The CORE Languages Newsletter Spring 2020

What have we been up to… Spring is here, and 2020 is well underway. It is already proving to be a year of changes with global implications. The US-presidential election is coming. The stock market is fluctuating. COVID-19 is spreading, and entire cities are under complete lockdown. It is a time of uncertainty for many. The CORE team is not entirely unfamiliar with the concept of working out solutions for an unpredictable future. So, as 2020 unfolds, we continue to look for ways to take these challenges and turn them into possibilities. Part of that includes dealing with the uncertainty of our times, finding ways for people to connect, positively affect each other's lives, and grow to the fullest of our potential, no matter where we are from or where we are going. Click here for a message from the CORE Team regarding the Corona virus

Updates from CORECONNECT

Our level- and topic-specific grammar modules are live! Students can interact with our online material and make progress inside and outside of class. Modules are an important part in calculating the CORE SCORE, a more detailed, comprehensive assessment of the progress made in class.

Click here to check out our Winter issue of “Compass”

Instructor Spotlight: Hannah Salters Our Spring instructor spotlight is our wonderful instructor Hannah, from Charleston, SC

Where are you from: Charleston, SC, USA

CORE Teacher since: Summer 2018

What languages do you teach: English

Must-use teaching aid/teaching tool: My imagination!

Proudest teacher moment: This is a hard one. I’ve been teaching for something like 15 years. I suppose I am most proud when I hear from students long after they’re in my classroom. For example, when I receive a letter or Facebook message and they tell me how much they appreciate something, or they remind me of a way I helped them...that makes me swell with pride.

What inspires you to be a (language) teacher: All of my former students inspire me. When I was in college, I tutored a French family that had just moved to America. Their three kids spoke little to no English. The father, to this day, says I am their angel.

What advice would you give your younger teacher-self: I started out as a public school grade 4 teacher. I was so worried about standards being met and disciplining kids… I was in a pretty rough school…that I missed the big picture. I think having fun with learners is important. Yes, there has to be respect, but this goes both ways. Learning is about engagement.

What advice would you give a student who is learning a new language: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes!! If you don’t practice, you’ll never get it. Mistakes show progress!

Country of the Month: Tajikistan

Tajikistan in Numbers

Tajikistan is a mountainous, landlocked country in Central Asia. It borders four other countries: Uzbekistan to the West, Kyrgyzstan to the North, Afghanistan to the South and China to the West. It has a population of just over 9.5 million, of which about 800,000 live in the capital city of Dushanbe. About 93% of Tajikistan is covered in mountains, and more than half of the country is 3000 m above sea level. Ismoil Somoni Peak is the highest mountain in Tajikistan, at 24,590′ (in comparison: the highest peak in the European Alps, Mount Blanc, is 15,744′. The highest peak in North America, Denali, is 20,308′). With an area of just about 55,251 square miles, Tajikistan is about about 5 times smaller than the state of Texas (4.8 times, to be exact), and only slightly smaller than the state of Wisconsin. Aluminum and cotton account for over 75% of Tajikistan’s exports.

History Click on the image for a full history

Tajik Culture and Travel Tips

Over 400,000 tourists visit Tajikistan every year to experience the beautiful mountain ranges and mountain lakes. Here are a few things to keep in mind when exploring the country and its culture:

• Hospitality: Tajiks are known for their hospitality and friendliness to strangers. You will be surprised to get an invitation to spend a night at the house of a Tajik family as you travel through the country. Be careful to accept an invitation “for a cup of tea” as you will have to expect to spend a few hours at a table full of hot meals of all kinds.

• Tea culture: Tea is an important part of Tajik culture. It is believed that no form of business should be conducted unless you have a few cups of tea first. You will find tea houses/shops on every corner in every city in Tajikistan.

• Tourism: Tajiks welcome tourism and are generally warm and welcoming to strangers. They also know that they can take advantage of people not knowing their way around. Especially with taxi rides.

• Cash: Before you travel to Tajikistan, make sure you bring enough cash, as most credit cards won't work anywhere.

• Mountains: 93% of Tajikistan is covered by mountains, offering majestic views and scenery. A lot of roads that lead into and through the mountains, however, are very treacherous and dangerous, so it's very important not to try to venture out by yourself. It is safest to travel in groups using a tour guide, who is experienced driving on these mountain roads, and knows the area. It is not a "rent a car and cruise around" kind of country.

• Economy: Tajikistan is still recovering from the aftermath of the devastating civil war (1992-1997). The infrastructure, for example, is not as developed as other countries, lowering comfort and accessibility.

Tajik Language How do I say… In Tajik?

Tajik is a Subject-Object-Verb language. The sentence "I drive a car" in Tajik would be "Ман мошин меронам" (Man moşin meronam) and translates to "I car drive". There are no articles in Tajik. Nouns are gender-less and plural nouns are marked by either the suffix -ho or the suffix -on. For example, the noun for "car" is "мошин" (moşin), and the noun for "cars" (plural) is "мошинҳо" (moşinho).The suffix -ho can be used with any noun, whereas the suffix -on is typically only used with animate nouns. For example, the noun "child" is "фарзанд" (farzand), and "children" turns into "фарзандон" (farzandon).

The subject pronouns are "ман" (man) - I, "ту" (man) - informal you and "Шумо"(shumo) - formal you, "мо" (mo) - we, "шумо" (shumo) -you, or шумоён (shumoyon) - you all, and "онҳо" (onho) - they. Each subject pronoun has a different verb ending. When learning Tajik vocabulary, English speakers may have a bit of a hard time learning verbs, as the infinitive form of a verb is usually completely different than the conjugated form. The verb for "to eat", for example, is "хӯрдан" (xūrdan), but "I eat" turns into "ман мехӯрам" (man mexūram). The Tajik language has been written in three alphabets in the course of history. Before 1928, Tajik was written in the Perso-Arabic script, owing to Arab influence. As a result of Russia and the rise of the USSR, a modified Cyrillic script was used, and is still in use today. In addition, a Latin script of the Tajik language (in parentheses above) exists as well. The Cyrillic alphabet consists of 35 letters, of which there are 6 letters that do not exist in the Russian-Cyrillic alphabet and are specific to the Tajik alphabet. These are “Ғ ғ”, “Й й” “Қ қ”, “Ӯ ӯ”, “Ҳ ҳ”, “Ҷ ҷ”.

To help you to understand how those letters sound like, we suggest you practice the following words: MurҒobi (duck), Қand (candy), DӮst (friend), FaҲmo (understood), Ҷumla (suggestion), and BarobaryЙ (equality).

• Hello/Hi - Салом (Salom) (informal)

• How are you? - Шумо чи xeл? (Shumo ci xel?)

• What is your name? Hоми ту чист? (Nomi tu čist?)

• Nice/Pleased to meet you! - Аз шиносои бо шумо шодам

(Az šinosoi bo šumo šodam)

• My name is Robin - Номи ман Робин аст. (Nomi man Robin ast)

• I am well, thank you. And you? - Хуб, ташаккур, шумо чӣ?

(Xub, taşakkur, şumo cī?)

• Do you speak English? - Шумо забони Англисиро медонед?

(Shumo zaboni Anglisiro medoned?)

• Thank you! - Ташаккур (Tashakkur)

• Yes. /No. Ҳa (Ha), Бале (Bale) / Не (Ne)

• Yes, Please. No, thank you. - Бале, лутфан (Bale, lutfan)

Не, ташаккур (Ne, tashakkur)

• I don't understand. - Ман Нафаҳмидам (Man Nafahmidam)

• Where is the bathroom? - Ҳочатхона кани?

(Hoçatxona dar kuçost?)

• I am hungry/thirsty. - Ман гурусна / ташнаам.

(Man gurusna / tashnaam)

• Water/Tea, please. - об/чой, лутфан. (ob/coj, lutfan)

• Please say that again. - Лутфан инро такрор кунед.

(Lutfan inro takror kuned)

• I need help. - ман кӯмак лозим дорам

(man kūmak lozim doram)

• I'm from the United States. - Ман аз ИМА ҳастам

(Man az IMA hastam)

• Excuse me. (begging pardon) - Бубахшед (Bubaxšed)

• Sorry. - мебахшӣ (meʙaxshī)

• Goodbye. - Хайр! (Xajr!)

• Have a nice day! - Рӯзи хуш! (Rūzi xuš)

• Take me to the hotel/airport please. - Лутфан маро ба фурудгоҳ

/ меҳмонхона баре (Lutfan maro ba furudgoh / mehmonxona bared)

Example of a Tajik Joke:

Ман фахмидам ки ойнашушак шуда мехохам. Факкат дар ин кор худрамо дида метбонам Man fahmidam ki oynashuuak shuda mehoham. Fakkat dar in kor hudrama dida metabonam

Translated loosely:

I realized that I wanted to become a window cleaner. It is the only job I can see myself in.

A Tajik Proverb

Забон дони - ҷаҳон дони Zabon doni - jahon doni

Translated loosely: To know a language is to know the world.

Click here if you want to learn more about Turkish, Icelandic or German?

Tajik Rice Pilaf with Lamb or Beef

An easy recipe for traditional Tajik Rice Pilaf with Lamb. Bring a piece of Tajikistan to your home!

• 3 cups of long grain rice

• 1 1/2 lbs. of lamb, chopped into cubes

• 2 medium white onions, chopped into half rings

• 3 medium carrots, chopped into straws

• 1/3 cups of vegetable or canola oil

• 2 heads (yes, heads!) of garlic, peeled but not separated!

• 3 bay leaves

• 1 tsp dried coriander

• 1 tsp of caraway seeds

• 1 tsp of barberry seeds

• 1 tsp of black pepper

1. Preheat your Dutch oven pot (with nothing in it) on high heat. Once it is hot, turn down heat to medium, and carefully pour in canola or vegetable oil. Deep-fry one entire head of garlic until it begins to turn black, then discard.

2. Add chopped onion until translucent and add lamb cubes. Fry until lamb cubes are beginning to brown 3. Add carrot sticks, salt, pepper, barberry seeds, bay leaves, and let cook for about 5-10 minutes, until

carrots have softened. 4. Add about 1 3/4 cups of hot water, cover and let simmer over medium/low heat for about 45 min, or until

meat is nice and tender. 5. While stew is cooking, wash/rinse your rise until water comes out clear. Set aside. 6. When stew is ready, add rice over meat (do not stir!) and spread out evenly. Add 4 cups of hot water.

Sprinkle with a dash of salt and dried coriander and let cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes until water is absorbed.

7. With a skewer or fork, carefully pierce holes into garlic head, and stick it into the layer of rice, all the way to the bottom of the pot. With the handle of a wooden spoon, poke 8-10 holes into the rice.

8. Lower heat slightly, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until rice is soft and tender. Remove bay leaves and garlic head and stir gently. Enjoy!

Note: You can also use beef for this recipe. For traditional Tajik Rice Pilaf cooked for family meals, beef is used. Lamb is used for special occasions or guests, as it is more expensive.

Article of the Month: School’s Out, Now What?

By Hannah Salters, MEd Languages

‘Tis the season for uncertainty! With all that has been in the news about the Corona virus, and with schools and businesses closing, some of us have been left wondering how we are going to get through all of this. Those with school age children have the added worry of “Will my child fall behind?” What are parents to do at a time when their children’s education is now very much in their own hands? Studies show that a child will lose what they have learned in a very short time if continued education is not available. This is why so many students regress during summer months and over Christmas break. Fear not though, there are many things you can do to ensure your child is learning during this worldwide school shutdown.

For starters, keep to a schedule! One of the worst things to let happen would be to fall out of a routine. It doesn’t have to be strict, but have a time scheduled for play, for reading, for chores, for exercises, and for schoolwork, etc. Most teachers have sent home packets or have established some type of virtual learning. Utilize that information. Teachers know the standards, but for your own sanity, do not stress if you do not know the content. Make life easy on yourself and when in doubt, Google it! There are many great resources online. Also feel free to reach out to your friends who are teachers. Many educators have made it clear that they are there for whomever needs them…we are all in this together.

Language learning can get a bit tricky when people are not able to meet face to face, but do not stress over this either. There are many things you can do to ensure your child is getting his/her exposure to language. First off, I always suggest that children listen to songs in the language they are learning. Nursery rhymes especially are catchy and easy to learn, and you can find them in numerous languages on YouTube. Second, if you haven’t downloaded the free app Epic, do so. Epic is like Netflix for books, and you can both read and have books read

to you in multiple languages. If your child is able to write in their non-native language, you could even have them create their own little story. Thirdly, take your child’s favorite movie and change the language setting. You can do this on DVDs and also on Disney+. Everyone knows the song “Do you want to build a snowman…” and likely, your child knows the movie well enough to enjoy it even if the language is foreign. Certainly though, you do not want your child sitting and watching movies all day; the same goes for computers and iPads. What we don’t want is to create a bunch of little couch potatoes, but technology is a tool, and a few minutes here and there won’t hurt.

In order to have something a bit more interactive, “virtual school” is the way to go. It is an incredible way to get your child face to face, so to speak, with a language teacher. Think for a moment of how excited your child gets when he or she Facetimes with grandparents. My four-year-old niece, for example, just learned her family members’ phone numbers. She calls each of us constantly, through Facetime, to tell of her daily escapades. We all love it, and she lights up. If an actual in-person meeting cannot be arranged because the government is telling us to social distance, then why not organize an online/virtual lesson for your little one?! Teachers can offer support in ways that, oftentimes, parents haven’t the time for or are unable to do themselves because of their own language barriers. A thirty-minute lesson once or twice a week can go a long way in helping a child speed up their language acquisition.

In times of uncertainty, we must adjust. Although our ideal setting would be to gather together to learn, we will all get through this, and our creativity and flexibility will help us do so! It’s times like these that we have to be extremely grateful for technology!

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