* NEW!!! Saturday Morning Sessions of Mommy and Me (ages 8 weeks to 4/5 years of age)
* French for English Speaking Children (4/5 through 9/10)
* Learn French Summer Camp for Kids
* Pronunciation Course in French
* Italian I
Watch Our Site for: Spanish English as a Second Language
Save the Date!
May 8, 2009
Wine and Cheese Event May 8, 2009 at Proctors Theatre Fennimore Gallery Call 346-7096 for more information
Greetings!
Winter Fun and Mardi Gras hit The Language Learning Institute in February as we launched our first Learn French Winter Camp. Everyone had a great time as they learned the French of the seasons, made Mardi Gras masks, winter scene posters, crêpes, and bugnes. The week ended with a show for the parents which consisted of song, a parade, bugnes, and a certificate from The Language Learning Institute complete with a picture of the child and crêpe. The children also explored other places around the world where the Carnivals take place.
Capital Region Living Magazine has a new sister publication called Parent and Grandparent Magazine in which we will be having a presence in 2009. In the February issue I have an article entitled “Language Development and Bilingualism; A Family Affair”. This magazine comes out every two months and is filled with articles and ideas for children, parents and grandparents. We are especially excited to be advertising in this magazine.
In the next couple of months, we will be focusing on children and their language development as they grow and go on to college. The world is increasingly more international and countries are becoming more involved with each other. The internationalization of college campuses offers opportunities for study abroad that, in the past, were only for a select few. At the Language Learning Institute, we will be offering a summer program designed to help students increase their skills in language study and develop greater cultural appreciation.
We were at the Kidz Expo at the Empire State Plaza again this year. We had something for everyone: programs for children, programs for travel, and , for the parents, a Parents’ Night Out invitation (see Save the Date section of the newsletter).
We will have two sessions this summer; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Come join us! Our programs start with Mommy and Me for children as young as 8 weeks old! 10% sibling discounts are available for our After School and Summer Camp Programs. If you have more than one child that you would like enrolled in our After School or Summer Camp programs, give us a call at: 518-346-7096. We will take your registration over the phone.
March is a relatively quiet month from the point of view of holidays. The excitement culminates with Mardi Gras and then the quiet starts as everything gets ready for the “Spring Showing”.
Enjoy this quiet time and enjoy our newsletter!
Best regards, Nancy Scarselletta Owner/Developer The Language Learning Institute, LLC
…why walk when you can run? Written by Emily Mariapain
My first trip to France was to Paris in January 2003 for a 6 month stay for a semester study abroad with my university at the time. Having only ever read and dreamed about someday visiting the City of Lights, you can imagine my excitement when I learned I’d be living in one of the few high rises in the city…next to the Seine River and a 15 minute walk to the Eiffel Tower. What I never imagined, however, was to look outside my window and see people running… Most tour books will tell you that when you see people running in major French cities, they are not French. This is not entirely true. As I took advantage of my free outdoor gym in Paris, I would often pass by the same runners who, after time, I learned were French (stretching also became an opportunity for small talk). Additionally, while living in a small town in the south of France (where only two Americans lived, one being myself), I would often be running alongside my local baker or the local pharmacist.
For the hard-core & devoted, March is an ideal time to bring your running back outside. For many regions in France (particularly those not in the mountain ranges) the weather is perfect – generally in the 50’s. March is also the time to sign up for the well known Paris marathon (this year taking place on April 5th – one month after the Paris Half Marathon).
While some of the French embrace running, most of them prefer a slower paced activity allowing them time to take in their beautiful surroundings
La Festa del Papà (Father’s Day) Written by Eleonora
Father’s Day in Italy is celebrated on March 19th, to coincide with St. Joseph’s day. Joseph is the patron saint of workers and protector of the poor. He was also declared to be the patron saint and protector of the universal Catholic Church, along with Saint Peter, by Pope Pius IX in 1870. St. Joseph, is therefore considered a father “per eccellenza” and his day was chosen in 1968 as the day to honor all fathers in Italy. And, without a doubt, a special treat is made throughout Italy to celebrate the special day: Bigné di San Giuseppe, a light, deep fried pastry filled with a vanilla cream and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Bigné di San Giuseppe St. Joseph’s Day Pastries Serves 8 people
Bigné Ingredients
250 gm water
125 gm flour, sifted
60 gm butter
4 eggs
1 pinch of salt
Oil for frying the Bigné
Vanilla Cream Ingredients
500 gm milk
3 tbspns sugar
2 egg yolks
3 tbspns flour, sifted
1 tspn vanilla
Prepare the Bigné 1. Add water, butter, and salt to a pot – heat slowly until the butter is melted in the water and then bring to a boil. 2. Once the water is boiling remove from heat, add the sifted flour and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until smooth. The mixture will form into a ball and no longer stick to the pan. Remove the bigné dough from the pan and place on a flat board to cool. 3. Once cooled, add the egg yolks one at a time. Stir each egg completely into the pastry before adding the next. 4. Using a large spoon, shape and add small balls of dough to the hot oil. The small bigné balls expand, so don’t place too many in at the same time. Once golden brown place on the bigné on a paper towel to drain and cool. Prepare the Cream 1. In a medium pot, warm the milk, but don’t boil. 2. Beat the eggs and sugar together, add sifted flour and vanilla. Beat until smooth, avoiding any lumps. 3. Slowly add the egg and sugar mixture to the warm milk and stir to combine well. After combining the two mixtures turn the heat up to low-medium and continue stirring for about 10 minutes, or until the mixtures thickens into a cream. 4. Remove from heat and let cool before continuing. Completing the Bigné 1. Cut or open a small hole in the bigné and spoon in some of the cream. OR 2. Use pastry bag filled with the cream to fill the bigné. 3. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve
From Louisiana, we are heading to the Caribbean where this francophone country is nestled. A mostly mountainous country with a tropical climate, Haiti’s location, history and culture once made it a potential tourist hot spot. Instead, decades of poverty, instability and violence, especially since the 1980s, have all but killed off this prospect and left it as the poorest nation in the Americas.
Haiti is situated in the Caribbean and comprises the forested mountainous western end of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Port-au-Prince, its capital, is a magnificent natural harbor at the end of a deep horseshoe bay. The official languages are French and Creole. English is spoken in tourist areas>
In 1697, the Spanish ceded the western half of the island to France, who turned their new territory into a major center for the slave trade. In what was to be the only successful slave rebellion, the French were defeated in a 12-year campaign, led by Toussaint L’Ouverture and others, which ended in1804. During the rest of the 19th century, Haiti was under the control of a succession of dictators, none of whom had the wherewithal to resolve the conflict between the country’s two main ethnic groups: the mulattos, who held political power, and the blacks. To this day, the huge wealth gap between the impoverished Creole-speaking black majority and the French-speaking mulattos, one per cent of whom own nearly half the country’s wealth, remains unaddressed.
Although economic sanctions and US-led military intervention forced a return to constitutional government in 1994, Haiti’s fortune did not improve, with allegations of electoral irregularities, ongoing torture and brutality. In 2003, a wave of protests against the then president Aristide quickly spread throughout the country plunging Haiti into chaos. By 2004, armed rebels had seized control of many towns and violence spread across the island. In February 2004, Aristide fled the country. An interim government took over and a UN stabilization force was deployed to restore order. But Haiti remains plagued by violent confrontations between rival gangs and political groups. The UN has described the human rights situation as “catastrophic”
Next month we will travel far away to the East for our francophone destination. I give you a clue: this place was called once “the little Switzerland of the Middle-East”…
It seems as though the news in every country in the world has been focused on one topic these past few months: the economic crisis. France is no different, and here it is the thought on everyone’s mind. However, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, is feeling optimistic. He thinks that France will be the first country to get out of this economic crisis, as a result of the way that the French act when faced with a crisis. He says that France will be successful, as long as mistakes from the past do not repeat themselves. However, experts say that the worst is yet to come, and he should not be creating false hopes.
Here in Paris, the effects are felt as well. Not only is it the buzz of every newspaper, but I can see the changes. Stores have lowered their prices in an attempt to generate business, even after the bi-annual soldes, the prices remain low. Around Paris, I found that the discount stores and cheaper grocery stores are bustling and filled with an overwhelming number of people; however the large department stores and cosmopolitan Parisian stores have been nearly deserted.
With the stock market dipping very low, the lowest in 12 years, the rest of the world is waiting to see what happens. France, in particular, has their eye very closely on the United States to see what the new presidential administration will do. We will just have to keep waiting in the hopes that a change will occur soon.
Thank you to all who responded to last month’s “Do You Know.”
The Sainte Chapelle Church in Paris was built to hold a relic which cost about three times the price of the construction of the church. What was this relic?
Answer: The crown of thorns
Our Winners from last month’s “Do You Know” are Nadean Verdicchio and Jane Gellert.
This Month’s “Do You Know”
What is the most popular name for a French king and how many kings have had this name?
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
“Planning a visit to Quebec province, I decided to attend a set of adult evening classes given by Nancy Scarselletta at a local high school. Her enthusiasm for, and knowledge of, the French language prompted me to sign up for further individual lessons. Over the last two years, I have come to appreciate Nancy’s vast experience –and infinite patience! — in teaching French with her unique emphasis on phonetics which she studied at the Sorbonne. In my opinion, French is not an easy language for English speakers given its unusual rules with multiple exceptions, potential liaisons, numerous irregular verbs, unfamiliar phonics, and plentiful idioms. I’ve appreciated Nancy’s approach and guidance throughout the course. And it’s been fun.”
Winter Fun and Mardi Gras hit The Language Learning Institute in February as we launched our first Learn French Winter Camp. Everyone had a great time as they learned the French of the seasons, made Mardi Gras masks, winter scene posters, crêpes, and bugnes. The week ended with a show for the parents which consisted of song, a parade, bugnes, and a certificate from The Language Learning Institute complete with a picture of the child and crêpe. The children also explored other places around the world where the Carnivals take place.
regions in France (particularly those not in the mountain ranges) the weather is perfect – generally in the 50’s. March is also the time to sign up for the well known Paris marathon (this year taking place on April 5th – one month after the Paris Half Marathon).
Father’s Day in Italy is celebrated on March 19th, to coincide with
