Interview of a Language Learner

              Name: Heather (Italienfrancese Teacher Blogger)

Languages: English (native), Italian (major), French (minor) and now some Spanish.

Favourite foods: pizza verdurissima and crepes

Favourite chocolates: Baci and Ferreo Rocher

Favourite cheeses: Bocconcini, Brie and Camembert

Favourite foreign films: La vita è bella (Italy) Tais Toi (France)

First languages experiences: At primary school, I lived in a multicultural community in CA, USA on campus at Standford Uni.  Many international families studying for PhD, and children attended the primary school on campus.  30+ nationalities in each class and at community pot luck dinners.  Now, the same primary school teaches BILINGUALLY in English and Spanish!

Languages learnt at school: Primary (French), High School (French, German and Italian).  Final year of school (Italian).  University (Italian & French).  Trained to teach: Italian to year 12 and French to year 10.  Continued learning: via Benny Lewis’s blog and Duolingo (free app in iPhone).  I teach beginners Italian for adults at University of the Third Age as a volunteer. I am working on 5 learning and maintaining my skills in 5 languages in Duolingo: Italian, French, Spanish, German and Portuguese.  I look forward to Duolingo adding many more languages - especially Welsh (My husband's family is Welsh and it looks like a great language challenge ;-)

Overseas trips: high school exchange to Italy (1999), au pair in Italy (2003), study tour to New Caledonia (2007), study tour/cultural research Italy (2009)

Favourite translations from Italian: Non vedo l’ora – I can’t wait (Italian translates as ‘I cannot see it now’), olio di gomito - elbow grease (Italian translates as ’oil of elbow), testa in giù - upside down (Italian translates as ‘head in down’.

Favourite translations from French: il fait la grasse matinée – he is sleeping in (French translates as ‘He is having a fat morning’.  Tu as l'air d'un artiste - You look like an artist. (French translates as ‘You have the air of an artist’.

Cheers,

Are you a language learner or language teacher?  Would you like to guest blog? I would love to share my learning journey and learn about yours. Please comment if you would like to guest blog for a Interview of a language learner :-)