tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11074347466042746112024-03-13T21:34:29.881-07:00The Play~fool TongueAt the age of fifteen I gave up French and Latin. Oh, to go back in time and dissuade myself from doing that!Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-57570613945358225182020-07-01T14:38:00.001-07:002020-07-01T15:01:58.952-07:00Scott Thornbury<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Grammar McNuggets</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Dogme</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Social learning</span></li>
</ul>
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Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-51746843917665100302019-07-09T16:15:00.003-07:002019-07-14T15:03:56.350-07:00Gordon Neufeld<span style="font-size: large;">Kids need us more than friends</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://youtu.be/UlMkWJY5T_w?t=1349">The key to language acquisition</a> that we talk like those to whom we are attached. That is the key to language acquisition. And that alone would revolutionize our school system.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">'<a href="https://youtu.be/Oq8ULEfvF78?t=2956">You can't just say, "Stop this" re screen time</a>.</span>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-56286582709888945562019-04-25T16:06:00.001-07:002019-04-25T16:06:15.206-07:00How to acquire any language in just 1 yearInteresting <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=illApgaLgGA">1 hour talk</a> on the subject with cameos from Stephen Krashen.Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-70958224661108594202019-01-02T13:13:00.000-08:002019-01-04T10:16:33.741-08:00What I hope to get from Languages Arena<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">People often say about this, that and the other: "There's got to be another way." Concerning languages, I feel that a better way would involve community engagement.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">By this, I don't mean engaging with native speakers of the target language (although that wouldn't hurt). Instead, I suggest interacting with a number - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar%27s_number">Dunbar's number</a>? - of like-minded members of a tribe, cohort or fraternity who share the same goal. They needn't all be</span><span style="font-size: large;"> learning the same language. In fact, it might be better that they are working on a <i>mix</i> of languages.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">But how to form such a group members? Should I advertise (as in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael_(novel)">Daniel Quinn's <i>Ishmael</i></a>?) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It's not as if there's a dearth of people learning languages. A billion or two around the world are trying to pick up English alone.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The problem is that people have no trust in themselves. The education system, and society in general, has sold us the idea that to learn a language is difficult, and that it requires a teacher, the study of grammar, that expertise is built through learning rules, doing exercises and memorizing lists of words. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And so people go looking on line for tips and tricks. They end up with . . . well . . . well-meaning tricksters. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Something like that. I'm just playing with words here ;-)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I want to get away from such a (an?) hierarchical arrangement. I don't want any commercial transfer of funds. I don't want to be <i>told</i> what to do. I refuse to obey a set of how-to-do-it-my-way strictures. </span><span style="font-size: large;">I just want a level playing field in which to play, kick a ball around, shoot the breeze and share the experience. I'm a <strike>girl</strike> guy who just wants to have fun!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">That, in short, is what I hope to get out of <b><i><a href="https://languagesarena.blogspot.com/">Languages Arena</a></i></b>.</span>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-21177248322858562092018-12-28T15:02:00.000-08:002019-01-28T12:00:59.517-08:00What I get from A J Hoge<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfYYi6aJNg70mFYnbBKcMQw">A.J. Hoge</a> has a huge online presence. However, I can only take the man in small doses (sorry), though that might not be so if I was actually learning English. Then, I might then find him and his material much more useful.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Nevertheless, I am appreciative for a couple of things: His nail-hit-on-the-head <a href="https://effortlessenglishclub.com/something-wrong-in-japan">description of English class in Japan</a>, and the notion of coaching (as opposed to teaching). The latter is a relatively recent concept, as you can see on the graph below (from <a href="https://books.google.com/ngrams">Google ngram</a>).</span><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="500" hspace="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" name="ngram_chart" scrolling="no" src="https://books.google.com/ngrams/interactive_chart?content=language+coaching&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Clanguage%20coaching%3B%2Cc0" vspace="0" width="900"></iframe>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-7983359048304729662018-09-30T13:12:00.003-07:002018-10-01T12:43:30.585-07:005-minute introduction to Stephen Krashen<span style="font-size: large;">I can't think of a better way to spend five minutes on professional development (as an ESOL teacher) than by spending it in the company of<b> <a href="http://www.sdkrashen.com/">Stephen Krashen</a></b>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The only problem is that of hyper-choice; there's just so much online by, and about, the man that it is difficult to decide where to begin.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And so - let me decide for you . . .</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">1. Get a feel for the man from the first one and a half minutes of this 3-part talk:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UgdMsOcSXkQ" width="560"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">2. Then, skip ahead to the <a href="https://youtu.be/UgdMsOcSXkQ?t=5m3s">5:03 mark</a> (thereby saving over three-and-a-half minutes!) and listen for four more minutes (until 9:10).</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Of course, you are free to listen to the entire talk later in your own time!</span>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-50922769612544895872018-09-21T14:59:00.003-07:002018-09-21T14:59:50.565-07:00What I get from Globish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTRgtQzqIxe4dsMuGNwEdDx-IMv-MGYxxlsW-F1TD_zkw3jbk0Xr81wjcDFpz3j4noXS46w0EOc6-OrFH6mvkqHZzmG3r8Kx6enMlwB4MDhwsUAHm2UsENdnakiVVAiQZzUnUU2TUM_Sw/s1600/1337256000000.cached_8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="854" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTRgtQzqIxe4dsMuGNwEdDx-IMv-MGYxxlsW-F1TD_zkw3jbk0Xr81wjcDFpz3j4noXS46w0EOc6-OrFH6mvkqHZzmG3r8Kx6enMlwB4MDhwsUAHm2UsENdnakiVVAiQZzUnUU2TUM_Sw/s320/1337256000000.cached_8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I first came across the word 'Globish' (and hence the concept) in a Japanese bookshop while searching the shelves for any useful books on language learning.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Basically, it is the term for English as it is spoken around the world between non-native speakers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It uses a smaller number of words, shorter sentences and simpler grammar.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Its purpose is to communicate messages quickly, easily, and 'relaxedly'. It doesn't fuss so much with being 'correct'. And that is what I both take from it and respect.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-17633412589436081472018-09-16T15:20:00.001-07:002018-09-16T15:20:08.950-07:00Introducing David Snopek, and what I got from him<span style="font-size: large;">I first got to know about David Snopek through his <a href="http://www.linguatrek.com/">blog</a>. I'm not sure whether it is still active, as its last post is dated March 2014. No matter - I'll just recount how and where I heard of him, and what that he had to say, or write, I found useful.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I was in Japan, I believe. And although I wasn't interested in learning Polish at the time (I'm more interested now) his free ebook of general principles intrigued me.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">David was the first person I'd come across to use real material to pick up a language. Specifically, he used Harry Potter. David went into some detail explaining how to work though <i>Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone</i> - or maybe the sorcerer's stone - word for word, sentence by sentence, page by page.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I loved that idea. And I discovered that I could pick up Japanese copies of the series for peanuts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<br />Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-62301037445143609892018-09-16T15:02:00.002-07:002018-09-16T15:03:29.529-07:00In a(nother's) nutshell<span style="font-size: large;">If only the author of this video had gone on to create a language-learning channel, then I'd be out of a job!</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Sink language so that it can be used on the fly.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">4 clear points to take you from 0% to maybe 20%</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Acquisition, not learning</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">"Comprehensible input" - Krashen</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J_EQDtpYSNM?rel=0" width="560"></iframe>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-68102540558618000822018-09-10T11:06:00.001-07:002018-09-10T11:06:15.619-07:00Choose your own<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCne7kHeXQj2UvVWTXVNscSJcfmZ4wq_RF5lPjNwXUxCrSA1jzKDT_rlqPb9X5TmDKuniX8Uu7Gl8LQmIUxVkXOKxz400gfNppV2W1Quh3a7GFZydzx4UOZqKnWNNJlfBqGLN_pOcqL-P/s1600/header_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCne7kHeXQj2UvVWTXVNscSJcfmZ4wq_RF5lPjNwXUxCrSA1jzKDT_rlqPb9X5TmDKuniX8Uu7Gl8LQmIUxVkXOKxz400gfNppV2W1Quh3a7GFZydzx4UOZqKnWNNJlfBqGLN_pOcqL-P/s320/header_3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ">Listen, Son, to what I have to say about comprehensible input. It's not something new you need to learn; you've used it in the past.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ">When you needed to
learn Dutch after your family moved there, you did that through reading <i>Ot en Sien</i> and <i>Kruimeltje</i>. Later, when the folks returned to New Zealand and you needed to
switch back to English, you read Superman comics, the Famous Five and you scoured the Children's Library shelves labelled Myths and Legends
from Many Lands.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ">That's how you got yourself comprehensible input - by hunting down </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> interesting material at your level.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ">It’s possible thereafter to expand the difficulty
limit of the material <b>if</b> you have a way to making it understandable (i.e. cheating is allowed.)</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ">If you already know the story, that’s good
(unless you are disinclined to re-read books or watch movies again and again). But you could get around that by seeking more by the same
author, or by continuing in that genre. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ">If your listening is at a level where it
supplements your understanding, then listen to the audiobook <i>at the same time</i> as
you follow along on paper or the screen.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ">And if you read on screen, you might use an
application that gives you the meaning of words when you scroll over them.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span lang="EN-NZ" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ" style="line-height: 115%;">Yes, there are always means and ways.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QV0U5mFUl6VQbiDRWKRCAsBb7kpMgnhnExb-ugYR0Rq5pkXt0p6gRo4kyhnqolCyjbTH0YfXNzeXO8lakSY-6Q-Fd7gVRaXzUcDOpLvifRI18Gk7Hpw2ZZ8dYf4RvBgB_TekNqIQKeyX/s1600/abko001krui01_01_tpg.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QV0U5mFUl6VQbiDRWKRCAsBb7kpMgnhnExb-ugYR0Rq5pkXt0p6gRo4kyhnqolCyjbTH0YfXNzeXO8lakSY-6Q-Fd7gVRaXzUcDOpLvifRI18Gk7Hpw2ZZ8dYf4RvBgB_TekNqIQKeyX/s320/abko001krui01_01_tpg.gif" width="193" /></a></div>
Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-75679513795038545782018-09-04T14:28:00.000-07:002018-09-04T14:40:16.233-07:00Hurry, don't worry<span style="font-size: large;">There used to be a TV show: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kreskin">Kreskin</a>. He was a mentalist / magician. He'd mind read and predict. Entertainment.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">His show had a live audience. He'd call on members of that audience. He'd ofter tell them to "take you time, but hurry".</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Now, that would make a great catch-phrase in the arena of language learning. You need to engage with focus, yet not engage your conscious brain. It's a question of <a href="https://youtu.be/J_EQDtpYSNM?t=7m5s">focus-mode thinking versus diffuse-mode</a>.</span>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-81009545737396323782018-09-03T22:05:00.000-07:002018-09-03T23:10:58.429-07:00This is too easy!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpU05uE7dT26nAYoH6urkRIq25n_V4FO1tVrtn0VVv4rIAERaR-WRD5XZOSS5Ys1mMOsQOMRkwq0EvlpgnHjGKMW25ADEPlBGsIdpnWpmnH7SJU0NObcoJUm4pahIOgL6pN_U25Iy1XL0/s1600/SEPT15_09_104050368.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpU05uE7dT26nAYoH6urkRIq25n_V4FO1tVrtn0VVv4rIAERaR-WRD5XZOSS5Ys1mMOsQOMRkwq0EvlpgnHjGKMW25ADEPlBGsIdpnWpmnH7SJU0NObcoJUm4pahIOgL6pN_U25Iy1XL0/s320/SEPT15_09_104050368.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I easily spent time on 3 languages this morning. It may prove almost too easy to learn a number of them quickly. It takes almost no effort to follow along as I listen. I hardly have to concentrate. I'm not required to remember anything. I don't need to study, look up words or do exercises. And yet I feel that I'm learning very quickly.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">But let me spell out what my intentions are.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I want to get used to hearing and reading various languages. I'm talking about input. If I could achieve just the ability to listen and to read, I'd be happy. To actually speak or write languages is not my immediate goal. Output would comes after. My 'immediate' goal is to be able to understand my target languages.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">At present I've only tackled Japanese, Dutch and German. You could call them my 'cheat' languages since I've already put in time with them. But I can predict that a whole bunch of others will come almost as easily. French, Spanish, Italian, and a Scandinavian language for fun. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Their alphabets are more or less familiar to me. So are at least a hundred or more words. I'm convinced that with such a foundation my <i><b>ListenRead</b></i> techniques will work like a dream.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I suspect that the only difficulty may consist of mixing similar languages up e.g. Spanish and Portugese; Swedish, Danish and Norwegian; Russian, Czech and Polish.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But as long as each language has a distinctive 'flavor' (e.g. having its own alphabet) then I don't anticipate any problem.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Still, I'd happily admit that it's still early days. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-51540021002969169192018-09-03T15:27:00.000-07:002018-09-03T15:28:04.962-07:00What I got from Johan Cruijff<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHxsOUOYEyrTxJY4Jw8UNwjgyjpnowVmolwmODL-3Ls_vfXkS8HTRL7alsxLhGY_31udYPWXBi9rUOmJy1DR-CheSAS-VscWP15m0SJ88i8jHaqPaKDi1zDHhixYJMteoOiiI3b_XiI44/s1600/51C0-gL6wzL._SX364_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="366" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHxsOUOYEyrTxJY4Jw8UNwjgyjpnowVmolwmODL-3Ls_vfXkS8HTRL7alsxLhGY_31udYPWXBi9rUOmJy1DR-CheSAS-VscWP15m0SJ88i8jHaqPaKDi1zDHhixYJMteoOiiI3b_XiI44/s320/51C0-gL6wzL._SX364_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The late Johan Cruijff was a famous Dutch football player - one of the top five, probably, in the world. I got to know of him back in 1974. That was when Holland reached the final of the soccer world cup for the very first time. </span><span style="font-size: large;">He was the embodiment of </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Football" style="font-size: x-large;">Total Football</a><span style="font-size: large;">. But along with his skill, it's another aspect of his outlook that I admire even more.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Johan treated football as a game. Of course, he no doubt took it seriously to have achieved what he did. Nevertheless, he remained playful. Take a look at any 'footage' of the man, and analyse his body language. He was always relaxed. He always had fun.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So much so, that when the 1978 world cup held in Argentina looked likely to become overly serious in a political sense, with threats made against players, Johan simply decided to sit it out. He put his safety and his family first. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Football is only a game.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Anything is only a game.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The more relaxed you are able to remain, the better, paradoxically, you will become at it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-62232943123299804832018-09-02T14:14:00.000-07:002018-09-03T23:13:48.756-07:00Supersonic Unlearning<div class="p1">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWnsSFannKv8IUkI7afixEWa9CkyzCvLMjS7d5M9Bw9b0V8OqtOluutby6QTcMsbksLs_PbZXgGRbPMvbO4zoe-Wb0md_8EYQBtBXrVauwKMLaXLo2QRB9uWzmuZngqqZY2ox5iJtLkU/s1600/speech.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="588" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWnsSFannKv8IUkI7afixEWa9CkyzCvLMjS7d5M9Bw9b0V8OqtOluutby6QTcMsbksLs_PbZXgGRbPMvbO4zoe-Wb0md_8EYQBtBXrVauwKMLaXLo2QRB9uWzmuZngqqZY2ox5iJtLkU/s400/speech.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1">My recent interest in language acquisition started </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">in about 2013 back </span><span class="s1" style="font-size: large;">when I was living in Japan. I trace it back to the day of my daughter's third birthday. </span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="s1" style="font-size: large;">She got the presents. I got a boot up the bum (figuratively speaking). Because that's the day I discovered that she had overtaken me in Japanese.</span><span class="s1" style="font-size: large;"> I could no longer understand what she said. I couldn't keep up with her rate of learning!</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
As a parent, it does NOT feel good to discover such a thing (and neither did it make her feel secure). I felt stupid and useless. I'd been rendered dumbfounded, in the original sense of the word. And me a language teacher!</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
Not being able to understand her words was one thing. Not understanding how this situation had come about was another. Sure, I’d only been learning the language half-heartedly, but my daughter hadn't been studying at all! </span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">She’d never been near a school. She didn't know the concepts of grammar, vocabulary, memory, and revision. She'd only just learned to read. She could barely use a pencil.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
We all accept that children pick up a language more quickly than adults. But why should that be an acceptable thing? With all the benefits of education, shouldn't we be doing better? </span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">In truth, language instruction works poorly. If only 1 in 20 adults who set out to learn another language succeed (I suspect that this refers to English-speaking adults), as compared to 20 out of 20 babies, then </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">something is rotten in the state of Denmark. And it isn’t Danish!</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1">What was the problem? What's the solution?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1">I concluded that the puzzle is actually a no-brainer. Which is to say that both the problem and the solution stem from how we use our brains. Babies and adults have the same brains. They just use them differently.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1">I believe that we've been seduced by the achievements of Science. We've been sucked into using only a conscious, left brain style of thinking. The education system whole-heartedly champions logical, analytical learning processes. It has thrown the baby out with the bathwater. "Oh no! That's childish. Let's not do it that way anymore. We're all grown up now."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1">But really—rather than replace the natural way how babies acquire language with our grown-up notions of Scientific learning, we need to meld the two methods. Quite simply, we've got to balance our brains. We've got to pick up a language <u>and</u> learn it so as to acquire it in the best possible way. </span><span class="s1"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Long story short</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">—</span><span style="font-size: large;">with what I discovered I set out to . . .</span></div>
<ol class="ol1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Improve my Japanese</span></span></li>
<li class="li3"><span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Help my daughter master English</span></span></li>
<li class="li3"><span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Publish a book showing Japanese people how to learn English, and</span></span></li>
<li class="li3"><span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Collaborate with innovative people to trial my ideas </span></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1">I've done, or am doing, the first three. I'm keen to make a start on the fourth</span><span class="s2">.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1">Basically, I wish to test my hypothesis that</span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s1"><u>any</u>one can acquire <u>any</u></span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s1">language, starting <u>any</u></span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s1">time, at <u>any</u></span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s1">rate, <i>and</i> without <u>any</u></span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s1">study. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">I did it. </span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">My daughter did it. </span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">You did it</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">—that was how you learned English</span><span style="font-size: large;">—therefore a</span><span style="font-size: large;">nyone can do it.</span></div>
Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-56471015726562536612018-08-28T22:07:00.000-07:002018-08-28T11:50:39.860-07:00Make comments online<span style="font-size: large;">To start writing in another language and develop that skill, one could begin by making </span><span style="font-size: large;">comments in that language in suitable </span><span style="font-size: large;">online forums</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGU4i7BVGZ_w6CkBJMrD9T-uAH2ehusmUXx4jKH9GWYYpnzhnTdAAzjBJXg_MK1iWuXUnXGzjwxLW26ibupGI6W7Zp70h7eopLNrPn1ipovSx6lSxphpR54Ub05G9tmGDtOwhuRCjaRlU/s1600/leave-a-comment-nolievr28-BY-NC-SA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGU4i7BVGZ_w6CkBJMrD9T-uAH2ehusmUXx4jKH9GWYYpnzhnTdAAzjBJXg_MK1iWuXUnXGzjwxLW26ibupGI6W7Zp70h7eopLNrPn1ipovSx6lSxphpR54Ub05G9tmGDtOwhuRCjaRlU/s320/leave-a-comment-nolievr28-BY-NC-SA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Start with by finding a site that lends itself to one-word comments. A photography site such as Flickr.com would do the trick. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">You could start by reading what other people have written. Then you might re-use some of those comments yourself—if you feel that they apply—to other photos. Cut and paste if you need to (e.g. if the script is hard to wangle on your keyboard).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Gradually you’ll read, understand and be able to manipulate longer phrases and sentences.</span>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-20393490541318282382018-08-27T11:45:00.001-07:002018-08-27T11:45:41.056-07:00What I get from Tim Ferris<span style="font-size: large;">To me, the heroes online seem a little too slick, glib and polished. No doubt they've all something to sell, using formulas and funnels and offers you simply can't refuse. They have their formula down so pat that you hardly know you're being conned. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm going to assume that <b>Tim Ferriss</b> is an exception. Give the guy the benefit of the doubt. He may well be what he appears to be the real deal. I hope so. He is certainly photogenic. He boasts a nice smile and plenty of muscles. He seems positive and upbeat, so why not?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tim is the author of <i>The 4-hour workweek </i>and also <i>The 4-hour body</i> (so doing stuff within short time frames seems to be his brand). As far as language learning goes, he has also tackled that topic. One of his first things that I read was <a href="https://tim.blog/2007/11/07/how-to-learn-but-not-master-any-language-in-1-hour-plus-a-favor/">an article</a> describing how you could learn - though not master - any language in just 1 hour.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The main thing, though, that I get from Tim - at least I think it was him - was the concept of <b><i>kaizen</i></b>. I may since have read about it elsewhere (or even previously), but I'll credit Tim for drawing it to my attention.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Kaizen</i> is a Japanese term. It is defined as ongoing, incremental refinement of a product or system. More on that later if people express interest.</span>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-5975259300592851582018-08-27T11:44:00.002-07:002018-08-27T11:44:12.281-07:00What I get from Charles Duhigg<span style="font-size: large;">Charles Duhigg is the author of <i>The Power of Habit</i>. He may have written other books, and I know that he has a TED talk to his credit, but I haven't read or listened to them. So for now I'll confine myself to the one book.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">You don't need to read further than the preface of <i>The Power of Habit</i> before you discover what I consider to be the most important concept with respect to language acquisition. It's the idea that some habits are so far-reaching and influential that they may be regarded as <b>keystone habits</b>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Exercising is one such habit. Engage in that, and other good habits will naturally follow. A keystone habit, therefore, has the power to transform your life.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I started such a habit 654 days ago. I made the decision to start a blog - <i><b><a href="https://2020601000.blogspot.com/">20 tongues 20 moons 60 years 100 words</a></b></i>. On it I post 100-word entries about my personal language acquisition. It is the first thing that I do on arising.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This simple but powerful keystone habit keeps me on track.</span>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-14341490028140835562018-08-27T11:40:00.001-07:002018-08-27T11:40:47.902-07:00What I get from Heinrich Schliemann<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdYRejpPCjmvHl-jAh8himl2fSG7SYxZyBjchpYdVJUnQSnxg0rUHi0nUaRxcJmQTlVgbWqDWoYQASbTOXHpL3U175AaNSBY8_DRetk69KOZ2W4PFdmsEwh1yN3PNBmj-jYbKsJP9QipMB/s1600/18934757_303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="700" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdYRejpPCjmvHl-jAh8himl2fSG7SYxZyBjchpYdVJUnQSnxg0rUHi0nUaRxcJmQTlVgbWqDWoYQASbTOXHpL3U175AaNSBY8_DRetk69KOZ2W4PFdmsEwh1yN3PNBmj-jYbKsJP9QipMB/s400/18934757_303.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Who's Heinrich Schliemann?" you ask?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Well, okay. Maybe you <i>don't </i>ask. Maybe you'd just rather I tell you. Fair enough.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I first heard about Heinrich from two or three people: David Bolton (<a href="http://www.language-learning-tips.com/17_Schliemanns_method.htm">here</a>), David Snopek (<a href="http://www.linguatrek.com/blog/2011/08/heinrich-schliemann-a-famous-polyglot%E2%80%99s-method/">here</a>) and Stephen Krashen (<a href="http://www.sdkrashen.com/content/articles/how_much_ci_did_heinrich_schliemann_get.pdf">here</a> and <a href="http://www.sdkrashen.com/content/articles/skrashen_case_histories.pdf">here</a>). Because of that repetition, I'm usually able to recall the guy's name, (though I can never remember whether his surname ends with one 'n' or two).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He was a colorful character in many ways (e.g. smuggling Ancient Greece artifacts to Berlin). But it's his language learning ability I'm most interested in; he learned around 14 or 15.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Heinrich's basic technique - the 'Heinrich maneuver' </span><span style="font-size: large;">- consists of going through a book, not looking up any words or consulting a grammar, and comparing sentences, one by one, your own language and the language that you want to learn.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">That's it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">All you need is two copies of, say, <i>Around the World in 80 Days</i>. That and the willingness to try something new.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-33239997549401798092018-08-27T11:37:00.002-07:002018-08-27T11:38:24.049-07:00What to get from Vilfredo Pareto<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUB1epuCYx9-ivpuEtQOSUYDRSup_D1DBDqtfcN9Hr1pB7YnG7teTJshXX34Mr_WzklhqaYn1TsG3UbykO-7dhLdfANj7i9v5JcHJd9D_jhgoHuVYUNDVWJK9xfNh1hfh1udRuQKOEZw-/s1600/pareto.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="645" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUB1epuCYx9-ivpuEtQOSUYDRSup_D1DBDqtfcN9Hr1pB7YnG7teTJshXX34Mr_WzklhqaYn1TsG3UbykO-7dhLdfANj7i9v5JcHJd9D_jhgoHuVYUNDVWJK9xfNh1hfh1udRuQKOEZw-/s400/pareto.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">All it ought to be necessary to say about Vilfredo Pareto is that he known mainly for the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">He noticed things like 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">For me, with language acquisition, I too am mindful of the principle. Twenty percent of one's activity in assimilating another language produces eighty per cent of the result. So some activities are better than others, in other words. Or in plain English. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Or plain Italian. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Or whatever tongue.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">What is not so well-known is that you can have a Pareto <b><i>of</i></b> a Pareto. What this means is that the 'best' 20 percent of the top 20 percent can produce 80% <i>of</i> the 80%.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And so on.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Which lead you to the mathematical conclusion that the top 1% of activity may result in as much as 50% of the result. Incredible!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Time to 'occupy' methinks.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVc7JTzQbGFq0JyjSJvA5RZKUaA0NMTfyc87NNnfQR7Xs7WVEzGU6_51500xdUXn6Y-IRDNKEYd1AcCTc-2LFvuccgffodkAg29LItUi23z8I4AF1wRJd4Fbv-G4cpA-hCdEhu4enpess/s1600/rs-19126-rectangle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="700" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVc7JTzQbGFq0JyjSJvA5RZKUaA0NMTfyc87NNnfQR7Xs7WVEzGU6_51500xdUXn6Y-IRDNKEYd1AcCTc-2LFvuccgffodkAg29LItUi23z8I4AF1wRJd4Fbv-G4cpA-hCdEhu4enpess/s320/rs-19126-rectangle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-57162749106718029672018-08-27T11:36:00.000-07:002018-08-27T11:36:24.978-07:00What I get from Frank Smith<span style="font-size: large;">Stephen Krashen credits Frank Smith </span><span style="font-size: large;">for many of his ideas, so when I came across a copy of the book, </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">Reading Without Nonsense</i><span style="font-size: large;">, I grabbed it. Published in 1978, it's an oldie but a goodie. Since it was falling apart at the seams (or rather its bindings), I've separated the pages and plan to resurrect Frank's volume as a pdf file.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Frank Smith is a psycho-linguist and dilettante extraordinaire. What I get from him is the nerve and audacity to examine various topics and not be afraid to reach my own informed opinion. You don't need to stand in awe of conventional academic dogma, or dogmatic people.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Below are a number of extracts. They come from <i>just</i> the preface and the first introductory chapter, so there's a wealth of thought there. One of the most powerful may be found on page 2:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">Examination of a wide range of topics relevant to reading not only leaves little to be said about reading itself, it leaves little to be added about how reading should be taught. Instructional implications become self-evident.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>From <i>Reading Without Nonsense</i></u></span><br />
<ul>
<li>p viii Reading is not easily accomplished if you are nervous about your performance</li>
<li>p viii Just as it is not difficult to make a book unreadable, so it is easy to make learning to read impossible</li>
<li>p ix It is only through reading that children learn to read</li>
<li>p ix Children can learn to read only through materials and activities that make sense to them, that they can relate to what they already know or want to know</li>
<li>p ix The universal concern should change from what teachers should <i>do</i> to what teachers should <i>know</i></li>
<li>p x Learning itself is nothing but the endeavour to make sense</li>
<li>p2 An analysis of reading also gives . . . a deeper understanding of . . . subjects like science or mathematics</li>
<li>p 3-4 The training of teachers does not invariably encourage them to make their own decisions</li>
<li>p4 <i>All methods of teaching reading work</i></li>
<li>p4 No method [of teaching reading] succeeds with all children</li>
<li>p5 Without understanding, instruction is founded on superstition</li>
<li>p5 'Breaking down reading' makes reading more difficult because it makes nonsense out of what should be sense</li>
<li>p5 To learn to read children need to read</li>
<li>p5-6 Two basic necessities for learning to read are the availability of interesting material that makes sense to the learner and an understanding adult as a guide</li>
<li>p6 Children cannot be taught to read</li>
<li>p6 A teacher's responsibility is not to teach children to read but to make it possible for them to learn to read</li>
<li>p6 There is nothing unique about reading physiologically, visually or linguistically</li>
<li>p7 [There is an] unwarranted assumption that anything that is not specifically taught cannot involve much learning</li>
<li>p8 We do not have to train children to learn, or even account for their learning; we have to avoid interfering with it</li>
<li>p8 Children who have learned to comprehend spoken language . . . and who can see sufficiently well . . . have already demonstrated sufficient language, visual acuity and learning ability to learn how to read</li>
<li>p8 Learning to read is easy for a child - or should be, were it not for the fact that it is easy for an adult to make learning to read difficult</li>
<li>p8 A child who can see, and who can comprehend speech, cannot be a failure at reading because of a 'specific learning disability', or minimal brain dysfunction, or dyslexia, or any of the other terms that are used to conceal ignorance about why some children fail to learn to read</li>
<li>p8-9 Children will fail to learn to read who do not want to read, who cannot make sense of it, or who find the price of learning too high</li>
<li>p9 Skill in reading actually depends on using the eyes as little as possible</li>
<li>p9 The more we try to memorize as we read, the less we are likely to comprehend or remember</li>
<li>p9 Meaning is not something that a reader or listener <i>gets from</i> language, but something that is brought to language</li>
<li>p9 Reading is not 'decoding to sound' and . . . children cannot learn to read by memorizing phonic rules</li>
<li>p10 Readers are not passive recipients of meaning from print, but must predict if they are to comprehend</li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-69085080229391070752018-08-27T11:29:00.002-07:002018-08-27T11:29:36.778-07:00What I get from J K Rowling<span style="font-size: large;">Pre Harry Potter, J K Rowling was once an ESL teacher. She knows a couple of foreign languages too. She's an active individual. <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling">She twits</a>, or tweets, with regularity.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">But of course, it's her writing that I have to thank her for. Harry Potter is the main thing that I got - or am getting - from J K Rowling. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Not so much the books themselves, but the fact that they have been translated into (to date)<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_in_translation"> 74 languages</a>. That fact makes the seven-volume series a wonderful language-learning resource.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you, J K Rowling (and sundry translators).</span>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-48443384862998865432018-08-26T11:23:00.004-07:002018-09-16T16:20:10.516-07:00What I do (and don't) get from Paul Nation<span style="font-size: large;">According to Wikipedia, Paul Nation is a "leading language teaching methodology and vocabulary acquisition linguist researcher". </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Which is probably true.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Paul loves words (<a href="http://mikrostacker.tripod.com/anothermorningstoner/id24.html">a word man</a>). He places emphasis on knowing most of the words in a particular text to be able to read it. He recommends that you know greater than 95 to 98% of the words of a particular text so that it is accessible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And that may well be true too, but I'm going to disagree. I disagree strongly in fact. But that's okay. It just means that, by analyzing why exactly I disagree, I gain clarity about what I do believe in. That is a positive that I can thank Paul for in a roundabout way. If that makes sense.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's what I think is the reason for insisting that text must be 95 to 98% known before we use it as reading material: I believe that generally people are that nervous about language learning that they need a psychological 'crutch'. Understanding almost 100% of a text provides the reassurance that they crave. (See Krashen elsewhere for <b>affective filter</b>).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In my view, I feel that it is better learn how to become more comfortable in language environments where we have only 90, 80, 50 or even 5% understanding. We need psychological muscle!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">To conclude, however, I'd like to finish up on a positive note, and so I'll state that I <b><i>do</i></b> like Paul Nation's fluency activity: <a href="https://youtu.be/-RgcY3Ka97Y?t=7m31s">4-3-2</a></span>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-75177180198265096842018-08-23T12:01:00.003-07:002018-08-23T12:01:43.494-07:00What I get from Super Mario<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kzNpLh_znA6FlkKgtNZkO_tsAQTGmXtRN2j0OIAc7rKNcUhGvOxxmvbxzTlT06dmCzs7UVkovy3muoQLMsoHMcA95SIo2u0bUZJ_Fp3P6iVd0mnUKgIJ47eYOI50tzt5Vl20eFx5vrgZ/s1600/a78788d285a647701307d615d5d2a08b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kzNpLh_znA6FlkKgtNZkO_tsAQTGmXtRN2j0OIAc7rKNcUhGvOxxmvbxzTlT06dmCzs7UVkovy3muoQLMsoHMcA95SIo2u0bUZJ_Fp3P6iVd0mnUKgIJ47eYOI50tzt5Vl20eFx5vrgZ/s320/a78788d285a647701307d615d5d2a08b.jpg" width="160" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">During my travels, in 2005, barefoot walking and cycling the length of Japan, I once met a Spaniard. His name was Mariano, but after a few days' of his company</span><span style="font-size: large;"> my wife and I began to think of him as</span><span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario">Super Mario</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Super Mario - the Spaniard-in-the-works - had minimal Japanese. His English was minimal too, but that didn't stop him from making full use of every word that he half knew, every gesture. Super Mario was, without doubt, the most active language user - if you plot the frequency of his mistakes and correlate against his grammatical knowledge - I've ever known.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And so I take from him (or would wish to) the fearlessness and recklessness of forging blithely with foreign languages. Not give grammar a thought!</span><br />
<br />Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-77317055874241736482018-08-21T12:12:00.001-07:002018-08-21T12:12:48.339-07:00What I get from Facebook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgPHq1eLCGSceV9Yy2t4iTr8IaofPXNSBzeaoLNkUD-5b84jGjgdPxya-nY03E_GgDNtMadDuDfJQ2EJmoSxo3wEuyKa3Lm96Ouj4agXENAWaUMu_anDXXQzg47nWSF-oLKVL9kx_y1M/s1600/few-people-working-on-repairing-pond-704x544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="704" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgPHq1eLCGSceV9Yy2t4iTr8IaofPXNSBzeaoLNkUD-5b84jGjgdPxya-nY03E_GgDNtMadDuDfJQ2EJmoSxo3wEuyKa3Lm96Ouj4agXENAWaUMu_anDXXQzg47nWSF-oLKVL9kx_y1M/s320/few-people-working-on-repairing-pond-704x544.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It would be only too easy to pick on Facebook, but I'll try to restrain myself. I'll try not single Facebook out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">To be fair, the following discussion would apply to most forms of social media - Twitter, Youtube, Blogs, Vlogs and whatever. Nevertheless, it's Facebook that I've tried to use (several times), and it's Facebook that I failed at (or it failed me). Anyway, that's why I'm directing this rant in the general direction of Facebook.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">My sadly reached conclusion is that, generally, it's rare to get anything worthwhile out of social media. Or, to be precise, out of any online or electronic forum. I don't believe that there's much chance of ideas being shared out there in the ether. You can't survive in outer space where no one can hear you scream.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've tried my best. I've tried several times to establish an online community where a free exchange of views and information on the subject of language learning might take place. But on every occasion that's fallen flat; I've fallen on my face. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It just doesn't work. Not in these hands. Not on that platform</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Probably face-to-face interaction is required to achieve the end that I desire. And so that's what I'll probably need to try sometime in the future. People-work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the meantime, for now, all I get out of Facebook is the strongest suspicion that that's not the place for me, nor for like-minded individuals.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">We need to seek out people in the flesh! Or else go it on our own!</span>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107434746604274611.post-45755868893684513882018-08-20T11:56:00.001-07:002018-08-21T12:16:41.350-07:00What I got from taking languages at school<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUlopzHmYqgtmPYMUNd2HqNnl-tu6BiN1wPl5byg_DhZ0BiCDV1g-X1GIdlfnUO63uvGQFwUFSJs5uFvfGZLEtSjvGSutm47UEUPVSNO2qz9XVQrjPmEWDyYbjclDRr_lSij1neCvkdSo/s1600/35306_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="1024" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUlopzHmYqgtmPYMUNd2HqNnl-tu6BiN1wPl5byg_DhZ0BiCDV1g-X1GIdlfnUO63uvGQFwUFSJs5uFvfGZLEtSjvGSutm47UEUPVSNO2qz9XVQrjPmEWDyYbjclDRr_lSij1neCvkdSo/s320/35306_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Many years ago now, I attended Kaikorai Valley High School. It was a large school in those days (the early 70s). The roll stood at around 1300 students. Ten new third form classes started in my year (1970). Then, classes were streamed, and categorized as either Academic (2 of them) or General (8).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In both 3A1 and 3A2, French and Latin were compulsory, and I believe that some of the General-level classes had French too. I was obliged to take the two languages for two years, but was able to drop them in the 5th form by taking Art (Drawing & Design) as French and Latin were my worst subjects.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A year or two later, Japanese was offered at the school, and German thereafter. However, too late for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What I learned from the experience is that I am adverse to being schooled in a language. I'm allergic to the conventional, academic approach. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I once read that only 1 in 20 English speakers who try to learn another language fail. If that's so, then it's not a good success rate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If, for whatever reason, a person is resistant to something about a foreign language, or how it's presented, then he or she simply won't learn.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Hadashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975162124081525241noreply@blogger.com0