Who is Her English Teacher?

Zhang Ziyi is a super movie star in China. But success in a country with 1.3 billion audiences means little to Hollywood. You need to conquer the English-speaking world to be taken seriously in Hollywood. An ambitious actress, Zhang is taking on that challenge head on.

The first barrier she needs to overcome has nothing to do with showing her talent in acting. It's how quickly she can master spoken English. In a short period of time, she's made a remarkable progress, so much so she was able to play a leading role in Memoirs of a Geisha in English.

When asked about her her secret, Zhang said she owed the success to her English teacher, who has his own fame in entertainment industry.

"It was television commercials and Eminem. I loved to watch the commercials because they pronounce their words so clearly.I don't always know what (Eminem) is talking about, so I write down the lyrics and repeat them.Later, I understood how rude they were."

Zhang apparently didn't realize how lucky she was when picking Eminem as her English teacher; speaking the rude language is required in a Hollywood movie unless it's rated G.

Are Movies Good for Beginning Language Learners?

I am a believer in using real world material to study a language. I love watching movies so I thought watching Spanish movies may boost my snail-paced Spanish learning.

I rented two DVDs: The Motorcycle Diaries and Volver. Both turned out to be great films.

The Motorcycle Diaries followed young Ché Guevara and his friend on their journey across the continent on a motorcycle. From a realistic angle, the camera captured a beautiful landscape and the people who lived on that land, both of which had a profound impact on the young man who later became a Cuban revolutionary leader.

Volver set a completely different tone with its unrealistic twists of plots. And it’s all about women, women from different generations who struggle with life, revenge and love. Penelope Cruz turned in a stellar performance. I think we can finally take the label “Tom Cruise’s ex-girlfriend” off of her.

Since my Spanish is very limited, I had no clue what everyone was saying in the movies, until I turned on the English subtitle. After that, I got into the story line, into the characters’ lives and their world. In the end, I enjoyed the movies very much.

How much Spanish did I learn? A couple of words like “sobrina” for niece and “tia” for aunt. Other than those, I hate to admit I didn't retain many more words.

If my goal was to study Spanish efficiently, I’m probably better off spending these 4 hours reading grammar books and memorizing vocabulary. I didn't accomplish what I set out to do - my Spanish learning is still crawling. But, on the other hand I wasn’t particularly discouraged by not understanding more than a few words in the movies. I actually look forward to watching more Spanish movies. Is that a good thing in itself?

What Is She Doing?

Here is a multiple choice question from the latest TOEFL:

(After hearing a short conversation between a American woman and a Russian man)

What is the woman doing to the man?
(a) hugging him
(b) slapping him
(c) straightening his neck bone
(d) reducing his accent

I was trained to be very good at the elimination technique, which is the ETS killer, according to a Kaplan's test prep instructor. So I quickly crossed out the answer (a), because she can't be that dead serious, and the answer (b) because he can't be that happy about it.

I was about to choose the (c), until I observed she wasn't wearing a physician's standard white uniform. And that left the (d) only possible right answer.

According to a story on the June 5th's New York Times, I was right (kudos to Kaplan) ! The story is entitled Accents on the Wrong Syl-LA-ble. It's about how several accent reduction professionals using various techniques to reduce, or improve, non-native speakers' accent.

So what's the problem? According to one of the featured professionals:

"Ms. Pawlitschek said the “r” and the “l” are problematic for Asians, and the “v” and the “w” for Indians, who also often have “a mix of their own mother tongue and then a British layer on top of it.” Some problems appear across cultures. “The ‘r’ is fascinating,” she said. “You can go to so many countries, and the ‘r’ is done in different ways.”

And how does she take on the problem?

"Ms. Pawlitschek teaches clients jaw exercises and muscle relaxation to reduce “a tightness in the jaw that nasalizes the sound.” Her exercises focus on mouth muscles, and her clients listen to themselves from recordings and practice speaking in front of mirrors."

Well, before you hire someone to drop your jaw, you might want to record "Please Call Stella" at Kantalk.com. It takes about one minute. After you've done, someone may give you some feedback about--or make fun of--your accent and pronunciation.

But it's fun. It's certainly not as painful as someone twisting your jaw.

Oh, (English) Baby, I Love It

Oh baby, I don't know how it came out its name, but English Baby is a fascinating site for English learners. Its daily lesson is great! Check out this video, which it put out in YouTube:



Of course, it's not babies talking; the material suits better for advanced learners. I like its natural conversational style. And it's fun. Which is the golden rule for self-study: you won't last long unless you enjoy it.

Oh, baby, I love it.