Сегодня у нас в гостях Анна Крауэлл (Anna Crowell) – филолог, проживающий в Америке. Анна имеет ряд трудов по изучению американского английского языка. Самый большой её труд в 2-х томах (600 страниц) – это самоучитель. В настоящее время Анна размещает три своих пособия в интернет-магазинах.

Её метод изучения языка основывается на лингвистических формулах. Автор считает этот метод очень продуктивным и даже развлекательным, т.к. чисто грамматических описаний там нет.

Сегодня у меня в гостях Дарья Попова – учитель-практик, специализирующийся на дошкольниках и младших школьниках. Кроме того, Даша – мама годовалой дочки и ведущая рубрики "Английский язык" на сайте "Клуб увлечённых мам". Я попросила Дарью ответить на интересующие меня (и, уверена, многих из вас) вопросы и поделиться методическими хитростями организации занятий с детьми в группе.

Недавно я рассказывала вам, что собираюсь открыть семейный языковой клуб в Екатеринбурге. А моя сегодняшняя гостья, мама годовалой дочки-билингва, уже реализовала эту идею в своём городе. О том, как ей это удалось, а также о специфике работы со столь необычным контингентом мы и будем говорить с Полиной Шабаровой, автором блога “English speaking baby” и основателем английского детского клуба “BabyBoom” в Севастополе .

У нас в клубе накопилось уже довольно много историй с описаниями успешного или тернистого пути изучения иностранного языка, а также рассказов родителей детей-билингвов. Сегодня я рада приветствовать в качестве гостьи Анну, преподавателя английского и норвежского языков на курсах, а также опытного репетитора с восьмилетним стажем.

In my childhood my father worked first as a translator and then as an interpreter. So I was able to see both positive and negative sides of the two jobs. I can still visualize him sitting well into the night with sheets of technical texts and dictionaries all over the table. There was no Internet at that time and he had to have my mother by his side as a counsellor on the technical part (she was a computer programmer). I didn’t envy him at all at such moments.

As an interpreter Dad visited more than 30 countries. I could have envied him then if I hadn’t noticed that he was not his own master. He had to accompany foreigners whenever and wherever it was necessary: to the circus, theatres, cinemas, restaurants and so on. His working day wasn’t over with the sunset. He could hardly afford to make any arrangements with friends and I don’t remember a single time when he was able to accompany Mum, sister and me on holiday.

So even entering the faculty of foreign languages I had a very clear idea that I didn’t want to be an interpreter like most of my fellow students. I was sure that although the profession may suit men and unmarried women, it can’t be the choice of a family woman… until I met Elena Tolmuch (ladywdele.org) who seems to be quite happy in her job. I couldn’t miss such an opportunity and asked Elena to answer my eager questions.

Monica Welch runs a wonderful blog "Word Nymph" where among other subjects she raises language issues. Being a keen observer, Monica never leaves any ambiguous or difficult word matters that come her way without investigating into them. The results of her thorough analyses are enjoyed and discussed by her blog readers. Being one of them, I found myself interested in what stands behind the blog and asked Monica for an interview.

Stopping by someone’s blog, I always read the “About” page first. Here is what I read about Cameron:

"Cameron Brooks has a Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education and is a third-grade teacher. When he is not practicing tai chi or chi gong with his students, you may find him planting succulents in unlikely planters such as old skateboard decks, helmets, or broken seashells. In addition to writing essays and reviews for Literacyhead, Cameron is also a surfer, a skateboarder, a vegan chef, and a photographer."

I was pleased to find a lot in common. I did not only meet a colleague but also noticed some of the things Cameron is interested in attract me as well.  But there is a huge difference between us: we belong to different cultures. I decided to ask Cameron a number of questions and he kindly agreed to answer them. 

I found Eden Glenn’s blog through the keyword “story”. Having learned the first thing about writing a story, I decided to stay a bit longer. Soon I knew that Eden is an aspiring author who is learning the craft of writing and sharing both her knowledge and experience. A short time later I discovered that Eden is a very hospitable, warm-hearted and outgoing person. To my great joy, Eden agreed to an interview.