Language Profiles series

by Cathy Haghighat

World Languages Publishing House

Cathy Haghighat is a well-recognized former ESL teacher, ESL department head, and language trainer for the ESL Part 1 AQ course at the University of Toronto, but to many she is best known for a column on languages she wrote for TESL Ontario’s contact publication.

Over thirteen years of research on languages has resulted in a three-book series, titled Language Profiles, designed to help teachers, volunteers, and learners to understand other cultures and language backgrounds. It is also a great resource to families investigating their cultural heritage.

The series covers a collection of over twenty language profiles per volume. Each language profile section includes a map and flag of the language's country of origin, a language-specific alphabet or script, its historic background, linguistic background, linguistic comparison to English, and cultural background.

The cultural background provides information about education, names, traditional marriage customs, family life, religion, calendar, celebrations, literature/culture, and other relevant information.

General linguistic notes also appear in the endnotes.

Copies of all three Language Profiles books can be purchased from AlphaPlus Centre at www.store.alphaplus.ca and will be available for purchase at special conference prices during TESL Ontario conference.