‘I create as I speak’
Why the name Abracadabra for language courses? To be honest I have no idea ... Voices perhaps? Tinnitus? Now for the storytelling; I would say that, as everyone knows, Abracadabra is associated with magic, wonder and miracles ... But let me reassure you right away, I'm no more miraculous than I am a magician! On the other hand, I am always amazed to watch the magic happen, when a student makes the effort to speak my mother tongue, French. Sometimes, even if only for a moment, I forget my role as a guide, facilitator, in short ... as a teacher and become a simple listener again as I am enthralled!
If we look at its origins, Abracadabra dates back to the 2nd century. Used for centuries to cure illnesses, it comes from ancient Aramaic and means 'I create as I speak'. Unless it comes from Hebrew or Latin ... and why not from Greek while we're at it? All having more or less different meanings. As you can see, expert opinions differ on the matter. They will certainly agree on the playful nature of this name; playful as a language course should be by the way…
For my part, I will opt for 'I create as I speak,' not out of erudition but simply because it suits me. Storytelling... remember? The cause-and-effect link between what is said and what it produces… it's a whole world that opens up, inspires, motivates, stimulates, galvanises...
Abracadabra is the meeting of the physical and spiritual worlds or the one of desire, potential and energy. It's an unshakeable belief - the spark that induces transformation, deeply rooted in our imaginary - and as a French historian Michel Pastoureau reminds us: 'the imaginary is a reality [...] and one cannot oppose one to the other.'
So, in practice, how does that work? Well, we can start with... "Abracadabra, I'm going to speak French!" (I want to and I can) or "Abracadabra, I must conjugate!" (a Bescherelle conjugation book will appear against a few quid...;). There's also "Abracadabra, Google translate!" a spell that, although sometimes useful, appeals to me less...
Well, if you're not totally convinced by the incantatory, you can at least grant that Abracadabra will be a magnificent prelude to pronunciation exercises. It will teach us that the "a" letter in French always produces the same sound, normally... Secondly, it will allow us to immediately try the letter 'R' which, I readily admit, is not always easy to pronounce and let me tell you that the lion's roar strategy won’t help!
Finally, storytelling aside, it's worth noting that Abracadabra is an excellent alphabetical choice, almost unbeatable for a website’s search engine optimisation. Maybe that is where the miracle stands!
À très bientôt,
Christophe