posted by zjv5002 on October 23, 2011 | 8 comments
It occurred to me listening to one of your episodes recently that, beneath the gay vampire CCTV hosts, a pedagogical method peaks out. Dialogues are almost aggressively atypical linguistic situations; unlike, for example (courtesy of my text last year) "buying fruit", "renting a boat", "watching a modern drama"...there's more. Or, they are surreal parodies of those situations (zombie bank teller). I guess what I mean is that gay vampire CCTV hosts ARE the pedagogical method, making the content memorable enough that we can remember the grammar and vocab that's along for the ride. What I what to hear is how you guys are arrived at this strategy, seemingly from the start, and what data led you this way.
And, also, why does everybody else keep pumping out textbook chapters titled "Watching a Modern Drama"? Even companies outside of the Chinese university system seem hard pressed to offer much worth using. Are they sporting some other set of data? Or is this a conspiracy? And if it is a conspiracy, why? Why?
I don't know if there is really any method to our madness, save for trying to produce lessons we enjoy and find useful ourselves. So it isn't a data-driven process so much as a product of our own frustrations with the sorts of materials you're describing. On the Chinese side, there is a lot of funding for various projects but the process is fairly corrupt and doesn't seem to produce much in the way of useful materials.
drummerboy on October 24, 2011 | reply
With or without data to support your teaching methods, you have really struck magic here! Your materials are fun, refreshing, and most importantly....useful! I love the dark sense of humor and creative dialogues that make the material easier to remember.
I wish popup had been around when I started to study because I definitely would have a greater level of fluency than I possess today. People have already noticed and commented on the progress I've made since jumping on the popup bandwagon (and studying with Echo).
I remember one of the first things Echo told me was to get away from the traditional chinese textbooks that I was so accustomed to. At first it was a bit uncomfortable because for years all I knew was the traditional texts. The thought of reading newspapers, magazines, and material that Chinese people read was very intimidating.
Now, nearly 6 months later I am much more comfortable with these materials. While I still have leaps and bounds to go, I definitely would not be where I am today without popup Chinese and Echo.
You guys rock!!! :-)
Keep up the posts like this and the Kung Pao Chicken will be on us! :)
drummerboy on October 25, 2011 | reply
Anyone that has spent time with traditional texts, cassette tapes, etc. and memorizing phrases like "the book is on the table next to the window" sees the value in what popup Chinese offers. While I don't mean to bash the traditional methods as I did learn a lot, and developed a solid foundation, there comes a point where it is very hard to make improvements (at least this was my situation). Your methods are not only fun and effective, but have lighted a new passion for the language that was a bit stale before.
@drummerboy,Awwwww, you are sooooo sweet!--Echoecho@popupchinese.com
I'd bet, though, that there are plenty of numbers among the various social sciences to support this kind of thinking. In some ways, it reminds me of what that Tuttle character book espouses, namely that while making up little stories seems like an overload of information, it actually ties together the character's tone and strokes in a web of associations, all of which are mutually reinforcing. To wit: in one of the episodes I alluded to in my first post (Gay Vampire pt. 2), I certainly didn't NEED to have a story about a homosexual bloodsucker's hot date to learn the lesson's grammar, or even to listen to native speakers. But, because of this overload, I can remember that dialogue line for line.
Glad it's working. We have the same experience with instant recall, but even if the creative element ended up being neutral in terms of its impact on memory, keeping everyone sane is probably worth it.
Incidentally, I suspect there's a less obvious advantage to creativity as well: materials end up being more natural. When I look at the other podcasts available on iTunes, it's amazing that they all embrace an approach we call concept or vocab-stuffing (i.e. trying to stuff 10 different dinosaur names into a dialogue). Leaving aside the question of whether it's useful to teach arbitrary nouns, it's rare to find a teacher who can be self-aware enough when writing dialogues to use natural speech, let alone someone aware enough of dramatic tension to really nail the proper emotional nuance. And that -- the tone of voice and everything it implies -- is probably as important for recall as what is actually said.