Items of Interest

Spring 2025 SDLC 105 Syllabus

Spring 2025 SDLC 105 Calendar of Activities, Assignments, and Deadlines

Spring 2025 SDLC 110, 111, 112, 113 General Syllabus

Weekly log for language partners

Global Studio Catalog of Learning Materials and Resources

 

Self-Directed Language Acquisition Program

Sept. 3- Recorded Presentation by Derek Miller, UR Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, Guidelines and Resources for Community-Based Language Learning

Sept. 3- Bonner Guidelines for Community-Based Language Learning, PPT.

 

Benny Lewis: TEDx Talk on Rapid Language Hacking

https://youtu.be/HZqUeWshwMs

 

ACTFL Inverted Pyramid Proficiency Scale

 

New Electronic Catalog of Global Studio Language-Learning Materials

Over the last few weeks, our fantastic team of Global Studio Fellows have been creating an electronic catalog of language learning materials on reserve in INTC 226. There are interesting resources for Korean, Turkish, Hindi, Hebrew, and Portuguese See the ongoing collection, here. Use the tag list to focus your search.

 

Vocaroo for sharing audio files with language partners

Vocaroo is a great free tool to share audio recording files with your language partners. Check it out! https://vocaroo.com/

 

Open-Source Repository of Grammar Reference Textbooks

In internet searches, I came across an open-source repository of grammar reference books pertaining to a wide variety of different languages. Feel free to peruse the collection, here

 

Lang-8 and HiNative Communities for Native Speaker Feedback

This is a great free resource to get free feedback from native speakers of your target language. On the site, you can receive commentary on submit writing samples, or address questions of grammar and usage to an active online community. You can access the site, here. **Note: Lang-8 stopped accepting new members, but you can still access similar networking resources for writing feedback on their new site, HiNative

 

WikiTongues

Library of recordings from endangered languages.

https://www.youtube.com/user/WikiTongues

https://wikitongues.org/

 

International News Resources

Check out this curated list on interesting foreign-language news resources!

 

World Atlas of Language Structures

http://wals.info/

 

Endangered Languages Project

http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/

 

Which languages are the hardest to learn?

Here's a chart! What is difficult about the language you're learning?

 

Try Mango Languages 

Just starting a language?  The University now provides Mango Languages, which offers beginning or 'survival' language lessons in many languages.  To try Mango, go the Boatwright Library web, click Research Databases > M, and look for Mango Languages.  Once you have created an account through the Library site, you can download the Mango Languages app and use it on your mobile device.

 

Infographic on word etymologies and historical trade routes

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapping-words-along-trade-routes/?fbclid=IwAR2IQRiSW3KqaFGi_kjkrSbkjXUri_PZI7tAMEB4iKH5W0DPrp_yQj1OzuE

 

 

Articulatory Phonetics Memes

https://goo.gl/bzVfCL

 

Preserving Regional German Dialects

This article from Deutsche Welle discusses what is lost when regional variants of a language are lost. It also discusses the difference between a language and a dialect and why 'dialects' are losing ground in Germany.

 

Radio Segment on North Koreans on South Korean TV

On Sunday, January 31, 2016, NPR had a radio feature on the appearance of North Koreans on South Korean reality TV.  You can listen to the segment here: http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/01/31/464798910/south-koreas-newest-tv-stars-are-north-korean-defectors .

 

An Interview with Linguist K. David Harrison on When Languages Die

 

 

Slate article:  Photos of Women Who Could Go to Prison for Singing for Men


A series of photographs and a very brief discussion of things women in Iran are forbidden to do, including singing for me and studying English literature.

 

The 'Halal Internet'


A Deutsche Welle article about the 'Halal Internet' coming to Iran has been posted as a discussion item in the Persian group.  Join the discussion!

 

The Free Dictionaries Project


Looking for a free dictionary?  Check out the Free Dictionaries Project!  Especially interesting are the picture dictionaries.

  

Alphabet Blocks for Hebrew, Korean, and Arabic

The Global Studio now has alphabet blocks for Hebrew, Korean, and Arabic.  (The Arabic may be useful for the Persian learners.)  There are also magnetic letters for Hebrew.

What can you do with alphabet blocks and magnetic letters?  Quiz yourself on the letters, put them together to form words, and learn the names of the animals pictured on one side of the blocks.  The Korean blocks seem to have a puzzle, too.  Want to try?  Ask at the Global Studio desk!

 

Visit the Conflict Kitchen, a take-out restaurant that serves food from countries with which the US is in conflict.

 

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Finding Books in Your Language


A number of people have asked about finding children's books, 'easy readers', and popular fiction in the SDLAP languages.  The Global Studio has children's books in Swahili and Turkish (thanks to Professor Grove), and I'm willing to buy more.  However, I prefer to buy books that are culturally authentic, i.e., not translated from English.

 

I have found the following online bookstores that seem to have a good selection.  Please send me (Prof. Scinicariello) a list of things you…

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What is Social Bookmarking? (That's Diigo)

Wikipedia: A Short Explanation

YouTube: Social Bookmarking in Plain English--This is about Delicious, but the theory is the same.

YouTube: Diigo V.3--This video has information about Diigo groups.

Latest Activity

Emily Kim posted a status
Gukbap and Culture

Recently, I have seen a New York Times article about the restaurant named Okdongsik in New York. “Each time an order comes in, a cook behind the counter will place steamed white rice in the bottom of a polished bronze bowl. Pork broth is ladled over the rice, and then a few slices of cooked pork are laid across the surface, along with chopped scallions.” This food is the type of Gukbap, which has been part of Korean culture for a long time.

It is believed that soup began…
17 hours ago
Josh Pantaloni replied to Global Studio's discussion Due by 5pm on Sunday, April 13: Discussion Post #10 on the Ning
"If I received a research grant to study the Korean language, I would focus on how traditional cooking vocabulary is used and preserved in modern media like cooking shows, YouTube videos, and food blogs. I would start by collecting materials from native speakers teaching recipes, especially those that highlight cultural values through language, such as politeness levels and traditional units of measurement. I would apply class concepts like syntax, morphology, and phonology to my analysis. For…"
17 hours ago
Joseph Jeon posted a status
Journal Entry #3
For this assignment, I was asked to give and analyze 5 results of the recent tariffs. This was by far the most challenging assignment yet, simply because I had no idea what the word for tariff was, never mind any other relevant terms. I found myself relying back on my original strategy of thinking in English and then translating my thoughts into Korean. In this case, this was actually incredibly helpful. When I found that I had no good starting place to start writing, I would…
22 hours ago
Leo Barnes posted a status
Journal Post 3 - Spring 2025

Recap: I’m studying Brazilian Portuguese. While before I’ve been studying the São Paulo dialect, I’m now switching to do more with the Rio dialect. This is because I will spend at least 4 months there this year if not 6 (keep reading for details). I’m studying Portuguese by reviewing vocabulary, listening, reading, conversation, and grammar. I study vocabulary through mnemonic devices, songs, and television. I pick up grammar concepts through context and flashcards…
Thursday
Jeremy Um posted a status
Cultural Post #1

눈, 코, 입, otherwise known as Eyes, Nose, Lips by renowned Korean artist Taeyang is a song that talks about his heartbreak from his past relationship which he desperately longs for. As he reminisces, many listeners were able to resonate with the lyrics making it a popular song. Many fans even theorized that the songs resulted in Taeyang reuniting with his ex Hyo Rin which was who the song was written after. The song was so popular that some say it paved the way or at least a new…
Wednesday
Jeremy Um posted a status
Discussion Post #10

If I had received a grant to further conduct a linguistic study of my target language and culture, I would probably target the topic of honorifics in the Korean language. This is a topic that intrigues me as it goes beyond just the language but ties in with the culture as well. The key ideas I would cover in the topic of honorifics is how it reflects social hierarchy, age, and its appropriate usage. Using the grant, I would carry out several methods of research, one of…
Tuesday
Yeseul Jun posted a status
My fourth cultural post is about sundae (순대), often referred to as Korean blood sausage. For my artifact, I watched a documentary about traditional foods in Korean markets and this was one of the food mentions. Sundae is a beloved dish deeply rooted in Korean culture and culinary traditions. Sundae traces back to the Goguryeo Dynasty (37 BCE–668 CE) when it was influenced by similar dishes from China and Mongolia. Originally, sundae was a dish enjoyed by the wealthy, but as it spread across…
Tuesday
  • Jeremy Um I loved how you provided insight into Sundae. I actually never understood what specifically went into the process or ingredients of making it. Althought the ingredients used may sound a little unappetizing, I think that this is something everyone should try at least one, similar to sausage, the actual ingredients used might sound gross but the taste is amazing!
    Wednesday
Joseph Jeon posted a status
Journal Entry #2
For this assignment, I was asked to write a review on my favorite Korean drama or movie and my thoughts on Korean media and its effect on culture moving forward. This assignment was a little more fun than the last one as it did not have the same weight as the political topics we touched on last time, but it did force me to stretch my writing skills all the same. This time around, it was a topic I was much more familiar with which gave me a lot more vocabulary to work with.…
Tuesday
  • Jeremy Um Funny enough, Hospital Playlist is one of my mom's favorite netflix shows. Although I haven't watched it yet, I think its great that this was used as a resource for your Korean learning as there are a lot of day to day interactions and conversations that you were probably able to take away from. I know that the show provides captions but I wonder at what level you would be able to understand the show without the captions and if this would be beneficial at all in the learning process in watching…
    Wednesday
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A network of participants in and friends of Richmond's Self-Directed Language Acquisition Program.

Diigo: Modern Hebrew

Diigo: Persian Learners

Diigo: Turkish Learners

Diigo: Asian Language Learners