Our ESL Adventures

I haven’t written in a while, and yesterday, we left for a 10-day trip, so I may not post for a while yet again! In the meantime, I thought I would update you on our ESL adventures.

Right now, I’m trying to help the girls develop their literacy skills. Here are some of the main activities we are engaged in:

Having Fun!

A person’s ability to acquire language is highly dependent on their motivation and emotions. Effective activities are always affective—that is, they influence the learners’ emotions. Consequently, having fun and bonding may be the most important thing we do!

Read, Read, Read!!!

Actually, in this picture, we aren't reading in English. Saci was teaching me to read in Hungarian!

Even Attila has taken up an interest in reading! I brought several books from home, and we found more here in the library. Some of our favorites include Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Amelia Bedelia, and Madeline. I just finished reading Charlotte’s Web to Saci and Juju. I’m amazed at how much some kids can pick up just from print exposure. Saci has never received reading lessons in English, and the Hungarian Alphabet is very different. You can imagine how surprised her parents and I were when she picked up Amelia Bedelia and read it to me one evening!

Dialogue Journals

We had fun decorating!

I learned about dialogue journals in an ESL/Bilingual Literacy class that I took last semester. I wasn’t sure how the girls would respond, but they seem to really like it! Juju has already written several stories, and Saci likes to draw pictures and label them in English. Dialogue journals also give the girls an opportunity to practice their reading; they like to see what I’ve written in response.

Story Cubes

I’m pretty sure that these are some of the best toys I’ve come across. We use story cubes in a variety of ways. Most frequently, we simply roll the cubes and take turns telling stories. Recently, I wrote stories down as the girls dictated. Saci practiced reading her story, and Juju copied hers in her own handwriting. You can read their stories here.

Mad Libs

To keep them special, Mad Libs are reserved for car trips. I wasn’t sure that the girls would be ready for grammar and the parts of speech, but they surprised me. The older girls love creating wacky stories, and as I explain the different parts of speech, they are usually able to think of the corresponding Hungarian title.

Irregular Verbs Go Fish or Memory Game

This game is my own invention. As I’ve listened to the girls speak, I’ve noticed that they really struggle with irregular verbs. I think that with exposure to a native speaker, this problem will probably correct itself over time. Nevertheless, I decided experiment with additional exposure and more direct instruction. I looked up a list of the most common irregular verbs, and I printed the first twenty verbs and along with their simple past tense. At first, I placed the cards face-up and had Saci and Juju match the present tense of each verb with its simple past tense. When they got stuck, we talked about the words and found the match together. We then used the cards to play a variation of Go Fish, which required the girls to request the other form of the verb they were holding. For example, when someone was holding thought, she asked for think. When she was holding think, she asked for thought. This game was a bit challenging for the girls, but they cooperated well. I have yet to see if the emphasis on irregular verbs makes a difference.

Spelling Games

Juju is spelling with a movable alphabet that I made in one of my education classes.

Rainbow writing! I practiced writing my Hungarian numbers, and Juju wrote some words from a story in her journal.

Because we are trying to keep everything informal, I’m not putting much emphasis on spelling. Nevertheless, I’ve selected words from the girls dialogue journals, and we have done a few spelling activities like rainbow writing. I brought a moveable alphabet that I made in an education class at LeTourneau, and we’ve spelled words with that as well. We’ve also played with Bannagrams, which help with spelling development. The girls love technology, so I’m hoping to use online spelling games to strengthen their skills.

Reader’s Theater

Reader’s Theater is our most recent endeavor. Juju, Saci, and I have just started practicing The Wizard, the Fairy, and the Magic Chicken. We gathered costumes before we left for our trip, and I'm hoping to finish we'll perform when we return. Maybe we’ll upload a video later this summer!

One Month!

As of tomorrow, I will have spent a month in Hungary! The time has gone by so quickly. In honor of this special milestone, here are a few glimpses into my daily life.

Schedule: The Daily Life of an Au Pair

School Days

Friday is the children's last day of school, so my schedule is about to change. As of now, however, I get up between 6 and 6:20. The girls wake up at 6:40, and we all have breakfast. Someone else takes Hanga to kindergarten, and I walk the two older girls to school. They arrive a little before 8, and then I'm free for the morning. I use this time to explore the city, read, bike, surf the web, jog, etc. If I'm not at the house, I head home by 11:30 to have lunch with Eszter and Attila. Then, the three of us pick Hanga up from kindergarten. Depending on the day, Eszter or I pick up the older girls between 2 and 3:15.

Afternoons and evenings are usually pretty chill, but the schedule varies from day to day. Sometimes the children have music or German lessons, but most of those activities take place in the home. Sometimes we'll read stories or go to the park. After dinner, the girls take baths and prepare for bed. As a bedtime story, I'm reading Charlotte's Web to the older girls, but for the last week or so, we've been on a bit of a hiatus.

I have Wednesday nights off, so I've been attending a bilingual Bible study at Golgota Church. Being in Hungary has helped me to appreciate the significance of having Scripture and Bible studies in a language I understand. It's such an incredible blessing that I previously took for granted. I'm also realizing the importance of having worship music in one's own language. The worship music is only posted in Hungarian, which makes singing along very difficult! Some of the songs are translated from English, but when everyone is singing in another language, remembering the English lyrics is difficult.

After Bible study, I head to the English Club, which is held on Wednesday nights at a local restaurant. It's usually composed of one or two Americans, a Brit or two, a few Hungarians, maybe an Austrian, and a couple of people from other parts of Europe. The second week I was there,  I met two girls who study at the university here in Sopron. One is from Budapest, and the other grew up locally. Their English is good, and I got together with one of them last week to hang out. We visited her dorm room, biked around for bit, and had fun!

Weekends

Weekends here are a time for family excursions! Last weekend, we stayed in town because Attila was baptized. I wish I took pictures. It was a big event, almost like a wedding. Earlier in the week, family came to town. Then, on Saturday, the ceremony was held at the local reformed church. I couldn't understand what was being said, but Ju Ju and Saci sang, and it looked lovely.  After Attila's baptism, we went to a hotel and had a delicious lunch. Here in Hungary, baptizing babies is way of welcoming them the family. I'm glad that I was able to witness such an important cultural event.

This weekend was extra-long because of Pentecost, so Monday, we visited the baths (thermal pools) in a nearby town. The girls had a lot of fun swimming, and I discovered that Hanga is absolutely fearless.

Pictures and all that jazz . . .

I was going to write more, but this post is getting way too long. Maybe I'll write another post about our ESL activities. Here are some pictures from daily life.

Bath Painting: I discovered this idea on Pinterest, and Saci and Hanga love it.  Confession: I actually think that the paint looks really yummy. I have to keep reminding myself that it's shaving cream, not cool whip.

Saci takes Hungarian folk dancing lessons at school, and I was able to watch her "final exam." The little girls were so cute in their spinning skirts and white blouses.

I love to go on walks, even when it looks like it might rain. No, especially when it looks like it might rain.

We went to the store to get bananas, but first, we had to try every single seat on the merry-go-round. Four year-olds know about the important things in life.

This tower was used to hold gun-powder! It's absolutely massive, and it sits right next to Hanga's kindergarten and the track where I occasionally run. Okay, occasionally is liberal; In nearly a month, I've only run twice.

Much love!
Renee

P.S. Shout out to my little sister Arielle who turned 12 (12!!!!!!!!!!!!) on Sunday. Crazy girl, I can't believe you're so old!

Budapest!

Last weekend, Eszter had a high school re-union in Budapest, so we took a short trip to the city! We were able to visit the castle district on Saturday. It was a short trip, but I now have a list of places to visit, and I know how to use the public transit systems like the tram and metro, so maybe next time I will be able to see even more!

Here are a few pictures. They are totally out of order, but arranging pictures on blogger is not my forte. Hopefully I'll write more later about these locations' history and significance.

The Chain Bridge: One of the many bridges that connects Buda to Pest

The changing of the guards at Buda Castle. Unfortunately, my video didn't turn out.

On the metro

My favorite: the Fisherman's Bastion

Castle ruins from the middle ages!

This old car is from East Germany. Its metal is so thin that people joke about it being made out of paper.

Matthias Church. I remember learning is history that Gothic churches were designed to draw eyes towards heaven.

Buda Castle

A building in the castle district. Can you guess what those holes are from?

While we were gone, Hanga made a delicious cake with her grandmother!