Learning Motivation

One of the things I hate is when people say they can't do something. "You're learning a language? Great! I could never do that". Well duh, with that attitude like that you can't do anything. While this post is mostly concerned with language learning, it can be applied to anything. Just replace language learning with exercising, reading, quiting smoking, ________ .

It is tougher for adults to learn a language, we do know that. Once psychologists thought that adults could never learn a second language. We now know that even adults have brain plasticity, not as much as developing children, but it's there. If we did not have plasticity, we would not be able to learn anything new. Once in a while a book on Linguistics will argue that a native speaker can never fully learn a new language. My personal stance on that is that while we do not fully comprehend how children are able to grasp language, other than the fact that their brains are developing at incredible rates during the critical period, we therefore can not fully understand whether or not a non native speaker can fully grasp a new language.

Nevertheless I still struggle learning German, and to learn a new language in adulthood is a pain in the neck. That doesn't mean that someone cannot do it. But telling yourself you cannot do something before even trying will not get you anywhere.

Take for example this study conducted by a graduate student in 1939, completely unethical by today's standards

In 1939, University of Iowa graduate student Mary Tudor began an experiment with local orphans, warning them that they were showing signs of stuttering and lecturing them whenever they repeated a word. The children became acutely self-conscious, and many began to stutter, fulfilling the theory that “the affliction is caused by the diagnosis.”

The article is actually about how one of the subject wrote her a letter years later accusing her of being a monster and how the study ruined his life. Jesus Christ!

Nonetheless the study goes to show that "the affliction is caused by the diagnosis."If you say you cannot do something, you cant. Tell yourself you know you can. Not only that, but use positive thoughts and motivation not only but your self, but others! What have you got to lose?

Free FSI Language Courses

The United States Foreign Service Institute is an institution within the United States government that is responsible for training the Department of State in preparation for going abroad. They develop a multitude of courses in almost any language available.

The website, FSI Language Courses, lists all of the courses that have fallen into the public domain. The website is unaffiliated with the government:

This site is dedicated to making these language courses freely available in an electronic format. This site is not affiliated in any way with any government entity; it is an independent, non-profit effort to foster the learning of worldwide languages. Courses here are made available through the private efforts of individuals who are donating their time and resources to provide quality materials for language learning.

 I remember in high school Latin our teacher got the FSI tapes for Italian from the library when a group of students in the class were going on a field trip to Italy. It is possible that the library editions of these materials could be newer, but most likely not considering all of there materials are in the public domain.

I would suggest you keep in mind some of this information is old, cultural terms may be out of date. For example the word "fraulein" ("little Mrs.") is used in the German materials. While it did use to be acceptable to call an unmarried young woman this in Germany, doing it today without the intention to cheesily flirt, will only get you dirty looks (if you're lucky). Results may vary by language, consult your local native speaker for more information.

Nevertheless for the very low price of free, how can you go wrong?

Once again the site's URL: http://fsi-language-courses.org

Learning Languages in Videogames

It is surprising that with the success of "edutainment" games like Oregon Trail, Math Blaster, Where in The Word is Carmen Santiago and the Jumpstart series; that there is not a bigger market for more games like these. I dream of the day someone will create a computer game that teaches calculus. Perhaps in an alternate dimension, where I have mastered calculus and programming, but that would also mean that there may be another alternate dimension in which I suck cock for crack rocks. Not cool man!

One of the things I have started doing is playing games I used to love, but this time they are in German. Most computer games already have a built in language setting to simply switch the language over to whatever you want. One of my favorite games to do this with is Civilization because there are so many different technologies, people, places, and phrases you get to learn while playing the game.

This is also a great thing to do on emulators. I really like playing old games from my childhood because I have an idea of what is being said, and it is easier to make inferences as to what new words might mean. It will make you feel like a genius! Try it out! Who hasn't played A Link To The Past at least thirty times? Any idea what is being said here?

OH MY GOD YOU CAN READ GERMAN

Almost any rom site has the roms in different languages listed in brackets. However the only ones I know of are:
(U) Universal
(E) English
(G) or (D) German

Sometimes the rom with a [!] might be required, but I digress. Of course the only way you will learn anything is if you actually take the time and read the dialogue. If you have played through the particular game before, it is pointless to scroll through everything just because you know where the next dungeon is. On the other hand, if you want to try a new game, I suggest having a dictionary nearby or a translation website. Also I suggest finding games that tend to be text heavy, such as strategy games or RPGs. Good luck and have fun!

Object Names

I only have a picture of Köhler's article,
but trying to read font at this resolution
is strictly reserved for masochists.

One of the most mentioned studies that comes up in pop psychology is that of the the bouba kiki effect, which was the result of a study conducted by the gestalt psychologist Wolfgang Köhler (who while in Germany, and in the possesion of balls of steel, denounced the Nazi party publicly in 1933).This now famous study can be found in almost any psych textbook, as well as more recently Boing Boing.

The test is simple, a subject is presented with two pictures next to each other. One is a bouba and the other is a kiki. Which one is which?

If you said that the left image is a kiki and the right round shape is a bouba then you would be in line with about ninety percent of Spanish and English speakers who took this test. In fact, the only people who are behind the standard bell curve are the autistic. One explanation given for why we do this is that during articulation, a rounded shape of the mouth is needed to say "bouba" and a more angular mouth shape is needed to say "kiki".

However I would be more interested in the names people would come up for these objects on their own. After all, would these rules apply outside the constraint of only two names? After all ks and is are pointy letters, while all the letters in "bouba" are round. Would speakers of languages that uses different alphabets show us different results? Is the shape of our letters based on how we articulate the phoneme or how it sounds?

When I am finally able to return home I am going to print out this picture and see what I an get people to tell me, outside of the constraint of two names.

Tornadoes!

Part of my old high school, good riddance.

A few days ago a tornado ripped through the city I live in. Although I try to update this site at least five times a week I obviously was not able to for some time. After the tornadoes hit on Wednesday we were told that we would not get electricity back for at least  five days. I am thankful that electricity is the least of my problems and that I am ok. For the time being I am spending some time in Rhode Island with some family.

People think that tornadoes never happen in Massachusetts, but even last year in May a tornado came through the UMASS campus and ripped solar panels off the roof of one of the buildings. Anyways I will have a real update later tonight, I just wanted to give a heads up as to why I have not been updating.