623

On my mother’s 90^th birthday, I come off my bike on the ice. That has nothing to do with language learning, I realize, but at the Mum’s birthday party I meet an aunt aged 88 who does speak about that topic.

Her husband, Mum’s brother, was a typical Dutchman (of that generation). He’d controlled everything. He ‘drove’ the household. After he died, my aunt had had to fend for herself. Develop a social circle. Learn new skills.

She learned, or improved, her English by keeping a diary. She credits that habit with having mastered English after the age of 70.

622

I don’t know. I had an idea for a topic today, but I forget what it is. I need to jot down those thoughts—which I used to. Just get back into the habit.

I’m always thinking about language. Other things too. Sometimes too much. Often.

I did take a walk through the botanical gardens. To my favorite free box. There I found a couple of book in foreign languages: Hungarian and French.

Zola’s L’Assommoir seems a decent read. No doubt I could find it in English. Then there’s Klicsu Anna’s Erdekes forgatokonyv. Interesting turntable. It was written in 2008.

621

While checking the Internet yesterday for the location of Georgia, I arrived at https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(country) . This was the first time that I became aware of Simple English Wikipedia. A Globish version, in other words. Just right for my/our students at the English Language Centre. At the moment, we are navigating the assessment timetable at the end of semester, but I shall slip in an introduction, nevertheless. 

For myself, I have continued working on the document, HP2 GAPwork. Now and then there’s a glitch (that I may have described earlier) which requires me to close Windows and then restart the laptop.

620

The sumo tournament finished yesterday. It’s held every 2 months. I always catch the daily (it takes 15 days) highlights. Consequently, I heard the interviews and read the English subtitles. The winner from Mongolia and the runner up from Georgia speaking Japanese. Interesting world.

Having completed HP2 chapter 1, hunting for kanji, I am able to report that each of the first 2 Harry Potter books use over 500 unique characters in only their first chapter. I’ve made a copy of the file. I delete every incidence of a kanji from the entire document to locate the rest more easily. 

619

I applied the pottering principle to setting up the blog where I’ll house and sandpit my work on the literacy, numeracy and assessment courses. I enjoyed it, and look forward to adding to the preliminary writings today. It’s at elanpa.blogspot.co.nz . Today we’re having the second—or is it third?—meeting to progress the course.

We had lunch at Peter and Lisa’s yesterday. There was a Cambodian meal after which we watched Mark Wien’s Youtube channel. Food and travel and subtitles.

Today’s language assignment is to complete HP2, Chapter 1, in Dutch, German and Japanese. But first, sumo’s final day.

618

After over 600 posts, themes are bound to repeat. One did yesterday, I discovered. Another post, tagged ‘potter’ covers some of the same ground as yesterday’s. But that’s okay.

Similarly, I make plans that I consider and often drop. That’s both normal and acceptable. And so I’m sure I’ve previously thought of doing a chapter at a time of Harry Potter in the different languages I’m doing. (It occurs to me that the idea has re-occurred.)

I’ll read a chapter in Dutch, German, Japanese and only then in English. Then comes Spanish, French and wat dan ook. Sounds good, no? 

617

Pottering about. That’s the secret to language acquisition and to life in general. It’s to take a non-serious, playful approach to everything. I think that’s how humans are born to function.

Human life. I never felt so good as when walking the country. Each day proceeded smoothly, simply. All I did was move, reflect, observe, eat, rest, and take care of bodily need. The pace was right. The intensity level was optimal.

One’s days ought ought not to be too much different than that. It’s all right to generate a little excitement and drama, but not as a default setting.

616

By chance, I happen to be up to the same point of HP2 in German, Japanese, and English too—from back when I was using the Heinrich maneuver. So I’m thinking, if I was to aim and proceed with those in tandem—possibly by replacing English with Dutch—then I’d have those 3 languages taken care of. And I’d be doing them simultaneously.

So let’s give that a go. I’d collect kanji while comparing the Japanese and the Dutch. And I’d also keep up with my German. Yes, I can see that working. And more importantly, I’d enjoy it too.

615

And now, on to German. I’ll spend as long as it takes to read HP2 in that language to complete the book. Actually, I’ll do more than that. Although I’ve read several chapters, I’ll go right back to the beginning again.

I ‘know’ perhaps 40% of the words. But I can guess another 20% from context, and a further 20% because I’m sort of familiar with the story. It’s narrow reading. Still, that only takes me up to 80% which is far short of Paul Nation’s 95 to 98 percent.

I reduce my affective filter by highlighting funny-looking curious words.

614

I’ve just completed Blind Vertrouwen by Michael Connelly, a Harry Bosch novel in Dutch. I enjoyed and understood it. It was compelling reading (a Krashen term) since I often chose it over any English book.

It was not my first ‘home run’ book (another Krashen term). Yet it was one where I didn’t know the story beforehand—like Harry Potter. I didn’t understand 98% of the words. Perhaps I only knew 80%. However, that didn’t matter. That wasn’t necessary.

What’s next is for me to spend a solid book’s worth of time on German, then Japanese, French and so forth. 

613

Two threads, seemingly unrelated, and unconnected to language acquisition, have come together for me.

From Dibbs, I understand that a person needs to understand and accept himself first before he is able to understand, accept and work with others. And from my moderation course, I realize that you need to operate according to a protocol that is organic, holistic and human. That you need to take into account each contributor’s nature, and to not expect—although you may strive for—perfection. 

A great deal of my angst, timidity and trepidation result from the absence of this approach in my upbringing. 

612

From Leonard Carmichael’s introduction to Dibbs in search of self by Virginia Axline, 1964: “No one who reads this book with understanding can ever again think that human psychological growth, success in a classroom, or the acquisition of a complex skill can be achieved merely by overt repetition or by the reinforcement of simple patterns of response.” That’s a keeper for sure.

Reading Blind Vertrouwen on Kindle. It’s fun to see the ‘percentage read’ figure change over time. I know that with an actual book you have page numbers and can feel the book’s thickness, but somehow this is different. 

611

Without establishing an timeline, I simply started implementing my original 10 steps. No doubt more steps, or sub-steps, shall suggest themselves. Or be suggested by Mami and/or others. But that’s as may be.

I changed the name of my blog from ‘Every language I like’ to ‘Languages berserker mode’. I established a Facebook group of that name. I wrote up a draft of my mission statement. And I got hold of a suitable picture for a banner: a photograph of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

This is how you do it folks! (Here I’m talking to myself.) You just get stuck in!

610

My vision is of establishing a fraternity of people interested in acquiring languages using radically better methods. I have a rough framework in mind of blogging, vlogging, communal exchange via social media and membership. And so yesterday I came up with a series of steps. Now to put those to dates—a timeline.

I tweeted Stephen Krashen too. I’d found an interesting article by John Michael Greer that discussed reading and standardized testing: The taste of another’s thoughts. In the middle of reading it I sent him the link. Twice.

By the way, I haven’t seen my mp3 player recently.

609

Finish the book, I thought to myself. Finish reading this Harry Bosch novel in Dutch, then go on to another, in another language if you want. Show some decorum. Show some respect.

It is possible to flit about from one language to another. It can be done. It can be managed. But is it wise?

Heinrich Schliemann claimed to learn a new language in 6 weeks, during which he went through an entire book twice. He’d spend a couple or so weeks on the one book, on the one language therefore.

Maybe it’s time for me to act less unseemly.

608

Two helpful fellow staff members demonstrated to me yesterday how to use a coffee machine. Now, that may not seem to be on topic—language learning—yet I would argue that it is. And so might Stephen Krashen. Yesterday I also heard him state that it is only after his third cup of the morning that he feels less than 100 years old.

I’m starting to feel better too about the literacy and numeracy embedding course that I’m starting. There’s the potential to turn it into something useful.

Witness my transforming the confusion around kanji alphabetical order into a positive. 

607

Embedding literacy and numeracy in our teaching, starting out from the Maori perspective and the history of education in Aotearoa—something like that. I don’t know the exact course title. But it is made up of 2 unit standards (I think) of 30 and 10 credits each. The total time required is 400 hours. We get half a year of 0.1 full-time equivalents (FTA) funding. I can see that this baby is going to eat into my time!

On top of which there is a tacit understanding among both participants and facilitators that we are merely, mainly, jumping through hoops.

606

I located something called the RK1 supplement pdf online. It’s not something that you take. It’s something that you read—when you’re reading Japanese.

“In spring of 2010, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology announced the addition of 196 kanji to the 1,945 characters of the list of general-use kanji approved in 1981.”

After that, James Heisig went to work to update his book, Reading the Kanji. He added 5 more chapters to bring the total number up to 62. That’s what I’m working through now, to expand what I’ve done in developing my kanji alphabetizer. 

605

Little epiphanies make life all worthwhile, I believe. Mine, yesterday, was the realization that by letting go of the notion that there is one best way for everyone to acquire a language, I free myself up to help others. The most I can do is suggest, or, rather, present various options. And so in my (latest) blog, Every language I like, I take the tack of presenting those ideas that I’ve personally found useful, and which address the universal principles behind how our brains work.

It’s either that or simply listen to a read Stephen Krashen the whole day long!

604

In the morning, Sachi suggested some music. I opened Youtube but instead of choosing an album, I happened to click on a Stephen Krashen talk just to see what it was about. 

Well, I left the thing running. It was so good. And funny too. Mami sat at the table laughing along. Using humor, Stephen drives each point home. Later in the day, we returned to listen to Part 2 (of a 3-part series).

Had a productive discussion with my middle-managers at morning tea at work. Stimulating conversation with a good dollop of humor. Not quite up to Krashen’s standard.

603

At self-study time, a session that I supervised, I did my own language stuff. Maybe one or two students would pick up one or two ideas.

I did some Spanish. I stumbled across a set of 76 flashcards of sentences all from the first chapter of HP1. Somewhere on the site I read that it breaks language down into its ‘atomic elements’. Well, that put me off. And then I asked myself why you would ever create flashcards of even entire sentences when you could just read the whole book?

To finish off, I got into a little Dutch too.

602

In order to bring the bizarre into the world of reality—my reality—I’ll negotiate to submit my evidence for the literacy and numeracy embedding course in the form of a ‘webbed log”. At its heart there will be the basic framework of learning objectives with hyperlinks to those of my blogs that pertain to those points. That’s the plan, thought up during my sleep last night.

As for language, I feel that with English, Dutch, German and Japanese I’m doing next to nothing. So how many more would make me feel nicely engaged? Another 3? Another 5? Another 10?

601

And now for something bizarre.

At work, a group of us have been asked to complete a course  (the National Certificate in Adult Literacy and Numeracy). We are to do this whether or not we have already been trained. We are to embed literacy and numeracy, even if we actually teaching language and/or maths. It’s simply required.

The course is about to expire, so we’ve got to rush. We’ve been told to do the course backward. We are asked to submit the evidence that our administrators are confident that we are already doing! 

The course has a strong Aotearoa/Maori perspective. Interestingly, in the English Language Centre we have never had a single Maori student enroll. 

600

On this auspicious day—number 600—I used German in my English class. On the board I wrote: Sekunden spater klirrte eine Glocke und Malfoy betrat den Laden. I then went on to show how I only had partial knowledge of each of those ten words, but that by being exposed to them in a sentence, within context, I improved what I knew of all of them. I also demonstrated how I was okay with the overall meaning, and that the preceding and following sentences helped me further.

The students understood. One even recognized it as coming from Harry Potter!

599

I’m happily reading as much as I ever did, after a period when it had fallen off. The thing now is to spend equal thirds on useful, escapist, and foreign languages.

I listened to a lot of Japanese going on between adults and children. A Japanese friend of the family—also a former student of mine—heads off to Mongolia soon to join her husband there. We visited out at Warrington.

I took along my laptop and enjoyed working on the kanji codes. Almost done now, I keep on mentioning. Took a walk along the beach in sand and water.

598

With the drop-off of intensity with regard to language activity, I wonder, as I approach the 600 post mark, whether I’ll manage to produce my daily 100 words. I wouldn’t just want to write for the sake of writing—to be simply going through the motions.

My old mother asked me to read out aloud from a book in Dutch that I’d given her. And I’m getting very close to completing my kanji code list; I’ve only to introduce one further letter: x. And I’m collecting my thoughts about Alexander Arguelles and his shadowing technique. There’s enough on the simmer.

597

The best way, I’m convinced, for humans to operate is not by following best practice’. It’s not to adopt a rah-rah corporate mentality. It isn’t to hunt for feedback and to moderate to death. It’s not setting SMART goals and outcomes, nor building in creativity. No, it’s simply to potter about. That’s how we’re designed.

Along those lines, I listened read to HP1 chapter 4 in the staffroom. I walked home reading Harry Bosch on my Kindle (no glasses therefore the second-largest font). And I’ve set a good number of ‘stubs’ on my blog: Every language I like.

That’s how.

596

I’ve just completed a full-on week. I’ve taken both morning and afternoon classes on 3 days. For me, that’s a lot. I’ve relieved for another teacher, but it involved a lot of my own preparation for two sets of students.

On the last day, I was thanked for my lessons by several of them. I appreciate that. I know I made a difference. But also, I felt as if I’d run a marathon each day. I became mentally as drained as I became physically after walking the whole day long. Teaching is fine, yet it takes it out of me.

595

Wanna polyglot cracker? I think it could make a great title for a Pikaado workshop trying out some language acquisition alternatives. I’ll work on it (and think on it some more). 

The class I relieved for did a formal cover letter. Exciting. O make it more real, we did a job search on TradeMe. I stumbled across a couple of jobs in laboratories that I’m qualified to apply for. Again, I did some thinking.

And for the first time I got up to HP1 chapter 3 in the listening while reading department. Though I understood less, I could easily follow. 

594

In class yesterday I used David Bolton’s article—number 17—on Heinrich Schliemann. I copied it out for the students to read. I talked to it. We went through it with an eye on the main ideas and supporting details. We considered it.

When I asked afterwards, most of the class members were only mildly interested. They felt that the Heinrich maneuver would not work with Asian or Arabic languages.

On another topic, I considered seriously applying for a future part-time position. However, after, again, some consideration, I feel that I don’t buy into the systems and procedures being used.