703

I’ve completed Mihi Edwards’s autobiography—the early years. There are a number of parallels and coincidences to my own parents’ experiences in this country. The story highlights the degree and the depth of the loss of Maori culture in those times. Literacy is not a simple thing.

As I mentioned, I’ll incorporate this narrative into my literacy and numeracy assignment. I’ll also use it as a prompt to engage further in learning the Maori language. I’ve started browsing a Maori textbook that was written in the early 60s. It has a heavy grammar/vocabulary focus, but also useful passages of text.

702

I thought less of the second two Japanese movies, so let’s move right along. Let me write on the subject of Mihi Edwards instead. I’m reading her autobiography: Mihipeka: early years.

Mihipeka is a Maori woman born about 10 years before my father. The book covers the period when the Maori were forced to lose their language. The interesting thing for me is the Maori used throughout the book—more than just a smattering. In fact, I’m thinking of extracting and tabulating the vocabulary.

As a bonus, I believe that I can use it for my literacy & numeracy course.

701

I watched two movies for the price of none at the Art Gallery today, thanks to the Japanese Embassy. Kanako Lockman had asked, on behalf of the Dunedin community, and the staff had delivered. We have our own Japanese film festival—4 films over 2 days.

The first was Thermae Romae. The second was A Tale of Samurai Cooking. Both of them were excellent. And the lead woman actress was the same in each.

The JET program was publicized at the event. I note that these days there isn’t an age limit. Who knows, I may well apply this October.

700

Concerning German and Japanese, I’m able to decypher each approximately equally. That is, I’m at about the same level with them both. However, there’s a significant difference in the way that I grapple with either, I’ve recently noticed.

With German, I’m happy to read an unfamiliar book. Currently, I’m going through HP2. There are a ton of words that I have to guess at. I don’t mind in the least. But with Japanese, I’m not as prepared to undergo the same degree of ambiguity. With Japanese, I’m much more finicky—anal even. 

I need to simply plough ahead for once.

699

Just when it looked as if today would the the first time I’ve missed posting 100 words—it’s already evening as I write this—I realize that I have something to say.

I remembered The Samurai, a Japanese TV show that aired in New Zealand (and Australia) in the 1960s, and located a short documentary about it. How was I guess about my future involvement with that culture?

And this weekend 4 Japanese movies will be shown for free at the Dunedin Art gallery. One before and one after lunch on both Saturday and Sunday. 

(Stand aside from the game.)

698

I’m a 61-year-old teacher with a 40-year background in teaching at multiple levels across various disciplines, in a variety of cultural settings, in a number of different countries.

I’m being asked to complete a course whose relevance, worth and usefulness I doubt. My compliance is demanded. I’ve not been granted any autonomy as regards the design of this project. It is a governmental and institutional requirement. I’ve not been invited to demonstrate prior knowledge, nor recognition of my experience and achievements. 

In such a milieu, is it any wonder that I’ve failed to find traction for my ‘heretical’ language-learning notions?

697

I didn’t mention it yesterday, but the last few English-subbed episodes of Mother have had poor sound quality, and so we’ve had to view an alternate channel. It has Indonesian subtitles (although the speaking is in the original Japanese). That’s been interesting. Here and there among words that are totally unrecognizable—although the most common of them are becoming familiar with repetition (the way that Krashen promises that they will)—I see words of Dutch origin. The ghost of Holland’s colonial past, and a whisper of Dad’s military service.

Anne and I will have our students do work stations today. 

696

So what I’ll do is continue, daily, until day 700. Thereafter, I’ll add posts sporadically. That will give me the opportunity to address other interests (elsewhere) such as lucid dreaming. Because, hey! I’m a well-rounded person!

Without being aware of it I racked up hours and hours of Japanese yesterday: Mirai no Mirai, an anime at the International Film Festival. Episode 9 of Mother. Kanji 1265 to 1280. I’m finding snippets of Spanish and references to Russian novels in Ruth Rendell’s Road Rage, and the Shanghai setting of When we were orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro provides quite a lot more.

695

My primary interest has shifted. I’m still interested in language acquisition, but not solely. The time is fast approaching that I replace this morning 100-word session with something else.

Yesterday I realized that there’s a bigger picture. I am interested in self-reflection, or maybe reflection in general. And then later I refined that thought. It felt more that I am interested in exploring the relationship between being and doing. Something like that.

These days languages happen to me. I am immersed in an environment where I hear Japanese, and also Dutch. Languages also crop up in the novels I read.

694

There were two occasions today when the connection between language and culture was driven home to me—with Maori and with Japanese.

In the classroom, watching a YouTube clip of Japanese being interviewed about whether they recognized various kanji or not, I could tell from their answers that a lot of language is interpolated. Spoken Japanese is a form of telegramese.

And then in Otago Museum, taking a group for a Maori workshop, for perhaps the first time I became entranced by the story-telling embedded in the carving (as originally there wasn’t a written language).

So these two things struck. 

693

My work with kanji continues nicely. It’s easy to stick to. But now that I’m up to chapter 6 of HP2, and have identified 1250 unique kanji, they are getting fewer and further between.

I used to get myself to read the text from one to the other. However, that is taking too long. It’s taking away from my pace. So it was great last night to latch onto a solution. I’ll keep up with the story in German alongside.

Finally, introducing the 100-word meme to my class, I gave Japanese students newspaper articles to describe in that many words.

692

A colleague has recently been asked to exhaustively analyze his language teaching. He has been given a template of a matrix to complete, with learning outcomes on one side, and resources, themes, assessment type, timing and who knows what else in adjoining columns.

As if this is what we do in the classroom. As if this is what works. As if this is what will help. As if we didn’t already have enough to do.

‘Oh, ya know. One thousand thirty-nine more days till I retire with full pension. Got me a iPhone app counting that shit down for me.’ 

691

I’ve never been a fan of songs and music as an aid to my personal language-learning. However, I did use lyrics to create an activity for our combined Japanese students class. I may create another lesson today matching song’s tiles with lines from their versus or choruses.

The 3 of us at home are now up the 5^th episode of Mother. I fond it just as moving as before. And at work, we teachers are now expected to put together a booklet as our class textbooks. I have reservations about our moving in that direction, which I should really air.

690

Evenings, we are onto the third episode of Mother which I had seen earlier. It’s a Japanese drama series. I even showed it to my Japanese short course class—another means of accessing English (via the subtitles) should they choose to avail themselves of it. Today, for our combined class of 27, I’ll get them into groups and have them enjoy, hopefully, a game I created around song lyrics.

As for me, my most addictive activity is still my kanji code collection. I’ve demonstrated it too to my class.

Learning instruction, yes. Language instruction, no. How it ought to be.

689

I am starting to anticipate the end of these 2 years of dedicated journal entries on language learning. It’s been a great habit—a keystone habit—and I mean to continue it in another, or other, areas. But with language, I’m ready to move on.

I’ve reached some conclusions. I’ve touched upon them here, but 100 words are really too few to develop those ideas. Not unless I string a series of them together.

Perhaps 6 or 7 languages, where I spend tag each to a day of the week. That’s for myself. And I haven’t forgotten about Maori either.

688

You know, you put yourself under a certain amount of pressure when you try and improve many languages at once. You may end up avoiding all of them—which I have to some degree. So here’s what I’ll do.

I’ll spend a decent amount of time on each, one at a time. That’s the answer. I’ll finish a book in Dutch, then in German. And if not an entire book (for the ‘lesser’ languages) then a week at a time on others.

That way, I’m not overwhelmed. That way, I’ve only the one or two resources to remember and organize.

687

I was speaking with a friend about the state of society. How the system sucks you up—you time, energy and focus. How does anyone work full-time and have a life?

They say: ‘this only requires an hour a day’, as if everyone has that time to spare, on languages, say. Is that true? Do we really have that resource? Hmm. 

We ‘waste’ a lot of time, certainly. But we need it to unwind through TV, music, reading, surfing. Therefore, if by participating in an hour of language learning activity we recuperated to a similar degree, then perhaps it’s doable.

686

Literally the last thing of the day, the last line I read, from Rewire Your Anxious Brain by Catherine Pittman and Elizabeth Karle, gives me linguistic food for thought. It has very much to do, it seems to me, with affective filter. I quote:

You can overcome fears if you give your amygdala experiences that teach it to feel safe in related situations. This is the power of exposure.

That’s very interesting, no? That’s why light, wide and shallow exposure is so important, and why we need to understand the need to make mistakes freely. Another arrow in the quiver.

685

From Sachi’s accident 2 days ago, she learned that Mami can’t pronounce the vowel sound of ‘bone’. It comes out as ‘born’. 

With my Japanese students, I’m trying to tackle one vowel sound at a time. Day 1 was ‘cat’. Day 2 was ‘bird’. We look for 20 words with that sound, and then I ask students to make a sentence with as many of those words as they can.

Of course, all of this is just intuitive. I’m not sure if it is effective, or ‘sound’ pedagogy. But it’s a start. It’s worth a try. Today’s sound is schwa.