ACTFL – Fun Things to do When Visiting Boston

Posted on November 16, 2010 by

With American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) right around the corner, we’ve compiled some fun things to explore during your visit to Boston:

The Freedom Trail
If you are looking for a historical experience and have two to three hours of spare time, check out the Freedom Trail.  Enjoy the festive fall leaves while walking through the 2.5 mile Freedom Trail, which highlights 16 American Revolution sites. Daily tours are available at the Boston Common Visitor Information Center and Bostix Booth at Faneuil Hall. Tickets are available online at 10% discount (prices range from $6 – $12).

 Bunker Hill
“The Bunker Hill Monument stands 221 feet tall at Breed’s Hill, the site of the first major battle of the American Revolution fought on June 17, 1775,” according to the City of Boston website.  The monument, located at Monument Square, Charlestown, MA, is open daily, from 9:00am to 4:30pm. 

Old North Church
The Old North Church, “Known as ‘Christ Church in the City of Boston’, [an] Episcopal church, was built in 1723 and is Boston’s oldest Church building. On the steeple of this church, Robert Newman signaled with lanterns the approach of the British regulars; ‘One if by land, and two, if by sea’. The steeple is 191 feet tall, making it the tallest steeple in Boston. The bells within the steeple were the first bells ever brought to America. Paul Revere was one of the neighborhood bell ringers. The interior high box pews and brass chandeliers, as well as the Church’s first clock are all original.”

Paul Revere’s House
Paul Revere’s house was “built around 1680, this house is the oldest building in downtown Boston. It served as the home of silversmith Paul Revere and his family from 1770 to 1800. Paul Revere is famous for his ‘midnight ride’ to Lexington, Massachusetts, informing Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming to arrest them.

In the 19th century, hundreds of Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants to the North End lived in the Paul Revere House and in the 20th century, the house was restored and converted to a museum.”  Admission into the house is $3.50.  The house, located at: 19 North Square, North End, is open daily from 9:30am – 4:15pm.

Cheers
If you’re looking for a casual place to grab a bite to eat, visit the location the hit television series Cheers was filmed, located at: 84 Beacon St.  It is open daily after 11:00am. 

A good trip is not complete without some great food.  If you like seafood, check out Legal Sea Foods, located four minutes (driving) from the Convention Center.  Their Clam Chowder comes highly recommended.  Additionally, lobster season recently ended, so the Legal Lobster also is a good choice.  The average cost is around $25 per entrée.  They are open from 11am – 11pm daily.

Duck Tour
Tour Boston in an amphibious vehicle – take a Duck Tour, which tours some famous sites such as Bunker Hill.  Tickets are $31 for adults.  Departures are at three different locations.

Museum of Science
The Boston Museum of Science features a large number of exhibits, an IMAX theater and a Planetarium.  It is a must-see when in Boston!

For other ideas on dining and fun things to do, visit the Boston Visit’s Bureau’s website.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Boston!  Visit the TELL ME MORE booth (#1402) to learn about incorporating language learning technology into your foreign language program!

What are your favorite things to do in Boston?

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Elections Class Discussion and Vocabulary Activity

Posted on November 9, 2010 by

Click here to view a PDF of an in-class discussion and vocabulary activity about elections: Elections Class Discussion and Vocabulary Activity

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Monster Bash BBQ at TELL ME MORE

Posted on November 2, 2010 by

TELL ME MORE stepped it up and threw an all day Halloween bash this year! Stepping into the office one could be greeted by a lion tamer and then sprayed with water by a “weather man” who said that the weather was cloudy with a slight chance of rain!  The IT team really took Halloween as an excuse to release their creative energy by decorating their entire area with a friendly “Keep Out” sign, written with fake blood, spider webs, carved pumpkins, skeletons and bloody body parts strewn about—they for sure were a force to not be reckoned with.

The festivities continued with a team pumpkin carving contest, costume contest and BBQ. Creativity ran crazy – there’s no place like TELL ME MORE, especially around Halloween.

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Best Language Learning Software – Educational Software Award Goes to TELL ME MORE

Posted on October 26, 2010 by

TELL ME MORE® was recently recognized with the 2010 EDDIE (Educational Software Review) Award, by The ComputED Gazette, for best Middle School Foreign Language Learning Software.  According to ComputED Gazette, “The Awards target innovative and content-rich programs and websites that augment the classroom curriculum and improve teacher productivity, providing parents and teachers with the technology to foster educational excellence.” 


Selection criteria included:

  • Academic content
  • Potential for broad classroom use
  • Technical merit
  • Subject approach
  • Management system

“TELL ME MORE is honored to be recognized with this prestigious award that demonstrates our commitment to the quality of our offering,” said TELL ME MORE CEO Christophe Pralong. 

TELL ME MORE is an excellent program for several reasons.  It really allows a learner to practice various aspects of a language by utilizing many different activities that emphasize reading, writing, speaking, grammar, vocabulary, comprehension, culture and geography.  Beginner through advanced learning levels allow learners to become more proficient in their target language.  The speech recognition component allows learners to practice speaking outside of the classroom and compare their speech to that of a native speaker.  Speaking in front of a classroom full of peers is intimidating, so this is one of my favorite aspects of the program.  Interestingly enough, TELL ME MORE was the first company in the industry to identify speech patterns and provide feedback!

For teachers, tracking tools and customizable content are perhaps the biggest benefits that the program offers.  It helps teachers easily measure students’ progress.  Additionally, it allows students to be at various learning levels all in one classroom because a Placement and Progress Test help determine the appropriate learning level in the program.  For students, being able to learn using a variety of learning styles when doing homework makes learning more fun and enhances the learning experience! 

We’re excited that ComputED recognizes the fantastic benefits of using TELL ME MORE!

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Team TELL ME MORE’s Inaugural Participation in the 2010 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® a Success!

Posted on October 18, 2010 by


On Sunday, 10/10/2010, Team TELL ME MORE set out on the sunny streets of downtown Phoenix participating in the 18th annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®  5k Walk.  Participants joined 31,000 others from the Valley of the Sun on a gorgeous, 91 degree day (it’s a dry heat).  The goal of the walk was to raise awareness and money for breast cancer research.  In addition to those who walked under the Team TELL ME MORE name, a number of additional colleagues also participated with commitments to walk with other teams comprised of family and friends.

 

A total of 28 ribbons were carried in honor of TELL ME MORE employees’ family and friends who have been affected by breast cancer.  The “ribbon of ribbons” will be displayed at our office during the month of October in honor of breast cancer awareness. 

In preparation for Sunday’s walk the TELL ME MORE team broke out the pink feather boas, T-shirts, sparkles, hats and headbands on Friday, October 8th.  “Think Pink” was a fun-filled festive day  - my personal favorite outfits involved certain men wearing their wives’ shirts and daughter’s bright pink boas!  For each employee who wore pink, TELL ME MORE donated money towards the TELL ME MORE Race for the Cure Team.

Thank you to all who contribute and support breast cancer research and to Team TELL ME MORE’s inaugural participation in Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®!  As a granddaughter of a breast cancer survivor, I’m personally grateful to everyone who has contributed to it!

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A Belgian’s Journey to Becoming a US Citizen

Posted on October 15, 2010 by

Youri holding his acceptance letter

Most of the US population takes being a citizen for granted.  But, for those who have worked hard to become a US citizen, it can often be more meaningful.  Here’s the story of TELL ME MORE employee, Youri Litvine, who earned his US citizenship this week:

Reason for Wanting to Become a US Citizen

Growing up in the United States after age two, it was natural for Youri Litvine, a Belgian citizen, to identify with being a part of the United States.  At age 10 he left the United States and finished high school in Belgium.  After high school, Youri returned to the US and graduated from Colorado College and began his master’s degree at Arizona State University. 

A Green Card allows foreigners live and work permanently in the US and have the same rights as US citizens, except for voting, having a US Passport and sponsoring family members so they can immigrate to the US.  Although Youri had a Green Card that was renewable, the main reason for wanting to gain US citizenship was to be able to vote. 

Often US citizens take the freedom to vote for granted.  For example, in the last election, the highest percentage of voter turnout since 1964, only 56.8% of the US population voted, according to the US Elections Project.  For Youri, the very essence of being an American is implied in having the freedom to vote.  In fact, he is so passionate about it that although he gained his citizenship after the voter registration deadline (October 4, 2010), he is writing a letter to the county commissioner to see if she will make an exception so that he will be able to vote in the upcoming election (November 2nd, 2010). 

Process to US Citizenship

After turning in the 9-page US Citizenship Application Form along with $675 dollars in April 2010, Youri received a letter in June with the date for his interview on July 23rd.  One piece of advice that Youri recommends to others is to save all of your travel records five years prior to applying as this portion of the application took the longest time. 

The big date finally arrived!  After years of living in the US, Youri was both excited and nervous before the test.  At the interview, 10 questions are asked regarding US history and government, of which six needed to be answered correctly in order to pass.  Youri was happy to learn that the questions he’d studied were the exact questions asked by the interviewer!  -Sample questions on the test included:

1.)   How many US representatives are there?

2.)   What does freedom of religion mean?

3.)   When was the US Constitution written? 

During the interview Youri had to demonstrate his ability to speak English proficiently.  In order to determine this, questions are asked regarding the application and candidate’s background.  In addition, Youri had to write the following sentence correctly when given verbally, “The capitol of the United States is Washington, D.C.”  After correctly answering the questions and verbally agreeing that he is willing to bear arms for the United States as well as uphold the laws of the land, Youri received the red stamp of approval, signifying that he was now a citizen of the United States.

Last Friday he received a letter in the mail stating that his naturalization (citizenship)  ceremony will be, October 15, 2010, at 9:00 AM.  His parents are flying in from Belgium to attend!

Joining TELL ME MORE

Youri was immediately intrigued when he saw the advertisement on Career-Builder for TELL ME MORE, “Are you a French Teacher Seeking New Adventures?”  As a French teacher for Scottsdale Unified School district for several years, he had recently selected to use TELL ME MORE in the foreign language departments throughout the district.  Prior to purchasing TELL ME MORE for the district, both Rosetta Stone and TELL ME MORE presented to the district.  During the presentation, Youri was particularly impressed with TELL ME MORE’s Speech Recognition Technology.  Today, Youri is a Trainer and Implementation Specialist who travels throughout the United States to help clients install TELL ME MORE in schools, libraries or businesses. 

Congratulations, Youri, from everyone at TELL ME MORE!

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Tips for Developing Great Language Learning Habits

Posted on October 6, 2010 by

We are an accumulation of our habits. When I heard this phrase six months ago I thought about how it related to my life. I felt guiltly about the Snickers bar I ate every day at lunch. -I haven’t had one since… It has also inspired me to develop new habits, such as going to bed earlier and reading the newspaper daily. What do your habits say about you?

Before identifying the habits you would like to develop, ask yourself, “Who am I now?” and, “Who do I want to become?” “What daily habits do I need to start to develop in order to achieve my new skill or habit?” When learning a language, one of the key essentials is to practice frequently. For example, dedicating two hours a week to learning a language is less effective than spending 20 minutes a day.

Knowing a language is a skill that can set you apart. A friend of mine is a nurse at Mayo Clinic and she has often had to translate for patients which has made her an invaluable part of the team. In order to learn a language, what daily habits can you begin? Utilizing TELL ME MORE an hour a day is a great way to be well on your way to learning a language.

Perhaps you’re like me and recognize that you have a few habits that need to be broken. When you are tempted to return to an old habit, ask yourself, “What would the old me do” and “What is the new me going to do?”

Studies demonstrate that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Begin today by starting a 30-day challenge to develop whatever that new habit may be. By the end of the 30 days, it will become a natural part of your routine!

Suggestions for language learning daily habits:
• Build vocabulary: Learn three verbs a day and three nouns a day
• Speaking – Practice speaking for at least 10 minutes a day
• Comprehension – Listen to a native speaker for at least 10 minutes a day
• Grammar – Practice through dictation exercises or fill in the blanks
• Vocabulary – Crossword puzzles or picture/word associations
• Culture and Civilization – Learn about one aspect of the culture every day (history, music, cuisine, literature, etc.)

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