When I was a kid it was "i before e except after c, unless sounding like a, as in neighbor and weigh"
Which would neatly apply to Leif's name. Of course, you'd have to know in advance that Leif was pronounced "Lafe" in order to say it correctly. And if you only heard it, you'd likely use your own language's rules to spell it. Pronouncing it as "Life" conforms to the way a German pronounces "ei" (long "i") as opposed to "ie" (long "e"). And if it was pronounced "Lafe" by golly the Germans wouldn't mess around with "i"s and "e"s - they'd use an "a".
Also, I think Chris cheated when he included multisyllabic and/or compound words where both vowels are pronounced (reincarnation, reinforcing, herein, freeing...). Of course, these words would confuse most any ESL student having only that old rule to go on.
