I have a memory of 60 Minutes contributor Andy Rooney's tagline as he began the final segment of the news program. At the end of each hour, his ever-so-slightly irritated voice pitched the eternal question, 'Did you ever wonder...?'
Well, thanks to my having watched recent YouTube clips, it's clear Rooney didn't always start his segment with that question, but it was certainly implied.
I wonder loads of shit all the time and I find it fatiguing. I'd like to turn into a person who questions nothing. Ignorance is bliss, is it not? I suppose the opposite of having a spinning brain is you're just a lump of human, so maybe that's not the right answer either.
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| Andy Rooney |
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I'm helping a friend's teenaged child with his German instruction. Well, I say that, but I'm really just keeping him connected to the language over the summer between his Beginning German courses. I'm just happy to help in whatever way I can. Teen child is not so keen on revisiting his old work (he said he threw out his old texts) and doesn't much care for the online language learning sites. He is, however, super content playing with Duolingo, the language 'game' app. I have used said app for Polish and know that Duolingo is engaging. The graphics are fun and audio lively, keeping one connected to the task at hand. What it lacks, and what I told him, is active engagement with an interlocutor. It's a fun supplement to language learning but not the end all, be all.
If there's any foreign language knowledge among my friends and their kids, then it's French. The teen I'm 'tutoring' has a parent that teaches high school French. A couple of my friends married French nationals and most of their children are bilingual French-English. No one, but no one in my friend group has shown an interest in German, so I was pleased to learn that this friend's child not only chose German as his foreign language requirement in school, but that he wouldn't mind some support in his learning. The teen's autumn classes begin mid-September just around the time I return from a two-week trip to Southern Germany.
Gutes Timing!
Good luck with your tutoring. Despite my German father I took French at school. And retain very little of it to my shame.
ReplyDeleteI wonder a lot. And no it is not restful, but I refuse to accept the lies that we are so often told so I suspect I am stuck on the wonder side of the equation.
Thanks, E.C.
DeleteI wish I had paid more attention in the 2 years of German I took. I learnt French by going to Belgium and speaking it, but I think now that German is a more interesting language and country.
ReplyDeleteThe dialectical differences coupled with the various accents make German a really interesting study!
DeleteDuolingo started me on a path I wanted to follow..now it is keeping me going until I can find a chat group near enough.
ReplyDeleteIt has its uses, albeit slightly annoying at times!!
Yes, the inclusion of the 'nudges' re: practicing more made me no longer want to use it. It's a fun tool, however, to be sure!
DeleteThat teen is lucky to know you! And PS, curiosity keeps people young so don't give it up.
ReplyDeleteHe's a sweet boy. I hope he wants to stick with German!
DeleteI have found that when I wonder about something and actively find a question, I can generally find the answer quickly. So, I don't wonder a lot. It's not really a lack of curiosity, just the knowledge that the answers are there if I want them.
ReplyDeleteI like that. -sounds, too, like a calmer way to go through life.
DeleteI never like Andy Rooney...I don't know if it was his voice or his condescending attitude. I took Spanish first in grade school and loved it. Then the family moved to a different city that taught French in grade school which I hated. I hate the sound of French, it always sounds so la-t-da to me. So in junior high when we could pick between Latin, French, and Spanish....I went back to Spanish. Then there was an afterschool experimental thing where I took half German and half Chinese. I really can't speak any of them now so it all seemed a waste of time. I do lots of googling for answers to strange things, as does my best friend Jane, and my husband...so I quess we don't wonder often because it's generally easy to get the answers.
ReplyDeleteSandy's Space
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Rooney was an acquired taste, was he not?
DeleteI fun that you were introduced to foreign languages at such an early age!
That's true, Sandy, many answers are simply now at one's finger tips.
All I wanted to do with Andy Rooney was get those bushes he called eyebrows trimmed. Oh how it annoyed me. Good luck with the lessons. Glad to hear that about Duolingo as the kiddos have expressed an interest in learning a foreign language.
ReplyDeleteHa! Yes, Rooney had some bush up there, but nothing beats my Dad's former foliage above the eyes. His rivaled the Swedish Chef's big ole brows.
DeleteAch, die deutsche Sprache. Jeder wie es ihm oder ihr oder LGBTQIA gefällt. Gendern heißt das jüngste Zauberwort. Und es scheint weder Kraut noch Formel dagegen gewachsen. ;-)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy teaching, though. It's (been) a fascinating language.
Eine tolle Sprache, gell?! (I've spent time in Schwabenland, if you couldn't tell.) I haven't sussed out yet if my friend's child has a penchant for puzzles, but I'd venture he'll appreciate that aspect of the language (as I see it). His accent is remarkably decent considering he's an American teen boy. Har-har.
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