We have the greatest admiration for our Ukrainian buddies who are trying to learn English.
How hard can it be? Very hard.
Admittedly, these charts English-centric, but it gives the sense of how divergent languages are (from the US State Department).
The web is heavily weighted to English (https://www.statista.com/chart/4140/low-diversity-of-languages-on-the-web-hinders-accessability)
Who’s Learning What?
Some Quirky Language Stats
Why are these people smiling?
Have you ever noticed that in stock photos of students learning a foreign language, the students are happy, almost giddy?
[descriptions from G (Mr. ChatGPT), our newest Elder]
Tenses: Present Perfect Continuous
Similar to the present perfect, this tense emphasizes the duration of an action that began in the past and continues into the present. For example, “I have been studying English for three years.”
Past Perfect
This tense is used to describe actions that were completed before another action in the past. It can be tricky because it requires understanding the sequence of events. For example, “She had already left when I arrived.”
Future Perfect Continuous
This tense describes an action that will continue up until a point in the future. For example, “By the end of the month, I will have been working here for five years.”
Conditional Tenses
These tenses (including present, past, and perfect conditionals) express hypothetical situations and their possible outcomes, which can be difficult to grasp. For example, “If I had known, I would have come earlier.”
Idioms and Slang
English is rich in idiomatic expressions and slang, which can be confusing and difficult to learn because they often don’t translate directly into other languages.
Moving up to CERF A2!
It’s Not All Roses
The teacher asked me to define the word “get”.
The teacher asked me to define the word “up”.
Reading Shakespeare. Is this even English?
WLBOTT Mandatory Phrase Book
| English | Spanish | French | Ukrainian |
| Yes | Sí | Oui | Так |
| No | No | Non | Немає |
| Please | Por favor | S’il te plaît | Будь ласка |
| Thank you | Gracias | Merci | Дякую |
| I’m sorry | Lo lamento | Je suis désolé | мені шкода |
| I’m sorry for the whole WLBOTT thing | Lo siento por todo el asunto de WLBOTT. | Je suis désolé pour toute cette histoire de WLBOTT | Вибачте за всю цю справу з WLBOTT |
| I’m sorry for being late. | Siento llegar tarde. | Je suis désolé d’être en retard. | Вибачте за запізнення. |
| Where is the bathroom? | ¿Dónde está el baño? | Où se trouvent les toilettes? | Де ванна кімната? |
| Who ate the last pierogi? | ¿Quién se comió el último pierogi? | Qui a mangé le dernier pierogi ? | Хто з’їв останні п’єрогі? |
| My wife is smuggling diamonds. | Mi esposa está contrabandeando diamantes. | Ma femme fait de la contrebande de diamants. | Моя дружина займається контрабандою діамантів. |
| Will there be a buffet? | ¿Habrá buffet? | Y aura-t-il un buffet ? | Чи буде фуршет? |
| My hamster is an emotional support animal. | Mi hámster es un animal de apoyo emocional. | Mon hamster est un animal de soutien émotionnel. | Мій хом’як – тварина емоційної підтримки. |
| I am allergic to oxygen. | Soy alérgico al oxígeno. | Je suis allergique à l’oxygène. | У мене алергія на кисень. |
| My wife is packing a loaded 38. | Mi esposa lleva un 38 cargado. | Ma femme emballe un 38 chargé. | Моя дружина пакує завантажений 38. |
| Let me show you how we do it in America. | Déjame mostrarte cómo la hacemos en América. | Laissez-moi vous montrer comment nous procédons en Amérique. | Дозвольте мені показати вам, як ми це робимо в Америці. |
| Why am I being arrested? | ¿Por qué me arrestan? | Pourquoi suis-je arrêté ? | Чому мене арештовують? |
| It’s not my dog. | No es mi perro. | Ce n’est pas mon chien. | Це не мій пес. |
| Do you have an extradition treaty with the United States? | ¿Tiene algún tratado de extradición con Estados Unidos? | Avez-vous un traité d’extradition avec les États-Unis ? | У вас є договір про екстрадицію зі Сполученими Штатами? |