Learning Through Fables and Stories.

 

Learning Languages can be quite fun when you learn it through the eyes of a child.
I remember my parents learned English from my books.
As I was growing and bringing home books from the library, they were also reading them.
I never minded until I reached high school and then my Dad would take an interest and take the books to read when I had homework to do. lol

He would sit and compare what he did in Europe compared to what we were doing at our grade level and it was just
not good enough for him.
He said Europe taught much better and more.

Needless to say I was not happy having these discussions with my Dad. lol
Like I had something to say about it. lol

But I found this book amongst my slew of books which I must say I enjoyed reading to learn Russian.
Its a bunch of childrens' folk fables, from 1957, Moscow.
In those days, we had to order the books from specialty shops from New York who ordered them from the USSR.
Those were serious times back then. No one wanted to have anything to do with the USSR.

I remember my parents watching Hitler and Stalin documentaries on TV, soldiers marching ,bombs blowing up cities and it was very painful for them to watch.
My Dad pushed me to learn Russian as he thought this would be a good job for me as a translator.

For me, as a child, I wanted to understand what this was all about, and the best way was through books.
I have to say I loved the childrens' books the best and still do.

I couldn't understand why bad men were allowed to rule and kill people
and I still don't.

I would read books like War and Peace in three languages, just to see how the meaning of the story
changed through interpretation.:English French and Russian.
The interpreters use the meaning of what the person wants to say instead of translating word for word.
and I am not sure that this is a good thing to do..
Some words and phrases may result in a person getting the wrong idea about what was said.

B ut then so would the interpretation, if it is not interpreted correctly.

Why not learn about the culture of a people as well as a language.
It then makes a lot more sense.

Looking back today,when so much has changed, it makes me feel bad for that generation of people who had to run and run and run all their lives, just to be safe.
Then I wonder , did they ever feel safe again after experiencing such atrocities?
I don't know.
I just know they became harder, stronger people, who knew how to survive and make the best with what they had.
They never complained or whine about anything.
They had no expectations.
They just worked and saved and deserved everything they got..
Quite a difference from todays 'world.
where your work is not paid attention to.
People look at what you own and what can be taken away from you.through taxes.
It all looks and sounds good on the top but it never works the way it sounds
just like these childrens' fables we read in these books about animals.
Hmmm.
xoxoxoxo