46. Saving Languages Online - Part 3/6: Virtual Nuts & Bolts

In Part 2 of this series, I discussed how the Internet could be exploited to serve restoration of a heritage language, specifically through an online gathering place, or e-Community Center. In this essay, I will discuss potential features of such an online venue.

The functional "zones" of an e-Community Center should fill specific needs, providing information, and maintaining user interest through an entertaining and possibly interactive format. Features can be as varied as the imagination of the minds planning the site and include such spaces as:

1. Bulletin Board
Obvious content for a "Bulletin Board" includes community notices, such as upcoming weddings, births and funerals, and events that particularly highlight the heritage culture. To ensure ongoing updates, regular contributors should be enlisted, while a place for spontaneous contributions will encourage others to become involved.

2. Arts Center
An "Arts Center" provides locals with a place to display their creative efforts online. It develops interest in local culture and can reach a wider audience via links. The Arts Center can be all-inclusive with modern, as well as traditional works in a range of mediums, such as painting, drawing, handicrafts, music, or even movies. In North America, endangered language artists and projects have achieved critical acclaim, including the Quebecois duo, Kashtin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashtin), who perform in their native language, Innu-aimun, and the newsworthy Mayan soap opera, Baktún (http://www.latina.com/entertainment/tv/world-first-mayan-telenovela-baktun#axzz2jouFck4d), which describes the trials of a young man returning to his roots while adapting to the realities of modern life. Talent knows no boundaries and can directly involve all generations in the ongoing development of their culture. Who knows? Anything is possible online and your artists could go viral!

3. Our Stories
Stories from the past serve as the foundation for collective identity helping us to recognize who we are, while modern narratives are a reference for interpreting our place in today's world. With technology becoming more compact and inexpensive, user-generated content in an "Our Stories" zone is within reach. Imagine using a smartphone to film grandparents recounting ancestral tales to their grandchildren, or younger family members talking about their contemporary interests over dinner. With an easy to use input system in place, podcasts can be uploaded and are valuable content in a kind of community video station. Levels of access can be decided by the individual who designates the upload as "personal", "community" or "general public".

Rather than privacy issues, some community members may feel more uncomfortable with the technical aspects of going online. For such individuals, a "collection point" at existing facilities with technical assistance could be the solution. The goal is to make it easy for every person to be able to add his or her stories, particularly older generations. Community elders are the keepers of traditional knowledge and ancestral beliefs. The sad reality is that with their passing, we lose the wealth of information each person possesses. Our Stories provides a venue for collecting this priceless resource and acknowledging its value to the community.

4. Language Trove
I believe a well-designed "Language Trove" feature can make a difference when preserving and/or restoring a community’s tongue, particularly if it includes a "Heritage Zone" for data collected from elders, as well as structured courses to develop a solid foundation in the language. If the latter courses are well-designed, they can also be integrated into classroom training with native speaking "para-teachers". I will talk more about this in my next blogpost about combining online features with real world training.

As for the Heritage Zone, language data recorded with elders then uploaded becomes accessible by the entire community. Projects could include creation of a comprehensive online glossary of words and phrases, or development of more advanced training materials. Data collection sessions can be as casual as recording over a coffee, or structured with discussion centered on a specific topic, such as traditional skills or ancestral beliefs. 

In fact, such data collection is a common research activity performed by academics; however, the results are too often hidden away in filing cabinets. Putting the data online increases the potential for ongoing applications in the e-Community Center.

With development of basic communication skills in the Language Trove, the need then arises for a place to practice them in the e-Community Center, for example, an online Chat Room. One-on-one encounters with possible visual contact (e.g. via Skype) could take place in this space, as well as formal sessions held at scheduled times with guests being interviewed about a specific topic of interest to the community. Ideally, this online venue would evolve into a vibrant congregating place for all levels of speakers to practice the heritage language.

Involving the community in all aspects of the above features is critical; however, perspectives may be drastically different. Youthful members will likely be into games and the sophisticated computer graphics (CGs) that come with them. Unless you are sitting on a well-stocked heritage fund, such CGs require teams of programmers and are prohibitively expensive.

Older community member needs are more fundamental. Computers are often not a part of the reality for someone over 50. The biggest hurdle for mature users visiting an e-Community Center will probably be navigating the User Interface (UI). When checking other websites for ideas don’t just browse the content, but investigate how you access it. For good examples of user-friendly UI's, check out websites that target seniors. If the UI is not obvious and intuitive, motivation to use the e-Community Center will quickly disappear. A good UI will encourage everyone to go online.

Can an online e-Community Center really prove instrumental to the recovery of a language and its culture heritage? Obviously grassroots, face-to-face efforts are critical; however, an easily accessible online venue can play a vital role provided it encourages the involvement of everyone in the community, contains content that appeals to all ages, and can be incorporated into on-the-ground, real world efforts. I will talk about such efforts in my next blogpost.

(If you are really a fool for language, check out my language learning website at http://en.sulantra.com/ with courses from and to English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese,Turkish, Bulgarian, Thai, German, Korean, Portuguese and Italian!)

45. Saving Languages Online - Part 2/6: It takes the entire village

In Part 1 of this series, I discussed the predicaments endangered languages face. Traditionally undermined by mainstream cultures, in today's world their biggest threat may be the Internet. But I also believe the Internet can be exploited to help a language and its cultural heritage survive, the focus of this essay.

In the endangered language communities that I have been involved with, there has often been a central meeting place, such as a lodge or longhouse, used for religious and social purposes, where decisions are made and information disseminated. These gathering places can be vibrant and critical to the life of a community. Why not transfer the concept to an online format by creating an "e-Community Center"?

The features of an e-Community Center are up to the indigenous group designing it and the resources they have to work with. Planning should involve a cross section of the community to ensure something of value for as many people as possible. The delivery platform must be accessible. Not everyone has a computer at home, but many have smartphones with a range of functions. Equally as important, the site should be interactive. An e-Community Center must contain more than photos of politicians shaking hands. It should allow for direct input and engage a broad spectrum of community members from youth to elders.

Based on experiences developing my own website, Sulantra.com, I can suggest the following tentative stages for creating an e-Community Center.

1. Brainstorm features of the "ideal" e-Community Center.

Create a planning group with a range of ages and interests to come up with tentative "zones" that have specific goals. Encourage members familiar with the Internet to suggest features they like on other sites. Spaces specific to the e-Community Center could include a "Bulletin Board" with updates on happenings in the area; an "Arts Center" for locals to display their artistic and performing art endeavours; an "Our Stories" area to encourage interaction between youth and their elders through the sharing of stories from the past and present; a "Language Trove" with structured courses in the heritage language, as well as an online glossary for inputting words and phrases collected from community elders; or a "Chat Room" where visitors can practice using the heritage language as they learn it. The ideas are as endless as the collective imagination of the planners.

2. Prioritize and confirm what is really feasible.

Your e-Community Center wish list will have to be prioritized as it will be impossible to simultaneously complete all features. Which spaces are crucial or would generate the most interest and traffic? Which features can be scheduled for later development? The brainstorming group can decide the order; however, a technician familiar with computer programming should be involved. What appears simple on paper could be a programming nightmare or even impossible.

3. Collect content.

The e-Community Center has endless possibilities for providing information and services to meet specific needs. Once key features have been decided, content that meets clear goals should be prepared. In my next blogpost, I will discuss in more depth possible content for the features mentioned in the first stage.

4. Design à la "shopping mall".

The next task is to organize a framework for the features you have chosen to make them accessible. For non-computer geeks (like me), one way to approach design is to think of your website like a shopping mall. Decide core features then group less critical functions around them. The latter should be easy to find for people with specific interests. There also needs to be room for expansion as you consider new features.

Professional web designers are useful; however, their references may be computer games, not cultural frames. Your website must be easy to navigate for EVERY member of the community. Have the designer identify family members intimidated by computers ("Could your grandmother navigate this website?") or, better still, introduce the designer to actual people. With computer novices in mind, your designer should create a more accessible venue.


5. Construct the site.

Building of a comprehensive website where a heritage language community can "gather" may seem daunting. Obviously, a technician is necessary to create a website that is easy to maintain and serves everyone. He or she should understand the community's needs then investigate existing sites for features that can be adapted or used in their entirety (e.g. as an affiliated site) to meet specific goals. There is no need to re-invent the wheel if Facebook or YouTube can meet your needs. You can customize later when you have the time and funds.

One final point is that your technician must be willing to give up the reins and train local replacements to maintain the e-Community Center. Ideally, he or she should remain available for consultations, but responsibility for managing the website belongs to the community.

The creation of an e-Community Center requires dedicated efforts and a budget. Some indigenous communities have access to heritage funds; others are on their own and must approach outside entities for resources. With expertise in funding proposals, universities can be a promising route for accessing funds. And with a pool of talent on staff at your local university, combining advisors from Anthropology, Linguistics, and Computer Science departments can make for an exceptional website. On the other hand, don't let the academics take over. It's fine to get by with a little help from friends, but make sure your e-Community Center is truly yours.

The good news is that, once a website has been created, it should be relatively inexpensive to maintain and build upon. You will have created something valuable and enduring for your community and, if you are willing to share, other communities can benefit from your innovation and expertise.

(If you are really a fool for language, check out my language learning website at http://en.sulantra.com/ with courses from and to English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese,Turkish, Bulgarian, Thai, German, Korean, Portuguese and Italian!)

44. Saving Languages Online - Part 1/6: "e" for Endangered

Depending on your definition and when you are reading this article, the total number of languages in the world is between 6000 and 7000 with many endangered languages on the verge of disappearing. In a recent issue of National Geographic magazine, it was pointed out that one language is lost every two weeks.

The disappearance of a language means not just the loss of words, but of a culture and the knowledge it contains. It is a tragedy for all of us. Many communities are taking aggressive action to stop what others see as inevitable – the loss of their ancestral language. Can the Internet play a role in a language’s salvation? I very much believe it can.

Why is this loss of languages happening at such a terrifying speed? In many countries, a combination of past and present oppression can be identified, where a colonial or mainstream culture decides the endangered language hinders development and should be discouraged. Speakers of non-mainstream languages are punished for speaking anything other than the official vernacular with social walls set up to weaken or, in the worst scenarios, completely destroy the “non-official” language. Want a job? Then stop speaking your mother tongue.

In today's world perhaps the greatest menace to these endangered languages is the Internet. For speakers of non-mainstream languages, it is virtually impossible to take advantage of the vast quantity of information available online. If you do not understand a major language, particularly English, you are cut off.

I have lived and/or worked with speakers of Iban in Malaysia (see entries 13  and 14 ), Cree and Haida in Canada (see entry15), Mayan in Mexico's Yucatan, Kosraen in Micronesia (see entry 43), and Welsh in the UK (see entry 6). These are all unique languages with vibrant, proud cultures that should be supported and strengthened, not "phased out" by languages with a larger number of native speakers. Can the Internet come to the rescue?

Too often online efforts involve the cataloging of what was, rather than envisioning what could be. It is critical to retrieve the knowledge that community elders possess, but equally as vital to incorporate this knowledge, both cultural and linguistic, into a format that is accessible and presented in a way that attracts the youth of a community. If we truly wish to save a language, younger generations must be enticed to join the effort.

The Internet can be exploited to preserve culture and develop communication skills in an endangered language. Online technology is constantly improving and accessible to a broader base of users through cheap and user-friendly delivery devices. The use of smartphones is becoming ubiquitous as people of all ages discover opportunities to learn anytime and anywhere. Educational online products have the potential to reach a massive audience. All that is required is some hardware and an engaging website.

Besides helping the local community, the Internet also has the potential to create greater awareness of a people and their culture in the larger online world. More serious travelers, scholars and others could very well be interested in learning a native language of the Arctic or Amazon, especially if they can access materials from their mother tongue. The technology is there to build a delivery platform that allows direct access from one language to another. I know because we have done this with my website, Sulantra.com.

But the picture is not quite so rosy. Unfortunately for language learners, most language training websites just don't make the grade. Free sites tend to be piecemeal, containing lists of vocabulary or "key phrases" presented out of context. There is no cohesive study approach, nor serious attempt to prepare users for communication.

Websites offering structured language courses also have pitfalls. Using a carefully constructed "teaser" as bait, they lure users into paying a monthly fee for a questionable product that can disappoint quickly. Too often site designers devote their efforts to the package, not the product, essentially uploading a textbook with glossy visuals, buzzers and bells, but very little innovation in terms of the training approach.

This is a shame since so much is possible online. Imitating a textbook format with topic-based lessons containing reams of vocabulary and grammar rules to memorize just doesn’t work anymore. Online audiences have a limited attention span. Users want to be entertained as well as educated and have little patience for a boring format with results that are not soon evident.

For endangered languages, the situation is even more disheartening as texts to upload may not even exist. Companies providing online language training products focus their attention on major languages in order to reach a massive audience (think English, Chinese and Spanish) or languages whose speakers have pockets deep enough to cover ongoing monthly fees (e.g. German and Japanese). Endangered languages don't even appear on the educational radar. There is no place at the online table for them.

But this needn't be the status quo. The great thing about the Internet is that niche users can be catered to. Build a website and they will come. Online marketers refer to this approach as targeting "the long tail". Target smaller potential audiences - those scattered in the tail of the client comet - since they will find you with the right key words in place for search engines.

This is good news for endangered language communities. By taking matters into their own hands and aggressively creating an online presence, I believe speakers of indigenous languages can change the tide. By creating an electronic "meeting place" that aligns with the aspirations of the community, caters in an entertaining format to their youth, and even attracts "outsiders" who are curious and want to learn more about a people and their culture, indigenous language groups can entertain, educate and endure.

In my next entry, I will discuss the concept of an online meeting place, or "e-community center", that disseminates information and provides easily accessible services, including language training and cultural resources, for an endangered language community.

(If you are really a fool for language, check out my language learning website at http://en.sulantra.com/ with courses from and to English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese,Turkish, Bulgarian, Thai, German, Korean, Portuguese and Italian!)

43. Write? Wrong!

As creators of Sulantra.com, a language learning website designed to take absolute beginners from zero to functioning in as short a time as possible, we have focused on developing listening and speaking skills. This has meant tossing out what in our estimation is unnecessary linguistic baggage. As a result, we are often asked, "Where's the writing?" Sulantra.com does have written components, such as a handy icon which allows you to see how items are written, as well as a directory that allows you to look up all of the language contained in a course; however, our aim is to put people on the street communicating with each other verbally, not through dictionaries or notepads.

Why did we decide to give listening and speaking skills priority? Because that is what people do when they learn their first language. Think of a small child: after a great deal of listening, slowly but surely the words begin to come out. You need a lot of input to produce that first bit of output. Once you have some aural/oral knowledge then you have a frame of reference from which to tackle written words. In our case, we develop reading skills phonetically in the "Restaurant" section of our Expanded course by referring to menu items learners already know the sound of.

For adult learners, we have targeted specific tasks that we assume they will need for traveling or in the workplace. For example, in the "Restaurant" section, you learn how to order dishes or take that order if you are a server. The material is focused, not scattered as in real life, and is automatically recycled in our spiralling format. Combined with a dash of adult reasoning, this is why you begin talking sooner than you did as a child.

So why do so many of our users keep asking for written materials? I believe it is because they have been "conditioned" to do so. If you have studied languages in a formal setting, such as I did in secondary school, then a book was very much part of the process. For some people it just doesn't seem like learning without the security blanket of a textbook on the desktop. They feel unfocused, adrift on an ocean of foreign sounds.

But for beginners, starting language study via reading and writing can have serious consequences. Chances are there is no one-to-one correlation between sounds in your mother tongue and the language you are studying. Sure, you can approximate sounds with ABCs, but in the end, this approximation may match your personal frame of reference - the sounds in your mother tongue - more than those in the target language. A worst case scenario is that your pronunciation is a blatant mistake and you end up with an ingrained error that is almost impossible to remedy. Ouch!

An unfortunate example of "romanization" of a written language is that of Kosraen, a language spoken in one of the Federated States of Micronesia. With only about 10,000 native speakers, this language needs all of the help it can get to survive, yet it has ended up with three different written versions! 

The first was introduced by American missionaries in the mid-19th century. They arbitrarily decided how the local sounds should be transcribed into ABCs. Of course, their goal was to proselytize. They needed a script to translate the Bible and a hymnal into the local language, which they promptly did. Both tomes are still in use today.

Later, a second group of missionaries decided to clean up the original matching of sounds and letters to develop their own version of how to write Kosraen. More refined perhaps but still a new way of writing old sounds – and making matters more complicated.

Finally, along came some academics and things got really messy. In 1973, the Kusaiean Orthography Committee (“Kusaie” is how the Japanese pronounced “Kosrae” during their occupation of the island – another sound mismatch) installed a new official spelling system. As academics tend to do, they complicated matters by using a phonetic transcription system based on precision rather than simplicity. The end result can be extremely confusing, particularly for visitors. 

I stayed in the village of Waclung, which I pronounced as "Whack-lung" until I realized that the "c" was meant to indicate an extended vowel and the "u" didn't quite match the sound in the English "lung". The village's name turned out to sound more like "Way-loong" to my outsider ears. Meanwhile, a daughter of the family I lodged with was called “Shoe-eh”, which she spelled as “Srue” using the official spelling system. Sight and sound seemed to be drifting further apart with the newest writing system.

What about languages that don't use ABCs? In China, an alphabet-based script, called "pinyin", has been developed for transcribing the pronunciation of Chinese characters. However, unless you study pinyin formally, chances are many of the letters will leave you bewildered. How are you to know that "x" sounds like "sh", "q" sounds like "ch", and "zh" sounds like "j"?

But it is not just the ABCs that wreak havoc and confuse learners. As a resident of Japan, I have had to come to terms with ‘katakana’, the writing system used to transcribe foreign words introduced into Japanese. Yes, there is a separate phonetic writing system used for foreign words, along with another one for indigenous words. Both phonetic systems are derived from Chinese characters, which are also thrown into the mix.

Japanese has a consonant-vowel based sound system with only five vowels 'a' as in ABBA, 'i' as in the Spanish "¡Sí, sí!", "u" as in "Suzette", "e" as in the Canadian "eh?", and "o" for, well, "Oh!" (Pardon my eclectic sound references.) When you recite the equivalent of the ABCs in Japanese, you end up with "a-i-u-e-o; ka-ki-ku-ke-ko; ma-mi-mu-me-mo..." creating a string of consonant-vowel sets. Fine for Japanese until they begin to study other languages. English, which has from eleven to twenty-one vowels depending on the person’s accent and definition of a vowel, is hard enough for a Japanese learner to pick up simply by listening. Transcribe the target words into katakana and the results can be disastrous. 

I discovered this when I moved to Japan and went to the bank for the first time. I lived in the small town of Tamano (see blog entries 27, 29, 34) and an assistant in the company where I worked had filled out my bank account application form with some cultural slips added. Japanese write the family name first followed by given names. I had provided my name "English-style" and the assistant had entered "Donald" in the ‘Family’ blank and "Maybin" on the line for 'Given Names' in katakana. Oops!

I waited patiently for my application to be processed, thumbing through a magazine and listening for my name to be called. Time passed and I became impatient. It seemed that one of the customers was being paged repeatedly but not responding. The idiot was someone called "Donarudo-san". I glanced up from my magazine and realized all eyes were on me! I had not recognized my own name spoken as it is written in 'katakana English'.

There are other unfortunate examples. Four years ago, I coordinated a classroom course in Thai using the same teaching approach as that in our Sulantra.com courses. One energetic participant, a 64-year-old Japanese “salaryman”, was thrilled to join the classes and made every effort to learn the target language. Although his English was abysmal, he had a surprisingly good accent in Thai. Then on the fourth day of our studies everything changed and he began blurting out phrases with very Japanese-like pronunciation. 

The instructor and I were both surprised and talked with the man after class to determine what had happened. It seems the previous evening he had discovered a “wonderful” website that contained many of the phrases we were studying all transcribed into Japanese. The man was speaking “katakana Thai”! Sadly, no amount of clarifying on our part could eradicate the awful accent which was seemingly burned into his psyche.

Perhaps now you understand better why we do not focus on the written language. It’s not that we are against learning how to read and write, just that we think study of the script should be introduced later when learners have gotten their feet wet with the sounds– rather than at the outset when they might develop poor pronunciation – and get wet feet!

(If you are really a fool for language, check out my language learning website at http://en.sulantra.com/ with courses from and to English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese,Turkish, Bulgarian, Thai, German, Korean, Portuguese and Italian!)

42. After LIOJ

In past blogs I have talked about ways that I, my friends and students have tapped into surroundings to communicate in a new language. But what if you are living in a country where the language that you are studying is not spoken. How do you build – or at least maintain your listening comprehension and/or speaking ability? The following are some ideas I have gathered over the years that have worked for me. Many of the techniques were incorporated into a training module which I gave each term to graduates of the Language Institute of Japan in Odawara, where I was director in the early 1990’s.

LIOJ was perched on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, The views would have done the grandest hotel proud and those of us who came there, both teachers and students, were constantly amazed by the surrounding beauty. Apart from the amazing setting, the center was known for its innovative programs, including the “Business Communication Program”, or BCP, a residential program where businesspeople from some of Japan’s largest companies came and spent a month immersing themselves in English, often just before heading overseas for long-term assignments.

Rules were rigid – if they broke the “English Only” policy, participants were sent back to their companies – and staff were expected to spend untold hours not only training, but also partaking of meals, trips, and joining in a range of social activities together with students. It was hard work but the results were often spectacular. My experience at LIOJ left me convinced that, if you really want to improve your communication skills and can’t head to a country where the language is spoken, the best way to evolve is by studying daily in “dense” sessions over a shorter period, rather than for an hour or two each week for years and years.

Some participants arrived shell-shocked having been told in the morning by their boss that they were about to be sent abroad and to “catch a train to Odawara”. Some of these men (in those days, women were rarely sent abroad) were about to be transferred overseas for several years and had just one month to get ready. For such individuals, the focus of the first week was more on counseling than language training. We tried to get these unfortunates psyched about the bomb that had just exploded in their world. The transfer would be an adventure, a growing experience for both the men and their families, right? It could be a hard sell but we did our utmost to put a positive spin on things.

However, not all was desperation. Some participants had just entered a company and were at LIOJ as part of an initial training component, while others were there as a “reward”. One company president liked our program so much that each year he gave his best employee the opportunity to take a month off and study with us as a “bonus” for a job well done. The reasons for being at LIOJ were as varied as the teaching staff, who haled from around the world. Some groups were more memorable than others but every term we understood the importance of the training being carried out. To this day, a network of alumni staff and students remains in touch thanks to Facebook and Twitter.

LIOJ’s residential business program was very structured. At the end of each term, we would herd the participants into a room and prepare them for the real world outside our doors in a training session titled “How to study after LIOJ.” The days of classroom study were over and maintenance of hard-earned fluency was now each participant’s responsibility. Techniques were presented in a humorous manner but the message was a serious one: Without extra efforts, language skills would deteriorate. The following are some of the tips we gave our graduates.

1. Traditionally, the Japanese approach to learning another language is to memorize lists of words in isolation, usually in preparation for a test. All materials at LIOJ revolved around a context, for example, magazine articles or news broadcasts, to make meaning more memorable. We encouraged everyone to continue this context-based learning.

2. Grammar was a gremlin. For adult learners the study of grammar often formed the foundation of their English learning experience before coming to LIOJ, with endless drills that were safe and familiar. But was this approach effective? Rules for English were often learned in isolation, like math formulas that could be computed but didn’t really lead to an application in the real world. At LIOJ, it wasn’t that we were against grammar. It just seemed more logical to explain structures when students tripped over a phrase that puzzled, for example, in a magazine article or even a karaoke song. Our motto was, “Learn the rules with a reference.”

3. When it came to reading, we were very specific. Some of our students actually studied dictionaries at lunchtime to “build vocabulary.” More reading means more input and will help you build knowledge of words; however, “reading” a dictionary is definitely not what we had in mind! The general rule was to keep study sessions short and frequent with material you found informative and entertaining. 30 minutes of reading every day with a journal, manual, even comic book that held your interest was much more valuable than a blitz session on the weekend spending hours reading a mind-numbing textbook or thesaurus.

4. If we look at how a child learns their mother tongue, it’s obvious that a lot of language goes in before words come out. Once listening and speaking have developed, the next challenge is to learn how to read, usually followed by attempts at writing. But for learners at academic institutions around the world, this process is often reversed. First comes the textbook with passages to read and probably write, followed by listening activities and, if you’re lucky, a little mouthing of phrases that may have absolutely no relevance to your reality. This was how I was introduced to French at school and how most learners begin their study of English in Japan.

Fortunately, with the advent of the Internet, an endless range of study options to develop all four skills now exist online (at least for English). With regard to improving listening skills – and subsequently speaking ability – the “How to study after LIOJ” advice still applies. We told everyone to start with “macro” listening, in other words, to catch the gist of what is being said before going “micro”, or analyzing utterances in detail. “Micro” learners tend to focus too much, ruminating over each word and, in the end, losing the overall meaning. Trying to understand every single word is incredibly inefficient and we discouraged it. We told students to catch the general meaning first then go back and listen for details if you really need to.

5. Listening for gist does not mean that you should be passive. We trained our students to “control” the conversation by interrupting and clarifying when they lost the flow of what was being said then confirming what they understood. This “control” training (see blog entries 27 and 28) was a popular component of the BCP and was mentioned frequently in course evaluations. Students recognized that they had to be more assertive and manage conversations rather than let the language overwhelm them. They also understood that, the more they understood, the greater the chance of improving their speaking ability.

6. Students were told not to be perfectionists. Native speakers make mistakes in their mother tongue so why couldn’t you do the same in another language? We advised the participants to make opportunities to talk with people, for example, by visiting popular tourist spots in their area, and not to worry about making mistakes. Learners who “over-think”, painfully placing words in order in their head before attempting to speak, end up being out of synch with the conversation – if they speak at all. Just say what you want to say, warts and all!

7. Finally, we told everyone that, if they did have the opportunity to use their English (or any language for that matter) with another person, use the occasion to self correct. As a non-native speaker, if you make a mistake, the listener will usually signal when he or she doesn’t understand. Then it’s up to you to do some quick repair work. Or maybe the listener will try to guess your meaning. If the corrected version is what you wanted to say, copy it (see “Copy Correcting” in blog entry 8). In this way, students take advantage of every conversation to “clean up” their speech.

At the end of “How to study after LIOJ”, we would tell everyone the more they used their English, the more comfortable it would become. And with comfort, their confidence would grow in an energizing cycle. By choosing materials they enjoyed and trying to maintain a schedule of short, regular study sessions, their linguistic ability didn’t have to decline. And, if they really needed an “English fix”, they could visit us any time at LIOJ.

Sadly, the latter no longer holds true. As everyone knows, Japan has a lot of earthquakes and, several years ago Asia Center, the facility where LIOJ was housed, was declared structurally unsafe. The city of Odawara bought the property and tore the big white building on top of the hill down. The land has been turned into a park with a large open lawn where LIOJ once stood. I have visited twice and was told by neighbors that a surprising number of visitors – perhaps I should say “pilgrims” – drop by to look out over the sea and relive memories of their language learning experiences long ago.

(If you are really a fool for language, check out my language learning website at http://en.sulantra.com/ with courses from and to English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese,Turkish, Bulgarian, Thai, German, Korean, Portuguese and Italian!)