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Beth's Picks: Slow News
Many language learners complain that watching or listening to the news i
n their target language moves too quickly for them to understand. Slow News, available in Italian, Spanish, and French,offers an excellent solution to this common problem, and provides weekly newscasts for beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners.
Spanish learners can choose between European and Latin American Spanish on the website.
Written transcripts are available for some of the news programs so you can foll
ow along
.
The beginners' section features basic dialogues rather than news
stories, but the intermediate and advanced lessons, which are
updated on a weekly basis, keep up with current news.
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Who knew? A behind the scenes look at a
trilingual family.
Stefano Striuli speaks Italian. Pilar Guzman speaks Spanish. In their home in Atlanta, Georgia, their children, Maite and and Letizia, switch between Spanish, Italian, and English. Read this Wall Street Journal article about a trilingual family here. How do they make it all work? At home, the parents make sure that their children know which language to associate with each parent, and they encourage the girls to reply only in that language.
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St. Valentin, San Valentino, and more
Le 14 février, C'est Le Saint Valentin, la fête de l'amour et des amoureux. Careful though - unlike in the U.S., Valentine's day in France and Italy is only for people "in" love.
In France, preschoolers do not give out Valentines to all their friends and family!
On the other hand, in Mexico, Valentine's Day is known as " El
Día
del Amor y la Amistad", translated as "The Day of Love and Friendship." Traditionally, Mexicans value friendships intensely and on this day, apart from their loved ones, they express love and appreciation to friends who they are closely connected with.
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Family Travel:
Cadiz, Spain,
Cádiz is an ancient port city in southwest Spain, built on a strip of land su
r
rounded by the sea in the Andalusia region. The home of the Spanish Navy, the port boomed in the 16th-century as a base for exploration a
nd trade. It has more than 100 watchtowers, including the iconic Torre Tavira, traditionally used for spotting ships, and 18th-century Cádiz Cathedral, on the waterfront.
I traveled there with my son Jeremy from Seville when he was 8 years old , and I thought it was the perfect combination of beach town and history: old and new. A great place for families to explore!
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Trivia
When did Carnevale (the Venetian Carnival) celebration start? The celebration features parades, delicious food, masked balls, colorful masks and more.
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Music: Zaz
Zaz is a French singer who combines jazz, pop, and acoustic music. Her debut album
Zaz
placed in Billboard's top 5 world albums in 2010. Since then, she released six new albums, her most recent being
Au rendez-vous des Enfoirés. You can listen to "Je Veux," one of her most popular songs, here, and "On Ira," another one of her greatest hits, here.
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Kids' Corner
Carnevale is one of Italy's oldest traditons.
Claudia Cerulli's
Carnevale Italiano is a bilingual children's book that introduces young readers to this colorful celebration.
The book provides information on traditional costumes, the history of Carnival, and some of the most famous parades. Additionally,
Carnevale Italiano
includes language activities and beautiful illustrations.
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Recipe: Frittelle Veneziane
Venetian fritters
are a staple food at
carnevale,
or Carnival. Frittelle, fried pastrie
s, can be found in bakeries everywhere. These sweet treats are meant to be the last indulgences before the start of the Lenten season. There are dozens of variations, and you can experiment with the filling and shape of the pastries.
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LURIE LANGUAGE
| | 212 729-7500 | info@lurielanguage.com
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