The Bogeyman

The dark, imaginary creature that scares disobedient children so much that they don't even dare to open a closet door after hearing its name exists in many languages!! Hey, you might think this is silly, but we found a very interesting list of names and stories behind the monster in several languages. Actually, it would be nice if all you could add to our list. How would it be called in Arabic? Russian? Urdu? Chinese??!!

In USA is the "bogeyman". It sounds funny. In Latin America is called "el cuco" o "el coco". Yes, coco means coconut in English.

Things got even more interesting when we asked our Italian teacher if children in Italy go through the same agony. When he said: "spauracchio", we all laughed. It sounds so elegant and harmless; almost like Spiderman. :-)) Oh, we love Italian!

RUSSIAN CLASSES IN AUGUST

If you love blinis as much as we do, then you are the perfect student to join one of our Russian classes.

Beginner Russian starts NEXT TUESDAY, AUGUST 5th. You meet from 6-8 pm, for 10 weeks.

We have one student at an advanced level waiting for someone to join her in a small class. Can anyone please call us with good news???? How often are you able to find an Advanced Russian class in Chicago? :-)))

SUMMER PARTY PICTURES!!

A gorgeous group of Russian speakers and students!

Jia and Linda. No, they are not sisters.

Hiromi and Juan

Margaret, Jahiro, Michael, Catherine, and Jonathan

Nicole. Always smiling!!

Hope, Edgar, and friends

Maki , Julia, and Jessica

Jessica (Brazil) and Ikseung (Korea)

Carlos (right side) , from Panamá, gave a "salsa"

lesson during the party. :-)

August classes and special offers

Can you believe that AUGUST is almost here???? Wow!

We are receiving inquiries to form the following BEGINNER classes:

Russian -any day, but not on Thursday evening
Spanish -Tuesday evening
Italian- Tuesday evening
French- Tuesday and Thursday evening
Polish- Monday and Wednesday evening
Chinese- Tuesday and Thursday evening
English- everyday in the mornings

Intermediate classes:

Spanish- Monday at 5:30 pm-7:30 pm OR Thursday 6:00 pm-8:00 pm
Arabic- Tuesday evening
Chinese- Wednesday evening OR Saturday morning
German- crazy schedule!
English- everyday in the morning

Advanced classes:

English- Monday and Wednesday, 6:30 pm-8:30 pm
Russian- Wednesday, 6:30 pm-8:30 pm

We have decided to have two start dates in August- for YOUR convenience. We want to give everyone the time to look at their pocket and schedule. :-))))) So, we are planning on the week of AUGUST 4th and the week of AUGUST 18th. What do you think?

SPECIAL OFFER: ENROLL A FRIEND, PARTNER, OR CO-WORKER AND RECEIVE A 15% DISCOUNT IN ANY LANGUAGE PROGRAM!!! VALID ONLY IN AUGUST.

Send your inquiry! Please go to our CONTACT page . http://www.languageloopllc.com

Advanced English class starts tonight!

Is your English really good, but not really, really good? :-)

This is a very nice opportunity to learn in a small class setting. Two students enrolled so far. Both of them are young professionals, working in Chicago. One is from Spain and the other from Brazil.

The schedule is Monday and Wednesday, 6:45 pm-8:45 pm, for 5 weeks.

Free level evaluation is offered at our center before joining this group.

Update on Arabic Classes in July

We are starting two sessions for beginners NEXT week: Saturdays (7/19), 1-3 pm, for 10 weeks AND an evening class (7/24), meeting on Tuesday and Thursday, 6-8 pm, for 5 weeks.

Ahmad , from Jordan, will be teaching the Saturday group. Donald Giyo, from Iraq, will be instructing the evening class.

DON'T FORGET that we start with the introduction of the Arabic alphabet. Sooooooo interesting to read and write from right to left!!!! :-)))

Learning English with Presidential Candidates. Part I.

Do you think that learning English is easy? Here is an example on how things can get really complicated if you a) don't pronounce words correctly and b) you only know one meaning to a word.

One of my goals as a student learning English as a second language is to add a new word or expression per day to my own little dictionary. (I recommend this exercise to every single student learning a new language).

Not so long ago, as I was reading The Wall Street Journal, my eyes went in circles trying to understand what Presidential Candidate, Barack H. Obama was trying to say. Here is the quote : "I would have to hire the vetter to vet the vetters."

Oh, my! First , I thought there was a "typo" in "vetter". Shouldn't it be "better"? And, what is a "vet" doing in this sentence? Isn't it an animal doctor? Are the "vetters" some kind of people that veto a proposal or something?

Since I like immediate answers, I went straight to one of our English teachers and read the sentence out loud with my "Hispanic accent". I guess I pronounced the "v" as "b" because it is the way we pronounce it in Spanish. So, I read: "I would have to hire the better to bet the betters". Do you see where I am going here? Totally different story.

We are lucky to have very patient and educated English teachers! :-) Both César and Michael explained to me what Obama was trying to say. Michael said to me: Don't forget your V's!!

Just for the record, to vet means to appraise, verify, or check for accuracy, authenticity, etc.

This story will have a Part II. I am sure!!

Have a nice day.

Johanna

Beautiful energy. . .

After spending a couple of months with us, Vaida's last English lesson with Catherine was today.

:'-( It is so hard to say good-bye to someone with such a beautiful energy and positive attitude.

When she came in at 11 am, the sun was shining and the sky had this perfect blue color. By the time her class ended, a huge dark cloud was approaching the Loop area. How meaningful!

Vaida was on CNN and showed the world her beautiful smile, intelligence, and her improved English skills!!

She promised us that we will see her again. . . She will be here for our next party! :-)))

See you soon!

Stephanie started our entries with what we all have in common: A LOVE FOR FOOD!
American, French, Chinese, Italian, Middle Eastern, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Russian, African. . . You name it!

I had a slice of Eloise's cheesecake and it was DEEEELICIOUS! Believe it or not, as I am writing these lines, Ed, un gran amigo y estudiante de español en nuestro centro, just brought us BBQ sauce made by his mother. IT IS AMAZING!!!

If you want that recipe, good luck to you because I don't think Ed's mom is going to share it yet. :-)

Eloise and Stephanie are on their way back to Paris after spending three weeks in Chicago. They went everywhere: The Sears Tower, The John Hancock Observatory, Michigan Avenue, and took a nice boat tour of the Chicago River. They did not waste one minute in the city! Eloise enjoyed the Field Museum and, of course, her English lessons with Catherine. :) Stephanie dined in A'linea, "one of the best restaurants in the world", and found the best croissants in Chicago in a little French bakery called Vanille.

Now, my brain is starting to put together a similar schedule, but in Paris. I can't wait to see Eloise and Stephanie again and to experience France with their guidance. That is what Language Loop is all about! It is a GLOBAL CONNECTION!

Enjoy,

Johanna

Eloise's "pure folie" cheesecake

Hello Folks ! Ready for a French cooking lesson?
While Eloise and I were in Chicago ("I" = Eloise's Aunt Stephanie), we decided that she should learn how to cook a real cheesecake. So we had a cooking lesson. The only problem that we faced is that there is no food processor at home so we had to do it manually or with a blender ! So you'll discover our efficient "blender processed" cheesecake.

Blend Graham Crakers to have 1 cup of crumbs. Pour in a large bowl.
Add 3 tbsp of melted butter (I highly recommend you try with salted butter !) and 3 tbsp of sugar. Mix with a fork until you have a beautiful sand.
Press in the cheesecake pan.
Bake for 10 minutes at 375 deg F in pre-heated oven.
Meanwhile, blend together 5 eggs, 1/2 cup of milk, 1 cup of sugar, 1 tbsp of vanilla extract and 3 tbsp of flour. Remove half of this liquid mix.
In the blender, while you are processing, add, tbsp per tbsp, 2,5 packs of creamcheese.
Pour in the large bowl you have used to make the sand (without cleaning it - it is useless so let's be lazy).
In the blender, set the other half of liquid mixture and process to add another 2,5 packs of cream cheese.
Pour in the bowl too and whisk to have a large quantity of creamcheesy cream.
Remove the pan from the oven. Pour the creamcheesy cream on the crust and bake again for 1 hour. The cheesecake is ready when the surface doesn't tremble if you shake the pan.
Let the cake in the oven while it cools down to prevent it from ... cracking?.... You see what I mean... The let it set in the fridge for few hours before you finally unmold the cake.
Decorate with vanilla frosting, meringues and caramel topping and... BON APPETIT !!

Here is our beautiful "pure folie" cheesecake....

And if you think it is not a "pure folie" enough, then add some meringue crumbs and some caramel on your piece !!!!

If you have any questions, send me an email : stephanie@cookcooning.com. I'd be more than happy to help you guys!... And if you are wondering where is the French part of this French cooking lesson then come here and you should find some to train your French :-)

I AM SOOOOOOOOO HAPPY !

Hey Folks !
My name is Stephanie from France and I am happy to introduce you the Language loop new blog! It will be a great resource of information about how to learn any language thanks to a great team leaded by Johanna, a wonderful Director - who definitly does not look like a language school Director ;-).
You will also find pictures, ideas, recipes - I promise i'll post Eloise's cheesecake recipe soon - and friends ! Sounds great, no? Beleive me. As soon as you'll get connected to this blog, you won't be able to leave it and you'll feel like posting comments and joining LLCllc family.

So, read/see you soon and, as we say in France,
Bisous a tous!



Want to know more about this crazy French woman who posted this? http://www.cookcooning.canalblog.com/