Comments on: Posthuman Pedagogy http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/2011/11/28/4620/ part of the MSc in E-learning at the University of Edinburgh Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:20:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 By: Grace Elliott http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/2011/11/28/4620/#comment-150 Grace Elliott Sat, 10 Dec 2011 15:16:17 +0000 http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/?p=4620#comment-150 Hi Jeremy, Thanks for your comments. Language learning has moved by leaps and bounds since I was a shoolgirl. I was thinking the other day that SecondLife would be an excellent tool to use. Total immersion could work there, e.g. walking through the virtual Hungarian streets, all signs and notices displayed in Hungarian; stopping by a restaurant, discussing the menu with the waiter before ordering a meal, making hotel reservations, asking for directions.. and so on. The limit is only our imagination (I can't remember who said that). Maybe this is already happening in schools. :) Hi Jeremy,
Thanks for your comments. Language learning has moved by leaps and bounds since I was a shoolgirl. I was thinking the other day that SecondLife would be an excellent tool to use. Total immersion could work there, e.g. walking through the virtual Hungarian streets, all signs and notices displayed in Hungarian; stopping by a restaurant, discussing the menu with the waiter before ordering a meal, making hotel reservations, asking for directions.. and so on. The limit is only our imagination (I can’t remember who said that). Maybe this is already happening in schools. :)

]]> By: Grace Elliott http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/2011/11/28/4620/#comment-149 Grace Elliott Sat, 10 Dec 2011 14:56:23 +0000 http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/?p=4620#comment-149 Hi Neil, Thanks for your comments. How interesting that you worked in Hungary. I seem to be following in your wake! Hungary, Dubai and India (although I only visited India). I looked at jobs in Hungary but they don't pay much. It maybe an option for the future though. Because Hungarian is so different to English I feel that makes is easier to learn in a way. I expect there are a number of English words in Hindi. I agree that keeping motivation high online in tough. I have a friend who checks on my progress so that helps. :) Hi Neil,
Thanks for your comments. How interesting that you worked in Hungary. I seem to be following in your wake! Hungary, Dubai and India (although I only visited India). I looked at jobs in Hungary but they don’t pay much. It maybe an option for the future though. Because Hungarian is so different to English I feel that makes is easier to learn in a way. I expect there are a number of English words in Hindi. I agree that keeping motivation high online in tough. I have a friend who checks on my progress so that helps. :)

]]> By: Grace Elliott http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/2011/11/28/4620/#comment-148 Grace Elliott Sat, 10 Dec 2011 14:46:55 +0000 http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/?p=4620#comment-148 Hi Ania, Thank you for your comments. As always, you put a lot of thought into any responses you make. I can't ever see me writing as well in Hungarian as you do in English. :) Thank you for the links too. I shall check them out. At school, and even after, I tried to learn French but apart from being able to say a few sentences, I was pretty inept. For many years I was willing to accept what my teacher told me, that I was no good at learning a language. I've spent the last few summers in Budapest and have fallen in love with the place. It is a difficult language but because it is so different from English I felt that would make it easier somehow. I can't get away with 'guessing' what the word can be like I could with French. I must stress that I am an absolute beginner. I want to train myself not to translate everything into English, if that is possible. I have to say that the MSc has made me question how I was taught and how I learn. I am ridding myself of old beliefs. We are all capable of learning - it's just a question of how much we want to. And I really want to learn Hungarian. :) Hi Ania,
Thank you for your comments. As always, you put a lot of thought into any responses you make. I can’t ever see me writing as well in Hungarian as you do in English. :) Thank you for the links too. I shall check them out. At school, and even after, I tried to learn French but apart from being able to say a few sentences, I was pretty inept. For many years I was willing to accept what my teacher told me, that I was no good at learning a language. I’ve spent the last few summers in Budapest and have fallen in love with the place. It is a difficult language but because it is so different from English I felt that would make it easier somehow. I can’t get away with ‘guessing’ what the word can be like I could with French. I must stress that I am an absolute beginner. I want to train myself not to translate everything into English, if that is possible. I have to say that the MSc has made me question how I was taught and how I learn. I am ridding myself of old beliefs. We are all capable of learning – it’s just a question of how much we want to. And I really want to learn Hungarian. :)

]]> By: Ania Rolińska http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/2011/11/28/4620/#comment-147 Ania Rolińska Fri, 09 Dec 2011 22:34:40 +0000 http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/?p=4620#comment-147 Another post on language learning :-) - I'm definitely with Neil here, especially in regard to how it all relates to language learning. Could it be implemented in the language classroom? Should it? How? Learning the language is interesting because it's not only about mastering the vocab and grammar structures but also about the culture, contextualised and personalised experience, shown by your preference for immersion and also discussed by Neil in his post. If in a broad sense posthumanism is about blurring the boundaries, learning a foreign language is a good example because you are bound to acquire a different identity. You become double in a way. There is a good video on vimeo showing the identity play which takes place when trying to learn a new language http://vimeo.com/8537426 . How does the foreign language influence your first language identity? When speaking Hungarian, do you think in English, Grace? Does your voice change, your gestures, your facial expression? I find myself increasingly confused (mostly in a playful way) when I switch between English and Polish, the way I speak Polish using English sounds, the way I write in Polish using English ways, the way I overuse 'thank you' when in Poland but underuse it while in the UK. Who am I? What sort of a changeling? Am I still Polish? Could I be English? British? With my Slavic soul (whatever that is - I'm playing on stereotypes here)? Would I like to be one? What would I have to change in my intellectual and emotional make-up if I did? Lots of fascinating questions a language learner could/must ask themselves on top of mastering lists of vocab and grammar structures. If you're interested in language learning and identity, there is some good stuff on Ben Goldstein's website (talks section) http://www.bengoldstein.es/blog/category/talks/ On a more practical note - a few websites to check out if you want to learn a language http://www.livemocha.com , http://www.myngle.com (both offer Hungarian) and http://www.wiziq.com (no Hungarian at the moment but there is Hindi and lots of other lanaguages). And yes, kudos for taking up such a challenge Grace - Hungarian is difficult! Good luck with it! :-) Another post on language learning :-) – I’m definitely with Neil here, especially in regard to how it all relates to language learning. Could it be implemented in the language classroom? Should it? How?

Learning the language is interesting because it’s not only about mastering the vocab and grammar structures but also about the culture, contextualised and personalised experience, shown by your preference for immersion and also discussed by Neil in his post.

If in a broad sense posthumanism is about blurring the boundaries, learning a foreign language is a good example because you are bound to acquire a different identity. You become double in a way. There is a good video on vimeo showing the identity play which takes place when trying to learn a new language http://vimeo.com/8537426 . How does the foreign language influence your first language identity? When speaking Hungarian, do you think in English, Grace? Does your voice change, your gestures, your facial expression?

I find myself increasingly confused (mostly in a playful way) when I switch between English and Polish, the way I speak Polish using English sounds, the way I write in Polish using English ways, the way I overuse ‘thank you’ when in Poland but underuse it while in the UK. Who am I? What sort of a changeling? Am I still Polish? Could I be English? British? With my Slavic soul (whatever that is – I’m playing on stereotypes here)? Would I like to be one? What would I have to change in my intellectual and emotional make-up if I did? Lots of fascinating questions a language learner could/must ask themselves on top of mastering lists of vocab and grammar structures.

If you’re interested in language learning and identity, there is some good stuff on Ben Goldstein’s website (talks section) http://www.bengoldstein.es/blog/category/talks/

On a more practical note – a few websites to check out if you want to learn a language http://www.livemocha.com , http://www.myngle.com (both offer Hungarian) and http://www.wiziq.com (no Hungarian at the moment but there is Hindi and lots of other lanaguages).

And yes, kudos for taking up such a challenge Grace – Hungarian is difficult! Good luck with it! :-)

]]> By: Neil David Buchanan http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/2011/11/28/4620/#comment-126 Neil David Buchanan Sun, 04 Dec 2011 16:33:09 +0000 http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/?p=4620#comment-126 Hi Grace, I lived in Hungary for almost a year back in the early 90s, so I really admire you for taking on such a challenging language! I've been wondering a lot these last couple of weeks about how all of this relates to language learning. I tried to learn some Hindi following similar techniques but found it difficult to keep up the online motivation. Some great resources here and I like the way that you have included so many different ways of accessing the language. Hi Grace, I lived in Hungary for almost a year back in the early 90s, so I really admire you for taking on such a challenging language! I’ve been wondering a lot these last couple of weeks about how all of this relates to language learning. I tried to learn some Hindi following similar techniques but found it difficult to keep up the online motivation. Some great resources here and I like the way that you have included so many different ways of accessing the language.

]]> By: Jeremy Keith Knox http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/2011/11/28/4620/#comment-111 Jeremy Keith Knox Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:42:33 +0000 http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/?p=4620#comment-111 The descriptions of language learning here are intriguing Grace. I like how you describe wider activities than mere learning of linguistic structures, such as virtual tours or city information. It is interesting to think how language (and language learning) might be a product of experience, place, and culture, rather than the foundation from which these things derive. The way you describe technology as altering the boundaries posed by geographical distance is interesting too. Your ‘total immersion’ becomes mediated by books, CDs, MP3s, and virtual tours, and with a posthuman lens, this seems to highlight the ways that face-to-face interactions might also be mediated, through our own technologies of perception, language, and urban space. The descriptions of language learning here are intriguing Grace. I like how you describe wider activities than mere learning of linguistic structures, such as virtual tours or city information. It is interesting to think how language (and language learning) might be a product of experience, place, and culture, rather than the foundation from which these things derive.

The way you describe technology as altering the boundaries posed by geographical distance is interesting too. Your ‘total immersion’ becomes mediated by books, CDs, MP3s, and virtual tours, and with a posthuman lens, this seems to highlight the ways that face-to-face interactions might also be mediated, through our own technologies of perception, language, and urban space.

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