Thursday, February 5, 2009

Word from class

Never take your language or culture for granted:

Today the students defined 'congenital' as 'genitals', which brings a colorful new meaning to 'congenital heart failure'.

During a session on first aid, many traditional Austrian remedies were discussed. If you have a fever, be advised to soak your socks in vinegar and salt and wear them overnight OR wear a necklace of sliced horse radish root. If you have a cold, slice an onion in half, put the halves into socks, and sleep with them pressed against your ears. If you have a nosebleed, put a handkerchief under your tongue or a wet towel against the back of your neck.

Lyme disease and deer ticks were also discussed. The teacher asked the students how many of them had been vaccinated: they all raised their hands. Apparently, Austria is THE European breeding ground for deer ticks. o.0 They even designed a special tweezers for easy tick removal. As the tick and mosquito delicacy of my home county in PA, I'm quaking in my boots at the thought of spring...

A new fun method of reading in the class is having a student read until they make a mistake - then the next person picks up until he/she makes a mistake, then the next, etc. It creates a fun, competitive atmosphere while picking up faults in their pronunciation.

2 comments:

Eric Shonkwiler said...

That's an excellent idea--reading until you make a mistake. Way to go.

Lucilius said...

Good for you. We seem to be both contemplating pronunciation lately. It's a lost art--American English no longer has any regard for formal strains of speech.