CLASS # 12

SPEAKING

Ramesh : What is that building?

Latha : It is a Church.

Ramesh : I thought it to be a mosque. How do you know that it is a Church?

Latha : Can't you see the cross on the top of the tower?

Ramesh : Yes. I understand. When will the prayer begin?

Latha : It will begin at 10 A.M.

Ramesh : Shall we enter the church? Will they permit us?

Latha : They will permit us if we like to go in.

Ramesh : Will there be service on all days?

Latha : It will be on Sundays and on the days of Christian festivals.  

 LISTENING

Creating Messages Through Public Art and Design

Brazilian Zarela Mosquera moved to the United States as a teenager. The adjustment to a new place was difficult. Mosquera says she was a bratty teenager, as a result. But it was not just the adjustment that affected her behavior. Mosquera says there was another major stress in her life at that time: She was the only member of her family who spoke English.

“Being in a country with my family that doesn’t speak Spanish and my parents don’t really speak English, my parents were trying to give me all these responsibilities.”

Along with Spanish and English, Mosquera also speaks Portuguese. But there was another universal language she learned to love as a child: art.

Mosquera connected with drawing and painting while in school. But she mostly dismissed art as a path to a career.

She says her Dad would always say, “Think about the future.”

Mosquera did not think he would support the study of art once she went to college.

But, to her surprise, it was her parents who suggested just that. They urged her to apply to technical and liberal arts schools.

“One of them was Rhode Island School of Design so that was like my top choice.”

RISD, as it is called, chose Mosquera as well. She enrolled in industrial design.

“It’s basically to design products and services. I could be doing something more technical or something more related to problem solving. Whether it’s figuring out a better way to filter water or developing a type of specific shelter for refugees for example.”

Mosquera says the course of study was tough including metal working, woodworking and model making.

She says in one class she just drew cubes for an entire month, which led her to a question:

“Wow! Do I really want to do this?”