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Language Link
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Learning
No cost line: 800.552.2051
Email: info@langlink.com
Full details of all programs on our website including fees and dates:
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OJO (Really Good Deals)
Please note that you must act immediately to make the deadline on some of these! These are unprecedented deals in which you are invited to take full advantage.
In all our programs register for 2010 classes by October 31 and receive 2009 prices!
Enter to claim a 6 night vacation to Ecuador through American Airlines, including a voyage to the Galapagos. If you win, you can ask about combining it with a Language Link program there. Visit www.americanwaymag.com by November 15 to enter your name.
Guadalajara, Mexico - Apply before October 1st in order to get 15% off your tuition for Spanish immersion course. Offer good for classes from October 5th to November 6th, 2009.
Take an IMAC 4 week Spanish Course in Guadalajara, Mexico, from November 23 to December 18, and automatically get a NO COST 3-night vacation upon completion of your course in fabulous, world renowned Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Your package includes: Lodging, deluxe motorcoach transportation both ways from Dec.19 - 23, 2009. Just imagine spending a few relaxing days on the sparkling sand in this beautiful place.
Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Santiago, Chile. Save $20 per week on group classes (you will still be eligible for the long term discounts). Group classes are regularly $210, so you only pay $190 per week.
Offer good Sept 1 through Dec 31, 2009.
San Sebastian, Spain. Save 110 Euros on any course! Do not pay the 60 Euro registration fee or the 50 Euro housing placement fee.
Dates valid: For all courses of any duration with a course starting date between Aug 31st and Oct 26, 2009; both dates inclusive.
Enter to claim 3 great prizes just by studying in Tarragona (teen program), Barcelona or Playa del Carmen. Send the school a short, entertaining video about your experience. You can send it in Spanish or your native language… or a mixture of both.
What can I win?
First Award* A refund of your course fee and your housing fee (up to three weeks)
Second Award* A refund of your course fee (up to three weeks)
Third Award* A complete level of the online Spanish Course from Net Languages including 120 hours of study materials and personalized written and spoken tutorials
The closing date for entries is Dec 31, 2009.
Language Link's Latest
Please carefully check the fees listed by competitive agencies. Even with their advertised discounts and offers, because they add on other fees (often $100 or more), our total costs will (almost) always be less. Through us you pay what you would pay by registering directly with the school.
We have a winner in our Cuernavaca contest! Congratulations to Edie Clark of Beaverton, Oregon, who will enjoy two weeks of study and homestay in the city of eternal spring. She has previously studied with us in two other programs and is very excited to schedule her study.
Announcing a new contest for two weeks of “gratis” Spanish study and host family homestay in charming Antigua, Guatemala! Enter your name on our website, along with a comment. We will run this for at least several months, and you may enter as many times as you like.
Remember that fall and winter are excellent times to study. The schools are rarely filled to capacity, and the weather is superior. It’s even summer in South America! Often in these months you can also find great air fare tickets.
The Academia de Español Quito, Ecuador, is constantly looking to add value and improve service for our students.. They have purchased new equipment, and are providing students with no cost wireless internet availability throughout school. Service is available when school is open (8:00am - 5:00pm Monday to Friday).
We’re going to be offering several new programs soon. Watch for full details on the website for a great new location in Spain – Valencia, and we are adding a school in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a highly popular place for study. Combine it with tango lessons!
Been There, Loved That
Spanish Language Institute of Cuernavaca, Mexico - I was there for two weeks and I loved every second of it!!!! It was an awesome experience. Everyone was so helpful and nice. The teachers were amazing and so patient. I did a home stay with Rosy Alvarez, a sweet, amazing lady. I could not have asked for a better experience. - Nicole Johnson, Tour Manager, Canton, Ohio
PLFM of Antigua, Guatemala. - My wife and I studied for 7 weeks at PLFM after being recommended to go there by a co-worker. My expectations were exceeded by far by the "maestros", location, professionalism, resources and other staff at the school. I started with little to no Spanish background and left with a solid understanding of grammar and a feeling that I had the basics to be "conversational". With a lot more work on vocabulary and some time practicing speaking I am well on my way to be fluent. After spending seven weeks with our host family Maya, Alfredito and Viana we felt like family. Maya is a very sweet person and her kids were nothing, but adorable. We spent almost all of our meals with them and even spent "after-hours" time with the family going to the pool in San Felipe, and hiking to the cross on the hill. We will miss them. – Stephen Lanning, Systems Administrator IT, San Francisco, California
Academia de Español Quito, Ecuador (comment on her family experience) - The best aspect was the family – the best host family I have ever had in decades of language study. I stayed with, a wonderful and warm extended family: 2 grandparents, two grown children, and a 17 year old grandson named Aaron. They treated me like part of the family and exposed me to aspects of Ecuadorian life that tourists don't usually get to see, from the milkman who came a few times a week with milk fresh from the cow (my hostess pasteurized the milk herself upon its delivery), to the opening night of a 40-year retrospective of works by Juan Cristobal Guayasamín, the son of Ecuador's most noted painter. I came home with some of my hostess' recipes, a wooden spoon from her kitchen, and a jug of her dulce de higo: home-grown figs stewed in syrup, which somehow survived both the trek home and an inspection in Miami. – Judy Hochberg, Spanish Teacher, Scarsdale, New York
Intercultura of Sámara, Costa Rica - I stayed with a host family who I became close with, and I made many friends who were locals as well as other students in the program. I would definitely recommend this program to anyone. It was a great experience and an excellent way to learn Spanish and be immersed into the culture as well. - Nikki Romani, Student, Arcadia, California
Lacunza of San Sebastian, Spain - The whole experience, my family: Clara Fernandez, the teachers, course content, organization of Lacunza all get 5 stars. There wasn't one negative in my 2 weeks there. As you know, San Sebastian is one of the most beautiful of small Spanish towns with extraordinary food, vino and cheese. Being on the seashore isn't bad either!! There are not enough words to describe my Spanish mom, Clara. She is a lovely, intelligent, fun person. Living with a family is THE only way to improve your Spanish content. - Gail Gold, Bilingual Speech Pathologist, Chicago, Illinois
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Language Link Online
SEPTEMBER 2009
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Tips and information about learning Spanish and the people who speak it.
September 2009 Language Link Online
What's in this edition
Online Lesson, Cocina Cooking, Culture Clips, Language Link's Latest, OJO (really good deals), Rhythm & Book Blurbs, Been There, Loved That (reports from participants), Likeable Links
Online Lesson
Telephone Topics
Many Spanish speakers with excellent textbook skills falter when it comes to telephone conversations. This is an area filled with idioms and very prescribed formulas for language use. Let’s review a few of the most common ones.
Answering the phone – this varies from country to country. It’s simply Bueno in Mexico and Diga in Spain. There is so much variety in the other Spanish speaking countries that it’s best to just use the same word back which is first said to you on the phone or which you observe. Sing back the song!
Identifying yourself – this is an important part of the protocol. Habla la señora Godfrey is what I would properly say. Notice that the verb is 3rd person and that I must use the “la” or “el” in describing myself. Forget about any literal “this is so and so”. It’s expressed with the more formal way of talking about yourself. If you don’t identify yourself, the other person may say, ¿De parte de quién? This is in response to asking for someone, and they’re saying “on behalf of whom?” In other words, who’s calling. In response to this, you just say la Sra. Godfrey, el Sr. Smith or something like John Smith de California. If you want to know who the person speaking is – ¿Quién habla, por favor?
How do you ask for someone? Once again, forget Is so and so there? In Spanish the simplest way is just to say - Con el Sr. Ramos or Con Paco, por favor. This is shorthand for Me gustaría hablar con. It gets the point across very easily. Another way is to say ¿Está Paco? (note that there’s no word for ‘there’) Also heard is ¿Se encuentra Paco? (Is Paco around?)
All is fine if the person you want comes to the phone, but what if the other person is not in or out somewhere?You can ask ¿Cuándo regresa, por favor? Or ¿Regresa pronto? If it’s soon, then you can say Gracias, llamo más tarde. Note that you’re just using simple present tense. It’s going to happen really soon, so you don’t need the I’m going to call way of expressing yourself.
If you want to leave a message, you can say ¿Sería possible dejarle un recado (or you can use un mensaje)? Here you may get a response such as Un momento, voy por un lápiz. (Let me get a pencil) Once again a shorthand form – Que llame, por favor, a la Sra. Godfrey (al Sr. Smith). It’s a good idea to spell out your name slowly if it’s a foreign one. El número es ….Numbers are often given in pairs such as 317.6971 Tres, diez y siete, sesenta y nueve, setenta y uno. La clave (area number) es 777 en los Estados Unidos (or wherever).
Don’t forget to add lots of thank you at the end. Muchas gracias, muy amable. Conversations in Spanish use much more polite oil than in English, and you may sound rude or offensive if you aren’t fairly effusive with these.
Culture Clips
"They had the experience, but missed the meaning". - T. S. Eliot (As opposed to many organized groups, you won’t miss the meaning if you’re with Language Link!
X-ray of the Zócalo
I’m once again in the main zócalo of Mexico City, or D.F. as the locals call it. With me is my university roommate, of course, of only a very few years ago, and a close friend of hers. They’re on a visit to both Mexico City and Cuernavaca, neither one which they know. Very heavily do I feel the responsibility to "wow" them with the enchantment of Mexico, as well as making them realize that this is a safe and healthy country in which to be a guest, live and work. So after meeting them in the spiffy new Terminal 2 and getting settled into the most reasonably priced suite they’ve ever experienced, we’re off for a day’s exploration.
We’re beginning in the centro histórico of the city, the main plaza or zócalo. You should know that the word zócalo refers to the pedestal or base of a statue. Long ago a statue was commissioned for a square in Mexico, but years went by with only the base completed. That became the nickname for the plaza, and it has since been used all over Mexico, from small pueblos to large cities. Every town has one! The one in Mexico City is a vast expanse, surpassed only by Red Square of Moscow and Tiananmen Square of Beinjing. It is surrounded by imposing buildings from the colonial era. As the city has 20 million inhabitants, you can imagine that it’s often a teeming hive of activity. As we walk across the square, I always feel that archaeological thrill which goes through me when I recognize the layers and layers of construction and hundreds and hundreds of years which are just under my feet. We start in a far corner, viewing excavations of the Templo Mayor of the Aztecs. What a sight this ancient city of Tenochtitlan must have been, as it was larger than Paris or London at the time the Spaniards first arrived, several centuries after its foundation.
Next we head to the magnificent cathedral, seemingly always in restoration process, due in some part to its sinking down of several feet. It’s a perfect opening to talk about the original city being founded when the wanderers sighted the foretold omen, an eagle, perched on a cactus, with a snake in its beak. The omen did appear, but it just happened that the cactus was on a small bit of land in a large lake. The conquerors tore down much of the indigenous construction and filled in the lake with stones which had been used in Tenochtitlán. The interior of the cathedral is a dazzling display of gold leaf, myriad saints with stories, candles lit in supplication, and milagro charms and plaques left in gratitude for spiritual favors. It’s impossible not to notice the fusion influences of the ancient gods with colonial Catholicism.
We espy the forementioned omen ourselves as we cross over to the National Palace. The building is topped with an immense Mexican flag, on which is the very same eagle-cactus-snake image. We’re hoping to see the Diego Rivera murals inside, but are saddened to learn that because of the impending Independence Day festivities, they’re not open. So we make a note that we’ll compensate with the Diego Rivera mural in Cuernavaca and pride ourselves on our flexibility.
But even more than the excavated ruins or the splendor of the colonial structures, we see and feel the life of this amazing place. There’s a whole array of people – from plumbers and electricians waiting to be hired in their designated corner with signs advertising their skills to a modern day shaman burning copal incense and offering limpias (healings). There is exploding color everywhere, mostly red, white and green, as all is festooned and draped in preparation for the President’s Grito of ¡Viva México! which will take place on the balcony of the National Palace at 11:00 pm, Sept. 15. National pride is palpable, and we are all struck with the courtesy and warmth which we experience at every turn.
And so ended my friends' first full day in Mexico. ( As a follow up, they safely returned home with such enthusiasm and excitement over this marvelous place that I’m certain the Mexican Tourism Department will be knocking on their doors to offer them employment quite soon! )
Cocina Cooking
Of course, the best way to escape the cold's approach is to head south to one of our programs, but in the meantime, there's nothing more warming than a good Mexican soup. Here's a traditional favorite...guaranteed to make you shout ¡Viva México!
Mexican Lime Soup (Sopa de Lima) - serves 8
9 C. chicken broth, 5 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, 1 quartered large red onion, 5 cloves chopped garlic, 2 t. dried oregano, 1 t. each salt and pepper, ½ t. dried thyme, 1 T. vegetable oil, 4 chopped green onions, 1 large green chile (hotter jalapeño or milder serrano) pepper seeded and chopped , 2 peeled and chopped large tomatoes, juice of 6 limes, ½ cut lime, ½ C. chopped cilantro
Bring the chicken broth, chicken breasts, red onion, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and thyme to a boil in a large cookpot. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken cooked through. Remove the chicken and shred. Then return to cookpot.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the green onions and pepper until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir the tomatoes into the mixture and continue cooking, about 5 minute more. Pour the mixture into the cookpot with the chicken soup. Taste for salt and return to a simmer. Add lime juice and 1/2 a lime. Cook another 10 minutes. Take off from heat and remove the lime. Stir in cilantro and serve. Optionally garnish with toasted tortilla strips.
Rhythm & Book Blurbs
Rhythm - La Historia...Mis Exitos by Pepe Aguilar. A Mexican sophisticated ranchero musician, Aguilar has16 productions under his belt and millions of copies sold since 1990. He has had 15 tracks in the top 10 in the billboard charts and is winner of multiple awards such as Premios Lo Nuestro, Premios Billboard and Latin Grammy. This CD is a compilation of his greatest hits. We like it because the lyrics are sung very clearly (and it makes us want to drink a Don Julio!).
Book - First Stop in the New World: Mexico City, the Capital of the 21st Century by David Lida.
You might think that a megalopolis of 20 million people wouldn’t lend itself to an intimate portrait, but Lida has given us one, a weaving of memoir and reportage that is at turns funny and haunting, a personal jaunt into the crazy geography and psychology of this place called Mexico City.
All recommended books and albums are available through our website at the Language Link Store.
Likeable Links
http://www.mexicocity.com.mx/zocal2.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%B3calo
http://www.delange.org/Zocalo/Zocalo.htm - nice photographs, although it looks like an uncharacteristic slow day in the plaza
http://travel.booklocker.com/2009/02/27/mexico-citys-zocala-before-the-rush/
- a 360 degree video
¡Hasta luego! We hope you enjoyed our news. Please visit us at www.langlink.com. Call us at 800.552.2051.
Central Standard Time with hours 9:00 to 5:00.
Meredith Butler, Director U.S. Office
Kay Godfrey, Director Latin America Office in Mexico
Language Link, 2008 W. Kellogg Ave., Peoria, IL 61612 USA
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