Ana Lomba Early Languages Blog

Parents—Beware of the Fast Food Approach to Foreign Languages

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

By now, most people are aware of the terrible effects of fast food on our metabolism and our health. We certainly would not want to subject ourselves (much less our children) to a diet exclusively based on fast food!

Unfortunately, what many parents don’t realize is that pre-packaged, fast food type of approaches are creeping into education.In the case of world languages, the most rapid expansion of fast food can be observed in what I call the “flashcard approach”—and, boy, is it popular!

So what is a flashcard?

A flashcard is a tool (think of a nail, for example) designed to support a much larger structure (think of a house). While nails are useful, you certainly would want to have more tools than nails in your toolbox in order to build a house!

The typical flashcard has a photo or an illustration and the name of the object, person, location, time, action, etc., in the target language (for example, a picture of a table and the words “una mesa” in Spanish).

Flashcards can be put together in strings to create sentences. For example, you could create a string to say that “La manzana está sobre la mesa” (“The apple is on the table”).

Like all tools, the impact of flashcards is localized and limited. The truth is that you could spend years memorizing a whole dictionary and thousands upon thousands of sentence strings and still not speak a language. Why is that? Because the house (a language) requires much more than nails, no matter how long and sturdy they are.

In my twenty years of experience in language education I have never met anyone that has learned a language exclusively through flashcards. Ah, what a waste of time, money, effort, and capacity!

But let’s go back to the fast food analogy. As crazy as it may seem, many language-learning companies have done the quick calculation that flashcards are cheap to produce and easy to sell because they produce an immediate feeling of satiation. Just as with fast food, you feel stuffed, but for the wrong reasons.

Another parallel effect is that flashcards, like fast food, produce addiction. The moment a person used to the flashcard approach confronts something even slightly more challenging, the physical response is that of rejection—“This is too difficult” “I can’t do it” “It takes too much effort” “Why should I even try if I have this fantastic (flashcard-based) program available?” Ironically, they seem unaware of the fact that the flashcard approach is not leading them to effective communication because it's missing many important components. One of the most critical? Social interaction.

Now, imagine your town full of fast food chains and only two or three restaurants where the chef actually cares about providing carefully prepared and nutritious food. And now imagine that those fast food chains have managed to get a leg in your children’s schools and they are ready to substitute all the healthy food for candy. You would be up in arms, right?

Well, that is precisely what is taking place in Spanish, French, Italian, Arabic, and Chinese language classes around the country. Teachers are out; flashcard-based software programs are in.

Why am I so upset if I am also a businesswoman that publishes language-learning materials? First because I am a mom and second because I believe that all children should receive a well-rounded quality education that includes languages. We don’t use the computer and flashcards exclusively to teach children math and English, so why do we think this approach is appropriate to teach them languages?

Let me be clear: Nothing can replace the profound impact of well-trained teachers or engaged parents in language education. The best language-learning materials are designed to support parents and teachers efforts, not to replace them.

In the same way, we teachers—and especially parents—need to open our eyes and understand what sort of “deal” we are getting when we purchase a language-learning packet.

Ask yourself, "It looks like a great value, but is this truly good for my kids?"

If what you want is to expose your children to a few words, then go ahead and use only flashcards. On the other hand, if you truly want your children to learn a new language, then realize that you won't get there with flashcards only.

The good news is that the human brain (and especially that of children) is designed to learn language. You don't need to spoon-feed your kids their first language, and the same is true of any additional language. There are much better ways to stimulate those wonderful language-learning engines so that they reach their full potential.

Best,

Ana Lomba

Why We Need More World Language and International Education Champions Like Representative Rush Holt in Congress

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

I am somewhat reluctant to talk about politics in my blog because—as we all know—politics and education tend to make an explosive combination. Today, however, I am going to make an exception because I want to recognize, honor, and support a visionary politician who is not afraid to embrace a distinctly modern approach to education: US Congress Representative Rush Holt (D, 12^thDistrict, NJ). We need more Renaissance men like Mr. Holt from all 50 states and both sides of the isle to stand up for high-quality world languages and international education for our kids.

So who is Mr. Holt?

Rep. Holt has a Ph.D. in physics from NYU and in his distinguished career he has worked, among other places, as Assistant Director of the prestigious Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory at Princeton University. It's not everyday that we find a professional scientist in Congress, and he has put this scientific, research-oriented background to excellent work on the three committees in which he serves in the House: the Committee on Education and Labor, the Committee on Natural Resources, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

As far as education is concerned, Mr. Holt has moved mountains not only for STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), but also for neglected albeit critical areas such as early childhood education and world language and international education. As a member of the Intelligence Committee, he knows very well that America cannot continue to lead in the world without an educated citizenship well versed in languages and global affairs alongside technical knowledge. I don’t think I would be exaggerating one bit if I said that Mr. Holt is our #1 champion in Congress today (Senator Akaka, in Hawaii, also comes to mind).

I’ve had the privilege of listening to him on several occasions, and I follow his work closely as the leader of the JNCL-NCLIS “Legislative Day” delegation sent by Foreign Language Educators of New Jersey (FLENJ) to Congress each May. I can attest to the fact that Mr. Holt does in fact do as he says and does not just make empty promises.

In Congress: From left to right, Marty Abbott (ACTFL Director of Education), Ana Lomba (FLENJ), unidentified journalist, Rep. Rush Holt, Lisa Lilley (ACTFL 2010 Teacher of the Year), and Amanda Seewald (FLENJ).

I invite you for example to read an article of his published on The Huffington Post in 2008, “Why Foreign Language Education Matters.” You will notice that after mentioning a few successes, Mr. Holt points to several initiatives that could also be taken:

We can still do more. We could establish grants for foreign language partnerships between local school districts and foreign language departments at institutions of higher education. We could create an Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language Education in the Department of Education, who would provide leadership in directing efforts aimed at international and foreign language education. –Rush Holt

But here is the important part—he didn’t just sit and wait. As of June 2010, he has conquered the second point (we now have a “Deputy Assistant Secretary” and not an “Assistant Secretary”—but hey! This is great progress in our field!). He is also working tirelessly on the first point through the House Bill H.R. 4065 Rep. Holt Foreign Language Education Partnership Program Act.

Andre Lewis, Deputy Assistant Secretary of International and Foreign Language Education

So what can you do to make sure that we continue to have great champions like Mr. Holt in Congress?

If you believe in the importance of receiving a well-rounded global education and you live in the New Jersey’s 12^th district, then you may want to consider voting for Representative Rush Holt this November, when he is up for reelection.

And if you are outside the 12^th district, you can help the cause by understanding where your politicians stand in this important area and asking them to support Mr. Holt’s H.R. 4065, its Senate version (once this is introduced in the Senate), and other pending or new legislation.

Ana Lomba

P.D. Click here for more information on pending legislation related to languages and international education in the 111th US Congress.

Kids Learning Spanish, French, or Chinese with The Red Hen – Tips for Parents and Teachers

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

As you may have already guessed, storytelling is one of my favorite activities to introduce new languages to children, and it works best when you develop and expand the stories in different directions and contexts. For example, The Red Hen is a great story to use in a unit or context about farms, animals, and plant cycles

– and, since my version of the story includes 7 of the hen’s friends with quite distinct personalities, you can also work on personal descriptions and characteristics.

Step 1: Set feasible goals, but challenge yourself

Whatever topic you choose, set a few learning goals first – this applies to teachers as well as to parent-teachers!

Your goals can be as simple or as complex as your expertise teaching a new language allows. For example, a father that has just started learning Spanish with his four year old may decide that a realistic goal for him may look like this:

“In the next two weeks you (the son) and I will be able to recognize and name at least 15 new objects, people or actions in Spanish but our challenge will be to learn 30. We will also be able to say at least 10 new expressions (e.g. frequently used questions, sentences, phrases), and our challenge will be 20. In order to learn, we will listen to at least one page of the story each day and we will decide what words and sentences to practice aloud...” etc.

A veteran third grade French teacher, on the other hand, may decide that – among other goals – at the end of two weeks her students will be able to read aloud at least two pages in French. They will also be able to ask for help and excuse themselves, modeling after the expressions used by the animals in the story as well as others provided by the teacher (e.g. additional expressions not included in the story such as “Unfortunately, I have to…”).

Step 2: Create some fun activities

A mom and her kids learning Chinese at home may just act out scenes using props (e.g. a hen’s beak, toy cheese for the mouse, etc), play memory games to practice the vocabulary, or other easy activities. She may have to resort to English as they build up their Chinese skills.

Students at a preschool Spanish class can sort “things that belong or do not belong in the farm,” count animal counters, pretend to go on a trip to a farm, sing a traditional Spanish song about farm animals, etc. Students in a fourth grade class may ask questions in Spanish to a partner to find out what animal he or she has. They can explore Spanish art related to life in the countryside, take visual trips of farms in Spanish speaking countries via the Internet, etc.

If you like using technology, take digital pictures or video with your camera next time you visit a farm and create a VoiceThread session utilizing the vocabulary from the story (VoiceThread is very easy to use and kids have a great time with it). Search the Internet to find other versions of The Red Hen story in Spanish or your target language (for example, look for “La gallina Marcelina” on Google), and compare the illustrations, the characters, setting, etc. Write a class or home blog about your experience learning Spanish with The Red Hen. Use one of the many digital storytelling platforms today to create your own version of the story.

Step 3: Check and celebrate that you are learning a lot of Spanish

The greater the challenge the more excited and proud you’ll be of your achievement. This is true for young children as well – as long as we do not overwork them as the hen does with her poor chicks, and keep the process fun, of course!

Creating a checkpoint is important for two reasons: 1) You and your kids will be able to see how much you have advanced; 2) Your motivation will increase as a consequence of your progress (success feeds success).

In the case of young children a two-week learning/check time cycle makes sense – it is a long enough period to do some serious learning and short enough so that your kids can remember and appreciate the difference from the starting point (in the case of teachers this will depend on how much contact you have with your students – the two-week cycle may not be enough time for some of you).

Again, make the checkpoint as easy or complex as you want. A parent may create a checklist titled, “I Can Say the Names of these Things in Spanish,” with pictures of a donkey, a farm, etc., and another checklist titled “I Can Speak with other People in Spanish; I can Say: ‘Good morning,’ ‘I am sleepy,’ ‘Can you help me?’” etc.

Young children love sharing their successes with others, so it is a good idea to save the checklists along with other work on a Spanish notebook (or Chinese, or French) and bring it to grandma and grandpa’s, or they can show it to their friends or other important people in their lives. The same is true of students in a classroom – teachers may want to send your students’ work home so that they can share it with their family.

Whatever you do, don’t call the checklist “assessment” or “test,” and do not give a grade. This will defeat the purpose of the checkpoint exercise, which is to celebrate and encourage learning.

I hope that you enjoyed these tips to teach Spanish, French, or Chinese with The Red Hen. Click here to purchase your own copy of the bilingual audio e-book:

The Red Hen Spanish / English

The Red Hen French / English

The Red Hen Chinese / English

Talk to you soon about my other stories!

Ana Lomba

Alice in Wonderland: The Power of the Imagination in Early Language Learning

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

There’s a lot of discussion lately in education circles about the need to teach creativity and entrepreneurship to children.

The prosperity of a country – the argument goes – is tied to its innovators, to the usually small pool of people who can look at old problems and think differently, who are not afraid of facing difficult challenges and uncertainty, who can dream big but also plan, test, and execute.

Who wouldn’t agree? We could all use more ingenuity to pursue lofty dreams. And yes, the way to shape our future pool of risk-takers, knowledge-seekers, and life-long learners is through an education that instills those values in them.

I am incredibly fortunate to be able to do just that: not only do I specialize in a fun niche with a lot of creative potential – parents learning languages with their children – but since I am an entrepreneur myself and work on my own, I am free to explore and try new ideas over trite old ways (think young children memorizing words on flashcards or watching passively a show in another language).

My approach to learning languages is anchored on the imagination because I am convinced that children learn best when all the above descriptors applied to entrepreneurs and innovators are put to good use in our kids’ education – children need to imagine, take risks, grow to challenges, learn to think differently… what a great opportunity to do just so by activating the imagination into learning a new language!

De pronto, un Conejo Blanco con ojos rosados pasó corriendo cerca de ella.

—¡Por mis orejas y bigotes! ¡Voy a llegar tan tarde! —dijo el conejo.

Suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close to her.

“Oh, my ears and whiskers! I’ll be so late!” said the rabbit.

Traveling to Wonderland and other imaginary places, eating strange cookies that make us grow like giants or shrink like dwarfs, following crazily punctual rabbits, or pursuing other fantastic adventures is not just the fictional matter of fairytales; it is the nutritious, imagination-boosting substance that allows children to grow into creative and resourceful individuals.

Interestingly, what the characters experiment in their fictional adventures is very much like the initial ‘shock’ that learners experiment when exposed to a new language and culture. In turn, learning a new language develops greater cognitive skills as well as a wider perspective of the world around us.

Early languages + the imagination = keener cognition, creativity, flexibility, perspective. The result of this combination is a superb preparation for new adventures and opportunities.

During the last few years I have been writing curriculum that I license to language schools as well as other materials for use by parents and children at home or by teachers in schools. The latest story and accompanying learning unit I have been working on is Alice in Wonderland. I expect to publish the story later this year or in early 2011 (click here to see my currently available e-storybooks in Chinese, Spanish, French, and English).

High among the priorities when thinking about my language-learning units is how to expand and reinforce the language and main concepts of the stories in fun and practical ways. My goal is that children acquire conversational language that they can use right away in their everyday life while at the same time having lots of fun and developing their imagination.

En tournant au coin, Alice se retrouva dans une grande salle rectangulaire avec vingt portes.

When she turned the corner, Alice found herself in a big rectangular hall with twenty doors.

Here are some imaginative games related to the story of Alice in Wonderland that students at licensee’ language schools are doing right now. You could try these activities at home or in your schools as well:

“El pase de la reina” (“The Queen’s Pass”). To get into the queen’s kingdom, children have to solve some fun math problems related to vocabulary contained in the story (e.g. measuring small things in inches and centimeters, weighing cookies and other stuff in ounces and grams, jotting these measurements on simple charts and comparing the results to other students’, etc). What child wouldn’t want to get a pass to Wonderland, even if that involves doing math?

“Alicia en movimiento” (“Alice in Movement”). The teacher or parent reads or narrates a very brief segment of the story and the children have to act it out. Later on, the kids can practice saying some lines and acting short vignettes.

“El juego de Alicia en el país de las maravillas” (“Alice in Wonderland Game”). I created a board game with the characters of the story. When the players land on the punctual rabbit, they move faster on the board. If they fall on Alice, they have to answer a question because she is very curious, etc. You can do a similar game using cards, floor mats, or a board as well.

I hope that you enjoy these activities!

For more information about my books and projects for parents and teachers, for teacher training, consulting, or if you are a language school interested in licensing my curriculum, contact me at: ana@analomba.com, and click here to see my currently available e-storybooks in Chinese, Spanish, French, and English

*****

Upcoming workshops:

"Teaching Today's Young Digital Language Learners," at the NJTESOL-NJBE conference, 5/19/2010, Somerset, NJ.

With Karen Nemeth, former Director of the Early Childhood Office at the NJ Department of Education and author of Many Languages, One Classroom: Teaching Dual and English Language Learners, "Step by Step: A Comprehensive Guide to Teaching Young Dual Language Learners Accross the Domains," at the National Head Start Association (NHSA) conference, 5/5/2010, Dallas, TX. (Karen's website is www.languagecastle.com)

More to be announced soon!

Encouraging Your Baby's Language Development

Ana Lomba — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

I invite you to see this wonderful presentation: "10 Ways to Encourage Babies to Develop Language Skills." As you read it, keep in mind that this is equally applicable to any additional language that you want to immerse your baby in. You will find many activities and games that you can use with your babies in my Hop, Skip, and Sing CDs.

Enjoy!

Ana Lomba