I’d like to return to the question of listening. Since we launched The Fix, two weeks ago, we’ve all had time to assess and consider further innovations to the audio offerings (amongst other innovations). Here are some quick observations that I’d make after two weeks of ‘Fixing’.
- The Fix deepens the learning experience.
- It can be used to preview or review lessons.
- It can act as a recall strategy, a test, or as way to generate utterances.
- It has added a new dimension in that it prompts speaking, pronunciation, etc. (This isn’t full blown conversation, of course, but it’s the next best thing.)
All of this fits the Velcro Theory of learning. You may recall that Velcro has those little hooks and little loops. The more hooks fit into the loops, the better the Velcro sticks. For the sake of argument, it’s fair to say that memory works in a way that is not dissimilar: More exposures to an item mean more chance that those little synaptic hooks connect with those little synaptic loops. In this way we can build even a very large conceptual structure (an interlanguage) by increasing these associations/hooks/neural pathways.
And as I never tire of saying, learning multi-dimensional. Consequently, going over the same thing in the same way again and again isn’t the most effective learning strategy. Hearing, seeing, figuring out the same items in different contexts, creates different hooks, different associations. Emotional interaction provides one kind of hook, as does guesswork, usage, etc. (More dimensions lessen the need for rote memorization.) Using your broader personality to experience the input is natural, interesting, and multi-dimensional. It certainly makes it more sticky.
Which is why we want to bring more dimensions to the audio. Thinking, inferring, guessing, and generating speech - all these things are designed to deepen the audio experience. So does having a good time - Jenny, Amber, Connie make the experience pleasant - don’t you agree?
I feel we’re just at the beginning of where we could go with this, so I definitely want to get the Big Brain on the case. So, two questions for you:
- What has been your experience with The Fix?
- What suggestions or additions would you suggest for the audio?
Feel free.
Btw, Qing Wen is part of this process, but it will be the subject of a whole ‘nother discussion.
Ken Carroll
中文 Chinese
fengmaode Says:
July 5th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
I love The Fix! I only wish it included all supplemental vocabulary and all expansion phrases. Other than that, I love it. All of your recent positive changes have convinced me to make the change from a monthly subscriber to an annual subscriber.
Lantian Says:
July 5th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
98% - I think that the exposures are very sensitive. Starting from the time we first started talking about Kaufmann, I realized that many of my ‘effective’ techniques at studying Chinese involved components of repeated exposure, understanding context, and a high-percentage of understanding.
In the past I had scanned the newspaper, but my comprehension was at the 20-30% mark and I think over time it didn’t help that much. This is the same with some of my Chinese conversations. When my comprehension drops to something like 60-70% there is much less learning and absorbing going on.
In contrast, when I read a comic series by the same author, his repeated use of the same words and my looking them up, eventually I picked up a lot of words. The same is true of my high-absorption conversations. When a conversation partner just re-inserts the word into some other context or conversation which I am understanding quite well, the vocab is acquired quite easily. This has happened a lot in my playing tennis over the last year. Everyone speaks in Chinese and I hear over and over short statements they make while playing. Thus from this activity I have learned a lot of words aurally. The word becomes very deep and well learned when I then re-hear and see the hanzi at Cpod.
As a practical matter in how to create this kind of virtuous circle, I would say that currently the Cpod team does not make a concerted effort to re-hash words over time. Naturally some of this happens when there is a single author of dialogues, and natural conversational high-frequency of words.
But why not insert into the development process a review and expansion of the core vocab into other formats (the movies, the extra stuff, etc. etc.). There is some of that in the Expansion exercises, but not across time and formats. Right?
Tech wise, if the search function could return specific context at a more discrete level, I could seek-and-obtain more exposures to words I’d like to know.
For example right now, if I do a search on a Chinese word, I get a return of several podcasts. It is uncertain where in that podcast the word is, or whether it is a homonymn, etc., etc. If the search returned specific text, audio passages that I could schedule up, then I could in essence create enough velcro to make acquisition easy.
Bazza 白锐 Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 12:22 am
What about a show that covers a single sentence pattern each time?
For example: 能不能给我…………？
Mike in Singapore Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 4:51 am
The image of Velcro is made by a SEM. Scanning Electron Microscope. This is one of the products I am responsible for in Asia.
Mike in Singapore (formerly Jubei0
Michael Butler Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 10:04 am
What a fantastic image. But unfortunately the Velcro analogy of what happens in the brain is not accurate. I would venture that in its details it is more mistaken than appropriate.
The usefulness of analogies does not however depend completely on their accuracy. And this analogy is useful in the sense of reinforcing the idea (with this beautiful image) of the importance of multiple inputs.
But we need to remember that inputs are not equal. There is recognition in language learning circles that some input is way more valuable than other input. Moreover, some input, no matter what form it is in is not available to the brain because it is too complex. Generally speaking the idea is to get input in the right sequence, at the right time, in the right amount. I would be wary of putting too much weight on the idea that states that “the greater the amount and/or variety of inputs, the better.”
There is something that is called the law of diminishing returns. This law tells us (as students) to be efficient with our time, and pursue optimal inputs along an optimal reinforcement schedule. The catch is that what is optimal for each of us is different.
Since Chinesepod has such a wide audience there is obviously a great variety in learning styles. Not everyone is going to react to the same tool in a similar fashion. However, if a tool helps 10% of the people, and the pool of people is huge, then the tool is going to be able to help a large number of people.
But this is not the same thing as suggesting for an individual student that the more tools the better. Each tool takes time to use and if your time is limited you could be using it learning something quite different.
As these tools mount up, I personally would hesitate to suggest that for the individual student the more tools the better. But then in my teaching I am an advocate of the law of Diminishing Returns and appreciate the thinking behind Ockham’s Razor.
coljac Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
I’m loving the fix - I keep these mp3s in the mix long after I’ve wearied of the lesson and its dialog, to help reinforce (of course).
My concrete suggestions:
1. Add the extended vocab into the list.
2. I find the expansion sentences can be too difficult to recall in the allotted time. For instance, the lesson “She’s Easy” had the word 恐怖 (terrifying) in the vocab list, but to be able to repeat the example sentence, I needed the words for “autopsy” and “scene”. So, to be able to repeat the sentences, I need to remember the lesson vocab as well as a bunch of words that aren’t on a list anywhere, and I need to remember them without the initial reinforcement. But I’d like to be able to repeat the sentences (or rather, independently invent them using what I know plus the lesson’s vocab words), Pimsleur style.
-Colin
Ken Carroll Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Mike in Singapore! We’ve missed you. Why so quiet? Do tel us more.
I’ll try to post on the other comments over the weekend.
Ken Carroll
AuntySue Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
coljac, this is how I do the Fix when there’s extra words I don’t know (and that’s most of the time). I know how to make the sentence, so I substitute English for one of the words while still maintaining the Chinese sentence pattern. That serves the intended educational purpose, after all, the task/test relates to the use of a different word. When that sentence comes round again, then I’ve heard the Chinese for the unknown word once, and it falls out of my mouth on queue.
Jane Says:
August 28th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
For over two months I had no internet available to me.
I made sure to take a bank of lessons with me to keep in touch with Ken and Jenny.
When I could connect with Chinesepod again I was surprised and delighted with the changes. I think the Fix is most important and helpful. I agree with the Podies who have requested the full expansion and supplementary vocabulary be included. Keep up the good work!