A Matter of Choice

I've been a big fan of Rosetta Stone for many years now, ever since I tried the free demo not long after deciding to move to Cyprus. Having previously used the the TOTALe program on my laptop I was interested to see what the difference would be using their new 'Mobile Solution' Designed to enable you to learn 'on the go' away from your computer, your progress automatically syncs to your computer. I used the Rosetta Stone TOTALe Course app on my android tablet and it completely renewed my enthusiam for learning the language after I'd long got out of the habit of using the program on my laptop. It was a much more enjoyable pastime, curled up on the sofa or in bed made it seem easier to dip in and out off meaning that I found it less of a 'chore' to do. For me, the biggest advantage is how much more it appealed to Leo. At the age of four he attends local Cypriot school and is taught in Greek, therefore his understanding of the language is very ...

I started trying to learn Greek way back in 2007 when we decided to move to Cyprus, and even when Leo was just a baby in England I was looking for ways to introduce him to the language.   I remember one morning looking for Greek cartoon on youtube with a 5 month old Leo sitting on my lap! Last year we went to Greek 4 Kids lessons which gave him a little taste of the language before starting school. Although I'm not really trying to teach him, as my Greek is not good enough, and he is picking it up much quicker than I am anyway at school, I do like to find ways to encourage him to use it - it helps me too! Greek 4 Kids is a brilliant website which aims to teach Greek through fun games and activities, they have a great selection of free printables and recently have added some booklets in addition to these.  We now have a copy of the Greek Nursery Rhymes booklet which we've been trying out. Leo often comes home from school singing songs that I can't join in with a...

If you've been reading my blog a while you will no doubt remember how worried I was about sending Leo to school, from trying to work out where to send him, and how to enroll  to his first day at his 'big school'   it's been quite a concern of mine.  Although he seems to have enjoying his time at his school since September I had wondered exactly how he had been getting on, he always says he doesn't remember when you ask him what he's been doing and because of the language barrier he often can't explain very well even when he does remember! Today the parents were invited to spend an hour in the class and then to enjoy coffee and cake whilst having a chat to the teachers about the children's progress. It was interesting as my Greek is not yet good enough to understand what was going on very well but brilliant to see him there being so much a part of the class and happy.  As I walked in, he had the biggest smile on his face and after running over for a k...

Regular readers will know that I am very interested in learning the Greek language and helping Leo to learn it (or having him help me which is increasingly the case now!) I've been learning Greek now via many different methods for several years now but although I always encourage Leo, I don't want to try and teach him myself as I don't wish to confuse him by not telling him things correctly. Greek is not one of the most common languages when it comes to learning materials, and is often not one of the languages available  so I was really pleased to see that Dino Lingo - Language for kids have not left it out! We recently received a set of Dino Lingo Greek DVDs and they have gone down very well so far. Using the top 200 words and phrases from the chosen language Dino Lingo is a fun way to introduce your child to a second language.  Using cute dinosaur characters (which do a really funky little dance, that Leo and I both copy each time it comes on!)  and colourfu...

I love the expression 'The first day of the rest of your life' and although technically every day is today certainly felt like it.  Usually I hate January with a passion but currently this one is looking all good. Today I rejoined Slimming World, at a new group (new to me, not the area).  It's within walking distance as was my old group in the UK which is good as you get that little bit of extra exercise on the way! They seem like a nice bunch of people there which makes all the difference when it comes to wanting to go along each week. I already know 3 of the ladies who go so it's even better. I tried to get back on the plan after Louka was born and lost 1/2 stone but I was struggling a little without the support of a group. It really does make all the difference going along each week - people have often said I don't need to go as I know the plan so well but it just doesn't work as well. I KNOW Slimming World works, and I know it works really well if yo...

Leo loves to learn and seems to have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge!  We conquered numbers a long time ago, closely followed by the alphabet and one of his favourite things at the moment is spelling! I think this came about by playing  'I-Spy' in the car to keep him entertained, it took a while but he's finally got the idea that you have to be able to see the thing you are 'spying' - (no Leo we cannot see a snake....  well we'd better not be able to see one!)   From the back of this he now asks how everything is spelt  - and I mean EVERYTHING, I feel like I'm living in some kind of spelling competition, I'm not complaining obviously, its a good thing he is so interested but it can be tiring! He always asks what things spell or what the letters are when he sees a sign or writing on anything, my usual response is 'I don't know, you tell me what letters you can see'   When he tells me the letters I then tell he what it spells.   This wor...

Regular readers, and especially those who follow me on Twitter will know that Leo started his new 'big school' last week. It was something I was very nervous about, right from the start when I enrolled him back in January not having a clue what I was doing. We had put him in Nursery back in June  as in addition to my nerves about sending him to an all Greek school, I was worried about sending him somewhere on his own for the first time  around the time I was due to give birth, I thought this might be a bit much for him to cope with at once/ Although in some respects we achieved our aim - get him used to the idea of school five days a week, it can't really be classed as a resounding success. At first in his 'baby school' as we now call it, as expected there were tears but after just a couple of days he went in reasonably happy as long as I did everything in the same way each day (get him out the car, put his bag on his back, hold hands and then choose a coloured...

Σ 'αγαπώ   μαμά   or   μαμά   μυρίζει ς   Which would rather your darling child wrote in your Mother's day card?    It wasn't very long ago that I would have had no idea and would have assumed either was something nice.  I often joked that Leo would be coming home from school speaking Greek while we all smiled and said how clever he was when in reality he could be swearing and saying all sorts and we would have no idea! Although we've been trying to teach Leo as much as we can at home, and taking him to Greek4Kids lessons, it's important to me to learn myself.  I want to be able to understand letters and information sent home from his school. I want to be able to help him with his home work. I want to be able to talk to his teachers and not struggle to understand what is going on.  I want to show him that learning other languages is a good thing to do and to make him feel at home - rather than a 'Brit abroad' My pa...

As you probably know I'm in the (slow!) process of learning Greek  and since Leo started to talk we've been trying to teach him what we know.  He knows his colours and numbers in both languages along with a few random things in Greek but I still would like him to know more.  I know he will pick it up at school, many British children here go to school knowing no Greek whatsoever and apparently get on fine but I'd like him to have a reasonable idea of what's going on when he gets there and not struggling through trying to work out what to do and what everyone is saying! My biggest reason to learn Greek is due to Leo - I intend to be able to read the letters that come from school and know what he is talking about when he comes home! For some time I've been a big fan of the 'Greek 4 Kids' blog and was really pleased when the classes were launched in Protaras earlier this month.  Aimed at children age 3 and up (3 ish - Leo's not 3 until May!) the classe...

This week, a little later than planned I finally completed the first level of my Rosetta Stone  Greek language course. I started the course back in June so it's taken me a while to get this far.  The plan had been to get to this point by Christmas to be able to start 2012 with level 2 but with the whole house being ill in some sort of  odd relay race it got a bit delayed. Although I often need to push myself to complete a lesson or two, being too easily distracted by faffing around on the internet, reading or sometimes even falling asleep mid lesson (due to early mornings and toddler, I must add not through any fault of the lessons!)   When I do get on and do it I genuinely enjoy it, like most things it becomes much easier when you get into the habit of doing it little and often. As I've progressed through the first level I have attended the online Studio session for each lesson. These really make all the difference to me as it really feels like you are making pr...

Since (hopefully) enrolling Leo to start at pre-primary school later this year I've been thinking of what I can do to help him settle in. Although I'm trying to learn Greek and I know he will pick it up very quickly when he starts I want to do all I can to make it more comfortable for him. Obviously his English is much better than his Greek but we have always tried to teach him things we know as we've gone along. We taught him to count in both languages at the same time, for a long time he didn't separate the two,  counting 'one, ena.. two, dheio'  but now will count in whichever language you ask him to.... when he feels like it of course! He knows colours in both languages and will often pick something up and ask 'What's this colour in Greek Mummy?'  to reply with 'yes that's right Mummy, that's clever' when you reply! I've been following a great website now for a while - Greek For Kids and I'm certainly going to start...

My least favourite thing about living in Cyprus is the fact that I generally have no idea what I am doing most of the time when it comes to the 'official' stuff.  I realise this is partly my fault and if I could speak some useful Greek (rather than the random things I have learnt so far) then life would be much easier, but as yet my Greek is so limited I cannot hold any kind of helpful conversation and I'm constantly trying to figure out what the hell is going on! I have spent many many hours on line trying to find concise information on everything from becoming residents, getting medical cards, tax rebate and most recently how, when and where to enrol Leo into school.  Although over the last couple of years I've used many websites I have yet to find one with all the answers, this is probably due to the fact no-one knows all the answers as I have a sneaky suspicion they frequently change! Using a combination of websites and experiences of fri...

Regular readers of my blog will know that I'm in the process of learning Greek, I have been learning it on and off for several years now but have struggled to get into a regular pattern of studying.  When I received my Rosetta Stone TOTALe software back in July I was very excited (I really was, I believe I may have tried to put Leo to bed an hour early.... it didn't work!)  and threw myself straight into it, doing a little almost every night and scheduling  Studio sessions whenever I could. Included with the TOTALe package is 3 months subscription to the online services, and when this ran out I think my motivation left with it!  In the similar way to going to an actual Slimming World class helped me to lose weight the live sessions ensured I kept up with the lessons and didn't start to skip days. The thought that you have one booked and you are going to be having a 50 minute conversation in Greek makes me much more inclined to get on with it! Ros...

I've just finished my third live Studio session with Rosetta Stone .  Studio sessions form a large part of the learning experience with the new TOTALe software and I find them both brilliant fun and nerve racking at the same time! The Studio sessions are where you chat in real time with a native speaker and one or two other students.  The tutor has a webcam so you can see them (they only hear us so you don't have to worry about doing your hair!) and they use various combinations of pictures to ask you questions about and start conversations. I found this third session quite difficult as I had only just finished the lessons leading up to it and had not practised quite as much as I should have done but Maria the tutor was ever so helpful and very encouraging. Along with the Studio sessions you can also visit Rosetta World. which is home to their online games and activities. There are three types, Solo - where you play games by yourself. Duo - wher...

It's two weeks since I received my Rosetta Stone Greek program   and it's going really well. I have made an effort to spend regular time working through the lessons and I'm loving every minute. Last week I started using the online features which are new to Version 4 and I even took part in an live online session with a native speaker in my first ever 'Studio session' Included with the software is 3 months subscription to the online features, which include stories and games to play with other learners as well as live online lessons. As you progress through the course more options open up to help you learn in new ways. I booked my first studio session not really knowing what to expect, and I was a little nervous! The session lasts 50 minutes and it was so much fun the time just flew by. I joined another learner and the online coach Maria and the session ran in a similar way to the standard lessons - various photos are shown on screen and you talk about what you c...

It is often said you can do anything if you set your mind to it. It's been said to me many times and a friend of mine once told me that I was really good at doing 'big things' I have found though that for me there has to be something to help me get my head into it, when I lost weight I could never have done it without Slimming World even though I really wanted to do it and when I started blogging it was the linkups and memes that really got me in the swing of things. So I am very excited to have received my copy of Rosetta Stone's Greek Language course , I think this will be the catalyst that gets me in the habit of scheduling regular slots of time to do the lessons and finally progress my knowledge of Greek beyond "Hello, two beers please, thank you" Rosetta Stone has recently launched the next generation of its language software - Version 4 TOTALe (pronounced tow-tally) I have been lusting after this product for a while as I had several years ago had use...

When we decided we were moving to Cyprus, one of the first things I did was start learning Greek as it's very important to me to learn the language of the country I'm living in. I brought several books and CDs to teach myself from although I may have been working on the assumption if I brought enough I'd magically learn the language over night as I have so many I could probably open a library! Greek is obviously not as popular a language to learn as say French or German and I spent a long time trying to find an evening course in my area. I did eventually find one and enrolled. Although it was enjoyable and I learnt a fair amount it was expensive for the amount of time spent in lessons. The course was split into two terms, payable separately and I was unable to complete it due to a certain little man being born right in the middle! I carried on at home, trying to learn in amongst the night feeds and nappy changes and assumed it would be easier once we had moved to...