SPA120...Shopping!

Common shopping phrases
¿Cuánto cuesta?    Kwan toe * kway sta    How much does it cost?

Es demasiado caro. Ace * day m asee ah doe * ca roe     It's too expensive.

¿Tiene algo más barato?   Tee ay nay * all go * mAHs * ba ra toe     Do you have anything cheaper?

¿Puedo probármelo?     Pway doe * pro bAR may low     Can I try it on?

El color no me sienta bien.       El *co loor * no * may * see ain ta * be ain    The color doesn't suit me.

¿Dónde están los probadores?    dAWN day * ace tahn * los * pro ba door ace   Where are the changing rooms?

Voy a pagar al contado.      Boy * ah *pah gar * al * con ta doe    I'm going to pay cash.

“ “ en efectivo           ain * ay fake tee bo       I'm going to pay cash.

¿Puede atenderme?          Pway day * ah tain dair may        Can you help me?

“ ‘ ayudarme?     Eye you dar may      Can you help me?

Sólo estoy mirando.     SO lo * ace toy * meer ahn doe       I'm just looking.

¿Podría mostrarme ... ?        poe drEE ah * moes trar may       Could you show me ...?

I can do this for days and I can be more specific and use different vocabulary, but if you learn these…you’ll do just fine!

SPA112...Milk Man hints...

ME:  pan = bread
        panadería (pa na dair ee ah)  bakery  .... notice the "ería" that's the signal its a store, or a shop
        panadero (pa na dair oh)  baker ... notice the "ero" that's the signal its a person
So...
ME:  (carne = meat) carnicería (car knee sair ee ha)   CLASS:  meat market (meat store... lol)
ME:  carnicero (car knee sair oh)        CLASS:  butcher

ME: (leche = milk) lechería (lay chair ee ah)              CLASS:  milk store (haha), dairy
ME: lechero (lay chair oh)                   CLASS:  DAD... that was the end of that discussion!

Once I stopped giggling, I realized that my students actually appreciated the helpful hint and the humor. 

Here are several little hints that I think may help with your Spanish journey:

SUFFIXES
1. -dad    USUALLY translates in English as words ending in -ty

• cantidad (can tee dath) or (can tee da)* ...  quantity
• claridad (cla ree da)  ...   clarity
• sociedad (so see da)  ...   society
• necesidad (nay say see da)  ...   necessity

*** of course there are exceptions... for instance ***

• maldad (mal da)  ...  badness
• amabilidad (ah ma bee lee da)  ...  niceness
• verdad (bare da) ...  truth

* the pronunciation of the letter "d" is tricky. When it's at the beginning of a word or after the letter "l" or "n" it sounds just like the English "d" dinero  (dee nair oh), cuando (kwan do),  falda (fal da)...

BUT when the "d" is after a vowel or another consonant it sounds like the English "th", but softer... adiós (ah thee os), perdón (pair thon)

AND at the end of the word, depending on where you're from you may not here the "d" at all, especially at the end of the word. salud (sa loo).

DOES this mean that you won't hear "verdad" pronounced as "bare dad" or "bare tha" or even "bare thath" NOPE it means that you can and WILL hear it all of these ways... I'll use my pronunciation.

2.  - ico USUALLY translates in English as words ending in -ic

• fanatic  ...  fanático (fa nA tee co)
• artistic  ...  artístico (ar tees tee co)

3.  - ción USUALLY translates in English as words ending in -tion

• action  ... acción (ax see OWN)
• solution  ...  solución (so loo see OWN)

4. - íficar USUALLY translates in English as words ending in -ify

• Dignify  ...  dignificar (deeg knee fee car)
• Signify  ...  significar (seeg knee fee car)

5.  - ismo USUALLY translates in English as words ending in -ism

• Buddhism  ...  Budismo (boo dees mo)
• Capitalism  ...  Capitalismo (ca pea ta lees mo)   

6.  - tud  USUALLY translates in English as words ending in -tude

• attitude  ...  actitude (ax ti tood)
• altitude  ...  altitude (al tee tood)

7.  - fobia  USUALLY translates in English as words ending in -phobia

• claustrophobia  ...  claustrofobia (claws tro fo bee ah)
• acrophobia  ...  acrofobia (ah crow fo bee ah)

8.  -osa and -oso  USUALLY translates in English as words ending in -ous

• fabulous  ... fabuloso (fa boo lo so)
• jealous  ... celoso (say lo so)

9.  -mente USUALLY translates in English as words ending in -ly

• slowly  ...  lentamente (lain ta main tay)
• quietly  ...  calladamente (ka ya da main tay)

10.  -ncia USUALLY translates in English as words ending in -nce

• importance  ...  importancia (eem poor tan see ah)
• distance  ...  distancia (dees tan see ah)

Hope this helps, if I think of more I'l post them...

la semana de 27 de septiembre...un día tarde

SPA111 Elementary Spanish 1
Continue with Nuestras Clases, Introduction of first Voki assignment...whooo hooo you get to speak!
Possessive Adjectives:  http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/possessive_adjectives_part_1.htm
Telling Time:  http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/telling_time.htm

SPA112 Elementary Spanish 2
Stem-Change Verbs o-ue and e-i  http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/stem_changing_verbs.htm
Direct Object Pronouns  http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/direct_object_pronouns.htm

SPA211 Intermediate Spanish 1
“Cristina Martínez” from Mujeres de ojos grandes

Pretérito e imperfecto  http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/preterimperf.htm

Present perfect y pluperfecto  http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/preteritoperfecto.htm
http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/preteritopluscuamperfecto.htm
Hace...que  http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/hace_que.htm

SPA181/SPA281 Spanish Labs
Continue working

SPA141 Culture and Civilization
The Mission  http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi502333721/   The Trailer

I want you to think about the key players in this movie...the Indians, the Spanish, the Portuguese, and the Church. I'm interested in seeing your reaction to the power of the church. I've already told you that 2 men are going to give everything they have fighting for the rights of others. One man will chose a peaceful path and the other will chose to pick up a weapon. As we have studied and as I have questioned over and over...why is Latin America FILLED with armed and violent struggles. Why are revolts and revolutions so common? Why the violent fight and not the peaceful marches?

SPA120 Spanish for the Workplace
1.  You are going shopping in a grocery store and a clothing store. YOU can't speak English. You have to purchase 2 things from each store. Think about how to ask for things...
2.  You are also going to be a shop owner. The people that enter your shop do NOT speak English. They will be asking to buy things from your store...try to think about what they'll ask you, how are you going to answer their questions.

SPI114 Analytical Skills for Interpreting
Last week we discussed Friendly Dictators of Latin America. Someone asked about Costa Rica's government.  I hung my head in shame...I didn't know. The goal for this week is to learn about the different governments of Latin America. I'm interested in seeing how many countries have socialist governments? How many have democratic governments? How many have..."dictatorships"?

SPA141...Home Pride

I just returned from my 25th High School reunion and as I drove all I could think about was how wonderful it felt to be home. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pa, I can say that I bleed BLACK and GOLD and that I am a Steel City Girl. Proud to be a Pittsburgher, my chest fills with pride whether I'm staring at our amazing skyline and beautiful rivers, counting our fabulous bridges, or climbing those magnificent, rolling mountains, that we call "hills." Either way, I'm proud to claim Pittsburgh as my home and I'm willing to bet many Pittsburghers feel the same. Pittsburgh is who I am, it's where I'm from, and it's what has help mold me into the person I am today.

As I continue driving, I began to think about what we've been studying in my Culture and Civilization class. I asked my students why did it take so long for Latin American countries to "fight" for their countries? Why did it take so long for the "feeling" of home to come into play?

Think about it...

1492 Columbus sails the ocean blue... more or less the beginning of Conquest Period, in which the Spanish, the Portuguese, the French...came to the Americas and took claim to the land and the people

1537 The Pope declares that Indians have souls...nice of him

1780s Indian Revolt led by Tupac Amaru

1790s Slave Revolt ... Haiti

1810 "Grito de Dolores" Mexico Independence against Spain

1800s Slowly countries begin to fight for their Independence

1900s Revolutions and "outside" interference from power houses like... US and Russia

Here's my question... I'm 42 and my pride for my home is overflowing. I can understand how at first the Americas were merely nothing more than a cash crop to the Spaniards, however, once they began building colonies and claiming land...it soon became their home... so, why did it take generations...and I mean centuries before the people, decided that this was their home, this was where they were born, where their parents were born and even where their grandparents were born... why did it take that long for revolts and revolutions to occur?

SPA120...Why is Spanish backwards?

At the end of last night's class, two students stopped me and asked the oh so familiar question..."Why is Spanish backwards?" I knew what they meant, but I had to ask... "What do you mean?" I was pleased when they replied..."like when you asked our favorite color, you said..."¿Qué es su color favorito?...What is your color favorite...that's backwards." I was tickled, I knew what they meant, but any chance I have to get students to speak Spanish...I take it!

Here's the example I like to share with my students. I don't want to offend anyone, but it seems that this explanation tends to always satisfy thier needs.

If you ask a person from the US... "What's their favorite car? Or, what's their dream car?" You are more than likely get an answer like..."1967, red, Mustang convertible." (That's my dream car.) What do you know about my dream car, you know it's color, it's year, it's model and make. Is all of that stuff important or is it just extra "fluff"? It's really just fluff. My dream car is a Mustang Convertible. Point blank. The fact that it's candy-apple red and a 1967, just makes it more exciting and more appealing. Does that make sense?



Now, if I ask that same question to a person from a Spanish-speaking country... I'll get...un carro convertible y rojo del ño 1967" or something similar. The point that I'm trying to make is that Spanish say what's important first...the car. The adjectives, the fact that it's red or that is a convertible, are extra...they're "fluff."

Hope that helps...

SPI114 Friendly Dictators...Memorization Techniques

I love the freedom I have in teaching Interpreting skills. One very important skill that every interpreter should have is the abilty to remember. As an interpreter, you have to be able to listen to what's being said, remember it, change it into a different language, and then repeat it. Fortunately, we are Community Interpreters, therefore our messages are very long and there's a waiting period between speakers. Imagine how difficult it would be to remember a speech at a conference or a closing arguement.

Before I share some of Memorization Tricks, I thought it would be interesting to give you a list of things for you to remember and we could see how you learn them. 

Friendly Dictators...

Hmmm why are they called friendly, trust me it's not because they're nice, these men are truly dictators in every form of the word. They just happen to be "friends" of the US or at least at one point in their dictatorship it is alleged that they were our friend. Apparently, we ignored their murdering, raping, pillaging, torturing, drug-selling, and all other crimes due to their anti-communist views. Makes me wonder what is so evil about communism that killing people...excuse me murdering women, men and children is justified....possibly another topic.

1. FULGENCIO BATISTA:
President of Cuba seized power via coup in 1932 overthrown in 1959 by Castro.

2.  RAFAEL LEONIDAS TRUJILLO:
President of the Dominican Republic put in power by US in 1916 assassinated in 1961 by CIA.

3. FRANÇOIS & JEAN CLAUDE DUVALIER
Presidents-for-Life of Haiti Papa "Doc" and Baby "Doc" terrorized Haiti for 30 years.

4. MAXIMILIANO HERNANDEZ MARTINEZ
General of El Salvador seized power in 1931 and was kicked out of the country in 1944.

5. ANASTASIO SOMOZA, SR. AND JR.
Presidents of Nicaragua controlled, terrrorized, and destroyed Nicaraguans for 45yrs.

6. GENERAL EFRAIN RIOS MONT
President of Guatemala ruled from 1982 - 1983 short but bloody term.

7. ROBERTO SUAZO CORDOVA
President of Honduras 1978 to 1984.

8. GENERAL MANUEL NORIEGA

Chief of Defense Forces, Panama began his relationship with the US in 1976 and was indicted for drug charges in 1987.

9. VINICIO CEREZO

President of Guatemala elected in 1986 - 1990.

10. ALFREDO CRISTIANI

President of El Salvador from 1989 to 1994.

11. GENERAL HUMBERTO BRANCO

President of Brazil led military coup 1964 and ruled until 1985.

12. COLONEL HUGO BANZER

President of Bolivia military take over in 1971 remained in power until 1978
13. GENERAL JORGE RAFAEL VIDELA

President of Argentina, known for the "Dirty War" = state sponsored violence from 1970s to 1983.

14. ALFREDO STROESSNER

President-for-Life of Paraguay military coup 1954 ruled for 35 years.

15. GENERAL AUGUSTO PINOCHET

President of Chile...seized power from President Salvador Allende 1973 remained in power until 1990.

For this "test" you need to be able to match the Dictator with his Country.

If you'd like to read more about these men, their time in power, and their connection with the US check out the Friendly Dictators Trading Cards...yes...Trading Cards...that is pretty sad.

http://home.iprimus.com.au/korob/fdtcards/Cards_Index.html

SPA120 Class Notes 20 septiembre 10

Recap of class...next Voki assignment


Imagine I'm a non-English speaker and I'm coming into your office for the first time. With your Voki...Introduce yourself (I know you've already done this, but the more time you do it...the easier it is). Then ask me some questions... My name, my address, my phone number...

Here are some hints...

¿Cómo se llama usted? ko mo * say * ya ma * ooo stead What's your name? (formal)

¿Cómo se llama su...?

• employer empleador aim play ah door

• parents padres pa drays

• husband marido ma ree do

• wife esposa ace po sa

• pet mascota ma sco ta

¿Dónde trabaja usted? Dawn day * tra ba ha * ooo stead Where do you work? (formal)

¿Puedo ver su…? Pway doe * bear * sue …

• ID card tarjeta de identificación tar hay ta * day * ee dain tee fee ca see OWN

• Drivers license licencia de manejar lee sane cee ah * day * ma nay har

**¿Cuál es su número de teléfono? kwal * ace * sue * nEW mair oh * day * tay lAY phone oh

What is your phone number?

¿Qué es su número de teléfono? kay * ace * sue * nEW mair oh * day * tay lAY phone oh

What is your phone number?

**¿Cuál es su dirección? kwal * ace * su * dear ex see OWN What is your address?

¿Qué es su dirección? kay * ace * su * dear ex see OWN What is your address?

** side note... ¿Qué? vs ¿Cuál? I've heard native speakers say "¿Qué es...?" and "¿Cuál es...? Here are a few helpful hints to help you distinguish between the two.

Use Qué...

• To ask for a definition: ¿Qué es ....

• To ask about something where a choice is involved: ¿Qué te gusta más ... o ...?

• To express "what a....!"

• Before a noun: ¿Qué equipo te gusta?

Use Cuál...

• After de... which one of several: ¿Cuál de los equipos es el mejor?

• Before ser - when there are a ton of possibilities: ¿Cuál es la fecha?

If I think of more…I’ll share it.

La semana 20 de septiembre 10

Here's what's going on this week...

SPA111 Elementary Spanish 1

• CONJUGATING -AR Verbs....WHOOOO HOOOO!!http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/verbs.htm
• Interrogative and Negative Sentences http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/interrogative_and_negative_sente.htm

SPA112  Elementary Spanish 2
Let's get ready for a test next week on Lesson 5.

• Comparisons and Superlatives http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/comparative_and_superlative_adje.htm
• Pronouns as objects of prepositions http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/pronouns_as_objects_of_prepositi.htm

SPA181/281 Spanish Labs
Keeping pushing on...it's almost over! Remember this is an 8week class...

SPA211
Siga leyendo "Tiempo Muerto" y conteste las preguntas a fines del cuento.

SPA141 Culture and Civilization
Question of the week: Does history repeat itself?

• Galeano: Ch 2. King Sugar and Other Agricultural Monarchs
• Discuss/Compare: Motorcycle Diaries and CHE
• What's agrarian reform? What's land reform?

SPA120 Spanish for the Workplace
Welcome to.... This is what I do... How can I help you....

SPI114 Analytical Skills for Interpreting
Memorization Techniques
     Latin American Dictators...might as well cause a little bit of trouble. ;)

SPI114...Energy Drinks and "Guano"?

One of the things I love about the note-taking section of Analytical Skills of Interpreting is the freedom to talk about anything and everything. I found a very short article on Energy Drinks that triggered the question... Is it true that they use "guano" or bat poo in most energy drinks? Ewww, I hope not! So, we did some research.

Most energy drinks have "guarana" in them, which can easily be confused with "guano." So, the answer is NO, there is no bat poo in energy drinks.  Which lead to the next question...What's guarana?

Basically, guarana is a plant most commonly found in the Amazon region, mainly in Brazil. It's known as an energy booster, and is rumored to contain twice as much caffeine as a coffee bean. You can find more about guarana at http://www.guarana.com/

Well, that made us wonder if energy drinks have caffeine AND guarana, which is 2x's the amount of caffeine, what else do they contain. We first went to http://www.energyfiend.com/energy-drink-ingredients

In a nut shell, there are more or less than 14 main ingredients in most energy drinks.  Out of those 14 ingredients 3 of them...caffeine, guarana, and yerba mate are caffeine related. That peaked our interest and we decided to look into the different energy drinks and compare the amount of caffeine in each. As an avid coffee drinker, I love my caffeine! Pretty much we all know that caffeine stimulates the body and gives us that so needed "alert, I'm awake" feel. We also know that too much caffeine can cause problems such as sleeplessness, heart palpitations, headaches, nausea, and jitters. According to the sites we checked out the "too much" is more than 200mg of caffeine. On an average a cup of coffee contains 40 - 150mg of caffeine depending on whether it's brewed or instant.

We went to http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database/ and were STUNNED to see the amount of caffeine in some of the name brand energy drinks.

Common brands mg of caffeine/oz:

• 5hr energy   69mg/oz
• Amp    8.9mg/oz
• Monster     10mg/oz
• Red Bull     9.5mg/oz
• Rockstar     10mg/oz

Of course we couldn't resist giggling over some of the "odd" named energy drinks...

• Blood Energy Potion     23.5mg/oz
• Booty Sweat Energy Drink     9.5mg/oz
• Cocaine Energy Drink (yes, that's what it said)     33.3mg/oz (hmmm I wonder?)
• Crunk Sugar Free (extra giggle...health conscious!)     12.5mg/oz
• Pimp Juice     9.8mg/oz
• Whoop Ass    5.9mg/oz

And the energy drinks with the highest amount of caffeine mg/oz are....

• Fixxed Extreme     2352.9mg/oz
• DynaPep     571mg/oz
• 5150 Juice     500mg/oz
• Energy Catalyst     434.8mg/oz

Pure insanity!

SPA111 Ghetto Spanish

Here are the "ghetto" pronunciation tips for the Nuestras Clases lesson. Remember the pronunciation is in bold. I couldn't put the vocbulary in columns or a table, so chances are this is going to be lopsided. Hopefully you should still be able to figure it out.

Nombres


el (la) aguafiestas      ah gwa fee ace tas      spoilsport

el (la) amigo (a)      ah me go      friend

la asignatura      ah seeg na tour ah      course, subject

el aula      aww la      classroom

el café      calf AY     coffee

el dinero      dee nair oh      money

el horario de clases      or air ee oh ** day *** cla says       class schedule

el inglés      ing lace      english

el lunes      loon ace      monday

la leche      lay chay      milk

el miércoles       me AIR co lace     wednesday

la noche      no chay      night

la playa      ply yah      beach

el requisito      ray key see toe      required

la química      key me ca      chemistry

la tarde      tar day      afternoon

la taza      ta sa     cup

el vaso      ba so     glass

el verano     bear ah no      summer

la vida     bee da     life

el viernes     bee air nace      friday


Cognados

la biología      bee oh low hee ah

la cafetería     calf ay tay ree ah

cubanoamericano (a)      coo bah no ah mair ee cah no

la física      fee see cah

la historia      ees tour ee ah

la idea       ee day ah

internacional      en tare nah see on al

julio      who lee oh

la literatura      lee tare ah tour ah

las matemáticas      ma tay mAH tee cahs

el programa       pro gram ah

la psicología      see co low hee ah

puertorriqueño (a)      pware to rrree kane yo

el semestre        say may stray

septiembre     sayp tee aim bray

la televisión         tay lay bee see own


Otras palabras y expresiones

A      Ah       At (with time of day); to

¿A qué hora…?      Ah * kay * or a…      (At) What time…?

Además       Ah day mAHs       Besides

Aquí está       Ah KEY * ace tAH       Here it is

¿Cuántos (as)?       kWAN toes       How many?

De       Day       Of

Entonces       Ain tone says       Then

Este semestre        Ace tay * say may stray        This semester

Hay        Eye         There is, there are

Hoy       Oy         Today

Los (las) dos      los dos     Both

Mañana         Man yahn ah       Tomorrow

me voy          May * boy        I’m leaving

No vamos       No * bah mos       We’re not going

Pero       Pair oh       But

Por la tarde         Pour * la * tar day       In the afternoon

¿Por qué?        Pour kAY      Why?

Porque        Pourkay       Because

Pues          Pways        Then

que      Kay        Who, that

¿Qué?        kAY        What?

¿Qué hora es?       kAY * or ah * ace         What time is it?

Solamente, solo          So la main tay , so lo        Only

También          Tahm be AIN        Also, too

¿Verdad?          Bear dah         Right? True?

Y media          Ee * may dee ah        Half past

Ya es tarde            Ya * ace * tar day         It’s already late

Verbos

Conversar        con bare sar          To talk, to converse

Desear            day say ar           To wish, to want

Estudiar           ace too dee ar        To study

Hablar             ah blar              To speak

Necesitar            nay say see tar             To need

Terminar         tare me nar                To end, to finish, to get through

Tomar           toe mar                    To take (a class); to drink

Trabajar           trah bah har          To work


Adjetivos

Aburrido (a)            ah bore ree doe              Boring

Bueno (a)                bway no                 Good

Juntos(as)               whoon toes             Together

Nuestro(a)              new ace trow           Our

Nuevo(a)                new ay bo                 New

Todos(as)               toe dos                      All


Amplíe su vocabulario: Para pedir bebidas (ordering drinks)

Deseo una taza de            Day say o * oo na * ta sa * day       I want a cup of


Café            Calf AY         coffee

Té         tAY         hot tea

Chocolate caliente         cho co la tay * ca lee ain tay         hot chocolate

Café con leche      calf AY * con * lay chay       coffee with milk
Deseo un vaso de          Day say o * oon * ba so * day           I want a glass of

Agua con hielo              Ah gwa * con * ee ay low             ice water

Leche           Lay chay             milk

Cerveza         Sair bay sa         beer

Té helado, té frío            tAY * ay la doe, tAY frEE oh          iced tea

Deseo jugo de          Day say oh * who go * day                I want _____ juice

Manzana        Mahn san ah         Apple 

Naranja         Nah rahn ha            Orange

Tomate          Toe mah tay           Tomato

Toronja          Toe ron ha           Grapefruit

Uvas          Ooo bahs          Grapes

Deseo una copa de vino          Day say oh * oo na * c opa * day * be no       I want a glass of ____ wine

Blanco       Blan ko       White

Rosado       Row sah doe          Rosé

Tinto            Teen toe          Red

Deseo una botella de agua mineral   Day say oh * oo na * bow tay ya * day *  Ah gwa * me nair all      

I want a bottle of agua mineral             

Más asignaturas

Las administración de empresas   Ad me nee stra see OWN * day * aim pray sahs   Business administration

La antropología            An tro po lo hEE ah          Anthropology

El arte             Ar tay                 Art

Las ciencias políticas               See ain see ahs * po lEE tee cahs            Political science

La contabilidad                    Con tah bee lee dath                  Accounting

La danza aerobica                  Dan sa * air oh bee ca            Aerobic dance

La geografía              Hee oh graphEE ah              Geography

La geología              Hee oh lo hEE ah              Geology

La informática              Een for mA tee ca              Computer science

La música                mOO see ca          Music

La sociología            So see oh low hEE ah            sociology

SPA 120 Introduction Voki

Buena Suerte

New Week

SPA111: Elementary Spanish 1
Test: 14 sept 10

SPA112: Elementary Spanish 2
No class 15 sept 10, assignment is on blackboard due NLT midnight 17 sept 10.
Review:
1. Ser vs Estar http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/ser_and_estar.htm
2. Stem-Change Verbs (e-ie) http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/stem_changing_verbs.htm
** Be ready to discuss on Monday Comparisons and Superlatives (talking about people)**
http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/comparative_and_superlative_adje.htm

SPA181/281: Spanish Labs
Continue working at your pace.

SPA211: Intermediate Spanish 1
Leen "Tiempo Muerto"
La estructura:

• http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/past_participles.htm
• http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/preteritoperfecto.htm
• http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/preterimperf.htm
• http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/subjunctive.htm
• http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/usos_de_las_preposiciones_a.htm
• http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/mandatos.htm

Yo sé que es mucho, pero debe ser una revisión. ¿Verdad?

SPA120: Spanish for the Workplace
Vokis and Common Phrases Everyone Should Know in the Workplace

SPA141: Culture and Civilization
CHE part 2
Galeano: King Sugar and Other Agricultural Monarchs
Pablo Neruda (who I love) The United Fruit Company http://bit.ly/NerudaUFC

SPI114: Analytical Skills for Spanish Interpreting
If we stay on track... IF (always a big IF), then we'll try to listen and practice note-taking skills.
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/spe/

This should keep up busy, for the week!

MLMoore

SPA120 and Pronunciation Help

Below are some resources to help you practice your pronunciation. The best way to improve your Spanish speaking skills is to practice.

StudySpanish.com  is an excellent site. Don't pay for anything, utilize as many of the free options that are available.   http://www.studyspanish.com/pronunciation/

Voki is an avatar that you can use to practice your Spanish. It's free to register and with a microphone you can record and upload your voice. Listening to yourself speak Spanish is a great way to practice and improve.   http://www.voki.com/

There are tons of free Spanish Podcasts that you can take advantage of on the internet. The one we listened to in class was Discover Spanish with host Johnny Spanish (cheesy, I know), but it was clear and easy to understand. Free also helps.   http://www.discoverspanish.com/podcast.php

I hope this helps!

Ciao,
MLMoore

SPI114 and Immigration Services

Every now and then, I get off track in class and we end up discussing and learning something completely different than what was planned. Fortunately, the information that we learn is so rewarding or interesting, that no one complains about the detour. Today was a prime example.

One of my students is from Panama. We were discussing the Immigration Issue in Arizona, when she shared that she travels home to Panama every year to apply for a visa for her father to visit for Christmas break. Every year she completes forms and pays $150 for the travel visa. For the last 15 yrs, she has missed "something" in her application. First,  it was financial statements for her and her husband in the US, then it was financial statements for her father. She needed medical history, work history, criminal records, and the list continues. Each year something new was added and each year she was denied. Her father is in his late 60's...almost 70! He wants to spend Christmas with his family and then return home! He doesn't want to stay. I was amazed. I heard stories before of the problems people have trying to enter the US legally and each story saddens me. You have people who COMPLAIN about illegal immigrants, then when you see the paperwork required and MONEY needed to become legal...I'm thinking, I might be illegal too.

So, out of curiosity, we went to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services web page.  Good Night Louise! The FEES to apply for residency, citizenship and other things that I don't even understand are outrageous!

• Do you know there is a fee for an "Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition"? $670! 
• How about a fee "to Adjust Status from Temporary to Permanent Resident"? $1370
• My favorite "Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition" $340

What does that mean? It looks like...to me at least...that I've completed an application, it was approved and I have to PAY you to complete the process! There's even a fee to "Request for Premium Processing Services." $1000! Are you serious? $1000 for "premium" processing services. These people don't need things written in gold or done in a "premium" manner. They just want it done!

If you get a chance, check out the Fee Chart on the website. I'm interested in what you think.

http://bit.ly/FilingFees

Ciao,
MLMoore

Try this again!

I tried this blogging thing once before, and while I LOVED it, I found it hard to be consistent. With all of the classes I have this semester I'm actually thinking that this time may be better. In this one place I can update ALL of my classes at once. Seems to make sense...let's see what happens. I'm also going to be playing around with sound. Along with my notes, I'm hoping to add audio of my SPA111 and SPA112 classes. I'm also going to learn how to use the "Voki" avatar. I think I can use it so that you'll hear pronunciation of words, but wouldn't it FABULOUS if YOU can use it too...to talk to me! SWEETNESS!!

Below you'll see the schedule for my classes:

SPA181/SPA281 Spanish Labs:
Continue working at your pace. I'll have grades updated for Module 1, by Monday, 13 Sept 2010

SPA111:
STUDY! We will review on Thursday, 9 Sept 2010 and have our first test on Tuesday, 14 September 2010. Lesson 1: Bienvenidos

SPA112:
We reviewed Present Tense Conjugations http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/verbs.htm
We compared Ser vs Estar http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/ser_and_estar.htm
I introduced Stem-Change Verbs: e-ie  http://www.sampsoncc.edu/staff/mmoore/stem_changing_verbs.htm

SPI114:
Practice Note Techniques while listening to native speakers. http://www.laits.utexas.edu/spe/

SPA120:
Go over list of Most Common Phrases

SPA141:
Galeano: Lust for Gold, Lust for Silver

SPA211:
Finish Rosamunda