Archive for the ‘Spanish Course’ Category

michael thomas spanish course

Publishing without publishing

Okay, this is what I have to say about publishing…
1) Author’s deserve literary recognition and compensation. 2) Publishing is a right. 3) It is difficult to get published (and paid) for a number of  reasons:

Two-thirds of all publishing companies are owned by two major corporate conglomerates. One-third is owned by private companies and/or self-publishing companies, which are independently funded. All works are subject to approval by corporate executives. And many companies have the same guidelines for submissions for controlling information; that it’s not solely  money decisions, but Content restrictions and Political decisions(referring to Michael Moore’s book threatened with censorship).

Self-publishing works have little money behind them and little support of advertising, which limits them to selling a few hundred copies to family and friends. For many authors this is enough. Many large book sellers only order through three main distributors. To get your work into the main consumer outlets, the publishing companies must be on the “approved list” by  distribution companies, who hold books in storage for retailers. Writers solicit large corporations to fund their projects (mainly for instant distribution and notoriety). Works here fail on their own merit, not on lack of advertising.

Only select books get into the main distribution companies through computerized encoding from Bowkers, the private corporation who started the international standard business numbers(ISBN). Bowkers has two sets of numbers issued: for large publishers identifying its authors and literary works; and Self-publishers who receive numbers for their authors and titles, but disallowed them into big distribution companies, retailers where your work never makes it to the consumer/reader. Of course, if you have money you can buy any numbers you want.

The Copyright office demands two works from self-published authors. And rarely do they ever make it into the Library of Congress. The standard rule is self-publishers do not get into the Library of Congress, only the exceptions get in. Self-published works are immediately thought of as amateurish, regardless of the information might be unique, brilliant or helpful. After a few years, self-published works are removed from the Copyright office warehouse and disposed of. Hopefully, they are given to the poor for fuel to burn.

They say: don’t give up, keep sending corporations query letters–if that is what you want. There are sites that just ask you to donate your works for their company profit (and steal ideas?), because if money and fame are your priorities, keep sending in queries. Some writers sell their works and others just sell-out. Because big publishers have stacks of your manuscripts on their desks, they seldom read them. I don’t read their novels either. I guess it is Karma.

Public contests are not always honest (one judge admitted to not reading the books, which people had paid to enter: that he wanted free books and notoriety). Stolen books and stolen entrance fees. Just starting out, the writer pays to get his works read, for some are in the business of contests: reading fee $25, entry fee $50. All to see your name in print. For that price, I could go to the college and hire a couple of English students.

Where is that generational group of transcendentalists who would move popular culture. Too busy in their self-indulgent clique. Too busy trying to trick their readers. Too busy writing to appease the corporations. Too busy and worried your masterpiece is too good that it will get stolen. Place a few of your experimental pieces out there for free and hopefully someone likes one, and you get a reader for all your labors. The internet is a place that affords the main objective in publishing to obtain readers. Send a few queries out there and be reminded of the rejection letters, the months of silence with no rejection letter, and all the unused postage for your return envelopes and postcards. Write because you can’t stop; you can‘t stop yourself.  I think it is a Thoreauism.

Henry David Thoreau stated ‘he has over 900 hundred volumes in his library which he wrote himself.’ I learned his lesson; I have 12 volumes in my library, but they are not for sale! Learn from me; learn from my mistakes. I submitted a query to Reader’s Digest, an inquiry of their need for my selections described in one sentence, on-line. I have no false hope in that inquiry. Centuries ago people placed their writings out there to be read, not paid! Martin Luther found that printers profited, made false copies, erroneously rewriting his work that beheld his name. Thomas Paine published Common Sense anonymously, and it was copied, where 1 in 5 had a copy, also being read to the illiterate. Coffee houses have taken over book stores. Seldom do people read anything, anymore. They are sipping coffee. Seldom do people have the wherewithal to write anymore; they are not taught grammar in high school or college; but they are required to take Spanish classes!  It is like I am writing this for another generation, placed in a time capsule, where they must look for new ideas, instead of today’s writers finding no readership for their works. It seems that corporate hype gets things sold; truth, hopefully, gets things read!

Publishing houses are just one means to get your works to the reader. Reader’s Digest boast over 250,000 works submitted and only a few hundred are selected in a year. If you want to get wealthy on these odds, just go gamble or play the lottery. You’ll probably get your name in print, too. On second thought, just write and don’t get depressed. The same critics that won’t accept your queries, that won’t  read your submissions, were once in your shoes. They did not improve the system, they did not create an outlet to bring forth new works and ideas: for authors, only businessmen.  Montaigne wrote something to this effect ‘I write but I edit not.’ I don’t agree. I am at liberty to edit, and correct any erroneous typos introduced, especially when file formats change the work. Nevertheless, I am not looking for publishers or editors anymore, whether it be for a 2000-5000 word essay; reading my work is minimal effort. I would rather have my literary master piece be read gratis than fall by others at the corporation.  I am looking for readers. I don’t care if they are writers, authors, editors, reviewers, corporate executives, retail clerks, court clerks, bankers, doctors, or used car salesmen…I am looking for readers.

(c) Copyright 2011                                      Thomas D. DeMartino    January 25

About the Author

Here is a couple of things about me:Thomas

I live in Oregon.   I have pursued poverty successfully. I like to write.

http://writerblocks.proboards.com/index.cgi

I am looking for Readers. Please browse the “general board” for other essay selections. thx

 

basic spanish course
Why do we put “101″ to refer to a basic course (Spanish 101, Accounting 101, etc)?

What’s the history of that?

This has been answered really well before so I’m not going to bother rephrasing it (good question by the way):


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Should I go to EF to take a 2 or 3-week intensive spanish course?

I want to use my annual holiday to take some intensive Spanish course in a spanish-speaking country. I am looking for some 2 or 3-week intensive course. I found that EF offer such programs in Spain (Malacca or Barcelona) as well as in Quito. I wonder if anyone has the experience with EF or learning Spanish intensively?

In fact I prefer to learn Spanish in a South American country because: (1) I visited Spain before, but have never been to America; (2) I should take my leave in December, think Quito or South America will have better weather.

Many thanks to you!
Thanks everyone! Norman, can I ask if the course and the place be right for a complete beginner? And is it suitable for a single female travelling and staying there? Thanks again!

Of course you could.. BUT.. I found a school in Honduras that I like VERY VERY well. I have been there 4 times and am planning to go back again in May. It is the Centro International de Idiomas (spanish school) located in La Ceiba (A city in the northern part of Honduras). It has a web site: www.hondurasspanish.com or the e-mail is:
info@hondurasspanish.com. The director is Manuel Mendixabal along with his wife Maria. Telephone: 0-11-(504) 440-1557 or their address is CII: Solares Nuevos, Calle 13, Apdo Postal # 476. They charge $190 a week which is very reasonable in comparison with other schools in Mexico and elsewhere. I recommend it VERY highly…. It is a fun place to go to.

spanish course costa rica

Learn The Ancient Art Of Poi In Costa Rica!

Many have seen and marveled at ancient art of poi or fire dancing yet few have ever taken the opportunity to learn it for themselves. Now you can learn the beautiful art of poi in Costa Rica! Costa Rica is the perfect place to learn poi. At as school such as La Escuela Del Sol you can take up to four weeks in courses to master this art for yourself. At this school you will be taught by English speaking instructors teaching you the skills you will need to practice poi yourself. While learning poi in Costa Rica you will need to enter these courses with an open mind and possess a large amount of patience to learn this difficult art. You will be taught poi in Costa Rica by very skilled instructors who will help you learn poi at your own pace. Your safety will always be the number one concern as you learn to fire dance. By the end of your course you will feel confident in doing very technical and complex moves that when performed will amaze those around you. Included movements taught in your poi lessons include the butterfly and gremlin just to name a couple. In addition to learning these movements you will get the opportunity to learn them in the beautiful atmosphere you will only find in Costa Rica. Learning poi in Costa Rica means getting to practice on beautiful, exotic beaches as you listen to the sounds of nature. Depending upon how many weeks your courses are you can learn the basics with a one or two week course or become a master by taking the three and four week course. Besides getting to learn poi in Costa Rica you will also get to experience the rest of what Costa Rica has to offer. Here you can swim in their clear oceans, try your hand at surfing or scuba diving. Costa Rica is also a great place to learn Spanish. There are ways you can combine any of these with learning poi while you are in Costa Rica. For those who are looking for a more relaxing vacation you can practice yoga or simply lie on the beach and soak up the sun. There are also many trails to go hiking where you can look for waterfalls or look at the many types of birds Costa Rica has. Now is the time to pamper yourself and treat yourself to learning this beautiful art form in Costa Rica!

About the Author

For an aesthetic experience about poi costa rica and travel to costa rica, LaEscuela is the best place to visit. Besides, Costa Rica gives you the chance to escape from your routine life. What are you waiting for pal?

spanish course marbella

spanish course intensive

Top Basic spanish courses For Beginner Students

If you’re looking for basic Spanish courses so you can get you started in learning the Spanish language, then you will not have any difficulty with choices as you will find a huge selection of them around. The thing that you must concern yourself with is picking out the most effective program for a beginner.

Simple instruction in Spanish

When we refer to basic Spanish courses, these are lessons predominantly created for beginner learners. Such products typically cover simple grammar, frequent sentences utilised in every day conversations and simple vocabulary. In short, starter courses are for those who are seeking to master the Spanish language as used in everyday situations.

What to check out

In selecting Spanish programs, ensure that the one you choose is explicitly designed for somebody who is just starting his or her foray into learning Spanish. It should be intensive in terms of touching on the basics but should not be too complicated that starters will get lost in the lessons.

There are actually different formats from which you’ll be able to pick from. You can use books, CDs and DVDs, video lessons, audio recordings or attend classroom training. The format you will select should depend upon which method you’re most comfortable with.

If you happen to be more the reading kind, pick up training systems that cover basic sentence construction and easy grammar. However, if you also want to learn correct pronunciation, then it is best to opt for materials which have audio features, like Compact discs and downloads.

How to learn Spanish rapidly

Beginner students should start learning the most common words initially and then progress on to sentence construction. The simplest method of nailing down correct sentence composition is by looking at frequent phrases that holidaymakers make use of when they stay at Spanish-speaking places.

To hone your speaking ability and often evaluate how far the lessons have taken you, rehearse by speaking out aloud. Even better, endeavor to engage in conversations with Spanish speaking individuals so you’ll be able to hear how they are saying certain words and evaluate how you say yours.

There are Spanish lessons on the Internet that truly allow students to have real time conversations with native speakers or offer recorded audio materials. You can even log in at chat rooms where Spanish speakers congregate.

Basic Spanish courses can get you on your way towards learning the simple rules and nuances of the language. It could also direct you towards a more intensive and difficult learning level which will come in handy later on.

About the Author

Do you know that Online Spanish Language Courses are a fantastic way to learn Spanish fast and conveniently at home? Read more about the best courses accessible as well as consumer reports at http://www.learningspanishreports.com

spanish school salamanca

Spain Insane

SPAIN INSANE

by

Elaine Emily T. Abonal

I was the team leader of a group of college students for one of the Institute for Foreign Study’s (IFS) semester break exchange program to Salamanca, Spain. I have never been to Europe before then and I am minoring in Spanish so needless to say, I was so excited and so ready to go! It was a dream come true! Being an exchange student and experiencing first hand a culture completely different from your own and away from the protective wings of your parents is one of the life-changing things that I would never have gotten if it weren’t for the programs like these.

Four years ago, I went to Appleton, Wisconsin for a whole year as a high school exchange student for a gap year. I can still say today that I am a much better person because of it. I gained life lessons that have helped me throughout college and I know will help me in the future. That experience also helped me be a good team leader or an “ate” to the other girls who have never been away for so long before. I was also living proof and a spokesperson to the parents in letting them know that they were making the right choice in letting go of their kids – even for a little while – so they can experience the world on their own.

Four words: Best. Sem. Break. Ever.

Everything was completely different in Spain. Everything was in Spanish (of course), they ate at the weirdest and latest times (lunch at 3 and dinner at 10!), there was public display of affection everywhere (which actually made for an interesting way to watch people – hah), the weather was almost close to freezing (remember, it was November!), they strictly obeyed the siesta (the town is dead for 3 hours) and then party like crazy during their fiestas (there’s no way anyone would go home at midnight – it only starts then). Salamanca is also known as a UNESCO World Heritage City and one of the most popular and most beautiful places to visit. I never cared much for architecture before, but there definitely was magic in the golden walls of Salamanca. There were students from all over the world and of course, being a majority of girls that we were, we definitely went loca seeing all those guapo Spanish boys, from the Universidad students, Prince Felipe of Spain (Yes!!! He was in Salamanca for the day and we were so lucky to see him!), Andre – that one Brazilian student in our school that all us Filipino girls loved, David Beckham during the Real Madrid game (Okay, he’s not Spanish, but still!), to even the chico that sold stamps in magazine stands. It was fun for us to get the attention that we did since we were the foreigners – like someone staring in your face, a non-Spanish university student saying that you were a 15 (“quince”) on the 1-10 belleza (beauty) level, and some good looking boy saying, “Hola guapa, que tal?” We took things in stride and just laughed at ourselves and what was going on because everything was different, and the Spanish just loved to live life. We were young and I don’t think there was a better time in our lives to be in Spain.

The first time I had desayuno (breakfast), I was shocked and said to myself, “That’s it?!” My host mom – Leonor – left a glass of orange juice, butter, and one piece of toast on the table for me. I realized that in Spain, they really don’t eat so much in the morning. After breakfast, I would walk for around fifteen minutes through the cold but sunny streets of Salamanca to get to Spanish class. Everyone walked in the morning – people going to work, grandparents doing their daily routine, parents dropping off their children to school, and hundreds of colegio and Universidad students rushing to their classes.

Then, I would see the other Filipino girls and other foreign students in our language school, Enforex, and give each other the double, and get to class. I had the coolest, craziest and most interesting profesores who made learning Spanish not only challenging and easy at the same time, but also fun and up-to-date. Did you know that Spanish girls never change their surnames and that only one person is supposed to pay when a group of friends go out? My class was made up of one Japanese girl who was so much better in Spanish than I was (but couldn’t pronounce the rrrr’s!), an older guy from Slovakia who just wanted to learn a new language after he retired, a Brazilian boy who was cool and nonchalant because Portuguese was close to Spanish anyway, another Filipina friend whose presence made me feel more comfortable, and a sweet blonde German girl who would always invite me to parties. I looked forward to go to class everyday and was muy excited about what new thing I would learn next.

Classes would last from 9 to 2 pm and siesta would begin. Everything was closed and during that time all of us Filipinos would go back home and have lunch with our host families. I would be insanely hungry by then since I wasn’t used to the eating schedule, but since it was their biggest meal of the day, I was eventually full right away. My host mom always prepared soup, two (note: TWO!) main courses, a lot of bread, and yogurt for dessert. Honestly, the food for me was okay and I guess the weirdest thing I ate was rice and tomato sauce – nothing else. It’s for sure though, that the españoles loved their olive oil because I must have had it in every meal (olive oil is cheap there). My host parents were home during the siesta for their work break so I would talk to them a little bit and get to practice my Spanish before I took a nap.

By 5PM, everything comes back to life. Tiendas would start putting back their abierta (open) signs, people would start filling the streets again, and others would start walking back to work. In my case, I would meet up with the other Filipinos or other friends I made in classes, and we tried out the different cafeterias and restaurantes near the Plaza, went shopping crazy by going to Mango, H&M or Zara and had our daily routine of Spain’s well-known and muy rico chocolate con churros. We saw movies in Spanish and didn’t care if we didn’t understand most of it, just hung out and sat around the Plaza Mayor – the most beautiful part of the city – to watch the people, walked around in the cold of the city to see the sights and just for the sake of it, took hundreds of pictures of anything and everything, and just breathed in the culture and magic of everything that was going on around us.

After having dinner out, going back home to do homework, resting or hanging out with our families again, I would meet up with mis amigas under the famous clock of the Plaza Mayor an hour before midnight. Late at night, high school to university students would go out for a night of ir de marcha (going out) and stay out until the madrugada (wee hours of the morning). Hundreds of people, mostly students, would wait and meet up with their own friends before they went to the bars and discos. Thursday was the official night of going out and everyone, of all shapes, sizes, nationalities, ages, and even genders – go out. No other people party like the Spanish do and they know how to have a good fiesta. I enjoyed every minute of it. It was a good and fun way to meet other students and also to dance to Spanish music. (Bailamos!) With everything that was going on around you, and all the guapos y guapas, you just had to dance. I don’t think I’ve ever danced that much in my entire life! All the bars were next to each other so we would walk from one place to the other and completely forgot about the cold. Who would have thought that the streets could be alive and scattered with young people at 3AM – on a Monday? Friends met up and enjoyed before finally going home and walking through the well-lit and safe streets of Salamanca.

On weekends, we went to school-arranged trips and with that we saw the Aqueducts of Segovia, toured around the magical and caste-like city of Toledo, visited and went in the different museums of Madrid, like the Museo del Prado (my favorite) and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. I was able to see the most famous paintings of Picasso, Dali, Miro, El Greco, and more. We even got to watch a Real Madrid soccer game and saw the most famous futbol players in the world play – Beckham (!!), Ronaldo, Raul, Robinho, etc. Those names may not seem much to you but being the ex-futbol player that I am and futbol being practically a religion in Spain, it means mucho mucho mucho!

I had the BEST time – and I’m sure everyone did too. But I have to say that it was not always the easiest, like everything else. There was definitely a feeling of being overwhelmed in a completely new place, loving and being scared of everything in it, missing and actually not missing home at the same time. Some people got homesick for a couple of days, a couple got intimidated by the language, and one girl even got an allergy and had to go to the clinic to get a shot. I thought that being an exchange student for a year in high school would easily prepare me for everything. But to be a team leader was different. It was daunting in the beginning because I thought about all the responsibilities that I had but I quickly learned that nothing really prepares you to be one. You just do it. I became a team leader by using the skills I learned in life and in my past exchange experience, by sharing what I knew to the others and telling them that what they were going through was completely normal, and by having understanding and a lot of sense of humor, and by giving lots of love and hugs. Being a team leader multiplied my usual growing up during any trip. And that will definitely always be a good thing.

I think the other, and major, thing that I loved best about Spain didn’t actually come from there. It was the group that I was with. For some reason, we instantly bonded and mixed together all our different and crazy personalities. We made for an interesting group – one girl shopped almost everyday, another girl broke a poor German boy’s heart, the only guy with us for sure had a renewed understanding of the female psyche, another girl learned to laugh at herself when she said the wrong thing to a waiter. Being in a loving group like that made it easier to have a better time in a foreign land because there was always someone to lean back on, complain to, and have fun with.

Three weeks may seem like a short time, but I feel that personally and for the other Salamankers (that’s what we call ourselves), we left Spain and came back being a little bit different, more open minded in our perspectives, a lot more thankful for our parents and the things that we have here at home, and a hundredfold richer as persons. We have more than a thousand digital pictures from all of our collections put together and we will never forget what we experienced in Spain. Being there and experiencing everything that happens when you’re an exchange student again, and actually helping the others have that kind of experience too, made me remember that being an exchange student is one of the best things anyone could ever experience. You gain so much more than you can imagine and the effects can last you a lifetime. If I could be an exchange student in every part of the world, I would. I wish I could share what I know now to everyone and I just wish people actually get to experience the same thing.

When we were going in the airport to leave the Philippines, some girls were reluctant to say goodbye and some parents were beginning to cry. It IS hard to let go but deep inside I knew that the same parents would be happy and proud of the same thing. I knew that we were going to have the best time ever. And we did. Muchissimo.

email: elaineabonal@yahoo.com

Elaine Abonal is in her senior year in the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, as of 2006.

About the Author

main course in spanish

Spanish Computer Lessons Course – Learning Spanish Interactively! Can Multimedia Help Us Learn Spanish Fast?

Spanish computer lessons course isn’t just about acquiring a new language, but a great opportunity to learn about other cultures.  As far is it concerns learning another language, Spanish seems to be one of the most useful languages we could ever learn as almost 400 million people worldwide already speak it. Read the following article and find out how technology can help you on learning the Spanish language.

Quick introduction

Spanish computer lessons course is designed to teach individuals the Spanish language in a motivating and fun way. What is the reason for the growing popularity of this technology? It is mainly about teaching Spanish interactively by using advanced multimedia lesson plans.

When we examine the different educational methods used by this technology we can find that it provides the following: interactive multimedia, pronunciation practice, and tracking on how you progress.

Advantages

This Spanish learning technology provides several important advantages:

- Most of these solutions are adjusted to English speakers.

- Most of these solutions provide auto progress-tracking on our improvement.

- Quick learning time when compared with conventional language learning methods.

We could list many other important advantages provided by these language learning tools, simply because many important countries use Spanish as their main language.

Learning Spanish isn’t that difficult and thanks to these tools, this task becomes fast and effective, so any of us could easily learn how to speak it quit fast.

Summary

Spanish computer lessons course solutions are especially effective for those who look for fast language learning methods. Where will this technology go from here? It mainly depends on how creative and effective these solutions get.

About the Author

Take Free Interactive Multimedia Spanish Lessons and learn how an advanced Spanish Computer Lessons Course works and how it can easily and quickly enable you to learn conversational Spanish.

spanish school adelaide
What are the best schools for a 6 year old boy in Adelaide? Public schools are good?

I might be moving with my family to Adelaide, Australia in the near future. I have a 6 years old boy, we come from Venezuela where Spanish is spoken. My son speaks just a little English. I would like to know what are the best schools (that accept international students) in Adelaide in terms of curriculum, education quality and values.

Private schools will be difficult as they rarely have an ESL class. The public school system is such that your home address is what determined which school you go to – so once you have an address the nearest public school that has an ESL class is the only one you can go to.


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Back to college for personal development

I was born in the Ivory Coast. I successively had academic, professional and cultural trainings after having succeeded in the French baccalaureate examination many years ago. Those trainings made me go back to college in most of the cases and they totally changed the naïve young student with a general background that I was into a gentleman well-educated and firmly turned towards texts, documents or books, and their contents.

 As a librarian and archivist, also as a part-time freelance journalist and a part-time lecturer – I am also a part-time consultant who has already worked for national and international organizations, especially UNICEF and the National Program on AIDS in the Ivory Coast – I am used to analysing and writing texts. Actually, these occupations, taken individually, are activities that generate texts to be handled or to be understood and managed, or else to be explained.

 As a librarian and archivist, I am fully committed to the preservation of books and/or files comprising various and diversified lines of texts in English, in French, in Spanish, in Arabic, in Germany…

 As a freelance journalist – I started out as one of the editors of the internal newspaper of the Abidjan Port Authority, and then I became a part-time freelance journalist – I need to be provided with information that is textual most of the time. According to the availability of the said information and the subject that motivated the article, I can be annoyed or troubled for the barrier of the language in which the texts provided are written.

 As a lecturer, I have the duty to do researches and then get my lectures ready. Doing researches supposes that many texts and other sorts of sources, not only in French, are used.

 Therefore, I became aware of the need and the necessity to learn and master other languages than French. In that way, my professional activities would be easier to accomplish. That is why I studied Spanish and English. Spanish is a language that I found easy when I learnt it for a time at grammar school. I liked the way it is spoken and I decided, since then, to go one day to Cervantes’s motherland to read, speak and write fluently that language. The dream became reality in 2001. I went to the University of Alcala de Henares – Madrid – for three weeks intensive courses.

 If French is my native language and Spanish my favorite, English is what I really studied sparingly. I got a bachelor degree in English at the University of Abidjan-Cocody, and I continued with a Freelance Journalism course at the London School of Journalism, which is a distance learning college. I also had the chance to improve my English with an anthropologist who taught for the British Council in Abidjan. Then, I went to Accra for intensive courses in English at the Ghana Institute of Languages. Afterwards, I registered at the University of South Africa commonly called UNISA for postgraduate studies. Within the framework of my studies at UNISA, I have to write a dissertation that will lead to a thesis.

 The University of South Africa or UNISA, which had opened its doors for more than 50 years, is one of the most important distance education universities in the world. It has its campus in Pretoria and centres throughout South Africa. This institution has registered some 135,000 students, in major part coming from Southern Africa where UNISA is considered as the largest university. It offers internationally recognised certificate, diploma and degree courses up to doctoral level.

 I sometimes look at the mirror and the reflect that I see – and I like the image – is a maritime executive appointed to documentation and communication, and a student of communication, also a part-time communication lecturer, deeply interested in communication technology which, I think, is undergoing quite a boom thanks to distance learning.

 In fact, I am fascinated by educational media, communication and teaching, as a part-time lecturer and also as a student, because of distance learning in its conceptualization and, above all, the technology that goes with it. I learnt by teaching experience that teaching is a communicative activity, “…any act by which information is given to someone so as to educate him.” As a former correspondent student at the London School of Journalism – now registered at UNISA – I have experienced the impact of communication technology deployed between the teacher and the distant learner. Because of the electronic and other media forms used in this process, the distant learner appears not to be directly “touched” by the teacher. Distance learning, even in tertiary education, takes place when a lecturer and students are separated by physical distance, and technology, often in concert with face-to-face communication, is used to bridge the gap. In other words, distance education is an educational process wherein knowledge is delivered to students not on the campuses, but directly to their homes or places of residence, this process wherein courses are provided to the learners by the trainers using electronic or other media forms.

 Reasons such as the progress of information and communication technology, in general, and the Internet, in particular, explain how much media and educational communication in distance learning can be relevant to all communication professionals such as journalists, teachers, and executives…, interested in continuing their studies without leaving their homes. Everyone will see that by allowing worldwide access to large amounts of relevant information, computers and the Internet diminish research costs and compensate for the shortage of books and scientific journals that often plagues university libraries. Computers send and receive information electronically in distance learning. That is why the term “data” is used to describe the broad category of instructional tools. 

My aim now is to get the PhD in educational communication and become a full-time lecturer, and then contribute to adults’ education when they go back to college.

 

About the Author

The author is a professional and part-time freelance journalist based in Ivory Coast, West Africa. He got a DESS in journalism, which is a postgraduate degree between Master and PhD. The author also teaches Communications at colleges.