UPDATES ON ILW🚲 (INTERACTIONAL LANGUAGE WORKOUT)
P. S. MARCH 2017:
I believe these lucubrations have the capacity to generate a language teaching/learning method that can be a tool for all those having enough dedication in the way somebody devotes to exercising in a gymnasium, which is very different from traditional learning in a classroom. May God forgive me for being so optimistic, but I believe this will be a giant advancement in the evolution of language teaching. In these hypotheses is the seed of an approach that can be a match to the others.
Obviously that future approach can borrow the principles of the communicative, which has meant such an enormous advancement in the history of language teaching; yet, I think the communicative approach has an enormous flaw in its calculations, which is proposing to emulate in the classroom the reality of life (which sounds pretty), but is unrealizable. There cannot be such thing as bringing reality into the language classroom. It is some naiveness that has been proven widely.
Given the lack of reality in the language classroom and of the opportunities that a few have for immersion learning[1], my notes attempt to propose some techniques and strategies that will have demonstrated, (after the research) to have an effectiveness superior to traditional language classrooms, which are slow for learning, inefficient and where real life is not emulated effectively as the communicative approach proposes.
ILW🚲 (Interactional Language Workout) proposes to make up for the absence of oportunities that emulate real life with strong “training” in a “gymnasium”, a “gymnasium” with all the devices and the nutrients that the gymnast needs, including the sufficient amount of language vitamins , proteins, and minerals that wanting or needing to learn a language requires; and with tutorships when the student considers it necessary. The method, when it comes out into the market, should have a portable device, designed exclusively to practice spinning with videos and movies, listen to the audios and the music and do the testing recordings that the tutor and the curriculum require from the gymnast.
From this perspective, this approach or method could serve mainly college students of all areas (including modern language students). After the method has been created, it is just a matter of the student having the immediate need or the intense desire for learning for the results to show up. I have the strong conviction that the key to the success of ILW🚲 (Interactional Language Workout) lies in the fact that it can prove that it can produce results superior to the other approaches to language learning. It could also be used for adult courses with tutorship via internet or in person, programmed by topics or lessons.
Personally I think that in the future self-learning, with supervision by the teacher, and homeschooling are going to play an important role in teaching in general; this with mandatory curriculum sponsored by the government and the mediation of high technology in the presentation and crafting of the contents. I think it has been so far such a waste of learning capacity, especially from the most skilled students. As a matter of fact, the Colombian curriculum is based on the premise that if a learner does not feel like learning a given content, there is no need to force him. It has been said that teachers should turn themselves less in “teachers” and more in “facilitators.”
For these principles to have validity and application in the Colombian high school environments, a method would have to be produced in which the contents are delivered via high technology with a great turnaround in learning methods and schedules, devoting the afternoon hours exclusively to learning English. Learning a second language is a necessity urgent enough in today's world as for, now with the full shift[2] in Colombian schools, more time from the student can be devoted to achieving this objective.
Tests could be carried out with 11th grade students and after showing good results and the example of the oldest, continue with 10th grade; and so on until reaching an age as young as possible. It would be a change of mentality in the student. As an analogy let us think about some pills that could be taken for learning a language. If those pills existed, the entire planet would want to buy them and nobody would complain that they are not communicative enough.
It could be a research proposal to be presented to the education ministry, but before that, some preliminary research would have to be done that could demonstrate that we are on the right path and if possible to have results to show. If a method could be developed that shows to be more effective and that achieves better results in less time, it would only be a matter of convincing the student to initiate “training” with the method, which would only be possible after showing proof to the skeptical that it really works (a vicious circle). I would expect motivation to be exponential after having tangible results.
The hypotheses in this article propose that being language learning by all methods currently in the market unbearably slow, it is possible to create a faster and more effective one having self-learning, small talk, and spinning as the basis of it. It is adviceable to check the following webpage: THE PYMSLEUR METHOD™ (http://www.pimsleur.com/the-pimsleur-method) because the method described there incorporates techniques and strategies that are complimentary with my observations on small talk.
"Dr. Pimsleur’s research on memory was perhaps one of his most revolutionary achievements… Effective communication in any language depends on mastery of a relatively limited number of words and structures. Trying to learn too much at once substantially slows the process, and many people quickly become discouraged..." (http://www.pimsleur.com/the-pimsleur-method).
I think that in order to carry out the research that turns these hypotheses into principles of language learning and develop the approach and the method, a huge amount of money would be needed that could only be obtained if, with a well structured justification, several institutions could be persuaded about the need of the method and the benefits it could bring to the country and humanity. Those institutions could be: Ministry of Education, SENA[3], one or several Colombian Universities, one or several foreign Universities, the USA embassy, call centers, etc.; but it would be a titanic task that could only be initiated by a prestigious institution, like a university, whose staff should be convinced of the potential of these observations to generate change and significative advancement in the language learning field. Things do not look easy at all.
From my current situation, it is absolutely imposible for me to advance further than expounded in these notes. In the periods of October, 2007 and May, 2010 until today; I have been completely unemployed. But God knows how to do things because I have used those “sabbatical leave years” to develop these and other lucubrations that keep my mind busy.
Many of the notes would require research works. Anybody wanting to undertake these tasks individually is welcome and the future of humanity would be thankful, especially if we could put a link to such works so that all humanity can partake in them.
P. S. APRIL 2018:
Recently, my friend Archer Bishop made some observations about my notes on language learning/teaching which made me think that the title was inappropriate for the content, so I had to make the decision of changing it. They are now called “ILW🚲 (Interactional Language Workout) V0.01 Discussion Topics.”
When the notes were first posted back in 2015, they were entitled “Interaction Approach Discussion Topics.” It seems I had not spent enough time to make sure the title was right. I recognize my mistake and apologize for it; and I do have a whole list of excuses for my not having done that. However, they are conditions that still persist and that is why, by the time being, I cannot do a better job of advancing work on the notes.
Reading the notes again gives me the feeling that they’re definitely valuable conclusions that can give origin to important contributions in the language learning/teaching field. In the future, there will be at the very least one institution exploring their potential: either Saint Michael Archangel Corporation or Without Border Foundation.
