Harold Gretouce teaches 5th grade students (CM2) at the Lycée Français de New York (LFNY). The school was founded in 1935 by Mr. Charles
de Ferry de Fontnouvelle, who wanted to bring an establishment to New York comparable to the top high-schools found in France. LFNY teaches 1,350 students in Grades Pre-K through 12,
representing over 50 nationalities.
LFNY has taken several steps to use new technologies in the classroom. The school has procured iPads that are integrated into the curriculum.
"Teaching students in a multilingual school presents unique challenges such as developing vocabulary in both languages and perfecting verb conjugations.
The LFNY learning environment requires that students write, speak and conceptualize in two languages at all times.
I have been using French English Dictionary + in my class for two years. The app helps my students
find words faster than with paper dictionaries. The increased efficiency means students learn quickly and are more motivated.” Harold Gretouce
Victoria Sfriso is the lead linguist for several of VidaLingua's multi-lingual dictionaries. She has been providing professional translation
services for several years from her home town of Barcelona but recently moved to Buenos Aires.
Victoria has travelled extensively in Europe, learning English, French and Italian in addition to her native language of Spanish.
More recently, she has been travelling in Latin America where an interesting experience happened to her.
"A few months ago I was with my boyfriend in the North of Argentina. We had a trouble with my debit card and we ran out of money. I offered
a proofreading service to the hostel to correct mistakes in their brochure for a one night stay.
It worked, and we spent the night there before catching the bus back to Buenos Aires. As I didn't have my laptop with me I just corrected
the brochure on paper and I used VidaLingua's
Spanish English Dictionary + for some extra help." Victoria Sfriso
Ryan Voegerl is a graduate student at the
University of Kansas. Over spring break, Ryan traveled to southeastern Spain with colleagues in the Geology department. He downloaded several Spanish
language apps before leaving, including Spanish English Dictionary +
by Ascendo. Ryan used the apps at the grocery store and cafe but what came next what something short of surreal.
While climbing a mountain next to the Mediterranean Sea, Ryan
slipped on some loose gravel-sized rocks and broke his leg. "I used Ascendo's Spanish English Dictionary + (without internet connection) to create
phrases that would allow nurses and doctors to assist me before and after surgery. I learned how to conjugate
my verbs and speak in past and present conditions. The app even allowed me to convince my nurse team to discharge me from the hospital on a Sunday,
when no doctors are working, to catch my flight back. The whole experience has renewed my faith in the goodness of people." Thanks Ryan, for sharing
this heart warming story!
Dr. David Bowles is a management consultant and co-author of
Employee Morale: Driving Performance in Challenging Times and the recent
The High Engagement Work Culture: Balancing ME and WE. He spends his time shuttling between San Diego and Southern Germany to research book material and help his corporate clients.
David speaks fluent French and German as well as good Italian.
"I live and work part time in Germany and speak the language well, but still need a dictionary at times, when interviewing German companies for a new book,
for example, making presentations or simply texting clients. My Ascendo dictionaries are constantly with me. I would not
be without this German one, with its invaluable verb conjugations and extensive word list; my French and Italian versions also get heavy use when I go to Europe. This, along with my
unlocked quad-band GSM phone, is one of my best travel tools!".
© Vidalingua
