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Hello, Friends.
Learning a language is so much more than learning the language. Yes, there is grammar and vocabulary, but that is only the foundation. As we kick off this year (and our football season), we are beginning with strategies for efficient and effective learning.
In our meetings this week we used a number of learning strategies. Most of these strategies are invisible until we call them out. Be sure to look at what and how we worked (although it never really feels like work) in each of our meetings. We covered a variety of content, but we used the same strategies to grow our understanding of each other and American English.
Back-To-School: Active and Passive Learning.
Active learning is when people engage in and participate in learning. Conversation and debate help to identify what is known and how to communicate it to others. Gaps can be filled in through discussion (or to be filled in later). Writing and drawing are creative ways to express learning. Making a model or some product helps to apply and test knowledge.
Passive learning happens in reading and lectures. Passive learning might provide higher points on tests. Passive learning is an efficient way to pass along information, and one-way communications provide the means. A shortfall is that since it is one-way, gaps are hard to discover. Attention can wander and the reader and listener may not even notice which leads to gaps
How do you learn? Adults learn best with necessity or when there is an intrinsic interest or goal.
Making Connections
Language learning can be tedious because fluency in the new language feels less natural than a previouly learned language. People often study a language for years, but when faced with conversation or speaking with others in a "job" situation the words get buried. Why does this happen?
Words are not always easy to remember and use in any language, new or old. Your brain is busy running around looking for the words to form sentences. With often used languages, it is like driving familiar route: you get where you are going without remembering the drive. With a new language (or concept) you either have to build or do some maintenance to connect the concepts and words to confidently communicate.
Practice making connections and observations with a brainstorm. Pick a word or phrase. Write down a word or two and embellish with drawings, lines, color.
- Pronunciation and/or accent is recognized. In this case, the "ge" and the "ch" can sound the same to some people (these sounds do not exist in other languages). The "u" and "au" sounds can become confused.
- Vocabulary is developed. In this case, each word has a distinctly different meaning that can be discovered in context when listening and writing and comparing.
- Mechanics are developed. Seeing, drawing/writing, and paying attention to sound comparisons brings three physical senses to help clarify differences and make
- Brainstorms are "roads" between concepts.
American Holidays and Remembrances in September
September has two notable dates in American culture and history: Labor Day and September 11.
Labor Day simply celebrates all of the people who work. Have a day off. Have a picnic. It is the end of summer and while we still have hot weather ahead of us, our outdoor swimming pools close. As some Friends have observed, Labor Day is a political holiday in other countries. Not here.
September 11, 2001, the United States was attacked by al-Qaeda terrorists who planned and hijacked commercial jets full of passengers to blow up national economic, military, and governmental sites. Not all the hijackings were successful. That day challenged American culture and security. Twenty-five years later we remember this day. We remember 2977 victims on the jets and at the sites of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, and Pentagon. We remember the passengers that took over a fourth jet sacrificed their lives with the crash in the field in Pennsylvania. We remember the first responders and citizens who worked to rescue and restore our cities and preserve our liberty and freedom.
International Fire and Safety Journal.
International Friends Meeting Notes
International Bible Study: Monday, 8-9:00 PM, Zoom
September 14: Our journey resumes with the book of Numbers in the Old Testament. Numbers tells the story of the 40 years that the Israelites wandered in the desert before entering the land promised to them by God.
American English Language and Culture: Thursday, 9:00-11:00 AM, Zoom
American English Language and Culture: Thursday, 7:00 -8:30 PM, Room 102, Cornerstone Lutheran Church-Carmel
We met and got to know each other and set our goals both short term and long term. One of our goals is to become more fluent at work. We noticed that it is hard to bring the correct words to mind in the context of a job.
September 17: For our next meeting, create half page description of a word or words in the Making Connections section in this Update Post. Bring your work to class.
American English for Kids: Friday, 8:00-8:30 PM, private Zoom
We talked about preparing for exams. Middle School and High School students often take general exams for admission or placement at the next level for learning. One strategy is to read and reread notes and textbooks from previous classes. This is passive learning. We talked about using the Feynman Method and then took about 10 minutes to try it out.
Identify the Topic: The Three Forms of Water
Explain the topic as if teaching a sixth-grader:
We made improvements by adding the temperature notes.
We talked about the molecule of water and how when it moves slower (cold) it becomes solid, and when it moves faster (hot) it becomes vapor or gas. We waved our hands fast and slow because kids learn better with motion
We talked about how hydrogen two atoms and one oxygen atom make a molecule of water.
September 18: Teach a short lesson from a chapter of study. Debrief to tell if/how this method helped you recognize your learning.
