Michele has a few questions in this larger email to me. I defer to my colleagues on the question about TPR:
I know that Ben is always revisiting Susie. I have just watched all of the Susie videos in the three-video set. Can you believe that, while my school paid for those, I hadn’t had a chance to watch them ’till now? They’ve been so much watched that the last forty minutes of the first one are worn out, so I missed some, but I got everything else including the Problem with Good.
All I can say is, “Wow.” There was so much there that helped me. I loved the brain picture, and the slow explanation of acquisition. I’ve been mouthing the “acquisition, not learning” idea but now I feel like I understand it. I had found my TPR books and tried an experiment on my adult single student the other day to use TPR to teach her some vocabulary that was going to be in the story we were going to read. I told her I wanted to practice, because I was thinking that maybe I should do TPR for the first few weeks to get in a bunch of vocabulary next year. It didn’t go well. I know that I went too fast, for one thing, and that means I don’t really know whether it would work. But she also said that she was very aware of “learning.” She kept saying, “I have to think,” when usually we just hang out and talk, or so it seems to her. Having just done that to her, I was ripe to hear again that acquisition is effortless.
Does either of you have any opinion on the TPR-from-the-beginning idea? I’ve done TPRS from the first day the last couple of years, and it seems to have been fine–probably I shouldn’t mess with what works, right?!
I also loved Susie’s complete explanation of “nothing motivates like success,” and loved all the demonstrations of how to make that success happen. I’m tempted to make all my newbies required to watch these six hours next fall so that they come prepared to our assessment discussion, which is the first thing that they’ll have, otherwise.
Most of all, I guess I’m amazed that after two years of facilitating discussions about TPRS, hanging out on Ben’s blog and moretprs and yahoo, practicing using TPRS/CI in my classes, two workshops with Katya, one NTPRS, a workshop with Kristy, two WEEKS with Susie, a workshop with Blaine, and separate presentations with Ben, Susie, and Scott, I can still learn so much from watching six hours with Susie. Am I just totally slow? Or is it just hard to truly acquire this?
The Problem with CI
Jeffrey Sachs was asked what the difference between people in Norway and in the U.S. was. He responded that people in Norway are happy and
24 thoughts on “TPR Question”
I use TPR at the beginning of the year for several reasons:
-Students have not, for the most part, been in a structured environment where they must sit still for extended periods of time. TPR gets them up and moving, provides them with a “brain break”.
-Students have not been cooped up in a building against their will for hours at a time. TPR gives me a chance to take them outside into the “fresh” air. (Remember, I teach in Orange County, CA.)
-We often do not do enough for kinesthetic learners. TPR allows me to provide them with a solid foundation that gestures can build on later in the year.
-Through “novel commands” – even something as simple as “stand on the chair” – students are introduced to the idea that “learning” another language is enjoyable and not just another sit in their chairs and take notes/do worksheets class. (Each year I am amazed by the number of students who think it is the coolest thing in the world to be told to stand on the chair in the classroom or on the picnic tables in the Quad.)
-By watching students during TPR I often get a good sense of who is interested, who is ready to concentrate on the class, who is interested in talking to friends, who will be a good barometer student, etc.
-By demonstrating the commands I show students that everyone in class participates.
-By demonstrating “take out”, “put in”, “open”, “close”, etc. I am already teaching them the vocabulary necessary to do the business of the class. The rest of the year they have no hesitation responding to directions like “Nehmt ein Stück Papier”, “Gebt mir das Papier”, “Schreib deinen Namen”, “Macht das Heft auf”, etc., etc.
-TPR is a good way to help establish that the language of the classroom is German. Students learn vocabulary by doing it without even seeing it in English, let alone hearing it.
-TPR helps me practice staying in the language the entire time, since there is no need to explain what I am demonstrating.
This summer at iFLT Berty Segal is going to do some serious demonstration of TPR, including the Three-Ring Circus. I’m definitely looking forward to that portion of the conference. (Of course, I’m looking forward to the whole conference.) Come and learn some Yiddish!
I don’t think you are slow – or else I am just as slow. CI is a total paradigm shift, and reprogramming your thinking is tough. The teachers who acquired their language through CI will have an easier time of it because the method will seem natural to them. Earlier today I was reading “The Silver Chair”, and I think a passage from the book expresses it nicely. (I’m paraphrasing because I don’t have the passage in front of me and I read it in German during FVR.) “It is impossible to throw off in ten minutes all of the effects of an enchantment that has lasted ten years.” This is said about Prince Rilian after he has been freed from the magic of the Green Witch and is preparing to fight her. I think it applies to the thinking that has bewitched foreign language teaching for many years as well – we can’t throw off the old enchantments quite as easily as we would like.
And Robert the throwing off of the enchantment, whenever it occurs on a large scale, sooner or later, will to some degree be a function of the other recent blog entry you sent to us about fun. And Michele, I would like to address your question here as well, where you asked above: “Or is it just hard to truly acquire this?” My impression is that the answer to that question is intimately connected to the term fun. I have been thinking a lot about fun for years now in what I do in my classroom. I have been kind of afraid to really try to bring it in real strong. There has always been a sense of “I can’t have too much fun.” I am now convinced that it is a kind of inability/fear that wants to prevent fun from happening, that keeps us clinging to books, verb charts, shit like that. Isn’t all of this breaking of enchantments stuff really about just allowing/accepting our natural human propensity to be happy take hold in our daily lives? Are not school buildings so freaking intimidating that we feel really weird when just smiling and laughing in them? But that is what we need to do. Learning how to teach using CI is not enough – we can’t just expect to learn it and all of a sudden we are doing it. Otherwise, there would not be the 95% burnout factor on people who have tried to learn CI but failed. They didn’t fail because they are stupid, they failed because they were afraid to deviate from the old ideas of what teachers are – sourpusses who like to lord it over kids. Most teachers would never think of themselves, of course, as sourpusses who like to lord it over kids, but in spite of the blinders they wear, in the kids’ minds they really are sourpusses who like to lord it over kids. No, the fun factor must be there. The kids are always trying, wanting, to teach us how to laugh and how to lighten it up. But we see that as rebellion. How screwed up is that? Our kids look at us and, when we tell them that we are serious teachers, their Little Princes become very upset and they say that we are not teachers, but mushrooms. They are right. I am calling for a general strike against the squelching of fun in our classrooms next year. And I’m not talking about fun via a cool verb conjugation song or a game of telephone in the classroom. I am talking about massive amounts of FUN comprehensible input all the time, most of it generated by the students. I say that laughter is the key to what we are doing. Laughter. I say that CI cannot really work in a spirit devoid of fun, because, without fun and an open heart, the effects of the enchantment are just too thick. Too thick.
Robert and Ben,
Both of you write in a way that is compelling. Love the “enchantment” line. I wish that I were going to be with you to watch TPR. Four of our Alaskans will be there, so make sure at least one of them sees Berty, okay? Robert, do you have a template for your TPR, or do you make it up as you go? Do you follow the 3-words-at-a-time rule? If you have a script, could you share it? (I could figure out the German, if so.)
Robert, since you’re a Narnia fan, you may recognize the scene in “The Last Battle” I read that to both of my Spanish 2 classes on the last day of school (level 2 is as high as we go, so this was part of my farewell). The dwarves are sitting free in a sunny meadow, but believe themselves to be locked inside a dark, smelly shed. I urged my students to not let themselves be locked in a shed of their own negativity. I had many kids who missed out on learning this year, because they were so sure I wasn’t teaching “right.” As they grumbled amongst themselves outside class, they made their prediction come true–they couldn’t learn much Spanish this way. One of my three class rules is “Keep it positive” and I believe in that more than ever now. I’m going to start all my classes with this reading next year. (Actually, I have a dramatized audio version of the series and I’m going to play that–English, but well worth it for helping them visualize what negativity does to our brains.)
And an answer to the original question about TPR:
I’m a believer! I use it all year long in Spanish 1 and the #1 complaint from Spanish 2 is the lack of actions. I’ve explained so many times that there isn’t an action (that I can think of) for words like “he returns” “I miss him,” but they have been actually resentful of not having TPR for everything.
I start talking with the kids immediately, so I don’t have a separate “TPR phase” as some do. We do a simple story the second week of class. TPR is simply woven through the class as a way of reinforcing language. I agree with all of Robert’s rationale for using TPR. The acquisition rate is just too huge to miss this.
How about asking the kids to suggest gestures or look at ASL!
I also have huge success with TPR the first month or two of class, after which I usually limit it. I started out with a huge TPR unit last year, almost to the point of too much. This year, I limited it, and when it started getting a little dry (5 minutes) I would go to a kid and start a Personalized Mini-Story or something from their questionnaire, sometimes only lasting 5 minutes itself, then back to some TPR or something else. The point is, I had much better success with willing engagement this year by switching it up often and kind of blurring the lines between the two (TPR and PQA). Robert, you explain all the reasons very well for doing TPR.
Michele, I really like Karen Rowan’s TPR guide that goes with, oh, I forget the name of the textbook, Realidades??? She goes through the steps (in spanish) and provides tons of funny novel commands to do to increase the fun level.
Rita, if your students really miss the TPR, as my groups have also mentioned (because they feel they are learning so much when we do it, which they are) you might be surprised at what they come up with for “returns” or “I miss him”. Or, if you don’t want to go there, maybe you can look up the ASL sign.
Speaking of movement, I had a couple students tell me on the end-of-year eval that they would like me to have them act out something more often (parts of stories or whatever) while I say it. I can understand why, as this is also something that I get a lot out of when taking the FF classes.
Rita, thanks for the reminder of that scene. Yes, Aslan says that they are so determined not to be “taken in” that they can’t be “taken out”. I will have to consider reading that to my students as well – though most of mine don’t have the same negative attitude toward CI that many of you see. I’ve been getting results long enough for the students to understand that the class is “easier” but the acquisition is better than with grammar-driven instruction. After all, students actually want to be able to use the language.
I also don’t do solely TPR at the beginning of school, but a larger part of the class period is TPR than is later the case.
Michele, I know the feeling. Sometimes I feel like I have caught the lightening in the bottle and other times I have to stop to remember what I am doing. I am going to wear Susie’s 3 disc set out before I leave for California. Robert is correct, CI is indeed a paradigm shift.
I asked my students to self-evaluate their overall participation in class today. At the end, I asked them to tell me what we did in class that really helped them learn French. I also asked them if they felt that they had really learned some French. Their reponses were fascinating and I thought of a comment you made awhile back about your students who still had a yen for grammar worksheets. I really chuckled when I saw that a few of them still crave the worksheets so they feel like they are “really” learning. I have repeated over and over that aquisition should feel effortless – something that happens in the sub conscious and that leaning should feel more difficult with more effort required. I was particularly intetersted to read the comments of my French 1 students who have some years – in some cases 5 or more – of French behind them. What they all universally loved was music. Especially my French 1 students who loved the Alain Lelait songs that I brought back from San Antonio. I would have never believed that I would see my freshmen singing and gesturing to “Les Poissons”! I kind of got away from the music, but it seems to be a real positive. Another thing I want to more of is film. If I can figure out a way to teach structures to discuss a film, I will have found something powerful – like the discussion on pictures. There is so much to chose from. Many mentioned gestures as a thing that really helped. My readers loved the reading. Some loved dictation; others not so much, but I think it’s very valuable to do dictation. Anyway, here are some of my students random thoughts:
French 1
“Reading and translating helped me the most. I got better at French than five years (of study).”
“Stories and pictures were helpful. I took French since pre-k. I learned more vocab this year than all others. ”
“The stories were very helpful b/c you let us make up a fun story line that kept me interested.”
“When you asked us if we understood when you know that we didn’t.”
“Reading the stories was helpful b/c I like to read, so I learned a lot of new words and used context clues. I don’t know if I can say it outloud, but I’m pretty sure I can put things together in my head.”
French 2
” Hearing French constantly helped even if you told us about random stuff, your day, etc. Dictation was very helpful, mais la musique etait tres bonne! More writing, a little more grammar. Immersion. We will stop you if we don’t understand. Immerse! More speaking!”
I am so glad that I asked this question. Please don’t get the imprression that all was positive, but it was way more positive than I was expecting – they are hard to read sometimes. I told them about my trip to California and that I would probably come back with tons of new and crazy ideas. Ben, regarding fun. I seem to remember that my most memorable classes were the ones that were light hearted and fun, but it was based on rock solid pedagogy and respect for what the teacher brought to the table. This is where the importance of a willingness to continue honing our collective CI skills really becomes crucial. I am on my way, but still far from where I want to be. Sometimes the idea of fun administered poorly can lead to a class that no one takes seriously but seeing kids leaving a classroom singing and laughing sure beats the alternative.
Jim’s suggestion about the pacing of PQA and TPR sounds great.
Can’t wait for September! Well maybe not quite.
Chill, I am with you on the vocab to discuss films! There is so much I want to share with them. I always introduce vocabulary they will hear in the film (mostly nouns and short phrases) and always ask them who their “personnage préféré” was but I think it would be fantastique to come up with ideas to help students discuss films. I hope that all of us interested in this can collaborate! Please share ideas mes amis! Let’s continue this tread during the summer!?
Michèle, re; TPR , I love it and see how it helps my kids. I see them doing actions we have created in class when thinking of the words/phrases. It does help. Last year I created Power Point presentations with cool pictures (at least I thought they were cool, and I could see that the visuals caught their attention). I used them to introduce 5 words per week while we were working on the beginning of the year PQA, etc. The first or second day of school I introduce my first 5 words. (A Cow, s/he throws, the moon, s/he cries, who?) Some engaging (hopefully) nouns, some fun verbs, and one question word, much harder to act out but still… I can tell you that everyone in my classes remembers all of these words and uses them all year long. It really sets the tone in my classes because getting a bunch of kids (adolescents I should say) moooing like cows on day one or two just beats the hell out of reading over the syllabus!! This year I really tried to do more stories and get more reps in 1st and 2nd person plural. We did TPR and chanted “Nous pouvons”/”Podemos” complete with fists in the air! It really worked and I love that they can access that now when other things are not as easy to find.
This is a sweet thread I hope we can continue this discussion! Merci tout le monde!
I’ve been thinking that I would like to do more real TPR next year. This year I did a lot of out-of-context gestures… And Jim, thanks for pointing out the TPR guide in Realidades. I’ll definitely check that out! Out of the available books on TPR does anyone have any preferences for improving skills/engaging kids with it?
Also, I think that TPRS is a huge acquisition process. I watched Susie’s DVDs last summer and then rewatched two of 3 disks on Tuesday. some of it was almost brand new to me. I think that we acquire what we’re ready for, just like the kids learning language. And what we’re ready for varies from teacher to teacher.
I’d really like to do more student generated stories next year. They kind of flopped this year the two times I tried them… The students weren’t confident at writing them and they weren’t very interested in the results. I think part of it was that we really didn’t do stories this year. I just couldn’t seem to make them happen with our massive vocab learning frenzy. We did PQA and gestures. We didn’t do a lot of freewriting either, so they had not had a lot of preparation. So those are among my goals for next year. Any other suggestions for getting good student generated stories?
Here’s something I did today: We gestured several words/structures, most of which were review. Then we read a story. To show they were understanding, every time I said one of the target vocabulary structures, the class had to do the gesture. Then we acted out the story – about a kid who is failing all of his classes for various reasons. Every time I said something that “Adrian” didn’t do (e.g. didn’t take notes, didn’t run in PE), the whole rest of the class had to do it while “Adrian” just stood there. The two favorite terms were “muede” (tired) because everyone got to put their head down on the desk and “schlaegt mit dem Lineal” (hits with the ruler) because they got to bang on their desks – some even got out their rulers to use. It’s so nice to have something to engage the entire class in the last week of school.
I’ve done TPR at the beginning of classes/schoolyears for most of my career, and have found it to be an excellent (FUN!) way to develop a routine for the beginning of the class period…sometimes followed by a sit-down rejoinder exercise. Students also learn the vocabulary quickly for classroom objects (“Point to the ___!”) and directions right/left/forward/back/down/up.
Here’s mine, which I’ve just been calling “Die Routine”…
Finger ineinander verschränken. (intertwine fingers)
Nach oben strecken. (stretch up)
Nach links/rechts….weiter nach links/rechts. (left/right…further left)
Streckt nach unten, bis zum Boden. (stretch down to the floor)
Berührt ihn. (Touch it.)
Kopf/Schulter/Arme/Beine/alles schütteln.
(shake head/shoulders/arme/ everything)
Tief durch die Nase einatmen…tiefer…ausatmen.
(inhale deeply through the nose…deeper….exhale)
It helps the class focus, and the routine sets the tone for a more active class. My middle school students can lead this on their own after a couple months, and they actually enjoy being given the chance to lead the class in something fun and familiar.
Thanks Chill! I’m with Ruth in never having thought to focus on discussion vocabulary when it comes to films, etc. In looking at ways to adapt to the needs/interests of upper level classes in particular where you are looking for ways to start structure more output for those who are ready for it, working through discussion phrases and familiarizing students with them first as input is a great way to go.
In some ways, discussions themselves are a specific linguistic context that have their own unique subset of high-frequency terms such as “On the other hand/for example / according to / in my opinion” etc.. Creating the natural context for those terms within a TPRS setting (such as doing an “Ebert and Roper” film review story) makes a lot of sense. I’ve been a bit frustrated with myself this year at my inability to get a lot of good discussions going about films I’ve shown. Hmmm…maybe they just didn’t know how to discuss it in German. Makes sense.
Nathan I used to have a book (French only) that had lists of such expressions like “one the other hand” and such. It was called L’Art de la Conversation but I fear it is way out of print. Internet might have such lists. If I taught upper levels again I would certainly have those on the wall to laser point to when the kid needed it.
I found some lists by googling “transition words.”
Here’s a link in Spanish:
utminers.utep.edu/micontreras/trans.htm
Here’s a link in French:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CCAQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fllc.illinoisstate.edu%2Fteacher_education_program%2Fdocuments%2FTransitionWordsFrench.doc&rct=j&q=transition+word+french&ei=o2QSTKHAHsSLnQf7mY2RAw&usg=AFQjCNHlLlB2yFsXno5r-K9Vdkr3bvCpPA
Thanks so much for the leads! A quick review of the links turns up the following terms:
above all; compared with; nevertheless; on the contrary; furthermore; in spite of that; specifically; consequently
That list right there mixed with other words to make compelling situations is good for at least a couple of weeks of stories. Then on the “payoff” day of the week I think I’ll practice using them by showing a bunch of miscellaneous clips from YouTube that we could discuss through comparing, contrasting, evaluating, etc.. I can then slap these up on the walls and we’ll be in good shape for our next discussion round.
Sorry to hijack the TPR thread here (good luck TPRing “nevertheless”). I agree with the above posters in establishing basic vocabulary through TPR, as this is the “low hanging fruit” of vocabulary that is right there. I need to especially follow Robert’s and Bernie’s suggestion to TPR some routines up front, as that will save loads of time down the road. Besides, what’s cooler than an 8th grader knowing how to say “intertwine” as a matter of second nature?
I just ordered Live Action Spanish for my classroom next year. I’m excited to get it finally and hope to make some TPR scenarios part of the class. I had a professor in college who would use these sometimes, and I remember a lot just from those routines, almost 10 years ago now!
For you Spanish teachers, I viewed a film called “Oil + Water” and did a 4 part embedded reading along with it, starting out with really short paragraphs and expanding those paragraphs each reading to include some new structures. This was my interpretation of “embedded readings” at the time (not sure I still really get the whole idea). It could most certainly be improved, but it worked for what I wanted to introduce for language. If anyone would like that, I can send you the word doc. Most of the film is in English, but there are a few clips of the guys speaking their newly acquired Spanish to people of all ages along their trip (oh, the film is about two young guys who travel from Alaska to tip of Chile in a biodiesel truck, kayaking and having fun along the way. Totally appropriate for class, funny, and motivating.)
Regarding the moldy oldie “L’art de la conversation” by Lenard and Hester: My copy survived my latest purge! The ISBN number is: 9780060439736. Chapter 9 lists lots of transition words and how to discuss current events; chapter 12 outlines the vocabulary for dicussing literature. Helpful reminders on avoiding the continued use of the verb “etre”. Interesting locutions. I don’t know how reliable Abesbooks.com is, but they have several copies for $1.00 plus shipping.
I also do a TPR phase in the beginning. For me, it is essential to creating a foundation in a personalized way from which stories can be based. I have tried doing it with the questionnaires, but for me TPR seems to be more effective. I use the questionnaires for information about the students and I implant it into the TPR phase for extra engagement. I have tried not having a phase and then doing a phase to compare and the phase wins out every time.
This last year I did more TPR throughout the year and it really helped. One thing that I like about TPR is that it really facilitates playing in the target language as well as introduces roots of meaning. Once I have one student up performing actions in a sort of mini-situation, the students are engaged and it can be quite fun. It is not quite a story, but more playing in the present tense. The story that we ask is more of an actual story in the past. I like having TPR through the whole year because it brings the idea of playing back to our classroom. [Although, I must admit that a lot of what we do is playing.]
Since I like all of the suggestions from the students to be in the target language, the TPR phase empowers them to have ideas in the target language from the beginning. And they really feel like they are learning the language, which is important to the feeling of success.
Also the TPR phase really helped me with learning how to circle questions! You have to learn the process of introducing new material, while recycling old material. This is more of a feeling, rather than something you can read about. Without this feeling of compelled recycling it is much harder to learn how to circle and the students will lose interest during the circling process.
I really like Blaine’s explanation of it in the Appendix of the Green Book [Fluency through TPR Storytelling 5th edition] p. 291. I think it was Chapter 2 in previous editions.
Here are a few other resources that I have found helpful in TPR.
Watching Von Ray in the Fluency Fast DVD Beginners set
Learning Another Language Through Actions: James Asher
Instructors Notebook: How to Apply TPR For Best Results: Ramiro Garcia
transition word list from AP French Language Workbook
French Transition Words
AP French : Preparing for the Language Examination
à mon avis = in my opinion
d’après = according to
en réalité = in reality
en fait = as a matter of fact
en tout cas = in any case, at any rate
en outre = besides, moreover
selon = according to
cependant = however, still, nevertheless
pourtant = nevertheless, however
néanmoins = nevertheless, nonetheless
toutefois = nevertheless
quand meme = all the same, just the same, nevertheless
d’un côté = on the one hand
de l’autre côté = on the other hand
d’une part = on one side
de l’autre part = on the other side
par contre = on the other hand, however
de plus = besides, moreover
du reste = besides, moreover
d’ailleurs = besides, moreover
par ailleurs = on the other hand
par conséquent = consequently
malgré cela = in spite of that
malgré tout = in spite of everything, after all
en revanche = in return, on the other hand
pas du tout = not at all
au contraire = on the contrary
effectivement = actually
en fait = actually
enfin = so, finally
et alors? = so what?
pour ainsi dire = so to speak
sans doute = without a doubt
nul doute que = no doubt that
Merci Beaucoup Chill, that’s a great list. As I was reading through it, I had several “oh yeah, that’s a great word” moments. One of the linguistic side effects of TPRS is that your brain as a teacher tends to mostly think about where they are taking you. Because I spend five periods a day teaching lower level classes and only one period teaching an upper level class (III/IV combined) I often forget all about some truly useful words that are high frequency in discussion domains but less high frequency in narration domains.
While it’s on the brain, I went and put the same terms more or less into German (more or less, as each language has their own takes). I think I’ll start with putting 5 or so of these on my walls at the beginning of the year for my upper level classes and expand them from there as need/interest/ability arises.
meiner Meinung nach = in my opinion
gemäß = according to
eigentlich = actually, as a matter of fact
auf jeden Fall = in any case
jedenfalls = in any case
sowieso = anyways
außerdem = besides, moreover
immerhin = however, nevertheless
jedoch = nevertheless
doch = however, nevertheless
einerseits = on the one hand
andererseits = on the other hand
demzufolge = consequently
infolgedessen = consequently
eigentlich = actually
schliesslich = finally
zum Schluß = in conclusion
Na, und? = so what?
sozusagen = so to speak
Ohne Zweifel = without a doubt
Thanks for the book ideas. Okay, so I’ve been reading about TPR this week. What I got from Asher’s book the importance of “playing to the right brain.” In his opinion, the left brain slows down language learning and interferes a lot. But what you get when you play, act, draw, tell stories, follow commands, etc. is direct access to the right brain, which in turn produces superfast learning. I have two questions. The first is that both Asher and Garcia say to expect a lot of noise from the students, because the kids get really involved and excited. I wondered if anyone has experienced this. Are they referring to verbal or nonverbal noise, and if verbal, how do you keep the students out of English? Or do you let them speak English for the sake of encouraging the joyful atmosphere? Or how do you allow noise but shut off the English?
My other question is do you think that translation interferes with the right brain process (making things harder to learn)? And if so, is (silent) written translation enough of an accommodation to stop the break in right brain flow?
Garcia’s book is full of good ideas. He gives clear examples too. I really want a life sized cardboard skeleton for my room now 🙂 I’d recommend his book.
I say no noise because noise brings English from them and a breaking of the rules. I want pindrop silence except when we are laughing, snorting, or otherwise playing with all sounds non-English. My rules can’t be enforced unless we keep it quiet when the CI is going anyway. Second question I say no – it makes it easier to learn. In my opinion, the written translation only enhances the acquisition process, but it must be done in the right way, which means it must be limited, and it must only be written. If the right brain flow is there and the CI – either reading or auditory – is meaningful and interesting and lighthearted, then an occasional Point and Pause to clarify, again this is my own experience, doesn’t break the CI flow at all. Rather, it speeds it way up.