For a recording of me reading this blog, see the LingQ lesson. Look here for my LingQ profile.

As I said before, the main focus is the interest or the energy of the conversation... how to keep the energy at a high enough level so that it's possible for your students to be interested in it. Now, to some extent you will never be able to control the student. I mean if the student is having a bad day, well, they're not going to be interested in anything. But if you are doing your part and you are making the intre... the discussion energetic enough, then you will be at least giving the student a chance to be interested.

Now, um, the point I made in the pa.. last podcast was that it's not necessarily easy to predict what will be energising or interesting for the group. And um... so that raises the question: What are you going to do to prepare? Well some peo.. you don't have to prepare, that's one answer to the question. I think that at LINGQ the... um some of the tutors are people who prepare and some of them may not prepare very much. I'm a person who prepares... although sometimes I prepare too much which actually doesn't help me... it just makes me annoyed because I'm obsessing over something that I know I have no control over. And sometimes I don't prepare at all... which goes alright fifty percent of the time, and the other fifty percent of the time. I realise that I'm selling the students a bit short by not preparing.

So how do you find the happy medium? How do you prepare.. uh...if you are person who will prepare, how do you prepare to the extent which won't make you resentful and which will be giving the students the best value. Well, I think that uhh one technique... and this will be my major point for this podcast... is the idea of variety. You should be always ready to change the current of a conversation at any point and so in preparation for that you should try to have as many different takes on a certain topic as you possibly can. Or perhaps even multiple topics. That will be always more interesting for the students I think than trying to squeeze as much out of one topic as you possibly can. So, um... preparation could be writing out as many different questions on each topic and preparing as many different topics as you can withing a reasonable time frame.

For a recording of me reading this blog, see the LingQ lesson. Look here for my LingQ profile.

So umm I... I am just starting this blog again after a long time. I am trying a new technique. I'm just speaking without preparing a text first... and then later I will be typing this out. Ummm (I) think it's going to be a lot easier to get something completed this way because when I am writing first I tend to get lost in thought and I have trouble finishing what I am trying to do. This way.. well... I'll be finished and I just have to transcribe what I have said even though I think... well, who knows, maybe it will be more interesting than what I have written and then subsequently spoken. Ummm the things I have been trying to do lately have been to get an essay written about how to tutor at LINGQ. There is already the guidelines for how to tutor at LINGQ but I've been writing an essay about my personal spin on it. It's been really hard because it's a very difficult thing to break down into a system or a strategy. Tutoring is very instinctual and um you often are just throwing spaghetti at the wall, as it were. There's an expression when ... in English when you say uh... when you're trying to do something through trial and error you say you're just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see if it sticks or not. That's what tutoring is like often. You're just coming in and you are trying to make it as interesting as possible. You'll have some preparations but you don't know if it's going to work or not and you don't know if you are going to use them or not cause when you're tutoring you're always...the only rule I guess is when you're tutoring you're always trying to dance around the area where there is the most group excitement and it may not even be close to what you were prepared to tutor. Umm that's in itself a very profound statement. I mean, a lot of teachers would prefer just to teach what they prepared even if there is no excitement in the group about it. But I find that, you know, the zest of tutoring is more about being in the moment with a group and only using your plans if it fits with the moment rather than forcing the moment to fit with your plans.

For a recording of me reading this blog, see the LingQ lesson. Look here for my LingQ profile.

I would like to share a few guidelines I have about how to answer language related questions from learners (which I haven't always followed on this forum). I have answered many such questions as a teacher over the past 9 years or so and for me, anyway, the following rules are very useful.

The most important guideline is to understand the context of the language in the question. If someone asks about a word, get them to show the word in context. If someone asks about a pattern of words (ie "grammar") get the context.

The second guideline, and most essential teacher activity, is to think of as many additional analogous examples of the language in context as we can (at least 2 or 3) and write them or say them out loud. This is important because our gift as native speakers is the infinite body of examples we carry in our heads.

The third guideline is to avoid generalising beyond the examples that are now in play (the original and the ones you have supplemented). As native speakers the tendency is to make absolute statements about the language in question because we think we know intuitively about the language we speak. Nothing is further from the truth! Our native language is probably the language we have spent the least amount of time analysing and therefore know the least about.

If we have a created a mini corpus of 3-6 example sentences, make sure any further discussion holds true for those examples. The learner is usually satisfied with that.

Further discussion about the language should prioritise meaning first, form second, and usage last.

Provide the meaning (face to face with a learner you would ideally get them to guess the meaning of the target language from the examples).

If the basic meaning is clear to the learner, there is time, and the learner has indicated that they want it, look for any unusual forms or grammar patterns, eg. the plural of 'child' is 'children' or "stand up" versus "stand out". Again it is important to confine yourself to your mini corpus to avoid misleading statements about the language. If there is a juicy grammar pattern or word form you really want to provide to the learner and is not present in your mini corpus, think of a few more example sentences first and make sure they are analogous to the original corpus, otherwise you risk muddying the waters.

Finally (again if circumstances warrant) point out how different forms correspond to different circumstances of usage such as formality, mode (written or oral), genre etc.

The above is just a template I like to follow in my mind. As circumstances dictate, I will skip parts while keeping the general priorities and sequence in mind. I must say however, that the brainstorming of example analogous sentences is essential and should always be followed explicitly. In fact if I taught just the meaning and the student were just to review the examples I provided, I believe they will have gotten 95% of what I can give them as a teacher.

As a further note, when a student asks such a question, my top priority is to evangelise the approach of collecting examples on flashcards and learning unanalysed "chunks" of language on their own, coupled with massive input.

For a recording of me reading this blog, see the LingQ lesson. Look here for my LingQ profile.

Dadericrobsonpark

The unknown woman reached her hands out in front of her and spread them apart as if getting ready to hug someone. Then she beckoned the baby over by curling and and straightening her fingers and crooning "C'mon baby" over and over again. I held the baby, wondering what was going on.

This was the scene in a Starbucks in south Vancouver. It is one of many situations I have gone through with my baby which have left me wondering about human behaviour, especially where kids are concerned.

This took place in the middle of the annual Vaisakhi festival, a festival for the Sikh religion. My wife and I had been walking for quite a while with the baby, sampling curries and watching the colourful parade of sari-clad women and turbaned men that thronged the streets. We needed a rest so we ducked into one of the ever-present Starbucks coffee houses in Vancouver. Our 7-month-old baby, Eric, was cranky so we took him out of the stroller. After a little milk, he brightened up quite a bit. He started laughing and looking about.

It was at this point, that this woman started gesturing towards him. I, thankfully, was holding the baby directly in line of sight between the woman and me, so I was able to ignore her.

I think this was the right thing to do. I questioned the manners and even the level-headedness of the woman. Did she really think I would give my baby son to a complete stranger to hold? Or was she just caught up in the spirit of the festival? Was I being an uptight square?

Another incident occurred on my way home from the festival on the bus. My son was sleeping in a carrier bag (a Snugli... which is now like a part of my body) which was attached to the front of my chest. His face was towards me and, since he was asleep, he was slumped a little to my left side with his forehead resting on my left bicep. I was sitting in the courtesy seats (seats for the aged, and otherwise physically challenged) and I was facing a row of similar seats on the other side. There, sat a silver haired woman wearing dark, conservative clothes. On her hand were shiny rings decked with impressive jewels.

I noticed she had been looking at me intermittently. Generally you should ignore this type of behaviour on public transit, so I did. Then, in my peripheral vision, I saw a flickering. I looked up slowly and the jeweled right hand was making a frantic lifting motion while her left index finger pointed toward her nose. I gathered that she was worried about whether my baby was getting enough air. I knew he was, because the sensation of his breathing is always with you when you carry him next to your body. I just looked at her for a while and, when I felt she was a little more focused, I smiled and gave her the 'thumbs-up' sign. It took about two minutes to get to that point.

Finally, I was browsing in a large, local sports and hiking store on a Friday evening. It was full of people because there was a spring sale. The sun was setting and I was tired from the work week and from carrying around 8 kilos extra in the Snugli. I was daydreaming of the great outdoors, while looking at some camping equipment, when I suddenly saw a hand come in from the right and grab Eric's soother. I was stunned while I watched this complete stranger, a 20-something woman dressed in black, replace the sucking toy in my son's mouth. As soon as I gathered my wits about me I said, rather sternly, "That's enough, thank you." And I glared at her as my blood turned to ice. She walked away wordlessly. I felt like confronting her in the store and asking her what the hell she thought she was doing. Eric and I were both quietly going about our business. Eric was not even complaining that his soother had fallen out. But in the end, what does that matter? I don't know anyone who goes around shopping areas taking care of random strangers' kids.

I managed to calm down and just tried to be happy that nothing worse had happened. For a few minutes, I wondered again if I had been over-reacting. Perhaps I am overly paranoid by all the media horror-stories we are fed daily. Maybe I am overprotective. Maybe I strike people as an irresponsible parent for some reason. Perhaps it is sexism. As a man I am being patronised, or should I say "matronised" by over zealous maternal types. For now, I think I am going to stand my ground. Kids are parents' responsibility. I appreciate all the help I can get. But there are limits.

Morning

See LingQ lesson here. See my LingQ Tutor profile here.

Early morning, about 5 am as I write. I like getting up early in the morning. It has always been a time of day that seemed special to me. It is dark and quiet, ... more than quiet, there is a stillness in the air, as if the day were a hunting cat, hunched and ready to pounce on the earth. To me this is exciting and full of possibility. Nothing has happened yet, so anything can happen.

This stands in stark contrast to popular opinion about morning. In fact, I have very rarely met anyone who was such a morning lover as I am. If the topic comes up there is usually a minority of people who say they like them. But in any group  situation where overnight stays were involved, I am invariably the first to rise by a wide margin, no matter what shenanigans took place the night before. Those who previously professed a love of mornings are sleeping like logs long after I have eaten breakfast, read the paper, taken a walk, and planned the day.

You would think that this has translated into an enormous amount of productivity. It is one of the first thoughts that cross most people's minds when they realise what a morning freak I am. Well, from a material point of view, the answer is not really. I don't get up with any sense of ambition. I have just as much trouble motivating myself to work as the next person.

I think the only conclusion you can draw about me from all this is that I like to maintain a sense of perspective in life. I like being in the background, observing all the chaotic life events from an oasis of order that I have created in my mind. This is not always possible, but if I can foster that attitude, I feel very satisfied. For me, the early morning, as the sun peeks over the horizon, embodies that feeling.

   See LingQ lesson here. See my LingQ Tutor profile here.

Cambodia and Canada

    Today I am having one of those in between moods. I want to eat but I am not really hungry. I feel tired but I am too wound up to sleep. I want to go out somewhere but I can't think of anywhere I really want to go. I want to study language but as soon as I start something distracts me. So here I am at the blog.
    Actually something semi-interesting happened earlier today. I went out to meet a friend of my wife's at one of the local coffee shops. I had my son Eric with me in the Snugli as I had volunteered to baby-sit for a while.
    My wife's friend was a Canadian who had spent 6 years in Cambodia. I didn't ask what she had been doing there but I assume it was teaching English. She met and married a Cambodian man and they both returned to Canada to live.
    They have been living in Vancouver for about 2 years, and she was describing some of the challenges that not only her husband, but also she had in returning to Canada. What struck me the most about her description was the characterisation of Vancouver as a sort of place filled with grim, anti-social, workaholics from the Cambodian point of view.
    This is funny because I would never think of the typical Vancouverite as a workaholic. Far from it. My wife, as a Japanese, also thinks that Canadians in general have their work life pretty easy. It also surprised me because the image I have of Cambodia is one of war and atrocity, probably largely due to the movie "The Killing Fields".
    But to this woman and her husband, Vancouver was dead.
    Apparently Cambodia is currently a very laid back and friendly place, with many publicly mandated holidays, great weather, and a great standard of living for the visiting foreigner. A place where you can spend all day hanging out and chatting with people, who all have time on their hands.
    This obviously raises the question: What are they doing here, then? I didn't ask because I felt like I would be prying too much into their personal life. But the woman did mention that there is no good health care to be had by most people in Cambodia. This was one of the reasons why they tried to bring the husband's ageing mother over to live in Canada. Our health-care system, however,  was no match for her daily fight against the Vancouver doldrums. So she went back to Cambodia several months after her arrival.
    I think part of me sympathises with the ennuie they are feeling about Vancouver life. People are, or feel like they are supposed to be, busy. All of the time. It is sort of seen as a sin to just say that you are satisfied with whatever you are doing... not to be driven by this or that goal rooted in material gain. Or in some more politically correct circles, somebody's idea of social change. This sense colours people's interactions because you sometimes get the sense that you are wasting time if you are just hanging out trying to be social.
    I think, that's the head-space I am in right now. I wish I were in a more relaxed social environment, where people are free to do nothing if they so choose. Without guilt.

BabyinSnugli

05 - I Will Follow You Into The Dark

Today I was following my usual routine for the vacation: up at 5:30 am, tutoring and studying on LingQ, then at 10 pm babysitting for the following 3 hours.
    As might be clear from the pictures that I posted here previously, I am the proud poppa of a baby boy, Eric. He has been a remarkable experience for my wife and I. He is quite alert, but he doesn't cry a lot. Maybe because we give him a lot of attention. For my babysitting duties, I generally put him into the Snugli front-carry bag and go for a walk around the neighbourhood until he falls asleep. He loves to look over the side of the Snugli and absorb all the sights and sounds which are all new to him. Between the ages of 2 and 3 months he would reliably fall asleep after about 20 minutes and then I would be free to sit down somewhere and even have a coffee and read! But now he stays awake he whole time. So I have started to take my mp3 player along and listen to the LingQ podcasts that I am studying. Not a bad way to spend time!
    I usually make it home at about 1 when I am ready for lunch, which I usually pick up at the deli across from my apartment. Creamy soups are the usual choice.

Ericdadgreyhat

Previously, I blogged about how teaching is technology-proof. That may raise a few eyebrows since I am such a proponent of LingQ, a language learning website. I think it is important to remember that technology is a tool, in the case of LingQ , a tool that is  well adapted to the learning of languages. It also important to understand that languages are not at all complicated to teach yourself. In fact they are one of the most appropriate things in the world to teach yourself since language can be used to serve so many purposes and no one knows what purposes you will need language for better than you. So, my point is, LingQ does not take theplace of the teacher, it just allows you to teach yourself more easily.

I am hoping to get blogging more regularly now that the new year has arrived.

I am, as usual, working little by little on several different projects.

Mainly, I have been studying French on LingQ now that I have some freedom with the Christmas holidays. This has been going better than ever before because I have found a few ways to use the LingQ system that are more motivating to me. First of all, the reverse flashcard review has motivated me much more to review flashcards.

The LingQ methodology is more about reviewing from target language to native language but I find that as a high intermediate-advanced learner of French, it is not enough of a challenge to review that way. I think if I were able to find a much bigger variety of content in French I could be more motivated according to LingQ principles. But it is time consuming and rare to find such material that is both interesting and available in transcript plus audio form. So as a substitute for the motivation of lots of interesting material, I am reviewing from English to French. I do it by resizing the window and hiding the Keyword part of the flashcard, then just scrolling up when I want to check my answer.

Another factor that has sped up my LingQing is the Firefox addon "qtl ultra lite". It is perfect for finding translations for phrases quite quickly. It works well with English and French anyway. I am not going to explain it here. If you use Firefox, it is easy enough to find and experiment with. Just click "Tools"> "Addons" and go from there.

Other projects I have been working on are getting ready for the practicum phase of the current education program I am in. This has been going quite slowly. I have been trying to review a lot of the activities that I have used in the past as a private language teacher so that I am ready to employ them again in the practicum. However, I get demotivated quickly because the more I review techniques the more I see that teaching is not about technique at all. It is about being present in the moment, and noticing stuff. Noticing moods mostly, both the students and your own. If you are on the same page emotionally with the students, the most facile teaching technique will work. If you are distant, the most clever technique will fail. This is why teaching is technology-proof.

04 - Different Names For The Same Thing

... more on this later