LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE
February 2015 Te Reo Kōrero
Languitude news from the Language Learning Centre
TE PŪTAHI REO O TE WHARE WĀNANGA O TE ŪPOKU O TE IKA A MĀUI
IN THIS ISSUE
Happy New Year, ngā mihi o te tau hou! [Article Author]
Welcome back everyone! We trust you by enjoyed your time away on holiday as much as we did! Now that we are back at work we would like to take the opportunity to fill you in on the latest happenings as well as new resources and facilities here at the LLC. We hope 2015 will be a great one for language learning and teaching at Victoria University of Wellington. Some LLC usage statistics
There were over 22,000 visits to the Selfaccess Library in 2014 (this figure derives from halving the total number of entries and exits registered by the Self-access Library gates). At any time during the trimester there was an average of around 12 students using the Computer Suite. In the year to 22 November there were 5,141 issues of resources at the LLC counter. This figure is 43 per cent higher than the previous year and reflects our more liberal issuing policy and promotional efforts. Specifically the new overnight and weekend issuing policy introduced in late 2013 has seen a 238 per cent increase in issues made after 4pm on Monday to Thursday and after 2.15pm on Fridays.
Some 60 per cent of issues were for English as a Second Language material. On top of this there were a high number of ELI graded reader issues each month which are not included in this figure. The LLC offers an EFTPOS service point for topping up print balances and the receipt of fines. Over the past year $4,821.60 has been collected at this terminal. Additional transactions also occurred using the selfservice Docupos kiosk.
Improved spaces for learning Find out about the VZ011 Teaching Lab refurbishment and the newly opened Asian Prints Room.
Pages 4-5
Strategic plan
The LLC has gone through a number of major organisational changes over the last few years. Now it is firmly within the remit of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences it seemed an opportune time to contemplate our goals for the future. With the recently published university-wide strategic plan in mind, LLC staff have formulated a draft strategic plan to direct our work over the coming years. This draft is being reviewed by our stakeholders as we go to print.
New items at the LLC! The LLC continuously acquires new language learning resources. For a small sample of what we have on offer check out this article.
Pages 13-21
LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE | February 2015
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Improved access to resources To facilitate user access to LLC resources and make staff more approachable, we have
removed the roller shelves in the LLC office. The vast majority of our resources are now available for ready access in the Self-access Library. The main exceptions to this are the academic listening materials and IELTS preparation materials which remain behind the counter, though still discoverable using the ESL catalogue located on our front counter. With the exception of ESL and Applied Linguistics items, all of our collection in the Selfaccess Library is ordered alphabetically by
Deselection project The LLC’s deselection project is nearing completion. For those who aren’t familiar with this, this project aims to dispose of old format (audio cassettes and VHS tapes) materials as well as those that are outdated or no longer relevant to our users’ needs. In many cases we have already replaced or will soon replace these items with new formats (CDs and DVDs) or their more up-to-date equivalents. We are now in the final step of this project in which subject experts (i.e. academic staff) for each language are reviewing the lists of items that we have proposed for deselection.
language. We hope both students and staff will appreciate this change. All DVDs are now available for users to browse in the Self-access Library. These are grouped alphabetically by language. As before, users should bring the case to the counter where they will be issued with the appropriate disc.
Disposal of items chosen for deselection will only occur after subject experts have made a final decision on what to do with each item.
closely as possible. The timing is fortunate, as it means that LLC records will be transferred to the Library’s new management software all clean & pristine!
First audit of LLC resources
The results are in, and they are not too bad: overall, out of a collection of 5662 items, only 25 items remain unaccounted for after the audit and follow-up investigation. Relative to the overall size of the collection and against a backdrop of a trend towards relaxing our issuing policy in response to client needs, our patrons have displayed good levels of discipline as far as borrowing and returns are concerned. It appears that a more generous issuing policy and thus greater trust placed in our clients has been vindicated. A full report is also available on request.
We have recently completed the LLC’s first ever official audit of all its resources - or ‘shelf-check’, in Library lingo. In lay terms, we checked each item we physically have against a list of what we should have on our shelves, hoping to find out if any items have gone AWOL, been misplaced, or simply incorrectly catalogued back in 2011. After this clean-up exercise, we are replacing any missing items and ensure that information in the Library catalogue matches reality as
On the off-chance that you’re interested in the more technical aspects of this process (think spreadsheets, conditional formatting, and complex query and sorting formulae), Caleb is your man - he’s our local Excel wizard.
LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE | February 2015
SNIPPETS
‘Kelburn Lighthouse Cinema’ project In 2014, we opened up a formerly unused space for student use (see article about Asian Prints room on page 5). We would like to continue this trend in 2015 and start working towards turning another underutilised space into a room with a new function.
Language learning tips The LLC now offers new language learning tip sheets covering a variety of different areas including listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary and independent learning. These are applicable to any target language and can be found on the wall opposite the LLC counter.
The LLC now offers staff and students an issuable laptop and projector. They can be borrowed together or separately for a period of three hours much like most of our other resources. They can be used anywhere though are currently most popular for use in group study rooms.
secure copyright permissions allowing access to the general public. However, if all stars align in our favour, we hope to get the website off the ground during 2015. Our vision is for it to be used, enjoyed, and cherished by students and staff at Victoria, as well as kōhanga reo, Samoan language preschools, and other educational institutions up and down the country. Summoning the possibilities of digital technology to help disseminate these linguistic taonga would be our small way of contributing to the preservation of New Zealand’s linguistic heritage. Watch your screen - a ray of sound might just shine on you from it one of these days! See pages 11, 19 and 21 for more details.
Our vision is to create Victoria University’s very own dedicated studio cinema by walling off half of the current ‘Archives’ room and refitting it with movie theatre style seats, a projector and screen. It would be a great venue for small-scale screenings not just for language students, but also for film studies courses.
Haere rā Caleb
This proposal is yet to go through a proper viability check, but we definitely see the potential. You may hear more about this later in the year!
Caleb Aveling, our dependable and knowledgeable desk assistant has recently successfully applied for a course administrator position in the School of Marketing and International Business.
Rays of sound In the process of digitising some older recordings on audio cassette tapes, LLC staff have come across some precious gems which, in a creative Friday afternoon moment of synesthesia, we started calling ‘rays of sound’. Indeed, these stories and songs in Māori and Samoan are often accompanied by the sounds of nature in the background - bird calls and other forest noises, waves crashing onto the shore, and the distant murmur of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (the Pacific Ocean).
Issuable laptop and projector
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Digitisation has given these resources a new lease on life, but LLC staff think that they would deserve even wider exposure: this conviction led us to hatch a plan for a project to make the audio content accessible online, streamed from a dedicated website under the auspices of Victoria University. The project is still very much on the drawing board - not only does it need formal buy-in and moral support from the relevant university departments, we also need to
Caleb has been part of the LLC team since late 2013, having previously worked at the Library. Aside from bringing a lot of knowledge with him and enthusiasm to take on new projects, he has been a pleasure to work with and much appreciated by our patrons for his understanding and helpful manner. We are very sorry to lose him but wish him every success in his new role. Congratulations and thank you Caleb!
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VZ011 teaching lab upgrade The VZ011 Teaching Lab came of age in 2005 when PCs were installed to replace the old Tandberg tape units and allow for better portability of class material (from physical to digital) and provide access to the internet and language software while in class. Virtuoso and Soloist offer the same functionalities of the traditional language lab applications (comparative recording and individual intercom) with the added ability to record pair or group conversations across the
room. Teachers can also send web links or any other file type to groups of students for them to work on at their own pace. In week three (19-23 January 2015) the VZ011 Teaching Lab was upgraded. The brand new machines are Optiplex All-in-One 9030s and the heart of the machine is compacted behind the monitor so we are gaining in both desk and floor space. The 23-inch screen will
allow full HD video viewing and the ability to comfortably work on several applications at once (Word, Audacity and Internet Explorer for example) after adjusting the windows to be side by side. Its faster processor with integrated Intel HD Graphics 4600 grants the use of more graphic intense applications such as 3D virtual worlds (Second Life) and possibly online role playing games.
Some photos from the archives: VZ011 in 2004 before entering the digital age in 2005…
…and the newly refurbished VZ011 Teaching Lab following January’s new computer rollout.
LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE | February 2015
Asian prints room The LLC has opened a new room (VZ010A) adjacent to the Map Room for use by students and staff. Its walls feature prints by Japanese masters such as Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige as well as Chinese papercuttings. The room would be a suitable venue for conducting interviews as well as holding private study sessions and is bookable online through the library as with our other group study rooms: the Kiwiana Room, the Marianne Room and the Map Room. Please come and have a look!
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Language buddy conversation starters The Language Buddy Programme will again be starting at the beginning of Trimester 1. Applications will be accepted via the online signup form accessible through the LLC homepage during the first three weeks of the trimester.
Many thanks to Edith as well as Kaya Oriyama and Yoshie Nishikawa for their hard work in assisting with translations!
This year we would like to offer a new resource for spurring conversations to complement all the other materials we already offer. We have therefore developed 100 conversation starters on the Quizlet platform so students can use them on their smartphone or tablet. Language buddies will not only be able to be cued using the written word, but will be able to hear each question in their target language too. They can then tap a second time for a translation. The Starters are available at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels for the following language combinations: EnglishChinese, English-French and EnglishJapanese. In particular we would love to add English-Italian, English-German and EnglishSpanish to this list. If you are able and willing
to translate from English into your native language Ben would love to hear from you!
Māori words in New Zealand English “For we are diverse! People have come to Aotearoa from all corners of the world, bringing their histories, languages and cultures, their art, music and dance, their food and traditions of hospitality, and their spiritual and religious beliefs.” Pita Sharples quoted by The New Zealand Herald 11/12/2014 How difficult it must be to land in Aoteoroa and be confronted with not one but two new languages! In order to assist our students of English acclimatise to our little corner of the English speaking world we have recently created a display introducing some of the most common Māori words that enrich New Zealand English. To aid students’ understanding, examples from recent newspapers and other publications illustrate common usage for each word.
The words are located at the bottom of the stairs into the LLC by the Self-access Library. Do encourage your students to browse whilst they wait for class in VZ011!
LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE | February 2015
Tech corner with Edith Record your lessons If you wish to complement your live lectures with your own recorded material (PowerPoint slides, YouTube or anything displayed on your screen with an accompanying voice-over), you can use ‘Echo Center’ to record and then store it using VSTREAM. Your recorded material can be embedded within your Blackboard course space for easy access. Contact BETH SMITH at ITS if you wish to use this Blackboard feature.
Language technology VStream If you teach in one of the LLC teaching labs but have no time to come for face-to-face training on using our specialised lab software, you can watch our video tutorials about Virtuoso/Soloist, Quizlet flashcards as well as CuePrompter. Throughout 2015, Edith will be uploading a series of video tutorials focussing on using Audacity, Blackboard (e.g. setting up campus pack journals and wikis) and other relevant tips and tools.
New tab for teachers New to using the VZ003 or VZ011 teaching labs? Have you used Soloist and Virtuoso in the past, but want a few tips to refresh yourself on their use? In order to aid our teaching staff in conducting lessons and tutorials in the LLC teaching labs, Edith has created a dedicated tab on our website that contains tips and instructional videos that will guide you through using the specialist language lab software Soloist and Virtuoso. From the LLC homepage, just click the ‘For Teachers’ tab near the top of the page. Edith will continue to add new material over the next few months.
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LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE | February 2015
Did you know... ?
You can share podcasts or music with students using the LLC classrooms’ / lecture theatres’ loudspeakers. Just plug the lectern cable (to be found in the drawer) into the device (MP3 player or mobile phone), then select ‘laptop’ on the touchscreen panel.
If you are showing specific clips from a movie on DVD to your students, use VLC to bookmark your desired moment (so you don’t have to waste time going backwards and forwards to find the scene you wish to share)
The virtues of reading out loud
CuePrompter is an online autocue system that you can use to practice reading aloud at different speeds. Copy and paste a short piece of text from the web or Word, submit, then set the scrolling speed before starting the prompter. Combined with Audacity, CuePrompter offers the option to record and listen to oneself reading. With a class, display the text on the data projector and get your whole class to read together. It is a quick way of engaging students if you feel the dynamics of the class are going slow. Watch this video tutorial to get started: CUEPROMPTER VIDEO TUTORIAL.
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LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE | February 2015
Do they understand? GOSOAPBOX is a great way to assess
comprehension on an aggregate level. Asking students to vote for questions allows teachers to gauge the most pressing issues, whilst the confusion barometer displays understanding, or lack of it, among the entire class. Polls can also be used to quickly assess opinion vis-Ă -vis certain questions on a classwide level. GoSoapBox is a great way to gather all of this data, and because teachers have limited time with each class, the data can be used to make quick decisions in terms of overall comprehension.
GoSoapBox allows teachers to export a spreadsheet containing all of this data from the interaction during class after the class has finished. Each section of the spreadsheet is organised by individual student, so teachers can narrow in and assess comprehension on an individual level and thereby better understand where each student is performing well or struggling.
Contact STEPHEN MARSHALL or IRINA ELGORT at the Centre for Academic Development (CAD) to find out more.
Collaborating with others If you need to work on a document (text document, slideshow or spreadsheet) as a team or poll your students as an alternative to Qualtrics, use Google Docs or Microsoft OneDrive. Forget the multiple versions you store on your computer or USB stick and sending them to those you are collaborating with by email, by instead creating a single online document that you and other people can access from work or home. It is very easy to set up and use once you have a Live/Hotmail account (in which case you can use OneDrive) or Gmail account (in which case you can use Google Docs). Find out more here: GOOGLE DOCS and ONEDRIVE
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Virtual reality and immersive environments for language learning Second Life project
Over the last three years, we have taken students of French, Italian and Spanish to a virtual world called Second Life. Second Life is a user-generated 3D environment in which people from all over the world meet to chat, role-play, enjoy music and create various forms of art through the medium of an avatar. The project was intended to give language students an immersive experience in the culture they are learning about and gauge the level of ‘flow’ they experience while interacting in a 3D environment. Students met with native speakers through their avatar, changed their appearance, learnt to build 3D objects in the target language and visited virtual replicas of places such as Paris, Mexico and Venice as well as art galleries, typical villages and fantasy locations like Hogwarts (of Harry Potter fame). The project results were presented at a conference on language technology in Groningen in the Netherlands last August. If you wish to read about the findings of this project, please contact Edith. Second Life is still available to try in the LLC Teaching Labs. Edith will share one of her five avatars with you and guide you into the world of Second Life. Spanish in a 3D environment
This is not however the end of virtual simulation and the introduction of gaming in language learning at Victoria University. MCGRAW-HILL is currently offering a fully
integrated single player 3D environment in which students can meet and interact in Spanish with various nonplaying characters (called bots). Students need to find clues and solve little problems in Spanish. It would suit SPAN111 students coming towards the end of their course. The French are revolting!
Assassin’s Creed Unity is set during the French Revolution and provides immersion in a French language environment. The idea is to capture several sequences of video footage of interaction featuring the main character Arno who fights his own battle against the aristocracy during this time of great turmoil. German games
The Goethe Institute’s German games: DIE STADT DER WÖRTER (A1 level), DAS GEHEIMNIS DER HIMMELSSCHEIBE (A2 level) and EIN RATSELFHAFTER AUFTRAG (B1 level) are also available free of charge on mobile devices as well as on the new LLC iPad. The future
In the last two years we’ve seen immersive Virtual Reality (VR) expand well beyond games into more unexpected areas such as cinema, storytelling and journalism. ITS acquired an Oculus Development Kit which contains Virtual Reality glasses and enhances the sense of immersion experienced in 3D environments such
as Second Life. These Virtual Reality glasses can be used to allow our students to become virtual tourists on the streets of Paris, Venice and Yoshiwara as well a simulated Chinese island created by the University of Monash on Second Life. Check out Virtual Hanyu’s blog HERE! An upcoming multi-disciplinary research team at Victoria will explore 4D technology which allows people to touch and manipulate ‘what is on the screen in front of them’. FIND OUT MORE This could be an exciting prospect for language learning and cultural awareness so watch this space!
LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE | February 2015
Online audio material and interactive exercises for your course! Over the past 15 years a great deal of INHOUSE WEB-BASED COURSEWARE has been developed in collaboration with SLALS, SLC and Va’aomanu Pasifika, and uploaded on to the LLC web server. Most of it was created with a free and very easy to use exercise generator called HOTPOTATOES. You can download it for free and start creating quizzes yourself. Just bear in mind that unlike Blackboard quizzes, the score cannot be stored and added automatically to students’ gradebooks. If you want training and assistance on pedagogical considerations and design, please contact Edith. In the list below you will find what has been done so far. Please do not hesitate to share the link to the corresponding courseware with your students.
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children’s stories and songs in te reo Māori. The corresponding books are also available in the Self-access Library.
Japanese GENKI KANJI QUIZ a carefully designed set of
exercises to follow the structure of your Genki I coursebook. You will find ample usage of hiragana to help students recognise the kanji through multiple choice and gap-fill exercises, jumble modules and crosswords. Some exercises contain sound while others display pictures. JAPA111 and 112 Linguistics PHONZE This programme is designed for
LING211. It is aimed at reviewing PhoNZE seen in class and at giving you practice with matching sound files to symbols. *Please note that the vowel symbols are currently being updated.
*Please note that we are still working on copyright permissions, so kindly do not share this link yet with your students or members of the public. We will inform you when it is ready to go live. Samoan SINA LA LANA TUNA This Samoan legend tells
the story of Sina, a girl who makes a pet of an eel but doesn’t know it is the King of Fiji… Listen and watch the story unfold, read it with a glossary and respond to the comprehension questions.
New Zealand Sign Language Chinese CHINESE ONLINE: Interactive exercises based on
the New Practical Chinese Reader (books 1 and 2), are designed to revise the characters learnt in CHIN101, CHIN102, CHIN211 and CHIN212. Exercises include gap-fill and matching exercises as well as jumble modules. Some contain images and sound.
NZSL EXERCISES Contains short video clips of
signers which the user should respond to by clicking on or entering responses to questions. Volumes 1 & 2 will be most suitable for students who have completed DEAF101. Volumes 3, 4 and 5 are for DEAF102 and DEAF201 students. O TALA TU’U MA PESE Listen to Samoan songs
English as a second language THEMEX is supplementary to the EPP and
ELTO course material used in the theme booklets. The units of work intend to improve vocabulary, grammar, listening and reading skills. Dictations Online: are currently being developed and will include THEME RELATED DICTATIONS with a fresh new interface. They are aimed at PREPP, intermediate and EPP for students who wish to practise listening. VUW ACADEMIC WRITING Writing exercises for
self-directed study. ESL ACADEMIC READING is a self-access reading
program designed for individuals or pairs. The three reading texts describe New Zealand university study from different points of view.
DEAF101 ONLINE is designed to provide students in DEAF101 with independent language practice. Exercises and information in the 12 lessons reinforce weekly teaching. Completing one lesson per week is expected as coursework in DEAF101, and is an important way to consolidate in-class learning. DEAF202 ONLINE is designed to provide
Intermediate NZSL B students with independent language practice. Module numbers correspond to topics and language skills that you will practice in class. Te reo Māori
Rays of Sound project audio readers CHILDREN STORIES and TEENS Listen to
and audiobooks in Samoan from the Rays of Sound project. The corresponding books are also available at the LLC, just ask at the counter. *Please note that we are still working on copyright permissions, so kindly do not share this link yet with your students or members of the public. We will inform you when it is ready to go live.
WANT TO CREATE A NEW RESOURCE? If you wish to create some supplementary material for your course with Hotpotatoes, please contact Edith. Edith will be present at the LLC from Mondays to Thursdays during 2015. CONTACT EMAIL
edith.paillat@vuw.ac.nz
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Ur inPut 4 r iPad! The LLC now has a brand new ‘bling bling’ gold coloured iPad that we intend to lend to students so they can try using the latest language learning apps and podcasts. The idea is that students will not only use the device for language learning, but that it will also showcase a handpicked range of the most useful apps and podcasts so that they can then download material relevant to the language they are learning on their own portable device. Since the iPad has audio and video capabilities, it can also be used as a portable listening and recording device for language learning purposes. We have quite a number of apps but your advice is highly valuable, so please let us know if you have used or know of any apps that we could install for our students to use. We will generally install free apps, but if there is a paid app or free app which offers useful extra functionality through in-app purchases please let us know as we are very willing to consider this.
WANT TO SUGGEST AN APP? Contact Edith for more information CONTACT EMAIL
edith.paillat@vuw.ac.nz
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New items at the LLC! CHINESE
and ethical contradictions of life in China in our age of social media and technological sophistication. On a lighter note we have the phenomenally successful Chinese box office hit comedy Lost in Thailand as well as Feng Xiaogang’s absurd, satirical and at times fantastical Personal Tailor. Also newly arrived is So Young directed by Zhao Wei, an endearingly nostalgic tale of romance and rite of passage played out against the backdrop of university life in the 1990s. The documentary Last Train Home examines 春运 (chūnyùn), the annual journey home for hundreds of millions of people working away from their hometowns to reunite with family for a short time during the Chinese new year.
Chinese biographies Chronicling the life of contemporary cultural icons of the Chinese speaking world, the Chinese Biographies series aims to enhance reading comprehension and students’ knowledge of Chinese word patterns and sentence structures. Chinese Biographies companion website, cheng-tsui.com/chinesebiographies, contains MP3 audio downloads, comprehension exercises, vocabulary lists, grammar notes, sentence pattern exercises, and English translations that aid both classroom and independent learning. The new titles cover two-time Academy Award-winning director 李安 (Ang Lee) and Asia’s King of Pop 周杰伦 (Jay Chou). These supplement the biography in the same series on 姚明 (Yao Ming), China’s basketball megastar.
Ancient poetry future proofed This anthology of Chinese poetry is aimed at upper intermediate learners of Chinese and features simplified characters as well as pinyin. Originally, accompanied by cassette tapes, thanks to Edith and Balint this is now available on CD.
New Chinese films We have Zhang Jiake’s A Touch of Sin, an exploration of violence and corruption in contemporary China and Chen Kaige’s drama Caught in the Web, an Academy Award nomination that deals with some of the social
ORDERING RESOURCES We are here to help but we need your assistance for providing the LLC with the best resources for our students. If there is a book, DVD, magazine etc. that you believe would fit well with your course’s objectives and would likely be borrowed by students, just have a word with Balint or Ben and we will do our best to track a copy down and put it in our Self-access Library. CONTACT EMAIL:
balint.koller@vuw.ac.nz or benjamin.swale@vuw.ac.nz
LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE | February 2015
Learning through music
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ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
What better way to reinforce Chinese vocabulary, grammar, and culture than through catchy folk songs? These book and CD sets are the perfect cultural companion to high school or university language classes at the intermediate level. Each lesson includes the lyrics (in simplified characters and pinyin) and music for a well-known song, along with cultural notes, vocabulary, grammatical points demonstrated in the song, and a variety of written and spoken language exercises. The accompanying CD features lively recordings of all the songs. Ideal for teachers who want to introduce Chinese culture and fun into the language classroom.
New ESL materials We have a large number of new books recently arrived and suitable for ESL students. Most are in the Selfaccess Library and all can be borrowed by both staff and students. We welcome inspections - come and review the fantastic range of materials we have on offer! If there is a particular resource you would like us to order please come and have a chat with an LLC staff member.
Chinese-English parallel text A dual-language edition of Chinese stories-featuring many stories appearing in English for the first time. Here is the perfect introduction to Chinese contemporary fiction. These eight short stories, with parallel translations, offer students at all levels the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of contemporary literature without having constantly to refer to a dictionary. Richly diverse in themes and styles, the stories are by both new and well-established writers and range from a story by Li Rui about the honest simplicity of a Shanxi farmer to a story by Ma Yuan exposing the seamy underside of contemporary urban society. Complete with notes, these selections make excellent reading in either language.
Chinese graded readers The Readings in Chinese Culture Series reinforces students' grasp of Chinese vocabulary and grammar and strengthens their understanding of Chinese culture through a graded series of classical and contemporary essays. The Readings in Chinese Culture Series can supplement any Mandarin Chinese textbook or be used by independent learners. Each text contains ten 500-700 character essays, printed in simplified and traditional characters on facing pages, as well as vocabulary lists, related words related words and expressions, and exercises specific to each lesson. We offer five volumes ranging from low intermediate through to mid advanced level.
Academic English Academic Listening Strategies by Julia Salehzadeh offers additional listening comprehension practice and strategies for understanding university lectures. The exercises in this text, together with the lectures and short talks on the accompanying DVDs, will provide students with many opportunities to practice effective listening strategies. This is but one of an ever growing collection of books aimed at helping students improve their English for academic life. Please do come a browse what we have.
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IELTS preparation materials Learner English As a teacher of English as a second language have you ever wished you knew more about your students’ mother tongues? Learner English is a practical reference book which compares the relevant features of the students’ own languages with English, helping teachers to predict and understand the problems their students have.
Our IELTS preparation materials remain as popular as ever. New IELTS publications include Collins Speaking for IELTS by Karen Kovacs as well as Oxford University Press IELTS Preparation and Practice – Reading & Writing by Bridget Aucoin et alia. All IELTS materials are stored behind the counter so please consult our friendly staff if you wish to borrow these. A record of all IELTS related publications is included in the EPP catalogue located on the LLC front counter.
The book is divided into chapters discussing typical pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and other mistakes according to native language. Thus if you want to try to provide your Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Persian, Spanish etc. mother tongue student with more tailored assistance this could be the book you are looking for.
Business English resources New business English resources include English for Business Communication by Simon Sweeney. This modular course focusses on language related to socialising, telephoning, presentations, meetings and negotiations. We also now have English for Meetings by Kenneth Thomson and English for Socialising by Sylee Gore and David Smith.
Pronunciation resources A poem-based course for English pronunciation, Rhymes and Rhythm provides targeted pronunciation and listening practice through the medium of verse. Featuring lively, engaging poems ranging from limericks
LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE | February 2015 to raps, it offers an innovative and effective way for students of English to improve their understanding, and to be better understood. Focusing on areas such as syllable length, linking, weak forms and stress placement, tasks and poems allow students to practice the understanding and production of fast, natural speech.
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FRENCH
Culture Smart! New Zealand Culture Smart! New Zealand is a great introduction to Kiwi culture and society for those new to this country. With chapters dedicated to both spoken and unspoken communication; business practices; dos, don’ts and taboos etc. this book offers useful insights for those wanting to accustom themselves to life in New Zealand.
Precise punctuation Punc Rocks is a plain English guide to real-world punctuation for formal writing in a New Zealand context. Those who believe that all you need to know about commas is that you put them in every time you would take a breath if you were reading a sentence out will be surprised to learn that this lengthy sentence cannot take a comma. If you are in doubt, you must read this book! Aimed at students, professionals and all who want to produce sound formal writing, Punc Rocks is clear, sensible, even enjoyable. The book contains a glossary and index for easy navigation as well as exercises with answers for D.I.Y. practice.
Kiwi content We are always on the lookout for New Zealand themed learning materials. This graded reader ‘The Long White Cloud’ has just arrived and we have more on order, for example some Katherine Mansfield graded readers. If you have any ideas of publications to purchase related to New Zealand we would love to hear from you.
Molière The LLC has recently acquired some of Molière’s most famous plays in DVD format. Tartuffe, first performed in 1664, is one of the most famous theatrical comedies by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical theatre roles. Les Femmes savantes (The Learned Ladies) is a comedy by Molière in five acts, written in verse. A satire on academic pretention, female education, and préciosité (French for preciousness), it was one of his most popular comedies. It premiered at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal on 11 March 1672.
LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE | February 2015
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Listening practice This book and accompanying CD offers authentic listening practice and will work for either classroom use or for someone who is learning independently. This book is aimed at those studying at the A1 and A2 levels, though we also possess the equivalent item for those who have reached the B1 level.
French audiobook Philippe Delerm's collection of short stories La Première gorgée de bière et autres plaisirs minuscules has sold more than one million copies in France. The work features the author’s musings on the small pleasures of life. These are both uniquely Gallic, conjuring up magical images of the France we know and love. Each tale is recounted with a lively, almost childlike curiosity about the tiny things that make life worthwhile, and this special quality, along with the beauty of his writing, makes this an unforgettable, audiobook.
GERMAN
German DVDs Das Spinnennetz was the last ever Academy Awards submission by West Germany, due to German reunification in 1990. Ulrich Muhe plays a German businessman who was born completely without scruples. This makes him an eminently suitable candidate for success in the chaotic years after World War I. The shameless man's story is contrasted with that of his polar opposite, a Jewish anarchist. In The Experiment a man taking part in a scientific study finds the fine line between play-acting and reality has been blurred beyond recognition in this taut drama. Tarek Fahd (Moritz Bleibtreu) is a journalist who is temporarily making ends meet by driving a taxi when he sees an advertisement offering 4,000 marks to people willing to submit to a psychological experiment. Intrigued, Tarek offers to take part in the study and persuades one of his former editors to help him work up a story about his experiences. Recording the events using a special high-tech video camera hidden in his glasses, Tarek arrives for the two-week experiment to discover half of the volunteers will pose as prison guards and the other half will be their prisoners.
DDR nostalgia The ‘Trabi’ in this comedy's title is a Trabant 601 automobile, a noisy, smelly, two-cylinder farrago of a proper vehicle - about the only motorized transportation available to residents of the ‘Socialist Utopia’ of East Germany. Now that the wall has fallen and the two Germanys have begun to become unified, a moderately poor Leipzig family has chosen to drive to Italy in their little car on vacation. The mishaps that befall them will be appreciated by anyone familiar with the funny little car, and the actors make the most of it in this German answer to Chevy Chase's ‘Vacation’ films.
LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE | February 2015
ITALIAN
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spotlights on the great cities Milan, Florence and Rome; and aspects of Italian city life. An integral part of this course is the DVD (subtitles optional) which accompanies the workbook and gives students a lively and engaging introduction to contemporary Italian culture. The workbook provides a wealth of activities to be carried out before, during, and after watching the clips to test comprehension and to enrich the students' vocabulary. Together with the visual resources, the course includes exercises on literary excerpts which encourage reflection on aspects of Italian language and culture, in addition to systematic work on grammar.
Buon appetito! For all those people passionate about food, this unique book was conceived as a result of the many food references present in the Italian language: in proverbs, in idioms, in songs, in literature and in cinema. Each unit describes specialties in each region (including recipes) while simultaneously developing linguistic and grammatical competence.
Italian cinema series The Edizioni Farinelli Film Study Program offers a systematic approach to learning Italian through film. Teachers can keep their curriculum fresh and interesting by introducing film as a practice activity. University students and self-study learners build language skills through focused viewing of Italian film. We have seven titles available: La vita è bella (Life is Beautiful), La meglio gioventù (The Best of Youth), Pane e tulipani (Bread & Tulips), Cinema Paradiso, Buongiorno, notte (Goood Morning, Night), L’Ultimo Bacio and Il postino (The Postman).
Life in Italy This interactive civilisation course aimed at those at the A2/B1 level focuses on four main topics: profiles of seven everyday Italian people; various Italian landscapes;
Classic Italian films Among the dozens of DVDs that have arrived during the deselection project are a number of classic Italian films. Una Giornata Particolare is a drama set in Rome in 1938, its narrative following a woman and her mysterious neighbor who stay home the day Adolf Hitler visits Benito Mussolini. I Mostri is a comedy inspired by the habits and vices of Italians during the 1960s. Federico Fellini’s 8½ is an avant garde drama-comedy filmed in black and white. Filmed in Italy and Budapest, Io e mia sorella is a comedy(!) about a man who loses his wife because of the devotion and attention he gives to his sister. And La Famiglia is the portrait of a bourgeois Italian family seen through the eyes of Carlo, an old retired professor who is the last patriarch of his family.
LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE | February 2015
JAPANESE
MĀORI
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First readers in Māori This is a set of ten first readers in te reo Māori with translations in English. These bilingual books are ideal for beginning learners of Māori, with simple language and stories, and illustrations that support the text. Each book has a glossary that gives a clear English translation of the te reo Maōri text.
Rays of sound project Through the steadfast work of Balint and Edith, a large number of Māori language publications with cassette tapes have been digitised for continued use in the 21st century. Pending the approval of over a dozen original copyright holders, the audio material will be accessible online for anyone to access. The books are back on the LLC shelves for anyone wishing to read while listening.
Songs of the Māori Battalion These unique recordings were made on location in the sands of Egypt, during gunfire in North Africa, and between green hills in Southern Italy. The recordings comprise hymns, haka and popular action songs, together with the rousing Maori Battalion march to victory! These were sung in a style that became part of the Battalion’s legend. The CDs also include spoken messages, situation reports and concert medleys. You can find this set of CDs in the Self-access Library.
MULTI-LANGUAGE
Hiragana and katakana Japanese Hiragana for Beginners makes learning hiragana fast and effective by using memorable picture mnemonics, along with clear explanations, examples and lots of fun exercises. Picture mnemonics enhance memory by associating the shape and sound of each hiragana character with combinations of images and English words already familiar to students.
LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE | February 2015
Colloquial & Teach Yourself series
NEW ZEALAND SIGN LANGUAGE
As part of our deselection project all Colloquial and Teach Yourself series books and tapes have been replaced with a digital version on CD. We stock these series for a wide selection of different languages. Please do browse our collection.
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VHS tapes now digitised A large number of the Deaf Studies collection at the LLC has now been obtained in digital format. These are now stored in the Self-access Library rather than behind the counter so anyone can browse our collection.
SAMOAN
Earworms The Language Learning Centre would like to offer you the ideal quick fix to help you get around in a foreign country by ordering food in a restaurant, asking for directions or getting a good grasp of numbers for buying things at the market. Earworms Musical Brain Trainer will help you rapidly anchor 200+ essential words and phrases into your long-term memory by combining the language with very catchy music. We currently stock the Earworms series for most of Victoria’s taught languages: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. Whether you are jogging, in the car, in the bath or doing the ironing any time is a good moment to prepare for your next adventure!
Stories by deaf adults Signed by deaf storytellers, these stories reflect New Zealand’s rich history of deaf education. Stories include Going to the Deaf School by Ngaire Doherty, Helen Keller by Lynette Pivac, Fire at Sumner School by Tony Walton and The Battle of the Whau by Michael Wi and Ivan Tamepo.
First Readers in Samoan This is a set of ten first readers in Samoan with translations in English. These bilingual books are ideal for young children, with simple language and stories, and illustrations that support the text, but also make good reading practice for adults beginning to learn the Samoan language.
How to learn languages The first of a number of recently ordered books, giving detailed advice on how to learn foreign languages, has arrived. This first one ‘Speak like a native’ was written by Michael Janich, a two-time graduate of the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. His advice stems from his experience learning Mandarin and Vietnamese as well as other languages.
All of the books have been translated into Samoan by Ainslie Chu Ling So‘o, a language consultant specialist at the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture in Samoa. Each book has a glossary that gives a clear English translation of the Samoan text.
LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE | February 2015
Updated Samoan resources
New Spanish graded readers
In addition to their work on digitising a large number of Māori language publications, Edith and Balint have also obtained permission to do the same with many book and tape sets in the LLC Samoan collection. We are grateful to the many people who have given their permission to make this possible and hope this will be appreciated by our students of Samoan.
We have a number of new Spanish graded readers that have recently arrived at the LLC. Please do come and have a look!
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Spanish audio magazine The LLC now has a subscription the audio magazine Puntoycoma. It includes articles on cinema, society, literature, music, politics, economy, sport, technology, travel and more from all over the Hispanosphere.
SPANISH
Pedro Almodóvar’s latest offering
New Argentinian film A film set near Buenos Aires in which a group of friends who wish to maintain their lifestyle at any cost gathers on a weekly basis far from the fleeting looks of their spouses, who, excluded from the manly encounters, jokingly call themselves, ‘Thursdays’ Widows.’ But one night the routine is broken and we are able to see, in a country that is crumbling, the dark side of a ‘perfect’ life. We also stock the book on which this film was based.
A technical failure has endangered the lives of the people on board Peninsula Flight 2549. The pilots are striving, along with their colleagues in the Control Center, to find a solution. The flight attendants and the chief steward are atypical, baroque characters who, in the face of danger, try to forget their own personal problems and devote themselves body and soul to the task of making the flight as enjoyable as possible for the passengers, while they wait for a solution. Life in the clouds is as complicated as it is at ground level, and for the same reasons, which could be summarized in two: sex and death.
LANGUITUDE NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE | February 2015
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LLC social event
SOCIAL EVENT DETAILS th
Date: 8 April
We would like to take the opportunity for our key stakeholders to come and have a chat with us and each other in an informal setting. Therefore the LLC will be holding a social event for teaching staff from the schools we serve as well as members of our steering group and all other friends of the LLC th between 3-4pm on Wednesday 8 April.
New LLC opening hours
Time: 3pm – 4pm Venue: LLC Self-access Library (VZ007) Refreshments will be provided All are welcome, RSVP not required
Mondays to Thursdays
8.45am-6pm
Fridays
8.45am-5.15pm
Weekends
Closed
To bring our services more in line with our users’ actual needs we will be changing our opening hours during Trimester 1. We will now close at 6pm rather than 7pm Monday to Thursday. At the same time we will be issuing items overnight starting from 3pm instead of 4pm. We believe this will be very much appreciated by our users who will not have to wait around so long at the end of the day.