Richard’s Ruminations http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell by Richard Russell en-us Nucleus CMS v3.60 © 2009 Authors and GTSC. Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell/nucleus/nucleus2.gif Richard’s Ruminations Richard’s Ruminations http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell Ilegal Immigration to U.S. Sharply Declines http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3918 Tue, 7 Sep 2010 00:01:00 -0500 Richard Russell General Or "unauthorized immigration," as the Pew Research Center puts it.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3918 Film Review: Historias mínimas / Intimate Stories http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3917 Mon, 6 Sep 2010 00:01:00 -0500 Richard Russell General There's no sex or violence in this movie and only two occurences of profanity.  Unfortunately, the Argentine Spanish is not ideal for the classroom; and today's kids will probably find it's human interest stories-not so interesting. 

But is Historias mínimas worthwhile for discerning adults?

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3917 British Aren't Studying Foreign Languages http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3906 Fri, 3 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0500 Richard Russell General It's not just Americans who expect the rest of the world to speak English so they don't have to learn a foreign language.  Read an Independent article about a similar situation in Britain.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3906 Spanish Language Prep http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3883 Thu, 2 Sep 2010 00:01:00 -0500 Richard Russell General Click here for a brief article about ways to study Spanish on your own.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3883 Shakira's New Single http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3908 Thu, 2 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0500 Richard Russell General This Colombia Reports article has a link to Shakira's new single, Loca in Spanish, A Hell's Angel in English.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3908 Fire Teachers Based on Student Test Scores? http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3904 Wed, 1 Sep 2010 00:01:00 -0500 Richard Russell General Probably not a good idea.  For two articles discussing evaluation of teachers based on student test scores, go to the Education Policy Blog and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3904 One in Four Lap Dancers Has a College Degree http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3905 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:01:00 -0500 Richard Russell General At least in Britain.  It appears that recent U.K. college graduates have trouble finding jobs in their field.  

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3905 El Orfanato / The Orphanage http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3887 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:01:00 -0500 Richard Russell Film Reviews The Spanish of this film from Spain is not particularly easy to understand; but there's no sex, almost no profanity, and only a couple of gory scenes.  With slight editing from the teacher, this horror and suspense film could be shown in class at Halloween. But would the kids like it?

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3887 Commenting available again http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3902 Sat, 28 Aug 2010 14:25:59 -0500 Head Geek General I apologize for the recent inability to comment on Richard’s Ruminations. But the problem software has been removed and replaced.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3902 No Need to Study a Foreign Language http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3869 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:01:00 -0500 Richard Russell General According to a Wall Street Journal article, the global dominance of English plus improved machine translation make it unnecessary for Americans to learn other languages.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3869 Kidnapping in Mexico http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3892 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0500 Richard Russell General Read the NPR article about how Mexican drug smugglers have added secuestros to their various illegal activities.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3892 Film Review: Al sur de Granada / South from Granada http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3873 Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:01:00 -0500 Richard Russell Film Reviews Well, there's too much nudity and love-making for this Spanish language film to make it into the classroom, but is it a good movie to watch at home?

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3873 Teaching the FL with a Baby Sitter http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3877 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:01:00 -0500 Richard Russell General Hiring a nanny who will speak a foreign language to your young child is another possibility for parents who really want their children to be bilingual. The idea is particularly popular in New York City.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3877 Pablo was always a good guy http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3881 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0500 Richard Russell General That's according to Roberto Escobar, brother of the notorious Pablo Escobar, Colombian Cocaine King of the 80's.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3881 One of 135,000 Teachers http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3867 Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:02:00 -0500 Richard Russell General That's me, sort of. According to CNN, that's the number of laid-off teachers in the economy.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3867 "Little Terrorists" Being Born in Texas http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3879 Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0500 Richard Russell General We've all heard of "anchor babies." Now Texas representative Debbie Riddle informs us that some of these babies are being raised as future terrorists.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3879 Film Review: Tinta Roja / Red Ink http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3842 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:01:00 -0500 Richard Russell General Tinta roja doesn't have a lot of overt sex and violence. Unfortunately, the dialog won't be that easy for students to follow. It's not a particularly good film for teaching purposes.

But is it any good as a film for adults to watch?

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3842 Blog del Narco http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3855 Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:19:28 -0500 Richard Russell General With Mexican journalists afraid to report on the narco-violence in the country, this Blog del Narco is a way for people to stay informed.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3855 Back to jail http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3852 Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:55:36 -0500 Richard Russell General ...goes Lori Berenson, as detailed in Time. Originally, imprisoned for terrorist activities in Peru, Berenson had recently been granted parole after serving 15 years of a 20 year sentence.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3852 Film Review: Pan's Labyrinth http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3838 Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:01:00 -0500 Richard Russell General Here's another film that I saw several years ago, I guess in 2006 when it first came out. Roger Ebert thinks it's a masterpiece, and who am I to disagree with the most eminent film critic of the day. On the other hand...

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3838 Unauthorized Immigrants and their U.S.-Born Children http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3834 Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:01:00 -0500 Richard Russell General Read the report on this subject from the Pew Hispanic Center.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3834 Signing, Singing, Speaking http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3848 Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:01:00 -0500 Richard Russell General According to NPR, it's possible that spoken language developed either from gestures or singing.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3848 Film Review: Entre Nos / Treasure of the Sierra Madre http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3829 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:01:00 -0500 Richard Russell Film Reviews Well, finally! Here are two Spanish language films that can be shown in the classroom: Entre nos (2009) and Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).

"But wait!" you say. "Treasure of the Sierra Madre isn't a Spanish language film!"

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3829 Obama No Different from Bush http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3845 Sun, 15 Aug 2010 01:37:48 -0500 Richard Russell General At least in education policy. The Washington Post talks about how Obama is continuing the testing obsession of the Bush years.

]]> http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3845 Last Chance to Study Inuit Language http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=3836 Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:01:00 -0500 Richard Russell General Or at least an ancient form of it. Ordinarily, endangered languages aren't considered big news; but this project made CNN.

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