Reviews

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Where the German Classes Take Place

4 German, Organizations, Classes/Conversation, Social, Kids

Yorkville historian Kathy Jolowicz founded this club in 1990, which, according to the website, is “keeping Yorkville/Kleindeutschland’s Heritage Alive.” Yorkville refers to a swathe of the Upper East Side once heavily populated with Germans, and Kleindeutschland…

VocabuLearn Arabic: To Grow Your Word Collection

3-5 Arabic, Audio Lessons, Vocabulary

VocabuLearn Arabic comes in two different levels, for a total of six hours of vocabulary instruction. Each level of this product, originally published by Penton Overseas, used to consist of four CDs organized by parts of speech: nouns, adjectives and…

Inside the Bookstore

4 Mandarin, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids

I visited this bookstore in Flushing’s Chinatown soon after I began my Mandarin studies, and boy, did I feel helpless! I could not read a word. A friendly Chung Hwa employee helped me out, giving me advice on which…

This New York City Greek Culture & Language Meetup Had 506 Philhellenes in Early 2013!

Greek, Classes/Conversation, Social

They have Meetup groups for everything under the sun these days. I am not exactly a Meetup person, so I can’t comment on a Greek Meetup experience. However, if you go here, you can enter your zip code on…

Arabic Pronouns and Prepositions for Sale at McGraw-Hill

Arabic, Books

Practice Makes Perfect: Arabic Pronouns and Prepositions by Otared Haidar did not exist when I was studying Arabic. If it had, I would have ordered it and tried it out. I am generally fond of the

New York, en Français

5 French, General, Books

This may have been the first non-fiction book I ever read in French. I loved it. Of course I am partial to histories of New York, though the ones I own are otherwise in English. It is amusing to read…

Essential Portuguese Grammar, at Coffee Shop

3 Portuguese, Books

Essential Portuguese Grammar: A Teach Yourself Guide is a little more lighthearted than some of the heavy Portuguese grammars out there. It focuses on the Portuguese of Portugal, but the author, Sue Tyson-Ward, offers regular comments on…

This New Edition Has a Chapter on Technology Terms

2-5 French, Books, Vocabulary

I like many of the Practice Makes Perfect books (offered for multiple languages), including their vocabulary books, but I’m afraid this was an exception. The exercise design in Practice Makes Perfect: French Vocabulary just…

Little Italy

4 Italian, Neighborhoods

Today’s Little Italy is primarily a tourist attraction, shrunk to Mulberry Street between Broome and Canal streets, with a presence on Grand Street as well. As writer Sam Roberts noted in a 2011 New York Times article…

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