El taller Saturday 25th February 2017

CAFẾ PIERRE LANGUAGES

EL TALLER ESPAÑOL

SABADO 25th Febrero

language classes in 

MIDDLESBROUGH, STOKESLEY, HARTLEPOOL, NORMANBY, REDCAR, YARM AND GUISBOROUGH

Muchas gracias a todos!

Special thanks to ANYA for her excellent presentation of  LA REPUBLICA DOMINICANA.

Thanks also to VICTORIA, LUIS, IVAN, ANNA, VALENTIN, SANDRA AND REGLA!

MUCHAS MUCHISIMOS GRACIAS!!!

NEXT TALLER

Saturday 25th March 1-3 at the Multi Media Exchange in Middlesbrough.

New dawn of language learning

Café Pierre Languages are entering a new dawn of Language learning.

In the next couple of months we expect to see new Spanish, Japanese and Mandarin classes appearing on our programme.

Our workshops are becoming very popular, with guests from all around the world visiting and working with our students and friends.
The dates for the next round of workshops are below.

El taller español-   Spanish Language and culture workshop. Saturday 25th February 13:00-15:00 Multi Media Exchange , Corporation road in Middlesbrough.

L’atelier français, French language and culture workshop. Saturday 4th March 13:00-15:00 , Multi Media Exchange , Corporation road in Middlesbrough.

Der Stammtisch  German language and culture workshop. 18th February 14:00-16:00 at the Buck Inn , Chop Gate.

[Peter, Gaelle and Martine at the last French workshop].

We are planning a Japanese workshop , hopefully to include Manga Art.

A dutch workshop is also on the way.

We have had up to date, more than 1,000 enquiries for languages in the North Yorkshire and Tees Valley area and our venues are now in Middlesbrough, Redcar, Normanby, Stokesley, with classes planned for Yarm and Guisborough.

Skype classes have included tutors working from Russia, Germany and Spain.

Our list of languages now includes.

Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, Dutch, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Spanish. 

For further informaiton contact Peter at 
cafepierrelanguages@gmail.com  07929781421

James Joyce Ulysses or Homer The Odyssey - an Update

Well, having read the Odyssey, I now have more questions than answers. But it is true to say that I really! enjoyed the experience!

And now the Marathon that is;

James Joyce, Ulysses.

I have just managed to finish the Introduction and I found myself reaching for the dictionary almost as much as my reading experience in Italian!

Another case of 'Watch this space!

Questions of  Masculinity and the androgynous man. 

Irish politics, Shakespeare, References to Tolstoy, Eduoard Dujardin, Samuel Beckett, Jean Paul Sartre, To name but a few!

And of course constant references to W.B. Yeats!

So the questions begin.

Will I recognise the themes , the likenesses of the Odyssey? Will I know when Leopold Bloom is representing Oddyseus and when Stephen Dedalus is portaying Telemachus.

Will I need to research Irish history to understand the story, The Easter rising?

How I remember my visit to Dublin and pointing out the bullet holes on the walls of buildings on O'Connell Street.!

Lets see!

Language News October 26 2016

Planning is under way for a new Language programme in Redcar.

French for Beginners, Spanish for Beginners and Italian for Beginners are all going to be available from January 2017.

Class lists are open and details will be available tout de suite.

Please contact Peter on 07929781421 or send an email to cafepierrelanguages@gmail.com for further information.

Florence July 2016

Where to start?
A month in Tuscany.

My first time in Italy!
Amazing course at the British Institute in Florence.  Grazie mille!

Florence A city so full of magic, it is difficult to know where to start.

So many thoughts and experiences.

La Traviata.
My first Opera, in the Open Air in Il palazio Pitti.

James Joyce Ulysses or Homer The Odyssey

A dilemma, I want to read James Joyce's materpiece, but I feel I have to read the Odyssey first to understand Joyce!

It is getting to the point where I am wondering, should I also read the bible!

Writers are so influenced by classics and religion as well as there own experiences.

It fascinates me, but I guess it is similar to reading Russian text in that background knowledge helps to understand the message from the writer.

So here we go on my own Odyssey, I have decided ot have a look first at Homer. God knows I may need some help!!  But if it helps me understand, James Joyec, Job done.

Watch this space!!

Book review- Frankensteing. Mary Shelley

Having just finished reading this classic book. I find myself pondering about the meaning of the text, the messages that Mary Shelley wanted to share or disguised in her writing.

That's the problem with reading sometimes, don't you think?
Maybe we read too much into the text?
Why not just read for the pleasure of reading?

However, Frankenstein was for me an amazing book. It had to be influenced by my memories of the Hammer Horror films of my childhood and as usual one finds that the book is quite a way from the plot of a film.

How can you forget the Hammer horror version! It was so frightening as a child, although not in Black and white, I seem to remember the films as always being in monochrome , maybe it was our television?

Back to the book, of course the language of Mary Shelley in her writing is very romantic and yet again I find influences from Greek classics as Frankenstein is also known as the modern Prometheus.