on TAIPEI Kil'n time in Taipei - Community Services Center
on TAIPEI Kil'n time in Taipei - Community Services Center
on TAIPEI Kil'n time in Taipei - Community Services Center
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are more c<strong>on</strong>fident or advanced<br />
can also <strong>in</strong>advertently dom<strong>in</strong>ate.<br />
Asian students d<strong>on</strong>'t like to<br />
<strong>in</strong>terrupt and are very wary of<br />
social status. While learn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>on</strong>l<strong>in</strong>e can alleviate some types<br />
of shyness, the <strong>on</strong>l<strong>in</strong>e tutor<br />
needs to be aware of standard<br />
classroom management, so that<br />
no particular <strong>in</strong>dividual takes<br />
over the group and eventually<br />
silences other members", Turner says.<br />
Flexibility and c<strong>on</strong>venience<br />
Men<strong>on</strong> says that it is c<strong>on</strong>venience that is his<br />
number-<strong>on</strong>e sales pitch. What he means by 'c<strong>on</strong>venience'<br />
is a lot about portability or mobility. He says that his<br />
service will probably face future competiti<strong>on</strong> from live,<br />
<strong>on</strong>l<strong>in</strong>e tutor<strong>in</strong>g companies, which offer flexible schedules.<br />
But he rightly po<strong>in</strong>ts out that his service has no schedul<strong>in</strong>g<br />
restricti<strong>on</strong>s at all; it can be used everywhere: at the<br />
gym, <strong>in</strong> the car, and <strong>on</strong> campuses such as Providence<br />
University, where he developed a customized versi<strong>on</strong> of<br />
his back-end database and search technology. For Turner,<br />
her killer sell<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>t is another c<strong>on</strong>cept of c<strong>on</strong>venience:<br />
<strong>time</strong>. She says Ch<strong>in</strong>ese learners of English have difficult<br />
employment or academic schedules to work around, so<br />
the ample flexibility offered by her company's method<br />
means people can have less<strong>on</strong>s dur<strong>in</strong>g their lunch, before<br />
work or (<strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly), late at night. She says that by<br />
2011 at least half of the <strong>on</strong>l<strong>in</strong>e adult schools will be<br />
offer<strong>in</strong>g tutors 24/7; this will be d<strong>on</strong>e by hir<strong>in</strong>g staff<br />
across several English-speak<strong>in</strong>g c<strong>on</strong>t<strong>in</strong>ents.<br />
However, <strong>in</strong> the actual teach<strong>in</strong>g practices <strong>in</strong>volved,<br />
Men<strong>on</strong> and Turner go their separate ways, accord<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to the strengths and weaknesses of the methods they<br />
have chosen. For Men<strong>on</strong> it is currently all about<br />
customizati<strong>on</strong>, no doubt c<strong>on</strong>nect<strong>in</strong>g with the earlier<br />
characteristic of learner empathy. His support material is<br />
enormous; transcripts <strong>in</strong> both simplified and traditi<strong>on</strong>al<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese, special vocabulary lists that cover (for <strong>in</strong>stance)<br />
colors, the seas<strong>on</strong>s and festivals, and the producti<strong>on</strong> of<br />
extra less<strong>on</strong>s c<strong>on</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g specialist language such travel<br />
and bus<strong>in</strong>ess Mandar<strong>in</strong>. In terms of customizati<strong>on</strong> of<br />
technology he says, "The service has <strong>in</strong>troduced features<br />
(such as transcripts that play <strong>on</strong> the screens of MP3<br />
players, and mobile flashcards review<strong>in</strong>g characters and<br />
vocabulary), and there will so<strong>on</strong> be c<strong>on</strong>tent compatible<br />
with the new generati<strong>on</strong> of touch-screen laptops". In<br />
a sign that he is start<strong>in</strong>g to offer serious competiti<strong>on</strong> to<br />
real classrooms, he recently <strong>in</strong>troduced a service where<br />
subscribers can record and email their less<strong>on</strong> dialogs for<br />
later feedback.<br />
For Turner and her Mandar<strong>in</strong>-speak<strong>in</strong>g English<br />
learners, it's all about feedback. She makes a comparis<strong>on</strong><br />
to MP3 download services and says there is "no orig<strong>in</strong>al<br />
thought be<strong>in</strong>g provoked; even if the MP3 had a questi<strong>on</strong><br />
and the student answered it, they're not gett<strong>in</strong>g any<br />
feedback, so they d<strong>on</strong>'t know if their answer makes any<br />
sense; students learn<strong>in</strong>g via MP3 are not putt<strong>in</strong>g what<br />
they've learned <strong>in</strong>to practice. Even giv<strong>in</strong>g very elementary<br />
material <strong>in</strong> MP3 format can<br />
be risky, because many people<br />
actually cannot hear basic<br />
vowel sounds, which can create<br />
bad habits that are hard to<br />
break," says Turner. Regard<strong>in</strong>g<br />
her company's method, she<br />
also th<strong>in</strong>ks that because of<br />
the teleph<strong>on</strong>e-like <strong>in</strong>teracti<strong>on</strong>,<br />
students c<strong>on</strong>centrate a lot<br />
more <strong>on</strong> pitch and <strong>in</strong>t<strong>on</strong>ati<strong>on</strong>,<br />
compared to normal classrooms, where the teacher and<br />
students are often distracted by other factors, such as<br />
body language, facial gestures or even white-boards.<br />
Learner advice<br />
Expatriates liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a Mandar<strong>in</strong>-speak<strong>in</strong>g envir<strong>on</strong>ment<br />
are at a huge advantage as they can practice at least<br />
some of what they have learned, no matter the method,<br />
by simply stepp<strong>in</strong>g outside their door and head<strong>in</strong>g for<br />
the nearest market. Furthermore, many expatriates<br />
have found that they have enough <strong>time</strong> to comb<strong>in</strong>e<br />
several different methods at <strong>on</strong>ce. For Ch<strong>in</strong>ese who<br />
are learn<strong>in</strong>g English, the above <strong>in</strong>sights can be useful<br />
to formulate a plan that could beg<strong>in</strong> with many of<br />
the free <strong>on</strong>l<strong>in</strong>e resources, progress<strong>in</strong>g to c<strong>on</strong>versati<strong>on</strong><br />
practice and then structural re<strong>in</strong>forcement <strong>in</strong> face-to-face<br />
classes. This descripti<strong>on</strong> is very close to what traditi<strong>on</strong>al<br />
classroom educators call 'blended learn<strong>in</strong>g', def<strong>in</strong>ed as a<br />
comb<strong>in</strong>ati<strong>on</strong> of multiple approaches, which may <strong>in</strong>clude<br />
self-paced learn<strong>in</strong>g, collaborati<strong>on</strong> or mentor<strong>in</strong>g. The<br />
delivery of services may <strong>in</strong>clude virtual and physical<br />
resources, for example comb<strong>in</strong>ati<strong>on</strong>s of technology-based<br />
materials, face-to-face sessi<strong>on</strong>s and pr<strong>in</strong>t materials.<br />
Overall, it is probably too early, <strong>in</strong> the c<strong>on</strong>t<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g<br />
evoluti<strong>on</strong> of the World Wide Web, to attempt an accurate<br />
guess about which <strong>on</strong>l<strong>in</strong>e methods may br<strong>in</strong>g the best<br />
results. There are also many other pedagogical and<br />
practical factors, such as pers<strong>on</strong>al learn<strong>in</strong>g style, <strong>on</strong>l<strong>in</strong>e<br />
and offl<strong>in</strong>e c<strong>on</strong>venience, student locati<strong>on</strong> and, perhaps<br />
above all, the costs <strong>in</strong>volved. However <strong>in</strong> the examples<br />
exam<strong>in</strong>ed here, it does seem that learners of Mandar<strong>in</strong> are<br />
gett<strong>in</strong>g a better deal, with several <strong>on</strong>l<strong>in</strong>e offer<strong>in</strong>gs. One<br />
th<strong>in</strong>g is certa<strong>in</strong>: as you read these words, educators and<br />
students are look<strong>in</strong>g further afield, experiment<strong>in</strong>g with<br />
handheld devices, wireless and many other technologies<br />
to enhance their language learn<strong>in</strong>g enterprises and<br />
experiences.<br />
Before mov<strong>in</strong>g to Asia, Glen Clifford was a full<strong>time</strong><br />
commercial radio producer/announcer. He has<br />
established 'Talk-To-Me,' a bus<strong>in</strong>ess specializ<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
event/media voice work and foreign c<strong>on</strong>sultancy. He<br />
has a degree <strong>in</strong> Media/Mul<strong>time</strong>dia Producti<strong>on</strong>, graduate<br />
studies <strong>in</strong> Internati<strong>on</strong>al Journalism and a MA <strong>in</strong><br />
New Media and Society. He has a website at: www.<br />
glenclifford.com<br />
june 2010<br />
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