Benvenuti to the newest Italian installment of our ongoing ‘Polyglot Austin” interactive blog series! And prego! You’re welcome in advance for the most alluring post yet…(ahemm, ladies within 100 mi. radius of central Austin, you really wouldn’t want to miss this one.)
We’re delighted to bring you the most dashing, charming, fun-loving of Italians in the Atx ready to share his style sense with us, in Italian! Please meet Alessandro (Alex), owner of the chic Italian boutique, Cotone.Grazie Alex! Located in central Austin and the heart of UT, Cotone is a not-to-miss gem!
We love his Euro – West-coast hybrid, a new sort of Austin eclectic at such affordable prices. Lunga vita a Cotone!
Watch and listen to Alex in our beginner and intermediate videos below (subtitled, with full transcription provided)! You can practice your listening comprehension, reading and writing – all while learning more about Italian fashion & culture in Austin. Che figo!
We also invite you to meet his dog and hear about his grandmother’s first sewing machine – link at the end!
Beginner Level
Beginners, to get the most out of this exercise, watch it first without sound, while reading the subtitles. Then, watch the video again with sound. See how multiple viewings of segments of the video improve your reading & listening comprehension. Be sure to answer the questions here in our comment section, our teacher will get back to you.
Q-1 Qual’e’ la cosa piu’ difficile per il proprietario di un negozio di abbigliamento?
A-1 La cosa piu’ difficile sicuramente e’ come comprare i capi e quali capi comprare e cercare di capire i trend del mercato, e poi andare alle fiere e prendere i vestiti che … che probabilmente saranno quelli che venderanno di piu’. CLICK HERE FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT
Intermediate Questions
1. Cosa cerca di capire Alessandro prima di comprare i capi di vestiario?
2. Chi e’ la clientela principale di Cotone?
Click here to find out why this is Cotone’s logo!
Connect with Alex and Cotone: website , Facebook , Twitter to get the latest of the new fall collection. Great SALES going on NOW, run don’t walk! What do you think, Freestyle students, should we do a fashion-show language demo at Cotone?
And thank all y’all! for celebrating the city’s cultural diversity with us while taking an interactive approach to language learning! Want to practice / learn more Italian? We’re currently in Fall II Session, so come for a FREE trial of our super popular Saturday “cafes”, every Sat. 11-12:30, and/or try a core class too! See Schedule , contact us: info@freestylelanguagecenter.com
Plus, see our other Italian blog interviews with local business owners from Andiamo & Dolce Neve!
The Freestyle Lifestyle
Using language in context! Students at our wine tasting, in the classroom & at our polyglot graffiti walk!
Our one-of-a-kind approach to second language acquisition uses technology and interactive media in a way that brings the most recent, relevant, high-usage vocabulary and everyday expressions to our students in an entertaining and effective way. Join us as we continue to revolutionize language learning!
Bem-vindosto the latest Portuguese installment of our ongoing ‘Polyglot Austin” blog series, where we celebrate the city’s cultural diversity while taking an interactive approach to language learning.
Through our beginner and intermediate Portuguese videos below (subtitled, with full transcription provided!), we introduce you to Bruno Vinezof, a Brazilian native and founder of the incredibly soulful rhythm & percussion group Maracatu Texas.
Practice your Portuguese while you learn more about this afro-brazilian percussion genre infusing Brazilian culture into Atx. Did you know you can join Maracatu in Austin?? Check out their lively performances and classes .
Austin boasts an especially strong and colorful Brazilian music scene. Que lindo maravilhoso!
What an enriching experience learning about the history and culture of “Maracatu” which conveys, specifically, the rhythm of Northern Brazil. In the past, in the era of slavery in Brazil, the Maracatu groups crowned a black king and queen who would be the communicators between the Portuguese slave owners and the black community to which they belonged. These traditions are still honored in Marcatu groups today.
An array of alfaias, a type of Brazilian drum, artwork in themselves!
Watch, listen, read transcripts – have all kinds of fun! Then, answer our questions (em português) in the comment area; one of our teachers will get back to you.
Beginner Level
Beginners, to get the most out of this exercise, watch it first without sound, while reading the subtitles. Then,watch the video again with sound. See how multiple viewings of segments of the video improve your reading & listening comprehension.
Bruno conhece países nas Américas, e mais um continente. Qual é o outro continente?
Que tipo de instrumentos músicas Bruno toca?
Intermediate Level
J: Pode descrever o lugar onde você cresceu? / B: Eu cresci numa cidade chamada Olinda. É uma cidade muito antiga, com mais de quatrocentos e setenta anos. Olinda tem muito casarões antigos, e é uma cidade com muita música, e o carnaval é muito famoso. CLICK HERE FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT
Intermediate Questions
A cidade de Olinda tem quantos anos?
Para Bruno, qual é a diferença mais importante entre a música brasileira e a música dos Estados Unidos?
Think about the following two phrases: O Maracatu “veio para o Brasil com os escravos,” and “servia como um intermédio.” Why does Bruno use the preterit in the first phrase, and the imperfect in the second?
We thank our friends of Morena Soul, the lively, fun, locally grown Brazilian-music band for introducing us to the Brazilian scene in Austin. Meet them here, in our first Portuguese blog entry and be sure to follow their performances as well (schedule). What dynamic people, groups and strong bonds that unite Portuguese-speaking musicians in Austin!
Like the sounds and cultural richness of Brazil and the fast-paced rhythms of samba? Don’t miss Austin Samba (the largest Brazilian cultural organization of its kind in the US) present the largest celebration of Brazilian music and culture of the year at their event ‘Brazil Day Austin 2014‘! Dance, drink, eat, practice your Portuguese AND!!!…. enter to win an 8-week Portuguese language class with Freestyle! Come meet us at our table there and enter a drawing (free!) to win!
Last, but certainly not least, if you love practicing your Portuguese, make sure BRAZILPOD is in your repertoire!
The Freestyle Lifestyle
We do language learning a little differently at Freestyle!
Our one-of-a-kind approach to second language acquisition uses technology and interactive media in a way that brings the most recent, relevant, high-usage vocabulary and everyday expressions to our students in an entertaining and effective way. Join us as we continue to revolutionize language learning!
Fall I Session starts 9/2, join us for a free trial class or Saturday ‘cafe’ – info@freestylelanguagecenter.com
Bienvenidos to the next Spanish installment of our ongoing ‘Polyglot Austin’ blog series where we celebrate the city’s cultural diversity while taking an interactive approach to language learning!
Meet Eugenio del Bosque, Director Ejecutivo of the local Austin non-profit, Cine Las Americas. Watch these beginner and intermediate-level videos as Eugenio explains (en español) what he does at Cine and the challenges Cine faces – subtitled, transcripts provided!
An international event that unites amazing films, talented filmmakers and passionate audiences in Austin, Texas
De veras amamos Cine! Freestyle + Cine = Match made in heaven! Our friends at Cine Las Americas work day in and day out to bring Latin American films—films made by or about Latinos or indigenous peoples of the Americas—to life in ATX. Not only do we love how Cine promotes multiculturalism in our city by “creating a truly Pan-American cinematic experience”, their predominantly Spanish language films (some Portuguese), like Memorias de un soldadoand Mateo, engage our students all year long, offering great language practice and development.
Film is absolutely our favorite medium for language acquisition – ¡Gracias, Cine! Just ask Keeley Steenson, the Outreach and Operations Manager of Cine, who is also one of Freestyle’s Spanish students; La extraordinaria Keeley is in our intermediate series which embraces the cinematic approach to language learning.
Eugenio del Bosque, while busy running Cine, graciously offers his time to our students at our annual ‘Summer Session Guest Speaker Series’
¡Vámonos! Watch, listen, read transcripts – have all kinds of fun! Then, answer our questions (enespañol) in the comment area; one of our teachers will get back to you.
Beginner Level
Beginners, to get the most out of this exercise, watch it first without sound, while reading the subtitles. Entonces, watch the video again with sound. See how multiple viewings of segments of the video improve your reading & listening comprehension.
Q: ¿Me puedes describir un día típico para Ud., para ti en el Cine las Americas? / Eugenio: Bueno lo que a mi me gusta de Cine las Americas es que no hay un día típico, como es una organización sin fines de lucro, es una organización que nos dedicamos a la promoción del cine y de las artes. Siempre hay algo nuevo. Típicamente es mucho trabajo de oficina, mucha cuestión de comunicación con la audiencia, con los miembros, con patrocinadores; números, siempre contabilidad y presupuestos; postulaciones para apoyos de gobierno y corporativos y bueno, siempre las películas ¿No? Siempre buscando películas ó tratando de ver películas.
Q: Y ¿Cómo consigues las películas? / Eugenio: Bueno las películas, nosotros abrimos una convocatoria para el festival, siempre estamos tratando de ver películas pero para conseguir películas nuevas…
1. ¿Qué tipo de organización es Cine Las Americas?
2. ¿Qué es una convocatoria? Por qué Cine las Americas abre convocatorias?
3. ¿Cuántas películas al año ve el comité de Cine las Americas?
Have we mentioned how much we love Cine?! Have you seen their Hecho en Tejasfilm panorama?! They even have after-school programs that provide “a bi-lingual space to bring the tools of media creation and distribution to a widely diverse group of students within the Austin Independent School District and beyond.” Talk about diversity in the community! We can’t think of a more worthy organization in Austin to support! If you also want Cine to continue to bring Austin multicultural cinema, be sure to support their ‘Save Cine Las Americas’ campaign by August 31st!
The Freestyle Lifestyle
We do language learning a little differently at Freestyle!
Our one-of-a-kind approach to second language acquisition uses technology and interactive media in a way that brings the most recent, relevant, high-usage vocabulary and everyday expressions to our students in an entertaining and effective way. Join us as we continue to revolutionize language learning: NEXT Open House Fri. Aug. 22nd 6pm-8pm at 801 Rio Grande!
This is not your mother’s pair of jeans, nor your father’s Oldsmobile… this is language learning in the 21st century! It’s pop culture, y’all. It’s slang and everyday language, it’s the fun path to fluency.
Don’t let subtitles scare you! Get over your fears and hesitations; don’t be too cool for this kind of school.
Films use language in real-life situations enabling the learner to grasp the meaning and sounds of colloquial expressions at the heart of everyday language while experiencing cultural contexts… all while entertaining!
Sit Back and Enjoy the Amusement of Subtitles!
Subtitles can uniquely create humor, adding a pure comedic touch. Take this clip from the comedy Airplane for example with two men speaking jive, obviously English… but is it? Check out the video to see what all the hoopla is about!
Subtitles are humorous! Enjoy… and embrace them!
When learning everyday jargon in a foreign language, we can’t all go about faking it like Brad Pitt in Inglourious Basterds! Watch as Brad Pitt is thrown off entirely by the fluency with which Christopher Waltz’s character speaks Italian; subtitles enhance the comedic effect.
To Swear or Not To Swear? No Matter, It’s Idiomatic!
To go about one’s day, one needs an understanding of common lingo, or street talk. Don’t tell your mother we told you, but swearing is a huge part of cultural context, colloquial language! Every language has modern slang that defies literal meanings. For example, non-native speakers of English wouldn’t know the flexibility of using swear words such as *hore,bi*ch and *ss without watching films such as this American high school parody, Mean Girls in their native language subtitles.
Embrace, even if you choose not to personally swear like a (bilingual) pirate!
Similarly, we see the French word putain used everywhere, rarely in a literal context. But we would not know that without seeing how it’s used in everyday language, ie… scenes in films! With film, we grab the cultural meaning behind the language. Watch this clip of Jean Dujardin accepting his Oscar for Best Actor. Did you catch that slip at the end? “Ouah, putain, genial, merci, formidable, merci beaucoup, I love you!”
French films teach us quickly that putain, a high-frequency swear word (but harmless, really) appears just about anywhere in most French sentences.
Global Speak; It’s all Relative
We, as Americans specifically, need to get over our fear of subtitles. People use them all around the world for varying purposes.
Subtitles carry the potential to be an international game-changer in poverty, status and education.
Millions of people in countries around the world embrace subtitles with no hesitation as a means to improving their everyday life. See this NY Times article on how learners use subtitling to further their education and career and to make global connections.
Even in the realm of entertainment, the entire world seeks to connect to Hollywood and Bollywood films and they do sowith subtitlesin their native language!
Let’s eradicate the misconceptions we tend to have while dealing with subtitles in film; they’re useful and globally accepted!
The Science, The Backbone Behind It
Acquiring language through a medium such as film is not only fun and entertaining, but multiple studies have shown it’s a driving force for second language and culture acquisition.
As renowned linguist and second-language acquisition expert Stephen Krashen once said “language needs to be fun!” Language acquisition works best when the input is interesting and compelling to us, so much so that we forget we are immersing ourselves in another language!
“The best methods are therefore those that supply ‘comprehensible input’ in low anxiety situations, containing messages that students really want to hear.” -Krashen.
Rod Ellis, a leading theorist in 2nd language acquisition, elaborates: “Successful instructed language learning requires extensive 2nd language input…where 2nd language needs to become the medium as well as object.” Film is the medium, and an entertaining one at that! SO, pull yourself out of the humdrum routine of hours with flashcards and intensive studying. Although these methods help in retaining information, the delight and entertainment of film best supplements them.
Plenty of science revolves around it, but the ultimate goal is to have fun while you’re learning; your brain will do all the work! While watching foreign film, in the midst of having fun, you increase your metalinguistic awareness, unbeknownst to you. Qu’est-ce que c’estmetalinguistic awareness? It’s simply the ability to think of and be aware of language in relation to its cultural context, that language has specific functions and rules. Furthermore, multiple viewings of a foreign film also increase awareness of important paralinguistic elements: body language, gestures, facial expressions, loudness, tempo….all features highly important to communication in another language.
One of the most renown (and local!) language specialists, Dr. Garza, Director of the Texas Language Center of the University of Texas, provides an important pedagogical framework for the use of video and film in the classroom. See Dr. Garza as he explains how video and film, as authentic texts, contain the possibility to develop language learners into “active learners”. He states that the application of technology such as video, film, internet, etc. may hold the key for language learners to go from competence to proficiency, i.e. to make great strides along the road to fluency!
The Freestyle Way
Freestyle’s unique methodology incorporates foreign film in our curriculum in a step-by-step process that allows significant realization of linguistic and cultural meaning. We study relevant vocabulary themes and intermediate to advanced grammars entirely in the context of a specific, chosen film; here’s a quick break down of our process:
1. Watch the film in target language with English subtitles; this provides semantics (meaning)
2. Work thoroughly through target language subtitles and/or transcribed dialogue of film over the session; this provides lexical and syntactic information (vocabulary and word order)
3. Watch the film in segments with no subtitles; this provides phonetics (sound/pronunciation/listening)
4. Witness a significant boost in listening, comprehension and speaking ability!
Additionally, Freestyle is proud to incorporate Austin’s own ITAL in our classes! Transmedia specialist Sergio Carvajal-Leoni, in collaboration with Austin-Based Filmmaker Romina Olson and UT Award-Winning Italian instructor Antonella Del Fattore-Olson, created ITAL, a digital channel that blends entertainment and education to teach Italian language and culture. The entertaining ITAL videos are intended to expand students’ knowledge of contemporary Italian culture while helping them to increase their vocabulary and oral competency. As you can see in the video that follows, part of ITAL’s instructional component is reflected in the use of subtitles – sometimes in English, others in Italian – to emphasize how new vocabulary is used in everyday conversation.
HINT: This fall, intermediate Spanish students will be studying Spanish through Volver, intermediate French through the romantic comedy Heartbreakers, Portuguese through the comedy The Man Who Copied, Italian through the dramedy The Last Kiss! Come visit a class for FREE.
Additional Tip!
Try practicing with subtitles by choosing a tv show/film you enjoy watching in your native language with your target language subtitles. For example, the American hit romantic comedy, Two Weeks Notice (Sandra Bullock / Hugh Grant), like many U.S. shows and films, offers both French and Spanish subtitles.
We hope you see the many varied reasons to embrace and enjoy subtitles so that your road to fluency will be smoother and more enjoyable.
Happy Trails on Your Journey to Fluency
Accepting subtitles in foreign film will allow you to grasp a whole new realm of knowledge that would otherwise only be receivable via physical interaction in the actual country.
Seize the power of film to help you obtain the gift of gab in your target language and join us at Freestyle to further develop your language learning in a relevant, fun and social context!
The idea that language learning is rote and boring is defunct in the 21st century!
Arts & Entertainments and Film: Our last installment of the Summer “Games” continues with a multicultural and multilingual look at cinema around the world. Take a sneak peak! Freestyle’s methodology embraces film and subtitles to widen and deepen everyday/colloquial language.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Challenge yourself with a few of these videos and clips, test your comprehension. Want more?! See our teacher’s “Favorite Films”.
Spanish: “Eat, Love, Learn”
Our Spanish students watched the Mexican film Agua Para Chocolate (Like Water For Chocolate), a masterpiece filled with memories of the old Mexico and the magical realism, or lo real maravilloso, that is so prevalent in Spanish novels and films. After reading the following summary, you’ll see a list of preguntas used to guide our discussions after watching the film. These activities improve both auditory and oral skills as well as critical thinking in a second (or third or forth!) language!
Esta película está basada en una novela del mismo título escrita por Laura Esquivel. La autora adaptó su obra para el cine y en 1992 Alfonso Arau realizó su producción. Los personajes principales son Tita (Lumi Cavazos), Pedro (Marco Leonardi) y Mamá Elena (Regina Torné). La historia ocurre en México a finales del siglo diecinueve y los primeros años del siglo veinte.
Preguntas:
1. ¿Quiénes son los personajes principales?
2. ¿Qué temas explora la película?
3. ¿Qué representa la cocina?
From a sensual Mexican film, we moved into the broader territory of Latin American films. Do you know the difference between Latin American cinema and Latino cinema? Listen to Cine Las America’s director Eugenio del Bosque explain en español. Transcription below.
Bueno y aquí se pone un poquito más complicado. Esto que les voy a hablar es un poco la diferencia entre el Cine Latinoamericano y el Cine Latino que es el que se hace acá en los Estados Unidos. Por lo general el cine Latino que se hace en los Estados Unidos, y luego está esta parte en inglés. Yo creo que lo más obvio que podemos decir del Cine Latino es Robert Rodríguez, que todos lo conocemos en Austin. Que no ha hecho más que yo creo que una película en español. Eh, ¿El mariachi está en español, verdad?
Looking for more? Teacher’s Favorite Film:
1. Todo Sobre Mi Madre, 1999: A Spanish-French comedy and drama that deals with complex issues such as AIDS, faith and existentialism.
French: “Voyage à une culture exquise”
Voyagez with us and découvrez what our French classes explored in the literary and cinematic world of La France. Activities included reading and interpreting les poèmesde Baudelaire, learning poetry terms — le thème, la rime, le ton, etc.– after which they wrote their own collaborative poems en français using the entertaining game of Cadavre Exquis.
Charles Baudelaire
À une passante
La rue assourdissante autour de moi hurlait. Longue, mince, en grand deuil, douleur majestueuse, Une femme passa, d’une main fastueuse Soulevant, balançant le feston et l’ourlet
From Baudelaire to Omar Sy, these two greats really are intouchables! Lisezun resumé du film:
La relation entre deux hommes issus de milieux différents : l’un, d’origine sénégalaise, vivant en banlieue parisienne, qui vient de purger une peine de six mois de prison et l’autre, riche tétraplégique, qui a engagé le premier venu comme auxiliaire de vie bien qu’il n’ait aucune formation particulière…
Your second mission, should you choose to accept it…
Regardez la bande-annonce (watch the trailer) of this award-winning French film, then fill in the blanks of the first few lines. Au courage!
Je viens chercher _________________ par rapport aux… _____________ ! …Assedic.
· Comment vous vivez l’idée d’__________________? Ça ne vous gêne pas de _____________ sur le dos des autres ?
· Ça va, merci, et vous ?
· Vous pensez que vous serez quand même capable de _________________?
· Vous en avez de______________ ! – J’en ai tellement que je suis prêt à vous ________________________ pendant un mois ! Je parie que vous ne tiendrez pas ________________________!
· C’est un truc de ___________ ça ! – Non, mais, vous avez fini de jouer, là ?
· Et, mais en fait, vous __________________________ là ?
Teacher’s Favorite Films:
1. C.R.A.Z.Y., 2005: A recent work from our French speaking neighbors of Quebec
2. La Grande Vadrouille, 1966: A timeless French classic featuring the great comic actor Louis de Funes
3. La Haine, 1995: A black and white, suspense-filled drama has become a cult classic in France and around the world
Portuguese: “Viajar e descobrir com o filme”
Central Station, a touching drama in Portuguese, takes the viewer around Brasil, offering a rich view of culture as well as language. After watching the following trailer, you’ll see a list of perguntas used to guide our discussions after watching the film.
1. Dá um pequeno summário do enredo do filme.
2. Dá 3 adjetivos para descrever cada personagem.
3. Quem são os personagens principais?
Teacher’s Favorite Film:
1. Bossa Nova, 2000: A romantic comedy about several interwoven love stories taking place in Rio de Janeiro
Italian: “Eat, Love, Watch “
UT educator Antonella Del Fattore-Olson and two Austin-based filmmakers Romina Olson and Sergio Carvajal created ITAL, a digital channel that blends entertainment and education to teach Italian language and culture. The entertaining ITAL videos are intended to increase students’ vocabulary and oral competency in a fun relevant way, which is why Freestyle will be adapting them as excellent teaching tools!
As you can see in the video that follows, part of ITAL’s instructional component is reflected in the use of subtitles – sometimes in English, others in Italian – to emphasize how new vocabulary is used in everyday conversation.
Teacher’s Favorite Movie:
1. La Vita e Bella, 1997: A Jewish man has a wonderful romance with the help of his humour, but must use that same quality to protect his son in a Nazi death camp.
That’s a wrap!
The Summer “Games” Series may be over but continue to follow us for yet another exciting blog installment. Love the idea of foreign films but feeling intimidated by subtitles? Stay tuned for our next series, “Embracing Subtitles”!
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