Never Ending Italian Resource List

YouTube

Easy Italian - I love the videos with Katie and Mateo 

Lessons - 

Jesus Story -

Pronunciation 

Chi vs Ci and Ce vs Che 

Double letters vs single 

Vocabulary

Verbs 

Reading 

Berlits 3 Bears and Little Red Book - it's old but I got it at the library. It's great for reading and translating in my head to the little one.

Writing 

Books

You probably already know I'm a Lonely Plant Phrasebook and Dictionary fan

Berlitz Children's Picture Dictionary - great for sentence mining, reading with kids, and just fun

Search Party

Never Ending Thai Resource List

I'm making this list for a homeschool mom friend planning to visit Thailand and getting started 

Some of the links are wonky but they should get you there or you can use them for search terms in Google. Or ask me via text 

Peace corp training audio lessons 

https://www.livelingua.com/course/peace_corps/thai_language_lessons#google_vignette

Thai Pod 101 - do ALL free lessons before doing the trial. You can get a long way for free with language pod 101 

https://www.thaipod101.com/free-lifetime-account?src=gc_learn_search_brandedsearch_thai-brand_global_m__551293288498_&gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjws9ipBhB1EiwAccEi1NgnfGWvlXqZ8A56MSgEutN6WAfmvVfz8nj74OrLhQXkQsbNrOX1_xoCvysQAvD_BwE

These are my favorite books. You can travel with it. Make flash cards from it and read through the dictionaries. I usually go through once and put dots by words I don't know and then read again just the dots and erase them. Depending on how long you are there, you really can get through the dictionary several times on a trip 

https://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Thai-Phrasebook-Dictionary/dp/1786570785/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3DWP7197UWSOO&keywords=lonely+planet+thai&qid=1698088898&sprefix=lonely+planet+thai%2Caps%2C453&sr=8-1

Omniglot site - a go to of mine 

Thai language and alphabet - Omniglot click here

Useful Thai phrases - Omniglot https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/thai.php

https://www.omniglot.com phrases

Jesus story 

https://youtu.be/HESS6AkbGOg?si=EaS3-CiZDjFAHmTO click here  

List of audio Bible resources 

https://joshuaproject.net/languages/kxm

click here

You can select a people group and explore language resources and what is available. There are some languages with lots of kids stuff and lower level 

https://joshuaproject.net/search?term=Thailand&limit=0 here you go

Depending on where you will be, we have a Karen church in Tri Cites thay you could attend. Many of the B5 students attend) (one of the people groups in thailand)

You Tube 

Let's Learn Thai with ThaiPod 101 

Thai with Mod

Banana Thai

Language for travelers https://youtu.be/R8pfL9oyeXg?si=h4mwJ09LUAOBw-OS

click here

For Hindi, cooking and finding recipes in Hindi is great. I would not be surprised if this is true for Thai food 

Reading 

You may know this but the books of Jona and Ruth in the Bible are great to start reading

Estonian Language Resource List and Language Learning Tips

A friend of mine is moving to Estonia for her husband's work. This list is for her, I won't be learning to verify and edit this list but if you know of more resources, add them in the comments. Also these tips are specific to my friend Lisa, but I think they will help you will all of your language learning endeavor

1. Plan your strategy

2. Get some flash cards -

Grab 5 - 10 flash cards and put phrases on them. Decide to practice one card a day for the first 5 days.

Then have a series of flash cards with sentences and fill in the blanks. Practice one set per day.
I like ______. Apples cake. To run. Running. Reading. 
I am in Estonia for my husband's work. I am here because it is ______. Pretty. Exciting. Beacuase I love music history. 

Have another series of Conversational Connectors such as "that is a good idea, I actually think that, by the way, I don't think it's true that, between you and me, can I tell you more about it," and more.

I would suggest having 15 or 30 cards and going over them several times. Long term memory is used when we allow ourselves to forget and relearn. Don't worry if you didn't learn everything one each card the first time through. You practice a card each day. That does not mean you are perfect at that card

3. Start a note pad document in your phone for phrases you hear on the street, in the store, on the bus, at the park, everywhere. Take notes. What you hear over and over will be more important than what you learn in a class. 

Basics and Phrases 
This is where you will get the informations for your first section of not cards.

Video about Estonian 

About and Alphabet

Phrases on YouTube 

Another Phrase Video 

300 Phrase Video

Humorous List - PG+ Has some good cognates in it and swearing 

Conversation and Phrases 

EstonianPod101 now 101Languages  

Omniglot Estonian 

Live Lingua - Course Files Via the Peace Corps

Listening 

Jesus Story on You Tube 

The Sound of Estonian - You Tube Channel 

Have fun

How to have an Estonian accent - If you can have fun you can trick your brain into learning. Take a break! 

Death, Sacred Rituals, The Corona Virus, and Hope

Grave site in Thaoumazou, Haiti near Port du Prince

I remember being in Haiti and learning about burial practices. Tombs are rented. When a family can no longer pay rent, the bodies are dumped on the hillside and the tomb is used for someone else. In Hawaii it was a cultural practice to burry your loved ones in your yard so that they are kept close. At the Grand Wailea in Maui they have two or three mass burial sites of the bodies that were found when building the foundation of the hotel. The hotel respectfully moved the bodies into designated cultural sites.

I have always been interested in cultural things that all humans experience. And even more specifically the mundane, daily things like different bathroom styles, food preparation and processing, textile design, worship ceremonies, and what people do with those who have passed away. So many aspects of life come with important, and even sacred, rituals.

I never thought I would live in a period in time where such rituals are being changed due to a global pandemic and the rates that people are dying and spreading a disease.

I’ve been seeing body bag videos for months now, as an online teacher in China this virus did not spring up out of nowhere. It did not come as a surprise. It’s been around for a while. As American news unfolds, we are all seeing similar things that we have been seeing in other areas on global news and major news sources for a couple months. Cities are converting ice rinks into massive cold storage facilities for the dead bodies. We are seeing army trucks taking bodies from churches full of caskets. We hear about laws to determine who will be left to die when resourced run out.

Mass grave in Hawaii 

Though the above stories are primarily from Europe, Americans already have grandparents and children going into the hospitals by themselves. Families do not see those who pass away until they are already dead. The old are dying alone. Children are going into hospitals alone. Pregnant women will be delivering babies alone. Funerals and weddings are cancelled or postponed. Doctors are losing patients. Nurses are scared to go to work. Doctors are scared to bring sickness back to their family. New York is running out of cold body storage. And similar laws dictating who will and won’t be given ventilators, if (rather when) we reach that point, are being drafted in the US to protect doctors from needing to make such decisions on their own.

Guys, please stay home. Listen to the expert warnings for a while, maybe a long while. Act as if you have the virus already. It’s not going to be easy. There is nothing easy about this situation. It is hard. It is heart-wrenching. And it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better.

Alabaster Jar - Felicia Follum
Painting inspired by a woman who gave up
all she had to follow Jesus and in return she was
given peace.

And to be clear, this is not meant to make you more fearful. Statistically most of us will be ok, especially if we can slow the spread. If we slow it enough, many more will survive. We all have heard this before and people will continue to scoff at the advice, saying it doesn’t make sense, the decisions aren’t fair, and people will likely continue to disrespect authority. Be thankful that it isn't' personal for you yet, but don't be naive.

I’m so thankful right now that my hope does not come from manmade mantras or rituals. Though important and I am so thankful for what we have in America, I don’t put the bulk of my hope in statistics, individuals, politics, and government. These systems will fail at some point, and likely many times.

My hope comes from the LORD. I believe Jesus is the God of hope, peace, love, and redemption. And I wish I had more answers to all the hurt and pain right now and theres so much I wish I understood, but I am thankful for the peace that transcends all human understanding and comes from Him alone. My prayer is that you who are crying out to Him will find the peace of Christ through all of this and that you will seek him more sincerely, and be drawn closer to him, than you ever have been in the past. 

How I Used Multiple Languages in One Day in America

ESL class (level 4) from last year

I had a friend in high school and one day we decided to "play" as many sports in one day as we could. We rode our bikes with confidence and threw footballs with less than perfect spirals. We also tried to rollerblade on an outdoor ice skating rink....that was not our best moment together, but nevertheless, we were able to fumble our way across the rink and survived.

Today was a bit like that day, but with languages. Some went great, and others, well I was able to say "hello" and "pencil." Even if less than perfect, the amount of languages that I was around and used today was certainly memorable.

On my way teach my ESL classes this morning, I listened to 20 minutes of a French audio app.

In the first classroom, my students were From Cuba, Mexico and Somalia. I don't allow other languages in my english classes but from time to time I do get to say "hello" in their languages or after class we will have a small conversation. I only know a few Somali words but I did use them with a grandmother.

The second class was a very low level class with students from Iraq, Mexico, Somalia, and Karen women from Burma. My co-teacher was able to use Karen, I could understand some of the Arabic for simple things as there were side conversations, and both my co-teacher and I used bits of Spanish to help with reflexives and question words.

On the way home, I listened to the French audio again.

I did a training for an upcoming trip and took notes on Islam using Arabic and French words.

Writings with friends in college.

Finally I taught my online VIPKid English classes and used some Chinese with a little brother and I began writing a "Stay Strong Wuhan" video, and posted on FB in Chinese asking my Chinese friends to proof read the script.

And finally, I responded to a friend from Sudan and told her how much I miss her in sudanese slang Arabic. And I messaged an online friend who is fluent in Urdu and Hindi (maybe Arabic too).

Oh man, I wish every day was this diverse but I am simultaneously thankful to have these days from time to time. If I could teach my students one thing, it's that it's ok to make mistakes and it's ok to fumble your way through a conversation. It's ok to not be perfect! We don't expect perfection and mistakes are the best way to learn and grow.

Friend at an international dinner in our home.

Just like the massive sports day, you never know if something will work if you don't try and honestly, I will never forget how hard we laughed stuck on the ice alone in the center of a  giant outdoor skating rink. Sometimes failures are worth remembering.

Bible Reading Goals for 2020

I recently typed my goals in a group of friends who do Bible study together. To simplify, my main goal is to open the Bible app on my phone before opening anything else. 

But I would also like to get back to language study and there is something so beautiful about how each language relates to me in a different way and how new things show up as I read scriptures that I understand and think try to through the eyes of a variety of cultures.

This year, I would like to read:

Português - Ecclesiastes, proverbs, and a gospel (Maybe John)

Hindi - Jona, Ruth

Urdu - Listen to the Jesus movie

French - Jonah, Ruth

Spanish - Matthew

Lakota, Chinrse, Somali (or other languages that I can't read/speak) - listen to the Jesus movie, if I can find it on YouTube (I've listened to it in Hindi, Urdu, Português, Spanish, Arabic, Krio, Patois, Creole and others just for fun)

Greek - memorize John 1:1-?, and review/relearn other verses, vocab, grammar, and alphabet

Hebrew - memorize the Shema

What are your language or Bible reading goals for 2020?

*Image from a Bible inspired book I created 🖤

Pros and Cons of Working for VIPKid

Pros and Cons of VIPKid 

Like with any work, working for VIPKid comes with both amazing pros and some cons as well.

Cons

Schedule - The Peak Peak hours (those that are the most likely to book) are late nights and/or early mornings. I have never opened a Peak Peak slot and I doubt that I will anytime soon. The company is open from 5:30pm - 7am on the West Coast (arguably the hardest US time zone to work in) and Peak Peak slots are 3am - 6am. However if you live on the East Coast your available hours are 8pm - 10am, with peak hours 6am - 9am. (During Daylight savings time). Friday evening, all Saturday slots and Sunday mornings are also PT or PPR. After one month of not opening any PPT and rarely a few PT, and I'm still growing faster than average. So there's hope for you too!

Time Zone - If you are like me all of the conversions are a pain to deal with. Since working with VIPKid Google has become my best friend. 

Bookings - It can take a while to get your first bookings. Some people do not want to wait. There are many things you can do to increase your chances of getting booked and I will work on this one-on-one with my referrals. I had my first booking within 24 hours of opening the slot. It is possible, but it takes some prep work to be prepared when you sign your contract. Feel free to join my Branding Yourself group on Facebook to get started on some of these things from day 1. 

Prep work - With anytime of teaching there is a decent amount of prep work in the beginning. You do have to learn the platform, and work on your bio, and find props, and learn the skills specific to online teaching. There is a steep learning curve. I am one month in and everything takes A LOT less time to prep. 

My profile on the Inside

Interview/Demo Process - There is a lot up front. The interviews and demos are more stressful than actual teaching. One way to look at this is like intensive training. You do a decent amount of training and you repeat this until you are ready.

Technology - We all know tech issues can get the best of all of us. Sometimes, especially early on, there is nothing you can do (or it seems). This is possibly the biggest downside for me.

Degree Required - I'm not sure that this is a con, but I have talked to some young people who are absolutely qualified in many ways and have more experience working with children than many adults, but Chinese parents are willing to pay for American (and Canadian) teachers with education and experience and that is what VIPKid promises. Requirements listed here. 

Pros 

Pay - This job really does pay well. I averaged $19 an hour for my first month. I expect that to reach $21 per hour with in 3 months (maybe two). Pay is advertised at $14 an hour for the lowest tier. As far as I can tell, you would need to start at the lowest pay grade, work less than 15 hours a month, never open short notice slots, and be late to every class to make $14 dollars an hour with VIPKid.

Pay scale

Flexibility - You get to set your own hours and work as much or as little as you want. There are incentives to work more and specific hours. I don’t take part as I’m pretty stubborn about when and how much I will work. 

Bookings - Bookings usually come in slowly at first and on average it can take up to a month to get your first class. I had one class my first week (and took several workshops), my second week I had 2 classes, my 3rd week I had 6 classes ,and some pre-bookings and my 4th week I had 7 classes and some pre bookings. My 4th week is when I’m typing this ;) And it is the week of a big holiday so everyone's bookings are wonky. For me, this gradual increase was perfect and allowed me to work my way into teaching. I didn’t teach back to back classes until week 4 and I still made over $100 in my first 3 weeks. goog_520935754

Interview/Demo Process - once this is complete you really are ready to teach. You have all of the skills.

Peak Peak Time incentive.

Incentives - There are always new challenges and offers available. Since you are your own boss you have complete say in whether or not you say yes. I opt out of the peak peak time incentives. 

Creativity - This is a great job for anyone who loves to create things. I have really enjoyed crafting many of my props and the others I have made on Adobe Illustrator and some in word (don’t worry, if you are my referral, I will email you my PDFs to get you trough the hiring process and more if you would like, you don’t need a graphic design degree to do this. Once you are a teacher there are groups on Facebook that give access to both free and paid props)

Cultural Exchange - There is something really special about being invited into life of someone else especially from another culture. If you enjoy learning as you teach, this job can be more than just a job! 

The Children - Some of the conversations I have had with the kids are so much fun. It has been interesting to watch them learn and grow and have a ton of fun, just being kids while they learn.

My profile inside the Hutong

Variety - I am currently certified for levels 2 - 5 and may certify for trials soon. I love that I can teach about Martin Luther king and math conversions in one lesson and in another we are going back to learning ‘he, she and it.” I really enjoy the upper levels of teaching history and science. Though if you want to stick with levels 1 and two you can. The level 2 and 3 lessons take a lot less prep for me and use my props more, but the more advanced lessons are a lot of fun and you can have great conversations.

Brand - I love the VIPKid brand. They have done a great job of creating community. There are a ton of facebook groups you can join. Many are full of loving wonderful teachers will to encourage and support you in your online teaching journey. VIPKid was the number one work from home job on Forbes list in 2018 and it made top 10 in 2019.

Gamification - This is not as big of a pro as the other things, but I LOVE when daily tasks are turned into a game of some sort. VIPKid has some great incentives, offers badges and all sorts of things. 

The Houtong - This means alley way in Chinese and it is where all the fun happens...but you have to get hired to join in...

More Pros 

Complete challenges to earn tokens and learn about Chinese culture!

You can wear sweatpants to work, or yoga pants, or no....never mind please wear pants

Your commute is to your home

You can work from a closet, spare room, garage, or a corner of your living room

I love this work. Every job has its cons! And this is no exception, but I can't speak highly enough about how much of a blessing it has been for me to work for VIPKid. 

Work With Me <3 

If you are interested in joining this crazy journey, be sure to use my referral code (FELIC0078 <- those are zeros) or this link. I would love to help yo get hired. I have PDFs to help you get through the interview and mock classes and am willing to talk you through the process, and once you teach your first class I'll send you some physical props as well. If you are serious about getting hired come join my Facebook group about branding yourself as a teacher and get some feedback, so you are ready to get bookings early on!