Problems with foreign language courses part 3
Make sure you have read parts one and two first.
OK, we covered enough of the kitchen. Let’s tackle the bedroom, metaphorically. There’s the bed, the sheets, the pillow, the alarm clock. You may not think so, but knowing all these words can come in handy when you travel abroad.
There’s the door, the door knob, the walls, the ceiling, the towels and the soap, etc. Notice that so far the words that have been mentioned in these various rooms are nouns. Verbs are connected with these nouns! Open the window, shut the door, set the table, sit down, walk to the table and on and on and on.
Next the bathroom, a room that seems to get more important the older we get! The toilet, toilet paper, the razor, shaving cream, etc. You may be wondering why all these items and actions are being mentioned. You can do that on your own, you say, but have you been doing it?
This article is pointing out that there is a lot to think about regarding items in the home. The home is your starting point. When you were an infant you knew very few words that didn’t concern the home.
So, next if the family or living room. What’s in there? Sofa, chairs, lamps, coffee table, TV, TV remote, pictures on the walls, light switches, carpet, books, rocking chair, plants. Oh, there are more words than you realized, aren’t there? What do you do in the living room, (besides live!), you watch TV, you read a book, you discuss the news, you do a crossword puzzle,etc.
With a little effort, you can come up with several other activities – vacuum the floor, wash the walls, etc. You can hand a picture, play cards, dust the entertainment center (it probably really needs it). Hah, you didn’t realize how many words you use in your native tongue that you don’t know in the foreign language.
Then we have the closet. Yike! Or eu weh! What a mess! Clothes, shirts, coats, pants, hangers and perhaps some almost unidentifiable items. Well you could do the basement and the attic, but you get the point by now.
Well, we’ll finally get out of the house next and take a look at your yard and beyond. There is a great big beyond just loaded with words.
Comments