Welcome to my course

Greetings, new students, former students and occasional walk-ins. The new school year is upon us! This time I'm going to be teaching two consecutive levels: B2 and C1. At this point in my career I still feel the need to wonder if you are all fully aware of what those levels really entail. So, for the sake of clarity, allow me to remind you that B2 is an intermediate level (I know, we call it Avanzado 2 but that's just an unfortunate misnomer), which makes it possible for a learner to discuss a wide range of subjects even if (s)he still sounds like (s)he is trying. B2 speakers tend to use pretty basic blanket terms (to go, to see, to clean). C1, however, is all about lexical accuracy (to commute, to glimpse, to wipe). It is also the start of something remotely resembling a natural kind of expression. You will be expected to use fillers, idioms and even stammer (for the right reasons). Are you ready for the challenge?

The European Day of Languages

Anyone out there? Last I checked around 80 people decided to read a post. I don't anticipate a better following this new school year but what the heck... Anyhow, September 26th is the European Day of Languages, which (unlike the Eurovision Song Contest) is one of those celebrations we Europeans should be proud of. The way I see it language diversity is a key element in a person's intellectual development. It undoubtedly offers many practical benefits (better qualifications which may lead to a better job, the ability to speak to at international airports, the chance to enjoy films or books in the original version, etc.). Sadly, I'm afraid that one needs to speak several languages in order to truly appreciate what the greatest reward of them all can be: depth, complexity and, above all, open-mindedness.

In my view speaking a second language makes you necessarily more tolerant because it forces you to see things in a different light or, at least, from a slightly different standpoint. Famously the late Umberto Eco wrote a book titled Dire Quasi La Stessa Cosa. It dealt with his experiences over the years as a translator. That title hit the nail on the head, didn't it? To say almost the same thing. Indeed a translator tells you, "more or less", "kind of", "approximately" what someone else has said. And it's precisely in the differences that one finds how wonderful other people's worldview can be. Paraphrasing the old saying, we may state that the magic is in the details.

I was recently asked to submit a 90-second-video about my own experience regarding foreign languages to a website where other speakers had posted their thoughts on the matter. The teacher behind the project seeks to show their students the many reasons why learning a language is always worthwhile. Here is what I had to say: