LA ENSEÑANZA DE LA VISIÓN Y EL COLOR
1.3. El sistema visual
For some students, the thing they are afraid of the most is being "lost" inside a strange new language. But at some time, that is the only way they will learn to be comfortable understanding and using Globish. So we begin with "immersion," like being thrown in the water and learning to swim -- with a teacher.
Globish In Globish makes "immersion learning" easier in a few distinct ways:
1. It begins with 350 of the most-used words in English:
The basic 350 words in Globish (Most-Used Order follows Alphabetical)
a
350 words in order of Most-Used:
2.
Pre-Test shows if student can read 350 words
The Pre-Test uses only those 350 words. If students can read the Pre-Test and select the best answer for each question, then they are ready for Lesson A.
Usually the student who takes this 20 question Pre-Test thinks it is fun. If the student experiences a lot of difficulty with the Pre-Test, he or she probably does not have the world level or basic reading ability to begin GNG.
3. Lesson A adds 44 new words -- they are next most-used words.
The student reads the grammar part of the lesson in 394 words, and clicks where it says to "click" and completes interactive exercises. If the teacher is present, the teacher can help with these. If not, it may become something that the teacher and the student discuss. The main thing is that the student, by reading the lesson first and trying to learn from it, is "experiencing" Globish at its simplest, but in a way that is more difficult at first. Each new grammar lesson is made from the words in the lesson before PLUS the 44 next-most-used words. So all of Lesson B will have only 438 of the most-used words in English.
4. The Grammar also goes from simplest to next-simplest.
The patterns start simply and are built in as regular and expected a way as
possible. Beginning with present static verbs of to be, the student concentrates on I am, You are, He is, etc first with positive adjectives: I am happy. Then the
student learns to make a negative: I am not happy. Then he changes the adjective for a noun. Peter is a teacher. And then begins simple questions: Is Mary happy?
and finally ends with Wh questions: Why is Mary happy? Where is Peter? Who is Tim?
5. Lesson A Story comes from the 350 words PLUS 44 new words
. In the same way the Grammar portion is built incrementally from the next-most-used 44 words, each story adds 44 words. In the stories, each new word isunderlined and the student can click on it for the meaning, and return to the story. The student can both read and listen to the story if he or she chooses. After each story, the list of 44 new words in that lesson are pronounced.
---
This structure, through 26 lessons -- A-Z -- means several things to the students:
A. They will have a certain number of words to learn, and these words will be the most useful words they could have in English or Globish. That means that the students always know they are learning the most important things first, and
that there is the highest probability that they will hear them and even use them if they are in that language environment.
B. The most common words will often be used in the next stories, and that will reinforce their learning and make their immersion, listening and reading, easier with each lesson as they see words they know again, like old friends.
C. They will begin building useful sentences immediately and interactively by click selection. There are no penalties: they just keep clicking until they build the sentence. Once again, the immersion method has them thinking inside the
language while they are learning.
D. As they learn to move around in the lessons, they will have to decide where to go and how to get it. They will become "conditioned" to making decisions inside the language, and being instantly rewarded if they are good decisions.
How the Teacher Can Help with Immersion Learning
The first few lessons will be the most difficult in the immersion process, where the student must become used to reading and listening and thinking in simple Globish. Although the best use of the Hybrid course system will be for the student to go through the lessons first by himself or herself, in the first lessons it can be important for some -- and perhaps most -- students to have a friendly guide.
For that reason, you may want to plan for a few hours with the students on the early lessons, but be ready to give them a few extra hours if they need to gain confidence. You will be the one telling them that does make sense, and that they can do it. Ideally this will only last for a few lessons. In the rest, they will ask you questions about what they have done in the lesson, and you will ask questions and converse with them in Globish, having the subject matter of the lesson always as the basis.
These early lessons will also help the teacher learn about the student and the ease or difficulties they might have with various subjects. If the teacher notes that the student as special problems with pronunciation, then that teacher can -- and should -- give extra time to that skill, until the student is comfortable with the lesson. Once again, the structure of GNG makes only the certain areas in the lesson the things to be learned, and not everything at once. The teacher can help keep those things straight for the students as well.
GNG as a Method of Learning Intermediate English
There will be people who are not sure they want to begin Globish because they are afraid that it will make their English "broken" and that it will be difficult to proceed with more advanced English if they work for an English speaking company, or live in an English-speaking country, or wish to go to a University that requires a higher level of English, especially for reading and writing.
As a teacher of English as well as Globish, you can assure them that good
Globish will make them understandable to English speakers, and will give them simple but correct English to build on. If they do decide to proceed to more advanced English, Globish as they learn it in GNG will give them a level of BI in the Council of Europe's Framework of Reference for English. So Globish is a competent use of English for most travel and business purposes. Globish is also an excellent base if they choose to study more English.
For purposes of testing, more advanced English will require a few more complex verb forms, a lot of idiomatic usage, about 2500 more words, and a lot of reading in all forms of English current and past literature. It will require much more experience speaking and writing in English.
The main point here, however, is that Good Globish is Correct English, and it provides a plateau they can use for a tremendous amount of communication with the world's English speakers. They will also have an excellent point to start again on more advanced English studies should their needs change.