A study update: semester 1 is nearly finished!
So much has been going on over the last few weeks, but considering this is the last week of the semester I thought I should post something about what I've been learning before I am distracted by all the wonderful things involved in a four week break!
Orthography, my newest subject (finished this morning): everything that is involved in reading and writing in a language, from the symbols used to represent the sounds, to the spelling rules and punctuation. The most disappointing thing about this subject for me was that it wasn't longer. It was an opportunity to learn to read and write in English again from scratch! Thinking about how we could help others develop an orthography for their own language if it has not previously been written, and in the process imagining that we were doing this for English! I have spent time telling and writing the same sort of stories as I imagine I did as a child (because it seems to be what all children do when they are learning to read and write at school), you know, the 'on the weekend' ones, and realising how many different vowels English actually has!
Grammar has been an intense subject, squashed into the second half of the semester. A chance to understand some things for the first time, reinforce some things I already knew, and to learn some brand new concepts! Allomorphs - one of my new favourite words!
And to balance my time and energy, I have re-read half of the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan because I brought them across for someone to read for the first time! And now another neighbour is reading them too! So I need to remember to bring the rest back at the end of the break... maybe after re-reading them again myself!
We had a baby shower for one of the students the other weekend. I can't wait to meet this little one, and shouldn't have to wait long now, as she is due to give birth during the break!
On the weather front, winter has well and truly settled in. We had a week of consecutive forecasts of rain, and it did rain. Today the fog settled in. I'm not sure it ever lifted - there were still wispy bits of cloud around late this afternoon. But we have also had some lovely crisp sunny days. All in all, winter isn't too bad over here!
One of my housemates and I were invited over to dinner with a family last night, so we offered to bring something for dessert. My camera batteries were flat, so you only have the chance to see one of the cupcakes (the rest were all eaten at dinner):
And, more significantly, a new country added to the map today on my audience statistics! Thank you, whoever you are! You are in an amazing country, and I hope you are enjoying the beautiful summer weather!
So, I'll get stuck into my last two assignments - you probably won't hear from me before they are finished, so I hope you all have some fun moments this week!
Orthography, my newest subject (finished this morning): everything that is involved in reading and writing in a language, from the symbols used to represent the sounds, to the spelling rules and punctuation. The most disappointing thing about this subject for me was that it wasn't longer. It was an opportunity to learn to read and write in English again from scratch! Thinking about how we could help others develop an orthography for their own language if it has not previously been written, and in the process imagining that we were doing this for English! I have spent time telling and writing the same sort of stories as I imagine I did as a child (because it seems to be what all children do when they are learning to read and write at school), you know, the 'on the weekend' ones, and realising how many different vowels English actually has!
Grammar has been an intense subject, squashed into the second half of the semester. A chance to understand some things for the first time, reinforce some things I already knew, and to learn some brand new concepts! Allomorphs - one of my new favourite words!
And to balance my time and energy, I have re-read half of the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan because I brought them across for someone to read for the first time! And now another neighbour is reading them too! So I need to remember to bring the rest back at the end of the break... maybe after re-reading them again myself!
We had a baby shower for one of the students the other weekend. I can't wait to meet this little one, and shouldn't have to wait long now, as she is due to give birth during the break!
On the weather front, winter has well and truly settled in. We had a week of consecutive forecasts of rain, and it did rain. Today the fog settled in. I'm not sure it ever lifted - there were still wispy bits of cloud around late this afternoon. But we have also had some lovely crisp sunny days. All in all, winter isn't too bad over here!
One of my housemates and I were invited over to dinner with a family last night, so we offered to bring something for dessert. My camera batteries were flat, so you only have the chance to see one of the cupcakes (the rest were all eaten at dinner):
And, more significantly, a new country added to the map today on my audience statistics! Thank you, whoever you are! You are in an amazing country, and I hope you are enjoying the beautiful summer weather!
So, I'll get stuck into my last two assignments - you probably won't hear from me before they are finished, so I hope you all have some fun moments this week!
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