[LD-SIG Discussion List] Peeling an orange with knife and fork

Fri Nov 7 00:15:42 CST 2008

Don't know why, Steve other than the fact that it was Spain during Franco's regime (70s), when travel by train (in whichever class) was slow,  dirty and uncomfortable, but all redeemed by the wonderful breakfast scene, worthy of "Il gattopardo"! 

       Cheers
             Amanda

fortable. Windows were probably open 
--- On Fri, 11/7/08, Steve Davies <sdavies at miyazaki-mic.ac.jp> wrote:

> From: Steve Davies <sdavies at miyazaki-mic.ac.jp>
> Subject: Re: [LD-SIG Discussion List] Peeling an orange with knife and fork
> To: amandapb48 at yahoo.com, "Discussion list for JALT ld-sig members" <discuss at ld-sig.org>
> Date: Friday, November 7, 2008, 11:15 AM
> Amanda:
> 
> What a vivid vignette!!
> 
> (It was inspired by the sight of underslept, sooty
> passengers seated at  linen-clothed breakfast tables, 
> manipulating silver cutlery with surgical precision, all on
> a lurching Spanish train, and by my experience of learning
> to do it like them)
> 
> But  why were the passengers  'sooty'?  Was this a
> steam train? Had someone left a window open?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Nov 7, 2008, at 8:35 AM, Amanda Bradley wrote:
> 
> > 
> > 
> > Dear all,
> > 
> > I agree that learning is about process and, even if
> the target content is different, broadly speaking, the
> learning skills will overlap and be similar whether you are
> learning a language or say,learning to peel an orange with a
> knife and fork. Not everyone would agree, but actually that
> was the very first lesson at my grad school.
> > 
> >  I did choose "peeling an orange with a knife and
> fork" for the first "TESOL" assignment,
> "Teach/learn a skill"
> > 
> > (It was inspired by the sight of underslept, sooty
> passengers seated at  linen-clothed breakfast tables, 
> manipulating silver cutlery with surgical precision, all on
> a lurching Spanish train, and by my experience of learning
> to do it like them)
> > 
> > When we performed in class, there was a lot of focus.
> It was a collectively enjoyable and memorable learning
> experience. Perhaps the main learning point was that you did
> have to focus... a useful one!
> > 
> > Happy w/e to all
> > 
> > Amanda
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > --- On Fri, 11/7/08, Andy Barfield
> <barfield.andy at gmail.com> wrote:
> > 
> >> From: Andy Barfield
> <barfield.andy at gmail.com>
> >> Subject: Re: [LD-SIG Discussion List] Two cheers
> for diversity (and why not three?)
> >> To: discuss at ld-sig.org
> >> Date: Friday, November 7, 2008, 4:27 AM
> >> Jim and everyone,
> >> 
> >> Does it need to be the same language that everyone
> goes
> >> for? Does it even need to be a language? Why not
> >> basketball,
> >> learning the violin, or learning to uni cycle ???
> >> 
> >> Perhaps many people have different things that
> they want
> >> to learn, and having a diverse range of learning
> interests
> >> in play within such a project might be just as /
> even
> >> more / not at all as / interesting and valuable as
> limiting
> >> it
> >> to one language?
> >> 
> >> Cheers,
> >> 
> >> Andy
> >> 
> >> 
> >>> From: Ronald James
> >> <jamesmartinronald at yahoo.co.jp>
> >>> To: discuss at ld-sig.org
> >>> Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2008 08:15:33 +0900 (JST)
> >>> Subject: Re: [LD-SIG Discussion List] discuss
> Digest,
> >> Vol 21, Issue 3
> >>> Dear Steve, Ellen, anyone,
> >>> 
> >>> thanks for your responses - I'm agreeably
> provoked
> >> by your
> >>> response, Steve, and encouraged by yours,
> Ellen. Last
> >> year
> >>> when I started Spanish it was with a reason
> similar to
> >>> your Swahili idea, Steve - no current need and
> no plan
> >> to
> >>> use it, a bit like the majority of our
> students'
> >> position
> >>> re English. I was thinking of that project
> partly as
> >>> something to be written up, but I think the
> main
> >> benefit
> >>> is in how it changes me and helps me
> understand the
> >>> motivational and other struggles faced by many
> English
> >>> learners in Japan.
> >>> 
> >>> As for Korean, it would be a bit different
> from the
> >>> beginning. As I was trying to explain to a
> student
> >>> yesterday, Spanish was a challenge (just to
> keep
> >> going!)
> >>> but I see Korean as an adventure, since my aim
> is to
> >> use
> >>> it with real Korean speakers here or in Korea,
> even
> >>> minimally. And that may well be my focus - how
> to get
> >> the
> >>> language being learned out of the classroom or
> >> textbook,
> >>> how to help make it an adventure for my
> students,
> >> rather
> >>> than just a challenge or struggle with TOEIC
> and TOEFL
> >>> scores the only carrot drawing them on...
> >>> 
> >>> Anyway, I think that there are lots of ways of
> >> approaching
> >>> this - your Rosetta Stone idea sounds like a
> lot of
> >> fun,
> >>> too, Steve. You just need to find a few people
> who
> >> would
> >>> be prepared to take it on. And our different
> >> approaches,
> >>> languages, experiences, could all  help
> increase our
> >>> understanding and motivation as teachers.
> (Sorry if it
> >>> sounds a bit pompous or whatever!)
> >>> 
> >>> I think that perhaps the main language target
> for
> >> people
> >>> here who don't count their time in Japan
> in
> >> decades is
> >>> Japanese, unless they are native Japanese
> speakers.
> >> And
> >>> naturally, taking on another foreign language
> might
> >> not
> >>> seem the best use of time...
> >>> 
> >>> Perhaps there are some Japanese speaking
> teachers of
> >>> English who are/would like to start a new
> foreign
> >>> language? To understand where our learners
> are, and
> >> where
> >>> we no longer are with our "good"
> language.
> >>> 
> >>> Anyway, that's more than enough for today!
> >> Provocative,
> >>> supportive, off-the-wall responses welcome!
> >>> 
> >>> Jim
> >> 
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> discuss at ld-sig.org
> >>
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> > 
> > _______________________________________________
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> > discuss at ld-sig.org
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> "Identities" (no quotes, but upper case for both).
> Earlier volumes of Learning Learning are all in the public
> domain.
> _______________________________________________
> discuss mailing list
> discuss at ld-sig.org
> http://ld-sig.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_ld-sig.org
> Need to access Learning Learning v15n2? The username is
> "Linking" with the password "Identities"
> (no quotes, but upper case for both). Earlier volumes of
> Learning Learning are all in the public domain.