Difficulties with pronunciation can create.....difficulties!

Students learning a new language always have difficulties with pronouncing words from time to time. Sometimes those 'little mistakes' turn out to be a disaster! Take this woman (names withheld to avoid public embarrassment) for example. She went to Paris to see the beautiful City of Lights and to soak up some culture. As she was walking down the street a man offered to share his bottle of wine. She politely responded no, but as he was determined, he asked a few more times. Finally, she looses her patience and (thinks she) says to him in French cochon! which means pig. Thinking that she had made herself clear, she was surprised to see him smile and continue to follow her. She repeated her 'insult' a few more times and he continued to follow her. Much later --- actually a week or so, she realized her mistake and suddenly burst out laughing. She had mispronounced cochon and had really said "couchons" which in French means 'let's go to bed'. No wonder he was so happy to follow!
A student of mine just last year was trying to respond to a statement from a classmate who had said they had pictures of the dance from the week before. With a big smile on her face she said "montez-moi" instead of "montrez-moi". The difference in sound is quite subtle, but the difference in meaning is not. She meant to say 'show me' but what came out was 'mount-me'.
I have more funny stories to tell, but I will save those for later. Happy studies, and remember, pronunciation is important for accurate communication :D

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New to blogging

This is my first try at blogging. I don't know how often I will blog yet. I'm not sure anyone would want to read my blogs but I'm giving this a try.
As an educator, I think it's important to express yourself in as many ways as possible, stretch the limits of your comfort zone and push yourself to learn something new everyday.
To that end, I have joined a number of websites for learning like: StudyBlue.com where I create flashcards for my students to make studying more pleasurable, portable, and fun. I am really enjoying using the SimpleK12.com website for professional development, collaboration and re-energizing myself with new ideas.
I enjoy using french.about.com, especially Laura's weekly lessons and of course joining in the discussions in the various forums available on the site. I happen to host the Profs de français forum, but I must confess that I haven't been very active lately due to so many professional development obligations.
I am new at this so I will be trying to post some HTML on this site as soon as I figure it out. Here are two of my badges I use for education: