Blog
Spring Awakening
In which my thoughts turn to studying Chinese, Arabic, and Russian.
Last week I thought to myself, it would be cool to learn some Chinese characters right around now. Even though I spent a little time on Chinese some years back, I focused on spoken skills and pinyin and never learned…
Reviews
La Maison Française of New York University
French, Museums/Cultural, Conferences/Lectures
Founded in 1959 and housed in a 19th-century red-brick carriage house, La Maison Française offers lectures, symposia, films, exhibits, and other French cultural events. It is described on its website as “the most active center of French-American cultural and intellectual…
RTÉ.ie, Easy Irish
Irish, Audio Lessons, Websites
RTÉ stands for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, which I believe literally means “Radio Television of Ireland.” (Is there an implied “and” between “Radio” and “Television”? I don’t know yet; I am writing this on just the fourth day of…
China Institute
Mandarin, Museums/Cultural, Organizations, Classes/Conversation, Kids
China Institute was founded in 1926 by a group of American and Chinese educators, John Dewey among them. It resides in an Upper East Side brownstone from which it offers an array of lectures, symposia, films, exhibits, educational programs, corporate programs,…
Let’s Speak French: Lesson 1
French, Audio Lessons, Radio/TV/Video/Film, Websites
If you want to sound literate in a foreign language, it is important to be able to spell. But because the spoken alphabet is not normally taught in standard teach-yourself materials, you kind of need to work on it on…