German: Translation Writing Assignment

The following is a writing activity primarily designed for high intermediate or advanced learners. This is a translation (Übersetzung) activity.

Students will work in small groups or with a partner as part of a Reisebüro. The goal is to take advertising slogans from English and to try and translate them into German.

Have students focus purely on the slogans. There are of course thousands of ads to choose from. In addition, you can have students do some out of class research on the ad you have provided them and as an additional component to the activity have students give a presentation in German where they must pitch their particular travel destination/vacation. This should be within reach of advanced students although you will want to provided intermediate students with additional time.

Alternately, you could do this activity but focus on other types of products such as cars, groceries, clothes, and more! This type of activity easily lends itself to a business language class. Feel free to adapt this for another language if you are not a German teacher!

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Jobs: Executive Assistant / Events Coordinator; German House; New York, NY‏

This is a full-time position from March to September, 2014. The person fulfilling the role of Executive Assistant / Events Coordinator is responsible for providing administrative and general support to the American Friends of Bucerius, as well as the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) NYC in equal parts (20 hours / week each).

Responsibilities:
-Coordinate travel planning, including making flight, hotel and car reservations as appropriate;
-Provide support by scheduling meetings, reserving meeting rooms, preparing meeting materials, and preparing travel and expense reports;
-Provide administrative support, to include but not limited to phone service, faxing, filing, copying, mail distribution and office supply management;
-Ensure excellent customer service by providing timely and accurate information to all stakeholders as needed;
-Assistant in event management and activities.

Selection Criteria:
-Undergraduate degree highly desirable
-High degree of professionalism required
-Experience in the scheduling and managing of special events
-Advanced experience in Word, Excel, Outlook, and Power Point. Social Media: Twitter, Facebook a plus
-Experience with database management helpful
-Ability to take initiative; self-starter
-Strong oral and written communication skills
-Very good English and German language skills
-Strong planning and organizational skills
-Dependable and consistent

Compensation and Benefits:
Salary commensurate with experience. Actual salary will depend on qualifications and anticipated contribution to the organizations.

Location:
871 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017

For additional details and instructions on how to apply for the position, go to:www.daad.org/jobs

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French: Comment créer un mot de passe, or the internet user's worst nightmare

Creating a secure password requires some thinking. 

The same steps would be required regardless of the language, so why not make a reading comprehension game out of it? For every potential password the student submits, add one more parameter. 

The password has to be in the target language and adhere to all the rules listed in the example below:

Then ask students to share their perfected passwords, and have them vote on the most creative one.

ESL: Why English so hard to learn

Chris here with a quick picture I came across. This is a nice little collection of some of the inconsistencies of the English language. What other characteristics like this may may English hard to learn?

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Flick Collection Update

We are starting off the new year with a continued expansion of our France and Belgium picture collections. This will take us through January. Following that we will focus on Latin America for our fellow Spanish and Portuguese teachers.

Here is a link to the latest pictures. The most recent collection is from Bruges. Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/languageteacherstoolbox/



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Jobs: Visiting Assistant Professor/Instructor; Hendrix College; Conway, AR‏

Hendrix College is looking to fill a one-year sabbatical replacement position in German at the level of Visiting Assistant Professor (Ph.D. in hand) or Instructor (ABD) for the 2014-2015 academic year.  Candidates should be generalists with experience in the classroom. Teaching load is three courses per semester, including one section each of first-year language, second-year language/culture and upper-level literature/civilization.  Responsibilities include limited oversight of our German language immersion house and sponsoring of an active German Club.  Interested applicants should submit a letter of interest, c.v., graduate and undergraduate transcripts, and three letters of reference to Interfolio (apply.interfolio.com/24163). Review of applications will begin on January 22, 2014.

 Hendrix is a distinguished national liberal arts college hosting a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. The College, related to the United Methodist Church, has a strong commitment to excellence in teaching liberal arts.  Hendrix is an equal opportunity employer.  

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Jobs: Part-Time Exchange Program Coordinators, EF Foundation for Foreign Study‏

EF Foundation for Foreign Study is hiring local coordinators to place and supervise German-speaking international exchange students with caring host families in your area. This opportunity is part-time and flexible. Coordinators set their own hours and decide how much or how little they want to work. Many of our coordinators have full-time jobs. The coordinator position interweaves with everyday life while also providing supplemental income and fantastic travel incentives. Qualified IECs will travel with EF to Germany and Austria in 2014. Bring exchange to your community and earn the ability to see the world with your EF family! For more information contact Angie Redford at 208-890-3502 or angie.redford@effoundation.org or visit www.effoundation.org

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