The Multilingual World of Irish Dance

What a brilliant observation and just why bilingualism and being able to speak languages can be really important to children and young people. There are those that believe the later you leave it to learn a language the better whereas in reality the younger the better and using it in context is the best way to go.

on raising bilingual children

Over the weekend, I spent many hours running the canteen at an Irish dance “Feis”. My daughter is a dancer, and every year they host a competition, attracting dancers from various parts of Europe. Over the weekend, I spoke to people from Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Finland, England, Ireland, the US and Canada. The most satisfying part of the experience was being able to help people in their own language. People say that English is the global language, and that if you speak English you don’t need anything else. I disagree, and this weekend was a good example of why. When people approached my canteen counter, I could often tell they were hesitant to order – worried about which language to use, and not wanting to get it wrong. I quickly figured out that the best way to put them at ease was to offer “English, francais or nederlands?”. I…

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Character #467: 葉

this Chinese symbol for leaf looks like a tree.

來學正體字 Learn Traditional Chinese Characters

The character 葉（ㄧㄝˋ） means leaf. Here is the stroke order animation and pronunciation. Here are the individual strokes for writing the character. Here is the definition in Taiwanese Mandarin. Here is the evolution of 葉.

葉（ㄧㄝˋ）子（ㄗ˙） – leaf, foliage

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Character #469: 鳥

Interesting symbol meaning bird in Chinese.

來學正體字 Learn Traditional Chinese Characters

The character 鳥（ㄋㄧㄠˇ） means bird. Here is the stroke order animation and pronunciation. Here are the individual strokes for writing the character. Here is the definition in Taiwanese Mandarin. Here is the evolution of 鳥. This is one of my favorite characters for looking at character evolution. The oldest form looks like a picture of a bird.

鳥（ㄋㄧㄠˇ）巢（ㄔㄠˊ） – a bird’s nest
鳥（ㄋㄧㄠˇ）瞰（ㄎㄢˋ） – a bird’s eye view

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SEND – what do these terms mean?

Special Needs has many different strands to it so below are just some examples of names we may hear from SEN and SEND co-ordinators but not fully understand.

Asperger’s Syndrome – Diagnosis is for those who have difficulty communicating, difficulty in social relationships and lack of understanding of how people feel.

Behavioural, Emotional and Social difficulty – is used for those whose behaviour, social and emotional difficulties present a barrier to learning and participation.

Bipolar Disorder – Bipolar people experience mood swings from periods of overactive, excited behaviour to deep depression.

Complex Learning Difficulties and disabilities – These conditions overlap and interlock creating a complex profile.

Dyslexia – Dyslexia sufferers have difficulty with the written word. It can affect reading, spelling, writing, memory and concentration.

Dyspraxia – This is a generic term to explain a range of movement difficulties.

Elective mutism – Those sufferers of this emotional disorder means that sometimes the person can speak fluently but it other situations they remain silent.

Multi-sensory Impairment – Those with MSI experience a combination of visual and hearing difficulties and whilst many think they are deaf/blind they could have some residual sight or hearing.

Semantic disorder – difficulty in understanding and using the meaning of words.

Specific Language Impairment – Difficulty in understanding and/ or using spoken language.

Understanding learning…

A brilliant piece inspiring for pupils and teachers alike.

Character #462: 句

really useful word needed when tasking anyone to write or complete a sentence.

來學正體字 Learn Traditional Chinese Characters

The character 句（ㄐㄩˋ） means sentence. Here is the stroke order animation and pronunciation. Here are the individual strokes for writing the character. Here is the definition in Taiwanese Mandarin. Here is the evolution of 句.

句（ㄐㄩˋ）型（ㄒㄧㄥˊ） – sentence pattern
句（ㄐㄩˋ）號（ㄏㄠˋ） – period indicating full stop

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Lithuanian Alphabet

I just came across this Lithuanian ABC which I was saving in my files…not much use there… not sure where it came from but it may be useful as many Lithuanians are now arriving in European and American countries.

The alphabet has 32 letters made up of 12 vowels and 20 consonants – no wonder the children get confused. I just manage the five vowels in English!

The AlphabetAa Ąą Bb Cc Čč Dd Ee Ęę Ėė Ff Gg Hh Ii Įį Yy Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Rr Ss Šš Tt Uu Ųų Ūū Vv Zz Žž

Balsės (Vowels) 12 vowels
Aa Ąą Ee Ęę Ėė Ii Įį Yy Oo Uu Ųų Ūū

Priebalsės (Consonants) 20 consonants
Bb Cc Čč Dd Ff Gg Hh Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Pp Rr Ss Šš Tt Vv Zz Žž

Aa – agurkas
Ąą – ąsotis
Bb – baltas
Cc- cukrus
Čč – čiuožikla
Dd – dangus
Ee – erelis
Ęę – ęsame
Ėė – ėriukas, eglė
Ff – fėja, futbolas
Gg – gintaras
Hh – herbas
Ii – Inkaras
Įį – įdomus
Yy – yla
Jj – juokas
Kk – katinas
Ll – liūtas
Mm – mama
Nn – namas
Oo – oras
Pp – pagalba
Rr – ranka
Ss – saulė
Šš – širdis
Tt – teta
Uu – ugnis
Ųų – metų
Ūū – ūsai
Vv – vaikas
Zz – zebra
Žž – žolė