verb conjugation and complete lack of irregulars makes remembering the grammar rules clean and simple. So, it’s easy to start learning it at any age…But when would it be best to learn it?

From my experiences as a student of other languages, I think it would be helpful if kids learned Esperanto as early as elementary school. By introducing them early on in their lives to foreign languages, and doing so with a simple (and thus less intimidating or discouraging!) language, it might be possible to foster better language understanding. As a result, studying other languages like Spanish or French later on in life will be considerably easier for them, having already built both confidence and language skills by means of studying Esperanto.

Audience, what do you think? When would be the optimal time to teach Esperanto to someone?

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