Tag Archives: Latvian

The Latvians rewrite the English dictionary

Posted on March 26, 2014 by BerLinda

When I meet an English person and tell them what I do for a living, I am occasionally rewarded with a pudgy finger in my face, and a bellowed “YOU CAWN’T TEACH ENGLISH! YOU’RE OIRISH!” They then turn to their equally … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Humour, Language, Latvia, TEFL | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 130 Comments

Stand by your ‘an’

Posted on April 12, 2013 by BerLinda

As an English teacher in Latvia, one of the hardest things to teach is articles (‘the’, ‘a’ and ‘an’ for the grammatically-challenged among you). They don’t exist in Latvian or Russian so students have a hard time knowing when to … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Humour, Language, TEFL | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Pidgin English

Posted on March 19, 2013 by BerLinda

So hard as I trying to teach my students to speak English good, there are some things they just can’t get there heads under. And more often than not, it’s quite funny. (Even though I shouldn’t laugh of course.) Here are … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Humour, Language | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Always look on the bright side

Posted on March 15, 2013 by BerLinda

If you’ve read my previous posts, you might be starting to wonder why I continue to live in Riga. To be honest, I’m starting to wonder myself. But instead of focusing on the fact that it’s -15 on the 15th … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat, Humor, Riga, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

What’s in a name?

Posted on March 8, 2013 by BerLinda

Here’s what usually happens when I introduce myself to a new class: Me: Hi, my name’s Linda and I’ll be your English teacher for… Class: Oh, Linda! It’s a Latvian name. Me: No, it isn’t. Class: Yes, it is. Me: … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat, Humour, Language, TEFL | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Damn. I’ve got a ladder in my sock trousers.

Posted on February 2, 2013 by BerLinda

It’s hard moving to a new country when you don’t know the language. But after trying and failing to find a ‘Teach yourself Latvian in a week’ course, that’s exactly what I did – armed with my university French, four … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat, Humor, Humour, Language, TEFL | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments