July 15, 2020

Book review: These Islands. A portrait of the British Isles

I’d most probably recommend that you read this book review in autumn so that your could get the book for those long wintery evenings. So why publish it now? I think that for many of us, the summer plans have changed (including mine!) and it might be a very good time to get inspired by some local routes and travel destinations—your ‘summer playground’. The book / album I want to write about today is so beautiful that I could easily photograph every page of it to inspire you to visit the British Isles. To explore this beautiful land of secret beaches, grey lakes, narrow walking paths and ancient woods.

The album creates an interesting portrait of the Isles, from the Jurassic Coast, Lake District, and the Isles of Scilly, through Snowdonia, the Pembrokeshire Coast to the Wild Atlantic Way and the Isle of Sky. The album contains photographs, short essays, paintings, and poetry, all to inspire you to reflect, to slow down, to travel. It tries to get underneath the known history, pictures and destinations, to bring the Isles closer to the reader and explorers.

Published by Cereal, edited by Rosa Park.

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July 1, 2020

Travelling corner: Bristol by bike (part 3), with a secret beach (shhh!)

In my humble opinion, Bristol is not the easiest place to cycle, as it’s quite hilly. The bike trips I want to recommend today are not too challenging but some stamina will be needed to complete them 🙂 I usually cycle with my family at weekends and we use a bike attachment for my older daughter, 5.5 yo (when it’s not too demanding, she rides on her own), and a bike seat for the toddler, 18 mths. My previous blog posts on bike trips can be read here and here. Today is part 3. OK, off we go! 3 bike trips are coming:

Shirehampton-Pill-Leigh Woods (route no 26)

The cycling route is beautiful and it’s not very difficult, but it takes a bit of time to reach the destination. You will meet many cyclists, runners and walkers on the way, as it’s a popular recreational route. There are a few woods’ entries, so you can decide when you wish to have a break, enjoy some forest-bathing, walk by the stream or have a little picnic on a tree trunk.

Shirehampton-Clevedon

From Shirehampton, go towards Portishead (follow directions as here) and once you pass Portishead, continue cycling towards Clevedon. Head from Weston-in-Gordano to Walton-in-Gordano then turn right towards Clevedon Golf Club (B3124) and then continue cycling straight-ahead until you reach the pier and the sea-front (and Clevedon Marine Lake which is a bit further away).

Shirehampton-Ladye Bay

There’s a secret beach that was once recommended to me by a dear friend. Only the informed know where to go, so here are the directions: From Shirehampton go via Portishead towards Clevedon (as in the Shirehampton-Clevedon route above). Then, after turning right to Clevedon Golf Club (B3124), turn right again to Bay Road. Enjoy a splash in the waves!

These are the bike routes I enjoyed recently, do let me know which cycling routes are your favourite / recently discovered. Leave your comment down below.

Kinga Macalla

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June 17, 2020

Travelling corner: Wild swimming in South Devon

Gentle waves, golden sands, beautiful sea views and some great walking routes. Yes, that’s the Devon we re-discovered recently! It was magically beautiful: we felt so enchanted that it was difficult to leave this experience behind and return to Bristol. Fortunately, it’s only a 2-hour drive-away, so we know where we’ll be frequent visitors 🙂

Some time ago I came across the book Wild Swimming Walks by Sophie Pierce and Matt Newbury. It’s a practical guidebook into wild swimming in Dartmoor and South Devon, with 28 lake, river and beach days out to choose from and, as I was looking through its pages, I came across Thurlestone Beach / South Milton Sands / Leas Foot Sand which captured my imagination and became an inspiration for my family’s next travel destination. We needed some sun, sea and sand (!!!).

The beach is a long stretch of sand which goes from Leas Foot Sand (there is public parking as part of a golf club car park), then there are some rocks dividing Leas Foot from the other beaches, and then there is Thurlestone Beach (with a free car park just above the beach) which leads to South Milton Sands (with a NT car park). Each of the beaches is slightly different: Leas Foot Sand is a smaller beach which might be a good choice for families as there is a small stream where children can play (the sea is quite cold though), Thurlestone Beach has some hidden parts behind the rocks which might be perfect for everybody to enjoy some quieter time and South Milton Sands has beautiful views and the warmest sea (perfect for paddling). Amazing, huh?!

I once visited South Devon in winter, but I think I only briefly came to Thurleston Beach back then. Now, we’ve explored this beautiful sand stretch extensively and I’m so glad we did so! As a family, we had such an idyllic time – summery and lazy.

Have you been to South Devon? Do you have a favourite beach there? Please leave your comments down below.

Kinga Macalla

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June 3, 2020

Book review: The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

It was a particularly good evening to begin a book. Tove Jansson

At first, when I started reading The Summer Book, I didn’t like it very much. However, after a few chapters my appetite started to grow and then I couldn’t stop reading and thinking about it. What caught my attention most when I read the first few pages was the realism and authenticity of the language, landscape, everydayness, emotions and relationships. It was raw and authentic to the core and somehow it made me uncomfortable. Then after some time, I realised how much I’m used to the superficial softness and sweetness of the language and relationships in my daily life; where consumerism is the main tool / power, and social media rules my thinking. It made me stop to think about my life. Do I have enough place in my everyday life for different emotions; from fear, sadness, annoyance to happiness and pure joy?!

The book is written by Tove Jansson, the famous author of the Moomin stories. The Summer Book is a series of short stories about an elderly artist and her 6-year-old granddaughter, Sophia, who spent their summer on a tiny island in the gulf of Finland. Even though the island is very small and their adventures rather ordinary, the stories are so lively, interesting and full of suspense and humour. It only shows that everydayness and nature are never boring nor lack anything, quite the opposite, our daily life can be as fascinating as we want it to be.

For some inspiration, see the video.

Have you read any of Tove Jansson’s books? Please let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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May 20, 2020

Book review: The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto

What you know is possible in your heart is possible. Masaru Emoto

Today, I’m reviewing an amazing book about water. About water? On a language-related blog? Yes! 🙂 The author is a Japanese scientist who, through his research, discovered some fascinating truths about water. The read may inspire you to travel to Japan or to learn Japanese. Also, the presented knowledge may be transferred to our daily life and help us achieve better results in language learning.

What did the Japanese researcher discover through his research? Through analysing tap water and its crystals (e.g. from Tokyo or London) the pictures showed deformed crystals or didn’t have any crystals at all. Whereas when he analysed water from springs or lakes, there were beautifully formed crystals. But, it’s more than that. He wrote words on water, e.g. love & gratitude or thank you and then the water formed beautiful and complete crystals. After writing stupid and fool, the crystals were dark, incomplete or not formed at all. But the worst results with the crystals were when the water was ignored (interesting, huh?).

What can we take it from these amazing discoveries? That our words and thoughts have power. Whenever we say ‘I can’t do it’, ‘I’m too old’, ‘I’m a slow learner’, ‘I don’t have any language ability’, regardless of wherever that’s true or not, the said words can become our reality. A good exercise could be to watch what we say about ourselves (whether out loud or in our heads) to see what picture we draw of ourselves and what impact it can have on our language learning or, more broadly, on our lives.

The book talks deeper about the subject of water, its healing powers, its links to the beginnings of life on planet Earth, and the inner power of human beings. The book has many pictures of the water crystals which make the read more real and even more fascinating!

What interesting book have you read recently? Do let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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May 13, 2020

Book review: Maximize your child bilingual ability by Adam Beck

Read, read, read. William Faulkner

An essential guidebook to children’s bilingualism. It’s a practical handbook for parents wishing to get a grasp of bilingual upbringing, it answers many questions and provides a step-by-step guide to having a bilingual family.

Adam Beck, the author of the book is an American living in Japan who is raising two bilingual children. He is also the founder of the blog Bilingual Monkey and the forum The Bilingual Zoo.

I think the main message I will take from this book is: read aloud daily (adapt reading to your child’s age, tell stories using picture books, use walls to display messages to your children), have a minority-language routine (important!), follow your children’s natural passions in the minority language (what do they like doing /talking about?), talk to your children in the minority language as often as possible (story-telling), listen to and sing songs (e.g. when cycling—this is what we often do!), be firm with your schedule, but play it through the activities (have fun!) and bilingualism is a long-term project (be patient and consistent).

I like how the book is organised, that it has short chapters, which makes the reading easy to follow and allows reading in short spans of time (important when having kids). Each chapter starts with a quotation which I found really inspirational.

To sum up, I think I would mostly recommend the publication to families who wish to raise their kids bilingually but don’t know how to start, what resources to use, or what strategies to follow. For existing bilingual families, it’s an interesting read which reminds us of the importance of regular input in the minority language and which gives some inspirational tips on resources, activities and the day-to-day routine of the bilingual family.

What books on bilingualism do you recommend? Do let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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May 6, 2020

Travelling corner: Cornish Delight. A Weekend away in South-East Cornwall

Oh Cornwall, it feels so good to be there, even for a weekend. Today, I’m taking you to South-East Cornwall and we’ll stay in Looe and spend the weekend exploring this part of Cornwall (aka visit my favourite places).

Friday afternoon

I would start with some sea-bathing time and my favourite place (not far away from Looe) would be Seaton Beach. The beach doesn’t have beautiful sand (it’s rather greyish), but the sea is usually warm and beautifully sparkles as the sun sets down to the horizon.

Saturday

I would start the day with a breakfast at Summink Different Café in Downderry. Their menu is rich in good foods, sustainable, often organic and simply delicious. My favourite is their 100 percent cacao soup with coconut milk (oh yes, that’s yummy!). From there, we’ll go to Freathy Beach which is a long stretch of sand with some amazing sea views (quick note that the beach is tiny when there is a high tide). You need to descend to reach the beach, it’s not very steep but may limit the amount of beach games and other necessities you take down with you 🙂

Sunday

Today we’ll go to Readymoney Cove in Fowey. But, we’ll go by boat from Polruan. Polruan is a picturesque village with some marine-like town houses (and a bit of a steep descent to the quay!). It takes around 10 minutes to get to the other shore by boat, and we’re in Fowey! We then walk another 10 minutes and arrive at this small, yet charming beach (with cold water!) where we can enjoy the views of the sailing yachts and boats. We can then go for a walk to see the ruins of St Catherine’s Castle or relax and enjoy the scrumptious Cornish ice-cream (or both!).

You can read more about my previous travels to this part of Cornwall here and here.

That’s a nice weekend, huh? What was your last weekend in Cornwall like? Do let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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April 22, 2020

Book review: How languages changed my life

‘The decision to learn a foreign language is (…) an act of friendship’ John le Carré

It’s a fascinating read which should be compulsory for those studying/learning/living with foreign languages. The book “How languages changed my life” (Project MEITS) contains 26 stories written by people whose lives were transformed by languages. It made me think how languages changed my life.

Below you’ll find my favourite quotations from the book:

“I miss that working at Westminster. In fact being back here is like swimming against the internationalism of my life hitherto. I miss the opportunity, the pleasure, the luxury of being able to bump into a colleague in the corridor and just drop into another language.” (Stephen Kinnock, p. 6)

“When I speak Russian, I’m a slightly different person from when I talk in English. That’s a wonderful thing to find out about yourself, and other people recognize it in you too.” (Bridget Kendall, p.17)

“Linguistic diversity is the human cultural equivalent of biodiversity.” (John Fraser Williams, p.34)

“(…) [W]hatever you end up doing, being able to speak other languages means you’ll do it quicker and better. (Paul Hughes, p.50)

“I like to think that one day I might enjoy the luxury of sitting under a tree and studying Chinese without having to instrumentalize it. It’s such a poetic language, incredibly distilled: a whole episode in history, can be evoked in just one four-character four-syllable phrase, like an explosion in your brain.” (Carrie Gracie, p.74)

“To learn a different language is to encounter a different logic, a different cadence, a different sequence of words. It prepares you to think differently and to adapt (…).” (Martina Navratilova, p.173)

And finally, if you still think that after graduating from a university with a degree in languages your career path is either being a teacher or a translator, this book will certainly change your view as, in fact, when knowing languages the possibilities are truly endless. Enjoy reading!

Kinga Macalla

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April 15, 2020

Bilingualism: How can you home-school children bilingually?

The limits of my language are the limits of my world. Ludwig Wittgenstein

Today, I’m bringing up a subject very relevant to our family: bilingual home-schooling. As schools remain closed, we parents need to educate our children, and those bringing their children up bilingually have an even harder task: to prepare content in two or more languages. Below, I’ll share my tips on how to organise bilingual learning for your children and I’ll also share some inspiring blogs which helped me navigate through this unknown territory of bilingual home-education. I have two children: our older daughter is 5 and a half and our younger is 17 months old, so the below mostly refers to our older daughter.

Where to start?

First, I’d start with the aims. What do you want to achieve in your home-schooling? What are your goals? In our case, we primarily speak Polish at home and we knew English would be the minority language and that we’d use it to accomplish some specific tasks / activities rather than to be used for a prolonged period of time. We receive a weekly timetable from our daughter’s school, so we follow the main points of the agenda and also add some extra-curricular activities. I’ll specify our daily routine below.

How to organise daily routine

We start our day with a healthy breakfast J and then we have some quiet time, e.g. quiet reading or playing. Then we listen to some literacy exercises or do some reading in English before switching to Polish and listening to and singing some songs in Polish. After a short break, we have some creative activities; painting, drawing, Lego model building, etc. During this time we can include numeracy / vocabulary in Polish and English. Then we have a healthy lunch J and playtime with some yoga / exercises, going for a walk or staying in the garden and having some fun together. In the late afternoon, we read aloud in English and Polish or look through some big books to learn some interesting facts about geography, nature, animals (we try to focus on different subjects either periodically or daily). In the evening, we try to encourage our daughter to help with dinner where we can ask our daughter to name some vegetables or do some counting in two languages. As you can see, our daily routine is quite simple and not over-scheduled, there is plenty of room to negotiate some elements (e.g. playing in the garden longer if the weather is nice, etc.) and we don’t always stick to it every day, but it’s good to have it in place as a frame.

How to organise resources

I check the school’s website to see the timetable and self-prepare resources and download audio-recordings. In the UK, Audible have made their stories free of charge, and the phonics website is now available to all. As for creative activities, we re-use some paper/plastic boxes, jars, etc. or use colour paper, play-dough, clay, etc. Spring time is also a good time to introduce some gardening (as we try to do, too!). Our daughter is super-excited to see how her little plants / herbs grow.

Where to find inspiration?

Fortunately, there are many blogs with inspiring content!I found it really useful to get familiar with the ten tips on bilingual home-schooling from Catalina. Here, there are many interesting insights on home-schooling from Virginia Some important questions regarding bilingual home-schooling are answered here. You can find a bilingual daily routine with four children & their mum, Michele Cherie, here. I also recommend this blog for some everyday activities that you may want to include in your daily home-schooling routine (not about bilingual schooling, but I found it so relevant!).

Bonus: Don’t forget about your daily rituals, like lighting a candle before meals or playing some tunes on xylophone before reading time. It makes every day a bit more special.

Please do let me know how you organise your daily routine of bilingual home-schooling and what resources you use. Please leave your comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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April 8, 2020

Easter wishes from Bristol Language School

We would like to wish you all a lovely Easter break.

BTW, we’re starting our SPRING language term very soon, on Monday 20th April 2020. You can study Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish this spring at BLS. Enrol now!

Thank you for learning languages with us and see you soon.

Lots of love,

Bristol Language School

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