A brief note to let you know you won't see this column for a few weeks while I'm off on a language study course in Buenos Aires until mid October. After working for two years to make progress with Spanish, a full immersion is in order in hopes of getting a better command of the language.
Wow, aren't there Spanish immersion courses in south Florida for Anders? And is McClatchy funding this cushy junket?
With all the pink-slips being handed out at the Herald this looks like a boneheaded move.
Update: an anonymous reader says Anders is paying for the cushy immersion program himself.
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7 comments:
Sounds like one of California's corrupt legislators taking taxpayer trips to Europe to study greenhouse gasses or water issues. Did he take his wife and kids, too?
Retract your claws, MW. Anders is paying full ride himself.
The reason to go away for an immersion course is to get away from the usual people calling you and talking to you in English all the time.
I would think he would have gone to Cuba and had killed two birds with one stone.
Learn Spanish and the finer points of communism and propoganda to bring back to McClatchy?
Learn Spanish and the finer points of communism and propoganda to bring back to McClatchy?
Why go to Fidel when he can act as the go between for Obama and F.A.R.C.
That is what is going on.
From anony 1:19: "The reason to go away for an immersion course is to get away from the usual people calling you and talking to you in English all the time."
Yeah, it's a shame that people speak so much English in this country.
... it's a shame that people speak so much English in this country.
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What I meant in my comment (which any discerning reader who really wanted to understand the message would have figured out) is that language "immersion" training means being so surrounded by the other language that you literally begin to dream in it. Having the constant distraction of communicating in the "home" language negates the concept of immersion.
Why flog Anders and The Herald for this? Or is it passe to challenge oneself to learn something really, really difficult?
Learning a new language or language immersion forces the brain to think in new directions. It gives us invaluable insight into other cultures. Languages have a sociological impact beyond simply communication. The Japanese language, for instance, is full of respect words and honorific attachments. The language is a reflection of the culture, and it’s impossible to learn one without learning something of the other. So learning them is a cultural experience as much as it is a practical exercise.With any learning activity we should know why we’re studying it. Is there a good reason, or are we just trying to appear educated to look good for the neighbors? There is no right age to start a language either. Anybody can learn, and it doesn’t matter the age.
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