SLA Notes
The Seattle Language Academy Monthly Newsletter - August 2009
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Dear Friends of SLA,
As
part of our effort to create a paperless environment,
and to keep SLA's friends and supporters abreast of
developments at the school, we are very pleased to
announce the publication of our first Electronic
Newsletter. SLA
Notes will come out on the 25th of each month.
Inside you'll find links to current schedules and
upcoming classes; notes on goings-on at the school and
community-building initiatives as well as links to
cultural events around town; profiles of SLA staff and
SLA students; interesting historical tidbits about
language and language learning; and a suggestion or two
for how our friends can help promote the school's
programs and services. Please read on, and
enjoy!
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SLA
Calendar
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Aug.
10th
Next English Intensive Session Begins
Sept.
18th
Autumn Registration Deadline
Sept.
28th
Foreign Language classes Begin
Oct.
10th
DELE prep classes begin
Nov.
11th
Veteran's Day (SLA closed)
Nov.
25th
No evening classes
Nov.
26-27th
Thanksgiving holiday (SLA closed)
Dec.
16th
Last day of Autumn Quarter
REGISTER NOW FOR FALL QUARTER!
Online
Registration
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New Faces at SLA
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We are delighted to announce the appointment
of Christine Davis-Goff as SLA's new Board president.
Christine has been a student of French at SLA for the
past seven months and was an integral part of the
interim Taskforce that helped bring SLA back to life.
Her extensive experience in corporate reorganization in
both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors as well
as her abiding interest in adult education make her an
ideal fit for the academy's needs.
We are also very happy to announce the appointment of several
new Board members:
Maureen McLaughlin, Treasurer
Philip Dickey, Compliance and Communications Officer
Lois Loontjens
Rebecca Oorthys
Andrew McGehee
Read more about
the board members on our website
Each comes with a great deal of experience, wisdom, enthusiasm and
drive and we feel fortunate to have such versatile and
talented people working on behalf of SLA. Under
Christine's leadership, and with the support and
complimentary talents of each board member, we will be
doing our utmost to realize the school's enormous
potential. The Board's first big task: drafting a 2-3
year strategic plan to clarify the school's mission,
hone its vision and secure SLA's long-term
sustainability and fiscal health. We are delighted to be
able to report that Wayne Widdis, the volunteer
consultant who guided us so unerringly through our
recent crisis, has offered to organize and oversee the
strategic planning process.
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What's
Happening
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Conversation Tables
Don't stop practicing when class is
over! Come and chat with fellow SLA students on the ground floor of the Canal Center.
English
- Thursdays 1:00pm
Spanish
- Thursdays 5:00pm
Sign-up sheets for all other languages are at the front desk.
Seattle Language Academy to partner with Instituto Cervantes
This
Fall, SLA will be offering D.E.L.E. prep courses in
collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes. To learn more
about the Instituto Cervantes, its internationally recognized
Spanish proficiency exam and SLA's prep courses for it, please
visit our website.
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Instructor
Highlight
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Yuka
Kobane
Teaches:
Japanese
Speaks: Japanese and
English, and studied Bahasa Indonesian for 2
years
Years at the
SLA: 5
Hometown: Osaka,
Japan
Favorite
Seattle restaurants: Iver's Salmon House, Ray's
Boat House, Salvatore, Buddha Ruska, Chez Shea
What she enjoys about
teaching: I enjoy sharing my stories about being
in a different culture, and I enjoy seeing students'
enthusiasm in learning my culture and language
Yuka in her students'
words: Yuka has an unflappable enthusiasm and
dedication to teaching. She's patient, aware, and
makes sure the class is engaging and interesting.
-- Matt Smith, JPN 300 student
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Student Highlight
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Name:
Tiffany McGehee
Hometown:
Dallas
Years in
Seattle:
11+
Q: Which languages are you currently studying?
A: Italian and
French
Q: Why?
A: The
food!!! The best meals of off the beaten path. Knowing just a
bit of the local language helps greatly once you're out of the
tourist centers.
Q: How long have you been studying
at SLA?
A:
I've been studying Italian now for about 3 years and French
for a couple of years.
Q: Why did you choose Seattle
Language Academy?
A: The structure at SLA is
great! Late night, after work marathon classes are really hard
for me. More frequent, shorter classes in a more formal class
structure is the best way to go, for sure.
Q: Briefly describe your experience
at Seattle Language Academy.
A: My husband and I have
really enjoyed SLA. The quality of the teachers, across
multiple languages, is very impressive. The education that we
have gotten at SLA has greatly enriched our travel experience.
Q: Something
funny that happened to you while traveling the world.
A: My
husband and I were in Italy's Piemonte region one fall
afternoon. It was 2:05pm and restaurants close promptly at
2:00pm. We pulled into a fabulous cantinetta and raced to the
door to beg - in Italian - for entry. The Germans, who had
arrived just before us, were trying the same tactic, but
without speaking Italian. Heavily relying on the Conditional
Tense, we were able to plead our way into the closed
restaurant. It was one of our best meals in all of Italy!!!
Andrew and Tiffany on a Vespa
outside of Florence
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How to Help
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If you have a website, add a link to Seattle
Language Academy using the following html
code:
<a href="http://www.seattlelanguageacademy.org" target="_blank"><img alt=""
width="114" src="http://www.seattlelanguageacademy.org/images/SLA_logoLarge.gif" height="167"
/></a>
This produces a logo which links
to the SLA home page, as shown at left.
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Language Trivia: did you
know...?
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Those who know nothing of foreign
languages know nothing of their own."
-Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher (1749-1832)
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Language
Isolates
It is an extraordinary fact of human
history that some languages bear no genetic relationship
to any other known languages. Such languages are called
"isolates" and they are extremely rare. Among living
examples of such language are Basque (Spain), and
Korean. Etruscan (Italy), Tonkawa (N. America) and
Sumerian (Mesopotamia) are examples of extinct language
isolates, while Jicaque (Honduras) and Kusunda (Nepal)
are examples of endangered language isolates-the first
has fewer than 350 living speakers, the second, at last
count, had exactly eight.
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Seattle Language Academy 126
NW Canal Street Suite 100 Seattle, Washington
98107
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Seattle Language Academy seeks to promote
language-learning among the residents of the Puget Sound
region, and thereby to promote both individual growth
and the growth of understanding among the citizens of
the region and the world.
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