A flying start to language learning

Springboard builds a firm foundation of knowledge and understanding of foreign languages, and helps to enrich and consolidate a learner's knowledge of English.

The first book of Urso-Kurso, sufficient for one term's work, covers six topic-blocks of vocabulary and provides a list of "foreign friends" to which each Esperanto word is related.

Here are some examples of "foreign friends":

• Topic one - colours: griza = grey
  French has gris, Italian has grigio, English has grizzled.
  
  
• Topic two - animals: kato = cat
  Swedish has katt, German has katze, Russian has kot.
  
  
• Topic three - numbers: ok = eight
  Latin has octo, Greek has οκτω, English has octagon.
  
  
• Topic four - shapes: cirklo = circle
  Latin has circulus, Spanish has circulo, French has cercle.
  
  
• Topic five - the body: piedo = foot
  French has pied, Italian has piede, Spanish has pie, English has pedestrian.
  
  
• Topic six - the family: patro = father
  Latin has pater, Italian has padre, Spanish has padre, English has paternal.

The "reference model" of a regular grammar, with no exceptions, helps children to understand the role that each word plays in a sentence. This can then lead to improved confidence when dealing with the very irregular grammar of English; knowing (for example) when to use "who" or "whom"; when to say "my friend and I" or "my friend and me".

Language Links - to other languages

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