Washington Academy of Languages

Ahhhh - what a messy room!!!!!

Originally uploaded by littlemoresunshine

Construction is a process that involves the building or assembling of infrastructure. A solid building is impossible without a solid foundation. A strong foundation is a nice metaphor often used to talk about developing knowledge, but we have to use such a metaphor with care. When talking about second language learning, we can begin from the basic building blocks of speech. However, such an approach becomes problematic in teaching pronunciation and building language skills in a second language learner.

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january 15. [globe farm.]

Originally uploaded by misscaro

We thought we’d take this opportunity to share news from around the Seattle area of cultural events happening this season.

From January 24 – June 7, the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture hosts the exhibit Coffee: The World in Your Cup. This exhibit looks at how world cultures, economies, and environments are affected by the coffee industry. There will be a number of events related to this exhibit, which you can read about here. The tastings and demonstrations look particularly interesting!

On Thursday, February 19, the Seattle Asian Art Museum will host a panel discussion titled “Playing with Power: States, Art and Patronage in Jodhpur.” The panel will discuss the cultural, historical, literary and social context of the works featured in the exhibition Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur. You can find more information on the Seattle Art Museum’s web calendar here.

The Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival comes back this year the weekend of April 17. From the Seattle Center’s website: “From the booms of taiko drums to the silence of ikebana flowers, the event is a feast for the senses. Delicious Japanese food, tea ceremony demonstrations and artwork present both a modern and ancient view of this complex culture.”

In May of this year, the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington will celebrate its centennial. Leading up to that celebration, the school will host a series of events on international topics. One highlight: “Monthly Centennial Lecture Series with the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle Featuring Resat Kasaba, Professor of International Studies. Topic: Middle East Roundtable - Politics and Economy in a Changing World.” This talk will take place on February 10.

More to come!