Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Happy day to all the Irish out there, and happy día del santo to all of you named Patrick! May the luck of the Irish always be with you!

So, how do the Irish (and non-Irish) celebrate? With parades, drink, food, music you name it! Show a little spirit today and wear some green. Have some cabbage with your meal in honor of the day.

For die-hard Catholics celebrating Holy Week, this article may be of interest. Apparently, Holy week takes precedence over saint days, so, technically, today is not St. Patrick's Day at all.
Tell that to the millions of Catholics round the globe that are celebrating this day with a pint and something green... or, even better, a pint of something green. :)

Pic from www.jupiterimages.com.





Top pic from stpatricksday2006.blogspot.com. Bottom pic from http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iTq6K6kn_ggV1MfJofKgU6qTeImA.

Learn English - Use Your Cell Phone!

An article about a new service in China: Learn English through your cell phone! The Guardian Weekly has a blurb about this new service, currently only available in China, but maybe we will see something like this someday in Ecuador, too! Imagine having English lessons being sent directly to your cell phone.

Nokia launches English-by-mobile service for China
Finnish mobile phone company Nokia hopes to tap into China's English language learning market and boost sales of its handsets with the launch of an English-by-mobile-phone service. The new education platform is called Mobiledu and will deliver audio and text-based lessons to subscribers' mobile phones.

Full article here.

Nokia plans to charge $0.26 per download. Seem like a good deal? Is this something you would be interested in? Why or why not? Post a comment!

Benefits of Learning a Foreign Language

Why are you studying English?

It's a question that often comes up in English class, placement exams, and even daily conversation. For those of us studying English, it is something we have probably already asked ourselves.
Common reasons for studying English are to get a promotion at work or to have better job opportunities, to fulfill university requirements, and to enhance one's personal and cultural experiences. But did you also know that people who speak a foreign language have better overall communicative skills, even in their mother tongue? It not only improves your communication skills, but also has an effect on intellectual growth in general. It makes people better listeners. It opens doors to other cultures and gives you the opportunity to meet people you otherwise would not know. It fosters flexibility in thinking and sensitivity and tolerance to other people and situations. And if that's not enough, it's just plain fun!

Click here to see more about the benefits of language learning.

International Woman's Day

Happy International Women's Day to all our female students and staff!

Here is some trivia to think about today as you celebrate the women in your life:

• Women in New Zealand were the first in the world to obtain the right to vote. The year? 1893.
• 5000: The number of brides that are murdered or commit suicide every year in India because their marriage dowries are considered inadequate. (Source: http://www.sigi.org/Resource/stats.htm)
• This day was first celebrated on March 19, 1911 in Germany, Austria, Denmark and some other European countries.
  

Also, visit this link to see more about this international day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Every year we send cards, flowers, and chocolate to loved ones on February 14, also known as Valentine's Day. We do this in honor of the Saint Valentine. So who was Saint Valentine? Unfortunately, no one really knows.

One theory says that he was a priest in the third century who lived in Rome. Emperor Claudius II, who ruled in Rome at that time, decided that single men made better soldiers than married men and passed a law that did not permit young men to marry. According to legend, Saint Valentine didn't agree. He arranged for couples to get married secretly, putting love above war. Emperor Claudius found out and had Valentine killed.

Another legend says that Valentine was first sent to prison, where he fell in love with his jailor's daughter. He sent her a letter and signed it "Your Valentine", immortalizing those two words forever.

No one is really sure who Valentine was, or who the holiday is in honor of. Regardless, February will always be the month of love - a month where special things can happen!

Be sure to let "your Valentine" know how special he/she is to you. Send an electronic valentine to him/her today. Go here and here and here to see some examples. Or, better yet, send a gift of virtual flowers - cheap, easy, and they'll never wilt!

Fun Fact of the Day

What is the country with the largest number of English speakers?

Did you guess the United States? About ten years ago, you would have been correct. But recently the country with the most English speakers is... India!

It is believed that about one-third of the population of India can speak English, which gives us about 350 million people using English as their first or second language in that country. That's more than the populations of the U.S. and Britain combined.

Not everyone agrees with this ranking. Some cite India as being the second- or third-largest English-speaking country. Regardless of where it stands exactly, India is full of people who use English on a daily basis - in school, at work, and at home.