Open 2015 48 web

ISSN 2228-0847

EATE Estonian Association of Teachers of English

The EATE Journal Issue No. 48 October 2015

FACEBOOK AS A LANGUAGE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Natalja Zagura

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SCHOOL – ENTERTAINMENT OR SERIOUS WORK? Erika Puusemp

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ELEVEN WAYS TO USE JOKES IN YOUR LANGUAGE CLASSROOM Jeremy Taylor

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TRAVELOGUE KALAMATA – NOT JUST OLIVES AND SSS Erika Jeret

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REEVALUATING THE LESSONS OF WANDERLUST Adhele-Meelike Tuulas

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COGNAC NOTES Enn Veldi

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Experienced Educator MALL TAMM – ONE OF THE FIRST INTERPRETER TRAINERS IN ESTONIA An interview with Mall Tamm

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Reading Recommendations FUN IS NOT KNOWING HOW IT WILL END – TALES OF DEATH AND IMMORTALITY Kristi Martin

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TRIGGER WARNING: SHORT FICTIONS AND DISTURBANCES Teele Kesküla

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MULTILINGUAL PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION Ilmar Anvelt

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Come and Share FOOD IN CLASSROOM Erika Jeret

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WORD NEWS Ilmar Anvelt

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EATE Summer Seminar

P채rnu, 18-19 August 2015

Sorting the materials before the Seminar

Early arrivals at the Seminar

Welcome coffee in the morning

The front seat is reserved for the photographer

Margit Timakov came to speak about teachers' professional development

Photos by Reet Noorlaid

Committee members travelling to P채rnu

Estonian Association of Teachers of English www.eate.ee Chair

Editor of OPEN!

Current account

Leena Punga

Ilmar Anvelt

EE331010152001597007

Phone 5621 3292

Phone 737 5218

in SEB

e-mail: leena.punga@gmail.com

e-mail: ilmar.anvelt@ut.ee

FACEBOOK AS A LANGUAGE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Natalja Zagura

Department of English, University of Tartu

At the EATE Annual Conference of 2013, I talked about the potential of Facebook Application Group as a platform for language learners’ individual and collaborative activities. Drawing parallels between the aims and principles listed in the Estonian National Curriculum for Gymnasium (ENCG) and the findings of recent research on the use of Facebook for language learning and teaching (e.g. Blatter & Fiori 2009, Damron 2009, Mills 2009, Roberds 2009, Mills 2011, Terantino 2011), I concluded that Facebook has a good potential to help teachers and language learners in achieving their aims. Unfortunately, at that point I did not have the actual experience of using a Facebook group for educational purposes. Now, having used Facebook to support two universitylevel courses – Practical English Grammar (meant for first-year BA students of the Department of English, University of Tartu) and TEFL Methodology (taught to two groups – day-time students and Open University students of the MA programme for teachers of English language and literature, University of Tartu) – I can talk about the strengths and weaknesses of Facebook in supporting the process of learning and teaching. It should certainly be taken into account that the courses mentioned above are the ones meant for more advanced speakers of English and the primary aim of these two courses is to teach content through the English language, not merely teach the language itself. However, in the following discussion I will try to transfer and relate my experience to the context of a secondary school.

First, it is necessary to emphasise that with the help of Facebook it is actually possible to design some activities for teaching and learning EFL in a way that meets the principles presented in the National Curriculum. The Estonian National Curriculum for Gymnasium (ENCG 2011) emphasises that the important aims of the teacher should be to develop independent and motivated life-long learners who are, at the same time, able to cooperate with others. It is mentioned there that one of the ways for the students to become life-long learners is to voluntarily start using English outside the language classroom and obtain confidence in doing that. In the process of studying English, among others, the learners should develop social competence, communication competence and learning competence.

The efficient components in developing these competences are interactive learning and meaningful use of the language learnt, reading various authentic texts, creative approach in completing various activities and learner’s active participation in the learning process. A variety of study materials should be used, with the materials meeting the interests and needs of the language learner. As for the role of the teacher, it should shift from the transmitter of knowledge to the partner and mentor in the process of acquiring knowledge and skills.

If we think of the use of a Facebook group to support learning English, we can actually identify all of the abovementioned elements there. The control of the teacher is minimised, with the language learner gaining more independence and freedom in determining the content and pace of language learning and, as a result, becoming more actively involved in the learning process. The learners can themselves choose the different texts that they can read and discuss, focusing on the issues that seem interesting to them. In the process of written discussion, communicative skills are developed, and a variety of tasks involving creative approach are possible. Both individual assignments as well as group projects can be organised and coordinated through a Facebook group. Thus, we can conclude that a Facebook group can indeed be an attractive platform for organising some activities in language learning that could lead us to meeting the aims listed in the National Curriculum.

While using Facebook to support my courses I could see that it is well familiar to the young people and popular with them – most of the students use it anyway; it is easy to access and use, and the basic

applications available there (sharing pictures, videos, links and documents; commenting and assessment) nicely meet the needs of both the instructor and the learners. By providing a flexible and less formal learning environment, a Facebook group caters for various learning styles, encourages communication and collaboration among students and creates a sense of community. The environment is also safe, as in the case of a closed Facebook group, only the individuals accepted by the group administrator can join the group, read the posts and make their own contributions. At the same time, one has to admit that the primary purpose of Facebook is not educational and various factors there can actually draw the students’ attention away from studies. Moreover, as different students may have a different attitude towards Facebook, it cannot be made a compulsory component of a course. Nevertheless, my experience shows that the positive features of a Facebook group outnumber the negative ones and this platform can serve as a beneficial tool to support students’ independent work outside the language classroom.

What I appreciate most about Facebook is the opportunity to pass information to the learners quickly and easily. It takes little time to write a short post and provide a link to some Internet resource or upload a document, while the students also find it easy to react to the post and write a brief response.

A secondary school teacher could use this function to suggest some extra materials to the students, be those videos, podcasts, pictures or texts. The students can easily notice the post and take a look at it; moreover, as Facebook does not normally presuppose a very formal style and long answers, writing a brief comment or an answer to the teacher’s questions will not seem to be a very difficult task. However, it can also be previously discussed in class, what the teacher’s expectations in terms of the students responses are – whether these are supposed to use a formal, semi-formal or informal register and what these are supposed to be like in terms of the content and length. The policy of dealing with mistakes can also be agreed on in advance, with the teacher taking the students’ preferences and expectations into account. Moreover, it is important that he teacher and students agree on the rules to adhere to within the Facebook group, aiming at keeping a friendly and supportive atmosphere.

It seems that participation in the activities of a Facebook group could be a good option for the students who are interested in some extra opportunities of using English, be that for the reason of improving one’s language skills, for the sake of broadening one’s horizons and developing critical reading skills or just for fun. Participation should certainly be voluntary and students from different forms could take part in this virtual English club. At first, it could be the teacher who would provide the input in the form of texts, podcasts or videos and initiating discussion on them. Later, the students’ initiative could be encouraged, with them sharing the texts that they find educating and thought-provoking. At the beginning, the teacher could initiate and activate the discussion, while over time the need for the teacher’s contributions is likely to decrease, which means that the task of coordinating the functioning of the group will not be demanding in terms of the teacher’s time and effort. However, from time to time the teacher will need to interfere in order to activate the discussion, answer students’ questions or solve some problems. It is not likely to happen that often, though, because if the participation in the group is voluntary and the students are motivated to communicate in English and to learn, there should be no major problems.

In addition to sharing links and resources and commenting on them, within a Facebook group, students can design quizzes and conduct surveys – all the necessary tools are visible and easy to use. The teacher herself can also use these tools in order to design short challenges and quizzes or in order to learn about the students’ opinions in the course of some decision-making process.

It is also quite comfortable that within a Facebook group it is possible to create and edit documents, the system being similar to google.docs, where different participants can log in and co-edit a document.

The system indicates who was the last one to edit the document and the document can also be supplemented with comments. This application can be used for coordinating group work, compiling a schedule, brainstorming or conducting collaborative writing tasks. Again, it is positive that this tool is very easy to use and the students will not need to spend a considerable amount of time and energy in order to explore the way this system works. When the document/ text is ready, the groupmates and the teacher can provide some feedback in the form of comments or just click “like” if they like the text.

Although Facebook can be considered a social network that is mainly meant for entertainment, my experience shows that it can be effectively used as a platform to support the process of learning a foreign language. If participation in a Facebook group is voluntary and the students are motivated, eventually 2

they take over the initiative and the process of coordinating the work of the group is not time-consuming for the teacher anymore. Surprising as it might seem, with the help of the activities organised within a Facebook group, it is possible to meet a number of aims listed in the National Curriculum. Moreover, this option makes it possible to activate students, encourage them to become independent learners and give them an opportunity to use English in a meaningful way, working with the texts of personal interest and taking part in more authentic discussions than the context of a language classroom would normally allow.

REFERENCES Blattner, G. and M. Fiori. 2009. Facebook in the Language Classroom: Promises and Possibilities.

International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 6: 1. Available at http:// itdl.org/journal/jan_09/article02.htm , accessed 25 October 2013.

Damron, J. 2009. Communicating with Students through Facebook. The Language Editor, 4(1), 41-43.

ENCG 2011= Estonian National Curriculum for Gymnasium. 2011. Available at https://www.riigiteataja. ee/akt/129082014021, accessed 20 September 2015.

Mills, N. 2011. Situated learning through social networking communities: The development of joint enterprise, mutual engagement, and a shared repertoire. CALICO Special Volume: Second Language Acquisition Theories, Technologies,and Language Learning (Eds., S. Thorne & B. Smith) 28(2).

Mills, N. 2009. Simulation and Facebook: The use of social networking tools to enhance language learner engagement. Invited guest speaker at the Emory University Language Center. Atlanta, GA. Nov. 2009.

Roberts, W. G. 2009. Facebook interactions and writing skills of Spanish language students. Unpublished master’s thesis, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota.

Terantino, J.M. 2011. Student Perceptions of Language Learning with Facebook: An Exploratory Study of Writing-Based Activities. E-proceedings of the International Online Language Conference (IOLC), vol.2 , 230-249

SCHOOL – ENTERTAINMENT OR SERIOUS WORK? Erika Puusemp

MHG, EATE, DKG

Students often insist that they would enjoy school a lot more if the lessons were more interesting, and they try to change the situation by continuously looking for some additional excitement checking their smartphones for news from their friends on any of the social networks they have joined.

Bearing in mind how educational authorities continuously stress the idea that the classroom should become more digitalised and the usage of tablets commonplace, this year’s National Exam essay theme was a revealing one as to what students think of the matter.

Having read hundreds of essays on the theme “Should smart devices be banned in the classroom?“, most students’ narrow outlook on this issue has me worried.

Many students seem to be of the opinion that their smartphones are the only smart devices in the classroom. An overwhelming majority (sorry, no hard facts available, just a feeling I developed) seems to regard smartphones as something used predominantly for cheating or Facebooking or playing 3

games (not educational ones) instead of listening to the teacher or doing anything else conducive to learning. Nonetheless, their opinions are divided.

From the students’ viewpoint, smartphones may be seen as beneficial due to access to the Internet and/or to previously photographed class notes during tests, which makes getting good marks without much effort considerably easier. And if there is an easier way, why study? They can also be regarded a wonderful means of entertainment (games and videos) during boring lessons as an alternative to falling asleep.

On the other hand, they may be perceived as a nuisance which makes people lazy (no matter how much one learns, Google still knows more, so why bother?) and disturbs those who want to actually study in class because of all of the ringtones and jingles and video-induced laughter.

There seem to be considerably fewer students who acknowledge the possibility of using other smart devices in the classroom, from tablets and computers to smartboards and the like. These are also seen predominantly as devices that enable students and maybe even teachers to access the Internet to look up meanings of words, show video clips to make the lesson more interesting, take notes because writing in hand is more time-consuming and handwritten notes may be illegible later, and spend time on networking sites if otherwise bored. Some, however, also recognise that such devices may ease the teachers’ workload and allow students to develop skills necessary in later life.

Quite many students are also undecided as to which outweigh which, the advantages or disadvantages of banning smart devices in class, and suggest that it should be up to each teacher to decide whether to allow the use of mobile phones, tablets and such. Some even point out that such practices might be laudable but are probably impossible due to financial concerns of both schools and families.

If I put together fragments of the kind of language that weaker students use to a great extent (every phrase in italics has been lifted from some exam paper), an essay including almost all the points mentioned above might read as follows (Could you translate this into real English?): This essay is amis to discussing how gajets saves humanity. Smart devices in the classroom in 21st centry – it is every teacher’s dream not getting dirty from chalk and because it would do their job easyer too but I think that it is not good idea. To band devices in nowadays?

To my maid, to one hand not, but the other hand yes.

Smart devices (iPads and iPads, cleverboards and etc, smart blackboard, smart desk, smart chairs) should help students in their study (informativity easiness, watch a edugational schreen cartoons about future whats are important) but in the classroom they are useless, as they disdourb. Students use it unproperly, bothering teachers’ work: everyone has keened on the phone hanging out in / sitting at social networks / visiting social canal making pain in the neck and a vision can turn into a bad side and danderous for our body.

Seconoffall, smart devices are nightmare for teachers childrens baseclly they no like riding books 4

A lot of smart devices on my desk

and regret from thinking by themselves (somany things make preschool children aged 10-14 lose their tention).

Many people an teachers say inthernet / I net / entehernet has no edges and the is so many bad information.

Smart devices get bad marks, controlwork test result’s are negative, students might have intendence to get lower grades disenable to concentrate and cheeting.

On second hand i disagree, ahol school can not stay in the rock-time, to suckseed we should develop self-thinking, be originalistic. Comuters open eye ring; in langauge glass look after many languages: english, French; if you take Drivers class as a classroom, parents all the time can phone and be sure that their child is safe (my mum often skypes me during class); sometimes you can watch time but I prefer watch; to have quick help from police.

In my own personal opinion, I think teachers still need their job. Selosion: school should be rest time and use more bookses. We should ask on selfs face the fact that learning is somehow a job, so, to avoid dissenpired discipline it has to evacuate.

To reiterate, finances are an issue in real life and also in the lives of the aliases students create for themselves in exam conditions when they are not allowed to reveal their identity.

The other task this year was to write a letter to Paul Jackson at Camp Harper in response to a job advert, explaining one’s suitability for the job of an activity instructor and asking questions about the vacancy.

When commenting on their suitability for the job, way too many said they came from families with many children (quite often as many as eight to ten, or even 18, which is plain ridiculous in the light of the decline in the proportion of young people in Estonian society), they themselves almost invariable being the oldest and having babysitted their younger siblings (e.g. a 10 year old) for ages. Overall, mistakes most often derived from the following: • inability to properly read the instruction • lifting directly from the prompt • misspelling everything, even the words that feature in the rubric (some extreme examples: psiholy, childrengarden, cindercarden, kid-garden, ginder-garten, a loot of, whitch, transtalator, runned, brake, to bann, discustion) • faulty word formation, e.g. inseparatable, disattractive • going against common sense and logic (see previous paragraph) • making up things they don’t need to make up • not enlarging on the points they make • fluctuating between formal and informal language or being too informal in general • going totally off the topic • not making the text cohesive • (and anything else you can think of) So, again, using bits and pieces from student papers, a letter in answer to the exam question might read as follows (sorry for going over the word limit, and a fair bit of repetition in order to show you the most common mistakes): 5

Greetings Mr Paul / Dear Paul / Dear Mrs Mart Mets / Paul Jackson / Jacksman / Jackman / Jakson I’am writing to complain in responsible to aplicate for a position of camp harper, explaining your suitability. I response I am willing to apply this job apply / offer in local newspaper Mustikas I founded at the supermarket.

I will be funny if I work. I know how to waste the time. I can speak perfectly english and four other languages. I can speak Eesti language, I benevolved at a French camp. My English does not very good but I’m able to speak perfectly with children.

I finished secondary school and got a degree, I was an US navy marine and own two gids. I grown up in 15-children family and have worked a loot in childhood (voulanteer in orphouse and daycare centre for children 6-9), kept / take gear from my cousins until they grew up.

I have necessary long-legged experience working as camp harper (a looker after) before and I believe I am good at it.

I have to emerge myself socially with hundreds of children. I am nine-teen-year-old / twenteen youngman trener. I am very alive person, an intusiastic men with degree in bodyculture. I like bodyworking.

The funniest way to teach is by elective activities, which increase children’s and other professional people ability of thinking.

I can elective activities. I am very sport, I love poxing, now I am running every morning (I should can run) after I learn how to play on guitar, I have visited a dance studio. I can work as a puppil trainer.

I have arting skill. I like play in toys, can draw paintings.

I do like to know kwestions, does it be OK if it is fun? Are the groups compromised exactly of ten people? Where we are going to sleep in houses or in the sleepbags? Any animals in the camp? Fhirdl, will you refun the flying tickets cost? Finnely I am interested in about send me the number of the salary / wage.

I feel forward you like my letter / find my appliance attractive and find me suitable for your job.

Your sinsility / sincereally / sincearlly / sincrly / scinarely / sirencly / sincefully / faithful / fartfuly, Mat Would you employ a person who wrote like this? If not, why should anybody else? For some reason, many students believe that if they can listen to songs in English and occasionally chat with a foreign Facebook friend, they are ready for the job market. What would make them see that school and learning should not be predominantly about entertainment but about acquiring life skills?

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ELEVEN WAYS TO USE JOKES IN YOUR LANGUAGE CLASSROOM Jeremy Taylor

Freelance writer and teacher trainer The Czech Republic

Many years ago I had a German girlfriend and I was keen to learn German.

I knew a few words but could barely string a sentence together. As a fan of jokes I started trying to translate a few easy jokes into German and then tried telling them to German friends. If I got a laugh (or a groan) then I knew that my German was working.

I think jokes, at least carefully selected jokes, are a great way for students to improve their language skills. Interestingly, children’s jokes, which people may think are the easiest, are in fact quite difficult, frequently relying on puns.

For example: What do you give a bird when it’s sick?

Tweetment.

Or this classic – my favourite when I was about seven: What were Batman and Robin called after they were run over by a steam roller?

Flatman and Ribbon.

If a joke needs to be explained, then it is probably too difficult – better to select jokes based on situational humour rather than clever wordplay.

From my experience of using jokes in the classroom, they are popular with students, and students are willing to make the effort to understand the joke. If I have convinced you that using jokes is a good idea, then here are some different ways you can use jokes in the classroom.

1. Running Dictation Divide your students into groups of 4. Allow them to number themselves 1, 2, 3 and 4. Attach a joke to the board – in fairly small letters. On the word go, the number 4s come out, remember as much of the text as they can, go back to their group, dictate it to them. As soon as number 4 is back, number 3 can go up etc. The winning group is the one who has a perfect copy of the joke. Before playing, remind your students of basic health and safety – and play by standard WWF rules. No biting, kicking, punching, gouging, etc.

2. Match the cartoon and the joke. For younger learners, hand out the following cartoons:

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There are a number of ways you can use them. a) Students can discuss what they think the joke will be about before they hear it. b) You can show the cartoons one by one, choose a joke at random and the students shout out whether they think the joke you are reading matches the cartoon. c) You can give all the jokes to the students and they match them up with the cartoons. d) You can give them other jokes to illustrate and see if their friends can work out what the joke is.

The jokes which correspond to the cartoons above are: “Hello doctor, was my operation a success?”

“Sorry, mate. My name’s Saint Peter.”

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“I’ve read so many books about smoking and drinking that I’ve decided to give it up.”

“Smoking or drinking?”

“Reading.”

“I’ve lost my dog!”

“You should put an advertisement in the newspaper.”

“That’s crazy! He can’t read.”

A gorilla went into a pub and said to the barman, “I’d like a pint of beer, please.”

“Certainly, sir. That’ll be ten pounds, please.”

The gorilla paid his money and started to drink his beer.

“We don’t get many gorillas in here,” said the barman.

“I’m not surprised,” said the gorilla, “if you charge ten pounds a pint.”

Teacher: What can you tell me about the great musicians of the eighteenth century?

Graham: They’re all dead, sir.

Did you hear about the mouse that saw a bat and ran home to tell its mother that it had seen an angel?

“Doctor, doctor, I keep thinking I’m a dog.”

“Mmm, lie on the couch.”

“I’m not allowed on the couch.”

3. Shouting Dictation Get your students find a partner. They should stand on opposite sides of the classroom so that you have two lines of students facing each other, at least three metres apart.

Give each student a short joke. They have to dictate it to their partner and write down the joke dictated to them by their partner. This can be a VERY noisy exercise but also a lot of fun.

4. Matching two parts of a joke. Cut up the following jokes into individual sections.

“Mummy, can I wear a bra now that I’m sixteen?”

“Don’t worry sir, there’s a spider on your bread.”

“Mummy, I don’t like this meat. Can I give it to the dog?”

“Why, is it a secret?”

What do you give a man who has everything?

“Who put olive oil on my rope?”

“Hello doctor, was my operation a success?”

“Oh shut up and go away!”

“Doctor, doctor, everyone says I tell lies!”

“No, dear, that is the dog.”

Gardener: I always put a lot of horse manure on my rhubarb.

“What, and burn my thumbs?!”

“Waiter, waiter, what’s this fly doing on my ice cream?”

“Wait a minute please.”

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“Waiter, this soup is cold. Bring me some hot soup!”

“Who put this violin in my violin case?”

“Doctor, doctor, everyone says bad things to me.”

Penicillin.

“Doctor, doctor, I only have 59 seconds to live!”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Have you been telling people I’m stupid?”

“No, David.”

“Waiter, waiter, there’s a fly in my soup.”

“Learning to ski sir?”

“What were Tarzan’s last words?”

Woman: But, Barry, I am your wife!

Gangster’s famous last words.

“Sorry, mate. My name’s Saint Peter.”

Man: Oh, Helen, you’ve got to help me.

My wife doesn’t understand me.

Friend: I prefer custard.

(A nice idea is to make two copies of the table in different colours so when students come to match them they know that a white piece has to match a blue piece, for example). The students then have to find their partner to complete the joke. This is best done as an oral exercise and the students cannot read the other lines, only listen to them.

5. Who has the punchline? Hand out 5 punchlines to some jokes to the students in groups of 4–5 (Each group has all five punchlines). Then read out the jokes, stopping just before the punchline.

Which group will be fastest in finding the correct punchline?

6. Grammar. Once you have a nice collection of jokes, how about using them to illustrate particular grammar structures? George Woolard wrote a nice book called Grammar with Laughter (published

by LTP), though you could also start building your own collection. For example, conditional sentences: A man of eighty visited his doctor. “I’m going to be married next week, doctor.”

“Very good,” said the doctor. “How old is your lady friend?”

“Eighteen,” replied the man.

“My goodness!” said the doctor. “I should warn you that any activity in bed could be fatal.”

“Well,” said the man. “If she dies, she dies.”

A gorilla went into a pub and said to the barman, “I’d like a pint of beer, please.”

“Certainly, sir. That’ll be ten pounds, please.”

The gorilla paid his money and started to drink his beer.

“We don’t get many gorillas in here,” said the barman.

“I’m not surprised,” said the gorilla, “if you charge ten pounds a pint.”

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A doctor went into a restaurant and noticed that the waitress kept scratching her hands. “Have you got eczema?” asked the doctor.

“If it’s not on the menu, we haven’t got it,” replied the waitress.

Notice in Hospital: If you think the nurses are bad, you should see the doctors.

A man was trying to sell a horse to another man.

“This is an excellent horse.”

“Yes, but is it well-bred?”

“Well-bred? If this horse could talk, it wouldn’t talk to either of us.”

“What has got six legs and eats grass?”

“I don’t know.”

“A dog.”

“A dog hasn’t got six legs.”

“It doesn’t eat grass either, but the question would have been too easy if I hadn’t lied.”

7. Reward. Use jokes as a simple reward for your students. Print out some of jokes. If a student does a particularly good piece of work, attach a funny joke for them as a reward.

8. Find the joke. A variation on the running dictation in which lines of a joke are ‘hidden’ around the classroom. The students have to find the lines, copy them down, then try to arrange them in the correct order to make the joke work.

9. Quiz! Get your students to go to http://languagelearningjokebooks.com/quiz-time/ and do an audio quiz based on jokes. Can they get 10/10? (There are also quizzes in French, Italian and Spanish and all at three different levels.)

10. Homophones. For older students you could do some work on homophones.

What stands in a forest, has four legs but can’t see?

No idea.

You can’t starve in the desert because of all the sand which is there.

Two scientists went into a bar. “I’d like a glass of H20, please,” said the first scientist. “I’d like a glass of H20 too,” said the second scientist.

The second scientist died.

Get your students to type ‘jokes with homophones’ into a search engine and collect jokes based on homophones. Once they have read 30–40, they should be ready to start creating their own jokes based on homophones. Back to Google to find lists of homophones – are they able to create a joke based on a homophone? I’d love to hear it. One comedian who is a genius with homophones is a man called Tim Vine. He is very funny and also very inoffensive with most of his jokes being at his own expense.

A search for ‘Tim Vine’ on YouTube should bring up a lot of great material.

11. Best Joke Ever. Ask your students to write out their favourite Estonian joke in English. Then send it to me – jeremytaylorwriter@gmail.com. As a thank you, I’ll send a coupon to the senders of the best five jokes so that they can get a free copy of Inglise-eesti naljaraamat 1.

Jeremy Taylor is a freelance writer and teacher trainer based in the Czech Republic. In addition to many graded readers he has written a joke book for language learners including, Inglise-eesti naljaraamat 1. http://languagelearningjokebooks.com/product/inglise-eesti-naljaraamat-1/ and in 39 other languages.

Have a look at www.jeremytaylor.eu to find out more about Jeremy and his work.

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TRAVELOGUE KALAMATA – NOT JUST OLIVES AND SSS Erika Jeret

Pärnu College of the University of Tartu

In September 2015 the author had an excellent opportunity to attend an international summer academy arranged by the Euracademy Association. The academy was the 14th in line and ran under the title “Rural NGOs: Catalysts of Social Cohesion and Sustainable Development”. Euracademy was registered in Greece in 2004, yet its history lies in much earlier collaboration and partnerships between university teachers, researchers and rural development experts.

Its aims are various, but naming a few I´d point out the provision of a mix of learning resources; organising seminars, conferences and exhibitions addressing capacity building and sustainable rural development, and influence on such development processes. This year’s academy was partly funded by EEA grants for Greece through the programme “We are all citizens”. According to the Programme, all the NGOs that receive funding through the Programme participate in capacity building activities, which are organised by the Bodossaki Foundation throughout the Programme’s implementation. The Programme encourages the development of bilateral relations between Greek organizations and NGOs in the donor countries, aiming to creating productive partnerships and common projects, shared knowledge and best practices (We are all citizens, 2015).

Traditionally, the Summer Academy begins with Day 0, which stands for arrivals and gathering together for an international dinner in the evening. This time participants came (alphabetically) from Egypt, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the UK (Scotland & Wales). Many Greek attendants were of a different nationality, for example Polish, Albanian or Ukrainian. Altogether about 40 people brought along goodies, and now try to imagine long tables laden with mouth-watering Tunnock´s teacakes and caramel logs from Scotland; crunchy knäckebröd (crispbread) from Sweden; palinka and spicy sausage from Hungary; sickly-sweet ´submarines´, Turkish delight (loukoumi) and baklava from Greece; Tallinn sprats and dark bread from Estonia, and so forth.

It was a time for meeting old friends and making new ones. Rolling the programme fast-forward – departures and farewells at Athens airport on the last day took nearly forever because everybody had so many good-byes to say.

The first three days of the academy and the international dinner took place on the art farm Agroktima Marini, 5 km or so from Kalamata, located on a slope of a hill and featuring a private amphitheatre and tree houses, a large function room and many more facilities nestling within their 8 ha of farmland.

Amphitheatre at the Agroktima Marini farm 12

Day 1 The first day carried the subtitle “Social cohesion and the inclusion of immigrants and refugees in the context of sustainable rural development. The international experience and policy framework”.

The first half of the day included a presentation by Fouli Papageorgiou, President of the Euracademy Association, and Thomas Liebig from the OECD who spoke on the topic of “Integrating immigrants and their children – an overview”. According to Liebig, one person in five has a migration background in the OECD. In all countries, immigrants are concentrated in urban areas; migrants are less likely to own their homes than the native-born but tend to live more often in overcrowded homes. It may be of interest to note that Estonia came first in terms of home ownership rate by household migration status in 2012 where immigrant owners’ percentage exceeded that of native-born population figures (above and below 80% respectively). The two countries at the top with over 80% of native-born home owners were Hungary and Spain, yet in Spain only about 38% of immigrants are home owners.

New challenges as outlined by the OECD are: increasing heterogeneity of immigration flows – both in terms of category (labour, family, free mobility, humanitarian) and skills levels within these categories, which require more tailor-made approaches. In southern Europe, many low-skilled labour migrants arrived just prior to the crisis, raising issues of long-term employability and appropriate target groups (i.e. who is likely to stay?). Children of immigrants are entering the labour market in growing numbers, and their outcomes are often unfavourable. The integration of the large inflows of humanitarian migrants, many of whom are traumatized by the experience of war, will pose an additional challenge in the coming years (Liebig, 2015).

In the afternoon, panel presenters from Poland and Wales spoke about social capital in rural communities, migrant communities and rurality. The panel was followed by working in groups discussing questions posed by the presenters.

The weather was swelteringly hot at 38°C; cold water in glasses turned into lukewarm water very quickly, and fans blowing hot air around in the conference room did not make much of a difference, and there was no air-conditioning. Day by day, temperatures decreased though, but sitting in the room listening to presentations was rather challenging because of unaccustomed heat.

Day 2 This day was run under the theme of “Operational capacity building of NGOs”. Presenters came from Greece, Estonia and Slovenia, touching upon issues of strategic and business planning for NGOs, capacity building experiences, conditions of civic development in small rural communities, political participation of immigrants in the host country. Again, plenary presentations were followed by work group discussions and then presentations of their results.

The Greek organisers emphasised many a time how complicated the arrangements were made this year in terms of getting speakers or planning study trips because, in the run-up to local elections, preelectoral guidelines had been issued to employees of local authorities warning them not to participate in certain events or not to talk on particular sensitive topics. Therefore lots of cancellations of participation or presentation had occurred, being further aggravated by the current refugee crisis and people involved in resolving it and thus unable to attend the academy sessions.

This evening we had a surprise music performance by two very public school-sounding English youngsters, supervised by their American-accented proud father. Brother and sister did a few musical pieces each, including songs from musicals and some duets. Listening to bright clear children’s voices under the black night sky with city lights glistening in the distance well below us and sitting on the sunheated steps of the amphitheatre was an emotion to remember.

For the evening meal we had spit roasted pork (we had been smelling it cooking all afternoon), roast potatoes, tzatziki and Greek salad. This salad has become very common on menus in Estonia, yet perhaps it is not well known that in the Greek language it is called ‘village salad´, and originally it had no cheese because cheese was a luxury food item and not accessible to poor farmers.

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Day 3 The theme for this day was “Integration strategies and best practice”. Panel speakers from Hungary discussed inclusion and exclusion issues in their country regarding immigrants and refugees; similar aspects were covered in the presentations from Sweden and Greece. The afternoon panel’s speakers brought examples from Scotland, Turkey and Greece. Joe Brady from Scottish Refugee Council presented this human rights NGO, established in 1985, and its activities. Being the largest organisation in Scotland providing independent advice and assistance to refugees and asylum seekers, it has a lot on its plate. In April 2015, 3,106 asylum seekers received accommodation and financial support in Glasgow, which accounts for 12.5% of all asylum seekers in the UK and 0.5% of Glasgow’s overall population. It is estimated that around two thirds of refugees stay in Glasgow for three years after receiving the refugee status, and a total of 20–25 ,000 refugees may live in Scotland but the figures are not exact (Brady, 2015).

Refugees´ countries of origin number close to 60; refugees speak 36 main languages, for instance, Arabic, Farsi, Mandarin, Amharic, Urdu/Punjabi, and only 15% of them speak English on arrival, with 65% speaking basic English altogether. In Scotland integration of refugees and immigrants is viewed differently from England and seen as a dynamic process which is two-way and begins upon arrival (ibidem). The question to language teachers and authorities would be – in the absence of a common language with the immigrants, where does one begin to teach them the language of the host country?

Scottish Refugee Council, presentation by Joe Brady.

The strategy “New Scots: Integrating Refugees in Scotland’s Communities” was developed by the Scottish Government, in partnership with COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council, and published in December 2013. It supports delivery of the policy that refugees and asylum seekers should be welcomed, supported and integrated into Scottish communities from day one. It also aims to co-ordinate the efforts of all organisations involved in supporting refugees and people seeking asylum in Scotland, in order to make Scotland a welcoming place to people seeking protection from persecution and human rights abuses. This will enable them to rebuild their lives in Scotland, make a full contribution to society and develop strong social connections to support their integration (Scottish Government, 2015).

The day ended with a walk through some olive groves and gardens and a nearby village. Irrespective of the tiny size of the village, it had two little churches in it. The walk was followed by a late dinner. Eating in Greece can be quite taxing for Northern Europeans, as dinner starting at nine or later is common.

Time was a very elusive concept anyway, which meant that buses scheduled to depart at nine did not leave before twenty minutes after, and lunches floated between mid-day and mid-afternoon. Some timekeeping was managed by an employee who walked around the farm ‘rounding his herd’ and ringing a bell to bring dispersed working groups back to report on their deliberations.

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Study trips Study trips were arranged over two days to visit local communities and meet representatives of local government, local village associations (organised to a higher or lesser extent), farmers or other entrepreneurs involved in working with immigrant or refugee populations. For example, farmers may employ seasonal workers to pick and crush olives and grapes or do other farm jobs; they said that without the migrant workers these jobs would not get done.

The group I was in visited Pylos and Zacharo areas. A memorable example was a meeting in the village hall (a derelict school converted into a meeting hall, activity space and Greek ABC book from the 1990s doctor’s surgery) where discussion included integration of Albanian immigrants and their children and families, and a Greek lady said that the children in the village are “all our children” (no matter the ethnical background). In another place we were hosted by a self-professed heretic farmer and film director with very strong views on how things are and should be in the country.

The local authorities we met also work to integrate immigrants, although the refugee crisis had not significantly impacted on them however. They told us about one boat of 400 people arriving on their shores, where they cared for the arrivals with food and shelter for three days before they were transferred to a reception centre nearer to Athens.

All four groups gave presentations of their trips on day four. Our group went inventively artistic and not only involved Greek gods, demi-gods and heroes but also white towels and tragedy-like lamentation over the current situation.

Remarks and observations It became obvious in discussions and presentations that there are no foolproof definitions of immigrant, refugee and asylum seekers – these words are often used interchangeably and inconsistently. Below is a selection of terminology which comes from the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries online version (www. oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com) for an overview.

Asylum seeker – a person who has been forced to leave their own country because they are in danger and who arrives in another country asking to be allowed to stay there Asylum (political) – protection that a government gives to people who have left their own country, usually because they were in danger for political reasons Displaced person – a refugee Immigrant – a person who has come to live permanently in a country that is not their own Migrant – a person who moves from one place to another, especially in order to find work Refugee – a person who has been forced to leave their country or home, because there is a war or for political, religious or social reasons Another category to add is undocumented migrants who are those without a residence permit authorising them to regularly stay in their country of destination. They may have failed in the asylum 15

procedure, overstayed their visa or entered irregularly. People in such a status may be denied their fundamental rights, and lack health care, access to education, are deprived of labour protections and live in substandard housing (PICUM, 2015).

On this basis, a host of combinations and questions may be created. For example, is an Albanian who has lived in Greece for 22 years a refugee, an immigrant or integrated into society? Are Romanian and Bulgarian families who have settled down and whose children attend school in Greece immigrants, economic migrants, or beginning the process of integration? Farmers regularly hire labour for seasonal jobs – is the work done by emigrants, economic migrants, immigrants or illegal immigrants, depending on who does what. The most low-skilled jobs seemed to have been left for people from Pakistan, Bangladesh or Afghanistan.

Some people we met mentioned that young Greek people who had outmigrated to cities now cannot afford high rents and are thus beginning to return to the countryside and, albeit reluctantly, accept lowpaid farm work.

What regularly kept creeping up through presentations, workgroup discussions or informal chats was the notion of “clientelism” by which Greek speakers denoted cronyism and nepotism. The first means the situation in which people in power give jobs to their friends, and the latter stands for giving unfair advantages to your own family if you are in a position of power, especially by giving them jobs. This approach seemed to have impregnated the public sector first and foremost, where jobs have been allocated to people unskilled, untrained, or otherwise unsuited, and not less disappointingly, people uninterested in their work performance, results, or impact on other people. An example given was ladies sitting at the desks, filing their nails, and if a person approached with a question, the answer would be sought at another desk and definitely not in the remit of a nail-filing nymph.

Greek people were often described as keeping their family and kin at the core of their attention and loving embrace; from there it would extend to friends and (larger) community. Therefore, it would be difficult to encourage them to volunteer or join in community initiatives. Even thinking beyond and further than one’s own personal circumstances or personal gain would be unfathomable for some. There was a sense of distrust or mistrust between people, envy and jealousy, perhaps narrow-mindedness too.

Nevertheless, there also were and are much more positive examples of help and support, volunteering and joint work. Still, I heard people admitting that thirty years of large-scale corruption has made a significant impact on the nation’s behaviour.

Kalamata is a region famed for its olive growing and processing industry. When travelling in the region on study trips, it seemed that about 99% of arable land is taken up by olive trees. Grapes, walnut and fruit trees, vegetables and melons/watermelons are also grown.

Tourism along the Ionian Sea coast is promoted for beaches and water sports, eg canoeing, SUPs, boating and water skiing. The 4-km long beach in Kalamata seemed to draw sun seekers, and its promenade walkers and joggers.

Yet, the beach being squeezed to the side of a busy street and of the width of about 20 m hardly looked attractive to me.

View of Kalamata across the Messinian Bay

Unemployment rates in Greece stand at around 25–27%, while youth unemployment rate is decreasing slightly, reaching 48% (data for June, 2015) (Unemployment rate, 2015). However, the Friday night restaurant scene in the old town of Kalamata was astounding with hundreds of people eating, chatting with friends and in general milling around as if there never was a refugee crisis or taxes to pay.

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REFERENCES Liebig, Thomas. Integrating immigrants and their children. 6 September 2015.

Brady, Joe. New Scots: integrating refugees in Scotland’s communities. 8 September 2015 New Scots. Integrating Refugees In Scotland’s Communities Strategy. http://www.gov.scot/ Publications/2013/12/4581. Accessed on 11 September 2015.

PICUM. Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants. http://picum.org/en/.

Accessed on 11 September 2015.

Scottish Government. http://www.gov.scot/Topics/People/Equality/Refugees-asylum/integration.

Accessed on 14 September 2015.

Unemployment rate http://www.tradingeconomics.com/greece/indicators. Accessed 11 September, 2015.

We are all citizens. www.weareallcitizens.gr. Accessed 15 September 2015.

REEVALUATING THE LESSONS OF WANDERLUST Theme: Culture is not a luxury but a necessity Speech at the International Public Speaking Competition in London Adhele-Meelike Tuulas

Tallinn English Collegec

Ladies and gentlemen, I suggest we go on a trip. Envision yourself sitting in a plane ready for take-off, destination – your choice. You have all the usual surroundings, the businessmen, tourists flipping through travel magazines and of course, the screaming baby two rows back. But you are ready to experience a brand-new world during your trip, like a modest version of Christopher Columbus ... the cabin crew is seated for take-off, and … off you go.

Now, sadly I am here to inform you that 84% of us are failing travelling. Have you ever thought what you actually gain out of these travelling experiences? Because “seeing the world” seems to be on the bucket lists of most of us, under the column “places to see before I die”. And it is natural – wanderlust – defined as the desire to travel – has, in fact, even been supported by evolution and our ancestors roaming about some 70,000 years ago.

Whether any theories about the growing popularity of tourism hold true or not, statistics do still show that, during the last 9 years, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide has risen from 500 million to 1.135 billion people – in other words a lot of people! Developing countries account for almost 50% of the arrivals, the support of which, the tourism industry has been well praised for.

Article 1 of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism states another important benefit in defense of everything that comes along with a massive industrial phenomenon as “tourism’s contribution to understanding between peoples happening through tourists themselves observing the cultural traditions and practices of all peoples.”

Adhele-Meelike Tuulas with Lauri Bambus, Estonian Ambassador to the UK (left), and Jane Easton, Director General of the English Speaking Union (right)

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But now let’s take a step back, because this is where we are failing... Do we as travellers realize that the picture perfect “global culture of learning through diversity” which is so persistently preached as the benefit of this massive industry is up to us to be achieved? Because, at the moment, in practice, it seems to be just transforming us into a single, mainstream, indifferent, money spreading blur.

It seems as if the economic profits do not match the potential moral profits, which is why I want to bring your attention to what the travel magazines don’t advertise: moral value in experience. I wish to share with you what I have called the shell theory. According to this, the tourism industry tends to surround us with these luxurious shells in which we then travel. And these comfortable shells blind us from seeing the locals’ culture as their necessity and a part of their identity, and instead, we’re just thoughtlessly consuming it as our luxury.

An example of this shell theory is strongly evident in these stereotypical sightseeing trips involving local people where tourists see how they live – pictures are taken, products are bought and then the bus drives away. I dare to argue that we drive away without any lessons learned – because, for humans, learning through “observation” happens when we see personal relevance in an experience. How do we see personal relevance through the observation of dehumanized people we take pictures with, labeled as “locals” without any meaningful interaction? We also seem to lose any empathy towards the locals with four legs that give us piggybacks through the tracks, which once symbolized animals’ freedom, not routine. Not to even mention the way we overlook the significance of history as a part of one’s being.

Exceptional Mayan temples marking the burials of their sacred ancient rulers – now crowded by tourists cancelling out any peace a ruler deserves. A history so rich and far-reaching fast-forwarded to what can now be referred to as the era of “tourist meets temple without even learning their first name”.

You see we are just thoughtlessly consuming what we are presented with and collecting the places we go on our shelves as miniature souvenirs. We consume the local culture and fail to understand that through that we are actually consuming other human beings. Because the unique culture in which one is brought up, constructs their own identity which (after all) is an essential human need for existence.

Without identity, psychologically, we are nothing. Identity is what makes us as individuals reality.

Now, of course, one needs to distinguish between travelling to explore and travelling to take a rest on the beach or conquer the Alps every once in a while – of course, there is not anything wrong with that. But the problem becomes evident once we are made to believe that through these luxurious vacations we really get to know a place… This cannot be used as an argument in defense of any industrial damages tourism brings along. Now tourism industries, just like food industries, could start bringing to people’s attention, what they are consuming. But before that takes hold, it is up to us as consumers to identify the problem.

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that in order to match the well serving economic profits to the moral profit of travel, we must approach the cultures we interact with through the eyes of a critical inquirer instead of a blinded tourist. Let’s start talking about what we can get out of “seeing the world”. And let’s do it in hopes that the next time you or I or anyone else get on the plane, we’ll remember that the culture of the destination may easily seem as our luxury, but it comes at the cost of the locals’ necessities. *** Adhele-Meelike Tuulas from Tallinn English College, the winner of the National Public Speaking Competition, run by the EnglishSpeaking Union of Estonia, represented Estonia 18

Adhele delivering her winning speech at the National Public Speaking Competition in Tallinn

at the International Public Speaking Competition in May in London. She delivered a speech on the theme ‘Culture is Not a Luxury But a Necessity’. Adhele won her Heat delivering it and progressed to the Semi-final at the IPSC in London. The Ambassador of Estonia to the UK, HE Lauri Bambus came to support her.

The IPSC, now in its 35th year, is the largest public speaking competition in the world. Run by the English Speaking Union’s Speech & Debate team at Dartmouth House, the IPSC involves 40,000 students in over 50 countries.

This year the competition took place between 11 and 15 May, with 50 international delegates arriving in London from all corners of the globe.

Throughout the week, students participated in a range of activities centred on both communication and cultural exchange. Activities included visiting and participating in workshops at Shakespeare’s Globe, seeing a musical in London’s West End, and working with some of the ESU’s most experienced Speech and Debate Mentors.

Participants engaged in two days of competition, with the heats and semi-finals taking place at Dartmouth House, followed by the Final at the Headquarters of HSBC in Canary Wharf.

Grand Final Day of the International Public Speaking Competition, Adhele and Jane Easton (with Deivi Õis, winner of NPSC 2013 and a finalist of the IPSC 2013 in the background)

The six participants to reach the final were: Yannish Dyall (Mauritius) Pierre-Louis Hance (Belgium) Inês Novais (Portugal) Alma Ágútsdóttir (Iceland) Shuning Fu (China) Khaleel Rajwani (Netherlands) For the Grand Final the participants gave speeches that returned to the theme that had been given for the National Competitions some months in advance – ‘To Be Ignorant of the Past is to Remain a Child’.

The adjudication panel, led by Rosie Millard (former BBC Arts Correspondent, journalist for The Times, The Independent, and New Statesman, Chair Hull City Culture), who was joined by Leela Koenig (Head of Speech and Debate at the ESU), and Judy Foote (HSBC Community Investment Programmes), had a tough decision between the six speakers.

The results reached were: Winner: Alma Ágútsdóttir, ‘It’s Ignorance, It Isn’t Bliss’ (Iceland) Runner-up: Khaleel Rajwani, ‘Outgrowing Our Traditions’ (Netherlands) Audience Choice Award: Pierre-Louis Hance, ‘The Great Alliance’ (Belgium) Zinaida Jevgrafova Jewish School of Tallinn

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COGNAC NOTES Enn Veldi

Department of English, University of Tartu

This summer we (me and my wife) flew at first to Bordeaux in south-western France and stayed there for a week. Bordeaux is a centre of wine trade and is considered to be the wine capital of the world. Also, Bordeaux has a long history of cultural contacts with England. There was even a period in the distant past when Aquitaine, the region around Bordeaux, belonged to England. After Eleanor of Aquitaine married the future Henry II of England, Aquitaine became an English possession; she ruled from 1154 to 1189. Aquitaine, however, remained an English possession until 1453. We made Bordeaux our base of stay in France from where we made day trips by train to Cognac and Arcachon, a resort town not far from Bordeaux. After a week in south-western France, we spent another week in Spain exploring the Basque Country.

Cognac, as we know, is a small town on the River Charente; it is about 130 km from Bordeaux. The town gave its name to a type of brandy, which was at first known as ‘Cognac brandy’; after some time the term was shortened to ‘cognac’. According to the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), cognac is “a French brandy of superior quality distilled from Cognac wine”. It takes about nine litres of wine to make one litre of cognac and it is distilled twice. In accordance with the regulations, distillation is carried out from November 1 to March 31. There are three principal varieties of grapes that are used to make cognac: ugni blanc, colombard, and folle-blanche. It is perhaps surprising to learn that the wine that is good for distillation is not good for drinking. The term ‘Cognac brandy’ was first attested in English in 1687; ‘cognac’ as a single-word term was used for the first time in 1755. The origin of the word ‘brandy’ is the Dutch brandewijn ‘burnt wine’; this word was used in English for the first time in 1640.

Thus, the English have appreciated cognac for several centuries; one could even claim that they have played a major role in the internationalization and globalization of this French drink. One remarkable thing is that English-language terms are used when speaking about the classification of cognac. In essence, any cognac is a result of blending different eau-de-vie, that is, distilled wines matured in oak barrels. For example, Cordon Bleu, an extra old brand of Martell created in 1912, results from the marriage of 250 eau-de-vie. The cellar master is a central figure who has to ensure the consistency of the product by blending different eau-de-vie.

The term eau-de-vie means ‘water of life’ and is Oak barrels of eau-de-vie from different zones or crus a translation loan from the Latin aqua vitae. The designation ‘V.S’ stands for ‘very special’ and means that the youngest eau-de-vie in the cognac must have at least two years of barrel ageing. At present, there is an understanding that V.S. cognacs are intended first and foremost for use in cocktails. The next category, which is also more expensive, is termed ‘V.S.O.P’; the letters stand for ‘very superior old pale’; in this case the youngest eau-de-vie used has at least four years of barrel ageing. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first use of ‘V.S.O.P’ dates back to 1907. The third category is called ‘X.O.’ or ‘extra old’; in this category of cognac the youngest eau-de-vie has to be at least six years old and, from 2018, ten years. Another aspect that reveals interesting historical ties between England and France is the names of cognac houses.

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Several cognac houses were established by men with a British background. Their idea was to ship cognac to England. For example, the House of Martell is named for Jean Martell, who came from the Channel Islands, moved to Bordeaux, and then set up his business in Cognac (Room 1992: 338). The House of Martell was founded in 1715, which means that in 2015 Martell is celebrating its three hundredth anniversary or tricentenary. To mark the anniversary, a special publication was prepared, which focuses on the House of Martell (Maison Martell 2015). Richard Hennessy was an Irishman who had retired from the French army; he founded the House of Hennessy in 1765 (Coghlan et al. 1989: 55). The House of Hardy was founded by Anthony Hardy, a gentleman from London, in 1863.

Three varieties of grapes with rose bushes in the foreground

During our day trip to Cognac we were able to visit two cognac houses – Camus and Martell. Both visits were arranged by the local tourism information office and lasted for about an hour. At the House of Camus, which is still owned by the Camus family, the guide showed us first the varieties of grapes that are used to makes cognac. It appeared that the wine growers usually plant rose bushes near vines because rose bushes attract pests before they spread to vines, and thus it is easier to detect them in time. The cellars where cognac is kept have blackened walls and ceilings. It is caused by Torula compniacensis, a fungus that feeds on the ‘angels’ share’, that is, the proportion of cognac (about two per cent) that evaporates from oak barrels through porous wood (Maison Martell 2015: 17). The angels’ share is one of the reasons why an old cognac is more expensive.

The first acquaintance with the cognac made by Camus resembled a visit to a perfume shop. Namely, they use strips of thin wood that are dipped into cognac to demonstrate the aroma of different types of cognac. It is true that aroma is an important aspect of appreciating cognac.

The cognac brands of Martell with a portrait of Jean Martell in the background

At the House of Martell our guide was a young Chinese lady. At present China is the largest market for cognac. The tour began in the old building, which has been in use since the founding of the House of Martell in 1715. On the whole, I got the impression that the premises in the town of Cognac are used and preserved for historical reasons. The present production facilities and cellars are located beyond the city limits.

One might now point out something that I did not know and understand properly before this visit, for example, the use of the French word champagne in connection with cognac. The label of Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. informs us that it is Fine Champagne

The soil of Grande Champagne is chalky limestone 21

Cognac. The growth area of grapes used for making cognac covers 75,000 hectares of land. It is divided into six zones or crus based on the qualities of terroir, a French concept that combines soil, geology, and climate. These six zones are Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Les Borderies, Fins Bois, Bons Bois, and Bois Ordinaires. The term champagne occurs in the names of two crus, where it denotes ‘open fields’, while the names of the other zones refer to woodland. Thus, the label of Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. informs us that all the eau-de-vie used in this cognac come from these two zones. It is important to realize that this word has nothing to do with champagne in the traditional sense of ‘sparkling wine’.

The author of the article visiting the House of Martell

REFERENCES Coghlan, Ronan; Grehan, Ida; Joyce, P.W. (1989). Book of Irish Names. First, Family & Place Names.

New York: Sterling Publishing.

Maison Martell. (2015). Connaissance des arts. Special issue.

OED = Oxford English Dictionary. Third edition. www.oed.com (accessed on 22 September 2015) Room, Adrian. (1992). Brewer’s Dictionary of Names. London: Cassell.

Experienced Educator MALL TAMM – ONE OF THE FIRST INTERPRETER TRAINERS IN ESTONIA

An interview with Mall Tamm

How did it happen that you chose English, and interpreting and translation in particular, as your speciality?

My secondary school teacher of English was very good, and under her influence, I chose English for my future studies. I finished Türi Secondary School and survived the competition to the university in 1959 when only ten people were admitted for studies. After graduation, I worked as a secondary school teacher for two years. After that, Head of the English Department, Assoc. Prof. Oleg Mutt invited me to teach English, and I was immediately sent to Moscow, to Maurice Thorez Institute of Foreign Languages, to the courses for university lecturers. There were many young people from different parts of the Soviet Union, and as I spoke Russian from my childhood, a teacher invited me to her course of simultaneous interpreting. Maurice Thorez 22

Institute trained interpreters and translators for the Soviet Union, for big international organisations, including the United Nations. This is how I first got acquainted with translating and interpreting, with simultaneous interpreting in particular, which I liked very much. The same teacher gave me literature which was not available in public libraries.

How did you start teaching interpreting and translation?

When I returned to Tartu, we had language laboratories where phonetics was taught. I tried to use the phonetics classes for teaching simultaneous interpreting, which was new for the students. We also learnt consecutive interpreting and note taking, and I was very happy that I was able to give something new to my students.

The end of the 1980s was already the time when many interpreters were needed, and the Department of English introduced two modules of elective courses for the students, and I was teaching simultaneous and consecutive interpreting, but there were other colleagues who taught translation.

Time went on, and Estonia wanted to become a member of the European Union. I was very happy to study in Geneva, at the university which is one of the best schools for interpreters. In Geneva, there are many international institutions, and our teachers worked as interpreters there. They took us with them to official meetings, and I could see what international interpreting was like in real life and what to teach to students. Later a group of teachers of German, French and English attended courses in Copenhagen in Denmark and also in England. Some people went to Germany. So we were ready to open a new EU programme of interpreting and translation at the university to prepare people for the accession to the EU. This course also demanded very much from the teachers, and my Soviet five-year education was not sufficient. I had to write a Master’s thesis, which I defended in 2001. It was about international interpreting and about the programmes at Tartu University. We had a very nice group of teachers who trained young people for work in Luxembourg, Brussels, etc. I can say that 90% of these people are still working in Europe and have made very nice careers. As far as I know, the Centre for Translation and Interpreting is still functioning at Tartu University.

What could you say about your work as a practising interpreter?

One of the periods in my life when I was dealing with interpreting very much was preparation for the Olympic Games in 1980. Tartu University lecturers and students who were able to communicate in foreign languages were trained for the Olympic Regatta, and Vice Rector Uno Palm appointed me as head of the commission that started preparing people for the regatta. Unfortunately, the Olympic Games were boycotted, but nonetheless, about 200 people actually went to the games, and many of them later became well-known Estonian translators and interpreters.

At that time, I also learned very much about yachting. During five years after the Olympic Games, I was invited to the Yachting Regatta to function as an interpreter. I want to stress that in the Soviet years interpreting in Estonia was not English-Estonian or German-Estonian, but we had to interpret into Russian. After the Olympic Games, together with my good friend and partner Irina Petrova, we started working at conferences in Tallinn.

I interpreted until 1989 between English and Russian, and only from 1989, I stress, we could use Estonian.

I am proud to have witnessed several important events in the rebirth of our independence through the window of the interpretation booth.

As an experienced interpreter and translator, what would you like to say to people who plan a career in translation or interpreting? What do you think which features of character would be most necessary for that job?

These people must have a great interest in different walks of life and they should be ready to learn very many things. They must do a lot of work. I have worked as a conference interpreter for 35 years.

I know that we have to prepare each time, for each conference. You must be ready to do a lot of work, I think this is the first quality.

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You have done both simultaneous and consecutive interpreting and written translation. Which of them is your favourite? Which are the difficulties of each of them, or which are the pleasant sides of each kind of translation?

I have tried all three of them, and if you want to be an interpreter or a translator in Estonia, you have to do all the things. You have to translate as well, as there are no conferences all the time. If you want to survive, you’ll have to translate. I’ve translated some books, several materials for the university, etc. There have been periods when I preferred simultaneous interpreting because then you get the information immediately and have to react quickly. In consecutive interpreting you listen to the whole text, and according to European rules, you must be able to interpret a speech of five minutes. You take notes, get the whole idea, and then it’s much easier. In simultaneous interpreting, you get only parts of the sentence. Translation is something you can do at home, at your own pace, you have a lot of dictionaries and other materials. But I can say that my translation is never ready – when I read it for the second time or the third time, I introduce corrections or changes. But oral work is done, gone and forgotten. So, I can’t actually say which I prefer.

What can you say about your life and work at present?

I retired in 2005, and after that, I was given several contract-based jobs. One of the biggest things I did together with my colleague Siiri Raitar was training Estonian court interpreters. The Ministry of Justice needed it because, in Estonian courts, there are people translating and interpreting who have little idea of international rules of this profession. It took a lot of time to go into this subject, to prepare myself. I had very good contacts with Warsaw University. I went to a conference on teaching of court interpreters in Warsaw, and developed good cooperation between our universities. Then I went to Tampere, in Finland, and I also made my own presentation in Antwerp where I spoke about the issues of teaching in Estonia.

We wanted to open a group of court interpreters at the University of Tartu because we need people who are well prepared according to the EU requirements. However, it was impossible because the university cannot open very a small group. In Estonia, we don’t need this course each year. Prof. Klaas who was Vice Rector for Academic Affairs then understood this need, but financially it was impossible.

I would like to finish this long talk with the idea, that it’s possible to deal with interpreting and translating till old age if you are active, you have experience, you have interest in life and your health permits. I welcome everybody to continue, and I interpret until today. This year, 2015, in spring, I worked at two conferences for the University of Life Sciences about ecological agriculture, about breeding of animals.

At the end of July my colleague and I interpreted at a very interesting gathering of MAFUN, a Russian acronym for the Youth Association of Finno-Ugric Peoples. They came to Estonia in connection with Obinitsa being the Finno-Ugric cultural capital. They were here for three days and then they went to the celebrations in Obinitsa. These three days were quite sad to me because I was afraid for the future of Estonia. These people do a lot of work to keep their language and education and culture alive. If we take over English or any other language for higher education in Estonia, then we lose our language and culture. Go to these areas in Russia where this has already happened. Think about our future. I am for the Estonian language.

You also have several other interests along with translation. I know you have been travelling quite a lot. Perhaps you would like to say a few words about the most interesting countries you’ve been to and about your experience in foreign countries.

I have been to some countries in the capacity of an interpreter, and I have also been to conferences or travelled as a simple tourist. It’s very difficult to compare all these countries, but perhaps my favourite country is Canada. Why so, I don’t know but I felt very much at home, and I can understand why so many Estonians remained in Canada after World War II. In Europe, I like Austria very much. I have attended courses in England and visited England several times, but for me, England is too full of people. When I came back from a course in spring, I went to the Estonian forest at Kabli near Pärnu and I felt we must be proud of the nature we still keep alive.

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In addition to university students, you have been working with students of Miina Härma Gymnasium. How did you like that?

Oh, yes, this was a very, very nice experience. They called it Mall Tamm’s fan club. I taught simultaneous and consecutive interpreting to a group of students of MHG who really wanted to know what it was.

For two years in succession, there were competitions in Tallinn where students from MHG won the competition in interpreting and I was very happy. But those students have chosen other specialities because good knowledge of English is necessary everywhere, and perhaps only very few have come to the English Department.

What makes you happy?

I am happy with my brother’s family and proud of the achievements of his children.

Mall Tamm celebrated her 75th birthday on 15 July 2015. She was interviewed by Ilmar Anvelt.

Reading Recommendations FUN IS NOT KNOWING HOW IT WILL END – TALES OF DEATH AND IMMORTALITY Kristi Martin

Allecto

Margaret Atwood. 2014. Stone Mattress: Nine Tales. London: Bloomsbury Publishing I have to thank one of my lecturers at the University of Tartu for helping me discover the works of Margaret Atwood whose sharpclawed, gimlet-eyed humour is thoroughly enjoyable and whose ideas on feminism and translation have had an impact on my views ever since cracking open The Handmaid’s Tale.

Atwood’s latest book in the row of fifty-five, a collection of short stories titled Stone Mattress: Nine Tales, is less cluttered by grandiosity than her recent novel MaddAddam, where amongst all the bio-terrorism and soap-eating a clear focus seemed to be replaced with slogans shouted by the author standing on the barricades working the megaphone. Stone Mattress showcases Atwood’s talents at their most refined and your love for the book will grow with every story. You’d think to have found your favourite tale, only to discover that you adore the next one even more. This collection includes gothic tales that give a nod to Edgar Allan Poe, calculated revenge schemes (one where a female writer keeps her former lover confined in an imaginary world), characters from Atwood’s previous novel The Robber Bride as well as thoughts on immortality. The tales are often dark, funny and deadly serious, connected by an obsession with aging and dying as well as legacy and hopes to transcend the deathbed – retell the tale of one’s life.

The tales in the collection vary more in plot and content than in theme, and a story portraying a hustler 25

daydreaming about a crime scene investigator discovering his mangled corpse might be followed by a pastiche about a werewolf-like creature escaping her childhood home or “baby-faced” youth torching a dusty retirement home. This is not a short story collection you struggle through, weighed down by the stories’ similarities or the constancy of voice. It is cohesive enough to feel like a finished work, but dynamic enough to keep you turning pages.

Atwood’s characters – close to death, dead already or unwittingly doomed – have come to face the choice they have made in life, to love or to hurt and the consequences created thereafter. What happens to you when you become one of the “dusties”, once no one is paying any attention to you, and your tales, often tangled with a toxic mix of infidelity, envy and thwarted lust, are of no interest to anyone?

Fortunately, the latter will never happen to Margaret Atwood as she was the first writer to sign on to the Future Library, a planted forest that will provide paper for stories to be published in 2114. Nonetheless, her readers do not have to wait for a hundred years for a new novel, as a “wickedly funny and deeply disturbing” story set in the near future, The Heart Goes Last, which “combines the powerful irony of The Handmaid’s Tale with the wicked playfulness of The Edible Woman,” and, according to Bloomsbury’s editor-in-chief Alexandra Pringle, represents the author “at the tip top of her form – stylish, witty, dark and delicious” is to hit the shelves in September this year.

It is also thrilling to know that Margaret Atwood is (or was by the time this review goes to print) one of the guests at HeadRead 2015, a literary festival in Tallinn, where she might reveal another tale to the collection of her life tales, for, as one aging writer remarks in Stone Mattress, “Fun is not knowing how it will end.”

TRIGGER WARNING: SHORT FICTIONS AND DISTURBANCES Teele Kesküla

Allecto

Neil Gaiman. 2015. Trigger Warning. London: Headline Publishing Group Trigger Warning is Neil Gaiman’s third collection of short stories after Smoke and Mirrors (1998) and Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders (2006). Most of the stories in Trigger Warning are commissions and have already been published separately; Black Dog, a story featuring Shadow Moon, a character from Gaiman’s novel American Gods, being one of the exceptions.

As the title indicates, Trigger Warning is Gaiman’s darkest collection of stories to date. Gaiman devotes a lot of page space to explaining the reason behind the title. Mostly used on the Internet, the phrase “trigger warning” is used to label content that might evoke some latent traumatic memory and/or cause emotional distress. Indeed, several stories do not end happily (or do not end happily for some characters), there is “death and pain here, tears and discomfort, violence of all kinds, cruelty, even abuse” (Gaiman 2015: xi), but at the same time, there is also kindness, hope and even a handful of happy endings.

Gaiman also issues a general apology in the introduction for not adhering to the unwritten rule that collections should contain items that fit into a continuum. Instead, Trigger Warning fails this fabulously, because it contains horror and ghost stories, fairy tales, fantasy and science fiction, adventure stories, 26

fabulism and poetry. However, this myriad of genres and formats is one of the greatest strengths of this collection. It is proof of Gaiman’s endless creativity and imagination, as he takes the reader on a journey through the deepest and darkest crevices of his mind. And even though many of his readers prefer Gaiman’s novel-length works, short stories are his strong point, where he “get[s] to fly, to experiment, to play /.../, to make mistakes and to go on small adventures” (Gaiman 2015: xiv).

The introduction is lengthy, written in a casual and conversational style. In it, Gaiman muses on the nature of fiction and being an author in general, but he also details the inspiration behind every story in the collection, which, on the one hand, creates a neat frame for this varied collection of stories, but on the other, facilitates the formation of a close bond between the reader and each of the stories, because you know where each story comes from.

The stories themselves are a mixed bunch and not only because they vary greatly in style, genre and format. There are stories that you will dislike and there are stories that you will instantly connect with, that will entertain and inspire you, and make you check under the bed for monsters before going to sleep (there are no such things as monsters, of course, least of all under beds).

The shortest and darkest stories are the best in Trigger Warning as they pack the most punch. Down to Sunless Sea is a story of loss and grief set on a rainy night on the bank of the river Thames; ClickClack Rattlebag is a traditional horror story with a twist at the end and so is The Thing About Cassandra (albeit a little less traditional). The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains is a lengthier piece of work (a whopping 31 pages), but one of the darkest and most beautiful stories in the book.

However, Trigger Warning is not meant only to frighten and upset its readers, but it also entertains and inspires. For example, A Calendar of Tales is Gaiman’s experiment with social media, as each of the twelve small stories is inspired by a tweet, and at the same time it shows that inspiration can truly lie anywhere. Trigger Warning also includes a heartfelt tribute to Ray Bradbury (The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury) written to him on his birthday shortly before his death; a Sherlock Holmes story (The case of Death and Honey) and a Doctor Who episode (Nothing O’Clock).

In the end, it boils down to one question: would I recommend this collection of short stories? For old and new Gaiman fans, definitely. For those who have not yet read anything by him, I would and then would encourage to read more, such as American Gods or The Ocean at the End of the Lane, his latest novel. Ultimately, Trigger Warning is a collection representing Neil Gaiman’s vast and dark creative mind. And even though many stories and poems do not necessarily need a warning label, some do. So read them at you own discretion (but read nevertheless).

EATE sends heartfelt congratulations to

HEINO LIIV, long-time Head of the Department of English at the University of Tartu, who celebrated his

85th birthday on 7 September 2015.

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AN ORIGINAL BOOK ON TRANSLATION Ilmar Anvelt

Department of English, University of Tartu

Arvi Tavast, Marju Taukar. Mitmekeelne oskussuhtlus [Specialised Multilingual Communication]. Tallinn: Valgus, 2013.

This is a book primarily meant for Master’s students of linguistic specialities. The authors have dealt with the themes of the book in the courses of terminology, introduction to translation, translation technology, language planning, and empirical research methods.

The main bulk of the book has been written by Arvi Tavast, Associate Professor of the Estonian language at the University of Tartu and Associate Professor of Translation at Tallinn University.

The section on translation studies has been written by Marju Taukar, Lecturer in Translation at Tallinn University.

The first chapter of the book concentrates on the premises of communication. The second chapter deals with terminology, including the compilation of term bases and terminological dictionaries. The theme of the third chapter is translation where the emphasis is on the instrumentalist approach to translation and the responsibility of the translators in expressing their own communication intention. The fourth chapter deals with editing, quality control and assessment of translations, where attention is also paid to the relations between the translator and the editor. The fifth chapter is on language planning where the opinion is expressed that the language norms are not objective truth about the language.

The full text of the book is also available electronically at http://www.tavast.ee/public/opik/opik.pdf.

How well do you know Chicago? (pictures p. 36) 1. The Chicago Water Tower (centre), built in 1869, the second-oldest water tower in the United States.

2. The Field Museum, founded in 1893, maintains exhibits and conducts research on old and new biological specimens, ancient cultural artifacts and geology.

3. Millennium Park, a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago, originally meant to celebrate the millennium but opened in 2004, four years behind schedule.

4. The Magnificent Mile, an upscale section of Chicago's Michigan Avenue, the largest shopping district in Chicago.

5. The Art Institute of Chicago, an art museum located in Chicago's Grant Park.

6. Chicago Bean, actually Cloud Gate, a public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor.

7. The Chicago River with highrise buildings, including the Trump International Hotel and Tower (right).

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Come and Share FOOD IN CLASSROOM Erika Jeret

Pärnu College of the University of Tartu

Food is increasingly more international in Estonia with national cuisine offers becoming more varied and exotic. Reading a menu in Estonian may, at times, resemble reading a cyphered message. And do you know the difference between cream and velouté soups, is béarnaise a mother sauce, does roux thicken a sauce?

The food topic has been covered in the article An apple a day (Jeret, 2014) which included a range of tasks and ideas for further tasks, all ready for use or adapting for a particular target group. Combining food and language is a perfect example of CLIL and could be fairly easily implemented in a school with a kitchen, since food technology is part of national curriculum in Estonia.

A new take on the subject was presented by the author at the EATE Summer Seminar under the title Soups and sauces in cooking vocabulary in August 20151. To set the mind on food, try out the following quiz: Quiz: 1. Mother sauce is:

A. a sauce mother cooked

B. mother of all sauces

C. one of four/five grand sauces of

French cuisine 2. Escoffier is:

A. government coffers

B. a French soup

C. a French chef, restaurateur

and culinary writer 3. Béchamel [bay-shah-MEHL; BEH-shah-mehl] sauce (white sauce) contains butter, flour and milk

A. Yes B. No

4. Mornay [mohr-NAY] sauce contains cheese

A. Yes B. No 5. Roux /ˈruː/ is a mixture created by cooking:

A. wheat flour and fat (traditionally butter)

as the thickening agent

B. aromatic herbs and sugar

C. eggs and bacon 6. Roux is used in:

A. béchamel sauce

B. velouté sauce

C. espagnole sauce

1

All information regarding French chefs, and terms and definitions of food used in the quiz and tasks further in the text have been collected from Wikipedia.

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Are you a foodie?

Can you tell your terrine from your carpaccio? Can you identify the best cuts of meat? Which wine best complements your food tonight? According to Wikipedia, a foodie is a person who has an ardent or refined interest in food and alcoholic beverages. A foodie seeks new food experiences as a hobby rather than simply eating out of convenience or hunger. Getz et al (2014) define a foodie as a food lover, “whose personal and social identity encompasses food quality, cooking, sharing meals and food experiences”. They go on to say that foodies often travel for new and authentic food experiences; in a nutshell, aspects such as behaviour, self-identity and social identity along with attention on food quality characterise foodies. While food and new experiences are a reason for foodies to travel, the term food tourism has emerged; the other two terms are culinary tourism and gastronomy tourism.

If you are interested in using quizzes in the class, use `foodie quiz` as search words and you´ll find a wide-ranging selection of quizzes online. For instance: ● How much of foodie are you: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11265695/Quiz-How-much-ofa-foodie-are-you.html ● How big of a foodie are you: www.zimbio.com/trivia/sl66G321kmn/How+Big+of+a+Foodie+Are+You ● Ultimate foodie quiz: recipes.howstuffworks.com/ultimate-foodie-quiz.htm The quiz is a good way of introducing a food-related topic in class and encourages discussion but make sure you find a quiz best suited to your audience.

Sauces Sauce in cooking is liquid or semi-liquid food which is commonly served on or used for preparing other foods. Some sauces are savoury; others are prepared for desserts. Mostly they are not eaten on their own but used to add flavour to the main dish. Some are prepared and served cold, some are cooked but served cold, while some are cooked and then served lukewarm or hot.

Many sauces are bought ready-made these days, such as Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce or ketchup, others are cooked from scratch. Some sauces are really rather liquid, even runny, with others containing high quantities of solid ingredients.

All cuisines and nations use one sauce or another in their cooking; the oldest sauce recorded is garum in Ancient Greece. To speak of the modern history of sauces, one should mention Marie-Antoine Carême (1784 –1833), who was an early practitioner of grande cuisine and one of the first celebrity chefs in modern parlance. He considered the four grandes sauces to be: espagnole, velouté, allemande, and béchamel, from which a large variety of petites sauces could be composed. A derivation of a mother sauce is called a ‘daughter sauce’ or ‘secondary sauce’.

Auguste Escoffier (1846–1935) was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer, and he is considered one of the most important leaders in the development of modern French cuisine.

Escoffier defined the five fundamental ‘mother sauces’ still used today: ● ● ● ● ●

Sauce Béchamel, a milk-based sauce, thickened with a white roux.

Sauce Espagnole, a fortified brown veal stock sauce, thickened with a brown roux.

Sauce Velouté, a light stock-based sauce, thickened with a roux, a mixture of egg yolks and cream.

Sauce Hollandaise, an emulsion of egg yolk, butter and lemon or vinegar.

Sauce Tomate, tomato-based sauce

Escoffier dropped sauce allemande (German sauce) because it is based on velouté sauce, but thickened with egg yolks and heavy (whipping) cream, and seasoned with lemon juice (he considered it a variation of velouté). However, at the outbreak of World War I, he rescued the sauce by renaming it Sauce blonde. It is generally known today as Sauce Parisienne.

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Sauces for salads are called salad dressing, hence one ‘dresses a salad´ but you can also say ´dress meats/fish/vegetables/pasta dishes´. In Spanish, sauces are called salsa, a word quite well known in Estonia today. In British cuisine, a sauce used on roast dinner is called gravy, which is often made from the juices that run naturally during cooking and often thickened with wheat flour or corn starch.

In different parts of the world the word gravy may refer to a wide variety, and include both sweet and savoury sauces.

An example of sweet sauces could be custard, which again could vary from a runny sauce to rather thick or even solidified dessert. In Great Britain, Bird´s Custard is a brand name of a widely used custard powder or instant custard powder and could be considered a household name. Custard is an essential ingredient in the popular dessert of trifle.

Soups Commonly soup is a liquid food, primarily served warm (or cool or cold), and made by combining e.g. meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Clear and thick soups are the two traditional categories of soups. The French classify clear soups as bouillon and consommé.

Classification of thick soups depends upon the type of thickening agent used: purées are vegetable soups thickened with starch; bisques are made from puréed shellfish or vegetables and thickened with cream; cream soups may be thickened with béchamel sauce; and veloutés or velouté soups are thickened with eggs, butter, and cream.

In other words, purees, creams and veloutés are all soups wherein ingredients are pureed/pulsed but the difference lies in thickening agents. Other common ingredients used to thicken soups and broths include egg, rice, lentils, flour, and grains. There is no clear distinction between soups and stews, yet soups are more liquid that stews.

Tasks and ideas on the topic of soups and sauces Task 1. Divide the words into two groups. Some words may belong to both categories. aioli, béchamel, bisque, bouillabaisse, bouillon, borscht, broth, clam chowder, consommé, coulis, cullen skink, custard, fasolada, gazpacho, goulash, gumbo, hollandaise, minestrone, miso, mulligatawny, remoulade, pesto, salsa, Scotch broth, tartar, solyanka, tom yum, velouté, vichysoisse

SOUP

SAUCE/DRESSING

Option: which of them are eaten hot/cold; are not cooked; which national cuisines do they represent; which kitchen equipment does one need; verbs for preparation?

For instance, use Padlet platform and students add food descriptions and photos of the above.

31

Task 2. Fill in the gaps with words provided added, mixed, remove, simmered, simmers, strained, stirred To create the Parisienne sauce, one 1) .................. the velouté. The egg yolks and whipping cream are then 2) .......................... together, and then a bit of the velouté is 3) .............................. slowly to the mixture. The entire mixture is then placed in a sauce pan and 4) ............................. over high heat until it boils, then continue for a further minute and 5) ....................... from the heat. The Parisienne sauce is then 6) ........................... to remove any bits of egg white that may have made their way in with the yolks and solidified, and the sauce is further 7) .................... while lemon juice, salt, and pepper are added. (Parisienne sauce, 2015) Option: in pairs, make a list of cooking implements which are needed for making the sauce above.

Task 3. Do-it-yourself gazpacho In Andalusia, most gazpacho recipes typically include stale bread, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, onion and garlic, olive oil, wine vinegar, water, and salt.

In pairs, compose instructions for making the soup. Use some or all of these verbs (you can add verbs if needed): wash, chop, blend, puree, de-seed, add, dice, soak, chill, strain, slice, flavour.

Option: adapt it to the school programme, age and language level. Children could make an open sandwich, or a simple uncooked/unbaked dessert.

Food as a topic lends itself to many activities, involves all four skills and is suited to every kind of learner (kinaesthetic, auditory, etc.). Ideas from workshop participants include some of the examples below. These activities can be paper-based or online, as you choose or have access to programmes or applications. ● Dependent on the age group, use a suitable recipe. Read out the recipe and cooking instructions, children imitate actions described by verbs, e.g. cut, mix, whip, wash. ● An alternative of the above – children record and upload and re-play their recipes in class. ● Match an action verb/ingredient and a picture. ● “Eat your breakfast” homework – in order to take part in the discussion, students have to take a photo of their breakfast, post it as you prescribe, and in class, describe and discuss their food preferences, ingredients, cooking methods, food miles etc. ● Compile a list of action verbs and ask to write a recipe – see what happens! ● In groups or pairs, give a list of ingredients and ask what can be made, e.g. eggs, sugar, flour and butter; bread, butter, tomato, onion.

Key Quiz: 1 C; 2C; 3 A; 4 A; 5 A; 6 A, B, C Task 1: Sauces: aioli, béchamel, coulis, custard, hollandaise, remoulade, pesto, salsa, tartar velouté Soups: bisque, bouillabaisse, bouillon, borscht, broth, clam chowder, consommé, Cullen skink, fasolada, gazpacho, goulash, gumbo, minestrone, mulligatawny, Scotch broth, solyanka, tom yum, vichysoisse2 Both: miso (thick paste used for sauces and spreads) and with dashi soup stock creates miso soup

2

Dependent on the tradition of cooking and consistency bouillabaisse, chowder, goulash, and gumbo may be called stews or soups

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Task 2: 1 simmers, 2 mixed, 3 added, 4 stirred, 5 remove, 6 strained, 7 simmered Task 3: possible method: vegetables are washed; tomatoes, garlic and onions are peeled; all vegetables and herbs are chopped and pureed, soaked bread is added, chilled water, olive oil, vinegar, salt are added to taste; garnish with bell pepper slices, diced tomatoes and cucumbers REFERENCES Getz, D., Robinson, R., Andersson, T., Vujicic, S. 2014. Foodies and food tourism. Goodfellow Publishers.

Jeret, E. 2014. An apple a day. OPEN! The EATE Journal. Issue No. 46, 10-16 .

Parisienne sauce. www.wisegeek.com/what-is-parisienne-sauce.htm. Accessed 15 August 2015

Dessert medley. Photo: Erika Jeret

WORD NEWS Ilmar Anvelt

Department of English, University of Tartu

This is a new column in OPEN!, which was started thanks to a proposal by Erika Jeret, Lecturer at Pärnu College of the University of Tartu. Each time, you will see a selection of neologisms. This time’s words are my subjective choice from among recent additions to two sources most probably well known to all of you – Macmillan Dictionary and Urban Dictionary. In addition to the regular its selection of words compiled by the editors, Macmillan Dictionary has an Open Dictionary which is crowd sourced, i.e. everyone can send in additions to it. Urban Dictionary is a fully crowd-sourced dictionary, and as its webside says, “Its content is frequently presented in a coarse and direct manner that some may find offensive.” It would be great if any of you sent in examples of new words you have encountered or offer fine Estonian translations of them. awesomtism noun

when someone is autistic and awesome at the same time Bella loves venturian tale and they love her awesomtism in her vines. (U) 33

braddaz noun

a slang term originating in Christchurch, New Zealand, “braddaz” is street talk meaning “brother”, however it can replace literally every basic word in the English vocabulary including yes, no, hello, goodbye, cool, maybe, as well as a host of others “You going to Jamal’s party tonight?”

“Yeah man.”

“Braddaz.” (U) bronde adjective

used to describe hair which is brown and blonde at the same time It’s time to go bronde, the hair color everyone in Hollywood is trying this year. (M) chat rape noun

when a person instantly messages another person as soon as they appear online, on any social media Fuck I’ve literally just logged on to Facebook and Ryan has chat raped me 300 times within the last 15 seconds! (U) coconut noun

a derogatory term for a black person who thinks like a white person. Some people have suggested that the term be appropriated as a positive label by highly-educated middle-class black people At best, coconuts can be seen as “non-white”. At worst, they’re “Uncle Toms” or “agents of whiteness”. (M) crowdbirthing noun

the practice of giving birth in the presence of several friends and relatives The crowdbirthing phenomenon may not suit everyone, but being part of the birth is an honour and privilege which unites friends and family like nothing else. (M) freeting noun

the act of dieting during daylight hours and indiscriminately foraging any semblance of food when the sun goes down Adam had a salad for dinner, but he was caught in the middle of the night soft shoeing into the kitchen and freeting that half an apple pie. (U) hog the limelight verb

it means to take the public attention more than you should, monopolize the public attention “I got sacked because the director thought I was hogging the limelight” (U) MAMIL abbreviation

middle-aged man in lycra: a middle-aged man who rides an expensive racing bike as a hobby Every weekend, across the nation’s rolling countryside, watch out for the Mamils. (M) MAW abbreviation

model-actress-whatever: a woman who works in a number of areas including modelling and acting, but without achieving great success in any of them She has carved out a classic MAW (model-actress-whatever) portfolio career. (M) 34

page-turner noun

1 a person whose duty it is to turn the pages for a pianist during performances At the end of the concert the musicians received rapturous applause but the page-turner did not receive a request to bow and remained in her seat.

2 a book that is very interesting or exciting (M) rainbow adjective

including people of several different races, cultures, political beliefs etc Nick Clegg: rainbow coalitions are a recipe for instability and insomnia. (M) selxie noun

a selfie picture that is sexy That is a nice selxie you sent me honey! (U) slow adjective

used to describe something which is done more carefully and over a longer period of time in order to improve its quality and obtain other benefits Slow journalism developed as a reaction to the 24/7 news cycle, with an emphasis on in-depth explanations of why stories matter and following them through to the end. (M) terrortaining adjective

entertaining through sheer terror Donald Trump was so terrortaining at the first debate I didn’t know whether to cheer for him or shit myself in fear. (U) twitchfork mob noun

a large group of internet users involved in a protest organized via the Twitter short messaging service It’s now so much easier for consumers to compare notes and, if necessary, start a Twitchfork mob that’s more powerful than any strongly worded editorial. (M) vertical tutoring noun

in the UK, a method of organizing secondary schools in which class groups are made up of students of different ages ranging from 11 to 18 In a vertical tutoring structure the system is organised so that houses are more important and the tutor groups will have students of all ages, year seven through to Year 13. (M) REFERENCES (M) – Macmillan Dictionary. Open Dictionary. Crowdsourced dictionary. www.macmillandictionary. com. Accessed 20 September 2015.

(U) – Urban Dictionary. www.urbandictionary.com. Accessed 20 September 2015.

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How well do you know Chicago?

(Answers on p. 28)

Photos by Katrin Saks and Erika Puusemp

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2

5

3

6

4

7

EATE Summer Seminar

Chairpersons of two organisations – Leena Punga (EATE) and Ene Peterson (Estonian Association of Foreign Language Teachers)

Anu Ukkivi announcing the Committee election results

In fine weather the lunch-hour could be spent in the open air

Aet Raudsep made an interesting presentation on an E-Teacher course

Kati Bakradze, our new Committee member, at the bookstand of Dialoog

Photos by Reet Noorlaid

Pärnu, 18-19 August 2015

Riin Kont-Kontson spoke about National Examinations results

Kristi Martin from Allecto writes book reviews for us