We are a growing and expanding school, specializing in the learning and study of French, Italian and newly added Spanish. We are looking for energetic, enthusiastic and talented people to join our team.
The origins of Father’s Day date back 4,000 years ago to the time of Babylon, where a clay tablet was found with a message written by a son for his father. In France and the United States, father’s day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June. This year it is celebrated on June 20th.
Father’s Day is celebrated on St. Joseph’s Day, March 19th, in countries where there is a strong emphasis on the Roman Catholic Church. This holds true in Italy. It is called La Festa di San Guiseppe in Italian. St. Joseph’s Day began in Sicily during the Middle Ages. The people of Sicily were suffering from a drought and famine and needed rain for their crops. They prayed to St. Joseph and he answered their prayers by bringing the rain. The fava bean crops ended the famine. In return for his help, they offered St. Joseph a grand feast when he brought the rain. The fava bean often decorates altars or homes on this holiday. No matter the country, Father’s Day is a day to show appreciation and love for your father.
What beautiful weather we are having lately! I hope that you are finding the time to get out and enjoy it!
This month we are looking to summer and it is time to enroll in your favorite course.
For Kids we have Learn to Speak Italian After School which starts June 7th. It will run on Mondays from 4pm to 5pm for 5 weeks. Our children’s language classes do not run the week of July 5th so this program will end July 12th.
Our Learn to Speak Summer Camps for Kids has expanded into Spanish and Russian. We have special discounts for siblings and we also have bussing available for an extra fee. Our Learn to Speak French Summer Camp for Beginners runs Monday through Friday the week of June 28th from 9am to 12pm in Clifton Park and from 2pm to 5pm in Colonie. Children who are already fluent in French are welcome and a camp within a camp will exist for them. The week of July 12th we will run our Learn to Speak Spanish Summer Camp for Beginners with a camp within a camp for children who are fluent in Spanish as well. This camp runs Monday through Friday 9am to 12pm in Clifton Park and 2pm to 5pm in Colonie. Our third summer camp this year runs the week of July 26th. Our Learn to Speak Russian Summer Camp is also a Monday through Friday camp. This camp is offered only in Clifton Park from 9am to 12pm. For the first time, we are offering bussing to our camps. Please call the office for information on busing: (518) 346-7096. Adult Language classes continue through July 23rd and you may join any of our ongoing classes in French, Italian and Spanish. We have a guest teacher this summer who will be teaching Welsh. Registration is now being taken for this summer course. Look for our Italian for Travelers five week mini-session that we will be offering. If you have some French and would like to brush up, join us for our Beginning French Mini-Session.
Our Table Française at Chez Daisie this month will take place on June 16th. If you speak French and would like a place to kick back and practice, join us once a month at Chez Daisie on pedestrian Jay Street (across from Proctors Theater) in Schenectady from 6pm to 8pm. The crêpes are delicious and the conversation fun. This is our anniversary month! Come celebrate our 4th year anniversary! As part of our celebration enjoy any dessert crêpe for $4.00 and receive a coupon to enjoy another dessert crêpe for $4.00.
As always, private lessons are available for both children and adults in French, Spanish and Italian. You can call the office to register.
We look forward to seeing you this summer in one of our language programs. Enjoy June! We are sending a special Happy Father’s Day wish to all Dads from the staff at The Language Learning Institute. We hope your day is filled with fun, rest and laughter.
Best regards,
Nancy Scarselletta Owner/Developer The Language Learning Institute 518-346-7096
If you speak French and would like a place to relax and have great conversation practice, join us once a month at Chez Daisie on pedestrian Jay Street (across from Proctors Theater) in Schenectady from 6pm to 8pm. The crêpes are delicious and the conversation fun. This is our anniversary month! Come celebrate our 4th year anniversary on June 16th! As part of our celebration enjoy any dessert crêpe for $4.00 and receive a coupon to enjoy another dessert crêpe for $4.00. Vous êtes invités de prendre un café avec nous le troisième mercredi de chaque mois.
Italian Classes Kick Back and Enjoy
After months of in-class study, Italian Teachers Luisa and Nevia take their students to an Italian restaurants for class. Everyone really enjoyed the event and the opportunity for conversation outside of the classroom!
E’ stata una bella serata in compagnia di tutti gli studenti. Sono stati tutti molto bravi a parlare in italiano e si sono divertiti molto.
A Special Thank You
Thank you to the businesses which promote the Language Learning Institute!
Stop by and get a good meal, gift, or check out our latest promotional material!
Eleonora’s Secret – Lecce, The Florence of the South
Lecce located in Puglia, or Apulia as it is called in English, waits to amaze us with its little-known magnificence. During my study abroad, one of my fellow students came from Lecce and I was lucky enough to go visit this wonderful city. If you are fortunate enough to visit this lovely city, you are likely to be impressed by the lavish decorations on its facades. Where Florence is a city of Renaissance art, Lecce is a Baroque city with a unique Adriatic culture and flavor. Lecce was first a Greek city, then a Roman town, which can still be seen in Piazza Sant’Oronzo, site of the most important local Roman ruins: a 25,000-seat amphitheatre from the 1st century BC and a column which originally stood in Brindisi to mark the end of the Appian Way. Walk a few yards to the church of Santa Croce, whose Baroque façade is a dizzying display of angels and mythological animals, and you find an eye-opening reminder that Rome was not Italy’s only Baroque city, and that the architectural style manifested itself well beyond the papal states. Walk through the quiet streets of the old town, beneath delicate wrought-iron balustrades, curving whitewashed arches and soft amber street lamps, and you will find something to capture your fancy on almost every building. Exploring the architectural gems of Lecce is more of a dictate than an option; they are everywhere. All of the buildings have facades carved of the local, soft sand-colored stone called leccese. Many of the old palaces, once occupied by Lecce’s wealthy families, are as much of a show as the religious monuments; elaborately carved balconies and portals are the norm. When businesses start to reopen at 5 p.m. or so after the afternoon siesta, the facades are lit and the entire city center takes on the appearance of a magical, theatrical stage set. The gargoyles, cherubs and cornucopias seem to come to life at the same time that much of the population of 95,000 takes to the streets, cafes and bars. Given the proximity to so many fishing ports in the Salento peninsula (the southernmost part of the heel), ordering seafood is imperative. The quality, freshness and provenance of fish is not taken lightly in these parts. It’s common in Lecce restaurants for patrons to be brought and shown massive platters of fish for inspection, prior to ordering. Another must-try specialty of Lecce is orecchiette, or the “little hat”, pasta shaped like small saucers or hats. Pugliese cooking often pairs unlikely combinations. The classic orecchiette dish mixes the pasta with a broad-bean sauce, similar to Middle Eastern hummus. This unlikely pairing of starches works particularly well with the addition of shrimp or monkfish. Seafood and vegetables such as bitter rapini also figure prominently. Taralli, small twisted hard bread resembling a child’s teething biscuit, is distinct to this region. Burrata, the soft and creamy local cheese, also must be sampled. This cuisine, unfamiliar to even most sophisticated Americans, is an exciting departure from well-known Tuscan and Roman dishes. The white wines of Puglia, especially the local prosecco (sparkling wine) are particularly fruity and light, offering a perfect accompaniment to the bold flavors. The most common varietals are Bombino Bianco (white) and Primitivo (red). Easily walk able; affordable, a Baroque style that goes beyond the Roman, an intriguing cuisine, gorgeous climate and vibrant street life — Lecce has certainly won me over.
We are heading back to Europe this month near the highest peak in Europe, The Mont Blanc. The Aosta Valley or La Vallee D’Aoste in French is a mountainous autonomous region in north-western Italy. It is bordered by France to the west, Switzerland to the north and the region of Piedmont to the south and east. The Aosta Valley is the only Italian region which has no provinces (the province of Aosta was dissolved in 1945). The native population speaks Valdotain, a form of Franco-provencal, as their first language, while in the Lys Valley there is a Walser German speaking minority. Under Mussolini, a forced program of Italianization, including population transfers of Valdostans into Piedmont and Italian-speaking workers in Aosta, fostered movements towards separatism. The region has a special autonomous status; the province of Aosta ceased to exist in 1945 and Aosta was granted its autonomy in 1948. Italian and French are the region’s official languages and are used for the regional government’s acts and laws, though Italian is much more widely spoken in everyday life, and French is mostly spread in cultural life. Tourism is one of the strongest points of the region’s economy. The valley’s natural beauty, its peaceful atmosphere in summer and snow in winter have allowed the development of a flourishing industry and especially winter sports. You can easily cross the border between Chamonix (France) and Aosta by driving through the Mont-Blanc tunnel that is running underneath the Alps. Have a wonderful summer! A bientot! www.wikipedia.org
Nicolas Sarkozy has recently announced that one of his policy priorities during the second half of his term will be changing the age of retirement. This move is bound to be protested, because the French are very happy about their retirement age of 60. Despite the fact that we saw opposition to this policy during protests at the end of the month, Sarkozy plans to push his changes through. Other countries with low retirement ages, such as Germany, are planning to increase their age of retirement in an attempt to decrease some government spending through pensions. Sarkozy is trying to do the same with his new policy. Additionally, the number of retired people has increased in recent years, and will continue to increase in the future. This retirement age was first enacted by President Mitterrand in 1984, who worked to incorporate many socialist policies that the French enjoy today, such as decreased retirement age, increased pensions, and more paid vacations. The French enjoy many of these policies, such as a 35 hour work week and a strict 5 weeks paid vacation (but in reality, it ends up being 5 to 6 weeks). To the average American, this may seem very different; however, many European countries are similar to France in their retirement ages, paid vacations, and pensions.
http://www.france24.com/en/20100525-government-push-unpopular-retirement-age-hike-nicolas-sarkozy La Géographie de la France, by Gérard Labrune.
Thank you for your interest in our school. Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to anyone who might be interested in learning about the Language Learning Institute and our programs and events.
Best regards,
Nancy Scarselletta The Language Learning Institute, LLC
Lecce located in Puglia, or Apulia as it is called in English, waits to amaze us with its little-known magnificence. During my study abroad, one of my fellow students came from Lecce and I was lucky enough to go visit this wonderful city.
dizzying display of angels and mythological animals, and you find an eye-opening reminder that Rome was not Italy’s only Baroque city, and that the architectural style manifested itself well beyond the papal states. Walk through the quiet streets of the old town, beneath delicate wrought-iron balustrades, curving whitewashed arches and soft amber street lamps, and you will find something to capture your fancy on almost every building. Exploring the architectural gems of Lecce is more of a dictate than an option; they are everywhere. All of the buildings have facades carved of the local, soft sand-colored stone called leccese. Many of the old palaces, once occupied by Lecce’s wealthy families, are as much of a show as the religious monuments; elaborately carved balconies and portals are the norm.
When businesses start to reopen at 5 p.m. or so after the afternoon siesta, the facades are lit and the entire city center takes on the appearance of a magical, theatrical stage set. The gargoyles, cherubs and cornucopias seem to come to life at the same time that much of the population of 95,000 takes to the streets, cafes and bars. Given the proximity to so many fishing ports in the Salento peninsula (the southernmost part of the heel), ordering seafood is imperative. The quality, freshness and provenance of fish is not taken lightly in these parts. It’s common in Lecce restaurants for patrons to be brought and shown massive platters of fish for inspection, prior to ordering. Another must-try specialty of Lecce is orecchiette, or the “little hat”, pasta shaped like small saucers or hats. Pugliese cooking often pairs unlikely combinations. The classic orecchiette dish mixes the pasta with a broad-bean sauce, similar to Middle Eastern hummus. This unlikely pairing of starches works particularly well with the addition of shrimp or monkfish. Seafood and vegetables such as bitter rapini also figure prominently. Taralli, small twisted hard bread resembling a child’s teething biscuit, is distinct to this region. Burrata, the soft and creamy local cheese, also must be sampled. This cuisine, unfamiliar to even most sophisticated Americans, is an exciting departure from well-known Tuscan and Roman dishes.
