Learning a Foreign Language October 9, 2007
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by Ashley Martin
If you have ever tried to learn a foreign language, you know that it is no easy task. Many people study a foreign language for years before they begin to grasp it. Barbara Laman, who is an instructor in the Department of Language and Literature at Dickinson State University, struggled to learn English in her native country of Austria. She stated that when she was a young teenager she “could not speak a word of English after studying six years of texts.” Fernando Quijano, who is an economics instructor at DSU, stated, “altogether it takes about ten years to learn a language.”
So what can you do to help the process along? According to Laman, there are three steps a person should follow when learning a language. She stated that the most important step is immersion. She added that when you are completely immersed in a language, you are forced to learn. Rolf Butz, assistant professor of business, said “you learn a lot more when you’re there, talking to people, than trying to learn it in class.” Butz is originally from Mainz, Germany.
Kostas Voutsas, assistant professor of business and management, said that it “helped tremendously” to be around other people who spoke English. Voutsas is originally from Thessaloniki, Greece. “The difficulty that I experienced was dealing with the culture,” Voutsas stated. He said that although his courses prepared him to speak English, he “did not have the training to live in a new culture.” He also said, “interacting with American students allowed me to appreciate the richness of the culture.”
Laman stated that the second most important step is “to see situations that you recognize and to hear what people say in those situations.” Laman, Quijano, Voutsas, and Butz all agree that watching television sitcoms in the target language aids in mastering this step. Voutsas added that movies also helped him with this.
The third step that Laman recommends is to “learn the clichés of the cultures and the figures of speech. Once you know what the clichés mean, that’s when you begin to think in that target language.” Although she discourages her American students from using clichés in their work, Laman never stops her foreign students from doing so. She says this is because when foreign students use clichés, it is a sign that they are beginning to have a better understanding of the culture and language.
Although every person learns in his or her own unique way, Laman, Quijano, Voutsas, and Butz all believe that visual learning is very important. “I’m a very graphical person. People learn, definitely, by seeing graphics,” Quijano said. He added that, like Laman, simply reading text did not help much while learning the English language. Butz, too, stated, “I like pictures, without them, it’s boring.”
Another challenge to learning a language is remembering your original language. Quijano stated that there was a period of time when he didn’t speak either language very well. “It is a challenge to keep your original language intact,” he said. Laman has spent two thirds of her life in English speaking countries, so it is understandable that she struggles for a week or so to find words when visiting her homeland. Butz stated that although he has not lost a lot of German, he does lose some of his vocabulary in between visits to Germany. He, too, said that it takes about a week before he begins regaining what he has forgotten.
It may be quite a challenge, but learning a foreign language is a good asset that many Americans never acquire. “Language acquisition has been so neglected in this country that I’m afraid we’ll start to see the effects of it in our economy pretty soon,” Laman said. “With China growing economically the way it is, we should learn their language to understand both their economy and their culture better.”
It would not be a bad idea to learn to speak a different language; it may come in handy some day soon.
Lady Hawk Volleyball on Top October 9, 2007
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by Chris Aarhus
The Dickinson State University volleyball team was all about results on homecoming weekend.The No. 6-ranked Blue Hawks swept another Dakota Athletic Conference foe, earning a 30-26, 30-27, 30-21 win over Black Hills State Saturday at Scott Gymnasium.Led by senior Nancy Nyongesa, the Blue Hawks turned out a spectacular performance, punctuated by a dominating win in the third-game.“She is a punctuation-type player,” Dickinson coach Dave Moody said. “When we need to put an exclamation mark on (the match), that’s her. (For our team), she’s what Dominique Wilkins was to the NBA. She’s our human-highlight reel.”
Both teams bounced back and forth early until DSU grabbed a 10-9 lead. The Blue Hawks never lost the lead after that, but couldn’t put away the Yellow Jackets. Trailing 26-21, Black Hills State got within 28-26 before DSU eventually closed it out on a service ace from senior All-American Nancy Nyongesa. Nyongesa led DSU with 16 kills, eight digs and an ace.Moody continued to praise Nyongesa’s efforts.“She’s one of the most exciting players we’ve ever had in Scott Gym,” Moody said. “I hope everyone who watches her play understands that.”The second game had DSU get out to an even bigger lead. The Blue Hawks broke a 13-13 tie by going on a 9-2 run.
Black Hills State came back to get within four at 22-18. However, DSU answered with six straight points to bring the score to 28-18 and that’s when the Yellow Jackets turned their performance around.Black Hills State used a 9-1 run to get back in contention at 29-27 before Judith Boel pounded out a kill to end Game 2. Boel finished with 10 kills, two aces and 12 digs. DSU setter Katelyn Steifel had 39 assists.Black Hills State setter and Dickinson High alumnus Mandy Brumfield notched 25 assists to go with a pair of aces.Brumfield said she was happy with the reception she got when she returned home.“It’s been great to come back here and get lots of support,” Brumfield said. “I went to a lot of camps (in Scott Gym). I have a lot of confidence playing in this gymnasium.”
Team-First is the Way to be October 9, 2007
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By Chris Aarhus
The team-first mentality instilled by Dickinson State cross country coach Thadd O’Donnell is certainly paying off. The men’s team took seven of the top nine spots en route to a first-place finish at the Blue Hawk Invitational Saturday at Heart River Golf Course.
“We ran as a team,” Jimenez said. “That was our main concern.” Though the race wasn’t a photo finish, Dickinson State’s Sergio Campos Jimenez outlasted Porfirio Parra on the final 300 meters to win his first meet of the year with a time of 26 minutes, 8 seconds. “We both improved over a minute on our time,” Jimenez said. “I ran my best time in two years.”
Unattached runner Curtis Huffman finished third and the Blue Hawks had a firm grasp on the rest of the field. Salvador Bautista, Dan Molnar and John Kungu took the next three spots, and Frank Ruiz and Pablo Puga took eighth and ninth, respectively. All in all, DSU runners had seven of the top nine finishes. Jimenez kicked hard down the home stretch and the extra effort not only meant a win, but also the course record. “He ran one of the best races I’ve seen him run,” DSU coach Thadd O’Donnell said. “Nothing really surprises us, but he was close. “He came out of his shell and had a great performance.” Jimenez and Parra helped lead the DSU men to a team title with 15 points. “Our whole lineup ran very aggressive,” O’Donnell said. “Being at home has its benefits. Having their friends out and watching gives us kind of a home-court advantage.”
University of North Dakota came in second with 48 points, followed by Jamestown College ’s 94 points and Montana State Billings’ 95. Though it wasn’t quite as successful as the men, the women’s team still boasted a second-place finisher in Rose Jepkirui. Jepkirui finished in 19:04, 28 seconds behind meet-winner Heidi Evans of UND. Irene Kosgei and Rayel McPeters of DSU took eighth and ninth, respectively. “I’m satisfied with my time because I’m not in shape right now,” Jepkirui said. UND dominated the team competition, scoring 19 points. DSU was second with 57 and Montana State Billings was third with 68. South Dakota School of Mines (92) rounded out the field.
So Long Mac October 5, 2007
Posted by westernconcept in Campus Life, News.comments closed
by Ashley Martin
You may have noticed, while searching for an open computer lab this semester, that Dickinson State University no longer has a Mac lab. This lab was discontinued in the spring of 2007. Over the summer all the Macs were replaced with PCs. The only Macs left on campus belong to a handful of faculty members.
According to Todd Hauf, director of computer services, there were many reasons for discontinuing the Mac lab. The biggest deciding factor was that the lab was mostly used by the teacher education program. A few years ago, Dickinson Public Schools switched to strictly PCs. Since they interned DSU’s students, it was logical to want everyone on the same platform.
Students studying graphic design also used to work in the Mac lab. Hauf said that most of the graphic design instructors were most comfortable working with PCs. He said that in general, the entire faculty at DSU seemed to want strictly PCs.
Hauf stated that the Mac lab was the least used lab on campus, with only about 20% usage. This may have been because many students complained of technical difficulty when using the Macs. When students to save their work and switched from Mac to PC (or vice versa), they would end up corrupting their files. As far as technical problems were concerned, conversion was “the main issue I was aware of in that lab,” Hauf stated.
Another reason for removing Macs from campus, according to Hauf, was cost issues. He said that a Mac costs about one and a half times more than a PC. “It’s hard to justify spending so much,” he said. According to Hauf, PCs also have more software available to them. All of the software that was installed on the Macs is also on the PCs, so there seemed to be little reason to keep the Mac lab.
Hauf said that bringing a Mac lab back in the future is not out of the question. At DSU, “there’s an open door policy to any platform,” he stated. If our campus should have a need for Macs in the future, it is likely that they would be reinstalled. For now though, DSU seems to be functioning perfectly well without them.
The Blue Hawk’s Get Stung October 5, 2007
Posted by westernconcept in Sports.comments closed
by Chris Aarhus
Dickinson State coach Hank Biesiot said there wasn’t one specific area that was to blame. “It was in all phases: offense, defense and special teams,” Biesiot said. “All areas need work. We’re going to have to go back to the basics.”
Black Hills State’s ability to get to the quarterback hindered the DSU offense the entire game. The Yellow Jackets finished with six sacks in the game, the chief reason for only 12 net rushing yards, and hurried quarterback Caleb Midura numerous times. Midura finished 14 of 30 for 189 yards and two interceptions.
If that wasn’t enough, the Blue Hawks failed to get first downs on two different third-and-1 opportunities. “We haven’t had a big push up front all year,” Biesiot said, referring to his offensive line. “Yards are hard for us to come by.”
The DSU offense finished with 267 forward yards, not far from the 319 yards the Yellow Jackets put up. However, the Blue Hawks were constantly pinned deep in their own territory, thanks to a solid day from Black Hills State’s freshman punter Kraig Tafoya. DSU started inside its 5-yard line four times, three of which came on punts from Tafoya.Black Hills State got on the board when freshman quarterback Drew Hodges hit sophomore receiver Ryan Fagerstrom with a 22-yard touchdown pass to close out the first quarter. Midway through the second, Yellow Jackets starting running back Tanner Ehrlich found a hole on the right side and scurried for a 29-yard TD run to put his team up 14-0.Dickinson State added a field goal before halftime, cutting into Black Hills State’s lead. However, Hodges found Hagerstrom on a 21-yard TD pass in the third quarter and to add insult to injury to the Blue Hawks, Black Hills State also recorded a safety to cap scoring.DSU running back James Macey had 21 carries for 65 yards while sophomore wide receiver Clint Grosz had five catches for 69 yards.
