Contents
=> “Masha’s Psychology Test” — Activity & Discussion
=> “Solo Language Learning Tips (Part II)”
=> FEELTA’s 8th Winter Methodology School, Vladivostok
=> Upcoming American Corner Presentations: Moscow, Kazan
=> In the Next Issue

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“Masha’s Psychology Test” — Activity & Discussion
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People love psychological tests, tests that inform you about yourself. Here is one you can use in class. It’s not for kids though. Tell learners you are going to do a dictation. They should follow your instructions. (That’s a decent language activity in itself.)

Thanks and best wishes to Masha from Dalnegorsk (and now from Japan) for originally administering this test to Kevin and Mr. P. We wish you the best, Mash.

Instructions for Students:

1. Take out a piece of paper.

2. Draw two lines intersecting in the center of the paper. You are dividing the paper into four squares, or quadrants.

3. Give each square a number, from 1 to 4. You do not need to number the squares in any particular order.

4. Put the following letters into the squares: W, L, F, H. It doesn’t matter where you put them. Just make sure each letter is in a different square.

5. Draw a picture of a creature–animal, insect, reptile, bird–in each square.[Instead, students may write the name of the animal. It’s best to do this in their native language–this gives them a greater range of choice. We will translate any unknown words into English later].

6. Write two adjectives into each square. [Again, it’s fine if students do this in their native language. In other words, they shouldn’t be limited by their knowledge of English.]

7. You’ve finished.

Translate:
Have students translate into English all the adjectives and animal names. They may help each other.

Warning!
Don’t read any further if you would like to take the test yourself. Do the test first!

How to Analyse the Results of Masha’s Psych Test

W = Work (or studies for students)
L = Life
F = Friends
H = Heart (in other words, love)

Discussion
To encourage students to learn English in discussing the results of there tests give them these unfinished models . . .

1. I am like a __________ (name of animal) when it comes to Work because . . .
2. I am like a __________ (name of animal) when it comes to Love because . . .
3. I am like a __________ (name of animal) when it comes to Life because . . .
4. I am like a __________ (name of animal) when it comes to Friends because . . .

And then these questions . . .

1. In what way are the adjectives accurate descriptions of your attitudes towards Work/Love/Life/Friends?

2. Do you agree/disagree with the rankings (the order of importance) in which you put Work/Love/Life/Friends? Why or why not?

If you want to see what the layout might look like, here is Kevin’s original test. And here is Mr. Poosheesty’s test.

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“Solo Language Learning Tips (Part II)”
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A common question I’m asked is “How do we practice language if we have nobody to talk to?” Talk to yourself. Why not? Last issue, we brought you the first 5 tips. Now you have numbers 6-10. Yes, they all involve the internet, but next week we’ll have some non-internet ideas.

If readers have their own unusual methods of learning English by yourself, I’d be grateful if you would send them in.

6. Play word games online. There are tons of them. But for some nice, easy, free games try vocabulary.com.

7. Chat Rooms or Online Forums are places are internet spots where people can type to each other, almost in real time. It’s like having a conversation with people around the world. Chat rooms might be one of the greatest language learning tools in the world. You read, type, and write informal, contemporary English, and get an immediate response from others. (How many langauge classrooms can boast that kind of activity?) If you want to have conversations with people from all over the world (I just chatted with two girls from Tasmania) sign up for one of these popular and free chat sites: Yahoo chat. Students of the World I found very simple to use.

8. Songs. I have met Russians who claimed most of the English they know comes from songs they learned. My California friend Eddy is learning Russian much based pretty much on Vysotsky and Okudzhava. It’s so easier to find any song lyric on the net: Write the name of the song in quotes (e.g., “Summertime”) and “lyrics” into any search engine. You will get there right away.

Russian-American writer Vladimir Nabokov probably wouldn’t have liked this language-learning method, since he described music as “arbitrary” and “irritating sounds.” He’s lucky he never got to hear karaoke!

9. Which leads us to karaoke: another great language learning tool, believe it or not! Yes, it’s digusting to hear karaoke blaring at the beach front, as is often the case in Russia, but it’s is a superb way to learn a language. The words are written for you and the melody is there to reinforce them. Karaoke machines are for sale, and you can run them through your TV. But you’ll also find karaoke CD ROMs that play on your computer. Or try a free online karaoke site . . . This one, Ronan’s Online Karaoke, is really easy to use. And you could even, if you wanted, hold a cassette recorder next to your computer and tape the music. That way you can use karaoke in the classroom.

10. Word a Day: Want to have a new word sent to you by email everyday? You can go to http://wordsmith.org/awad/index.html and subsribe. Some of the words are common, many obscure. But just reading the English definitions and origins is good practice. Besides, an internet search will reveal a lot more of these email vocabulary newsletters.

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FEELTA’s 8th Winter Methodology School, Vladivostok
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FEELTA (Far Eastern English Language Teachers Association) 8th Annual Winter Methodology School, January 20-22, 2005, Vladivostok

A 3-day conference featuring seminars by local and native-speaking specialists.

SOME OF THE TOPICS
*Love Across Borders: Russian-American Marriages
*Immigrants and Influence: Russians in America
*21 Ways to Use Dictation
*Sing-Along Songs
*Cultural Awareness Raising Activities
*How to Read a Newspaper in a Language You Don’t Know: Top-Down Reading Skills
*How to Understand TV News in a Language You Don’t Know: Top-Down Listening Skills
*An American in the Russian Far East: Culture Topics for Teachers
*Warm-up Activities

COSTS
50 rubles per day for FEELTA members and students.
100 rubles per day for non-members
Non-members may pay 200 rubles for all 3 days during the first day.

WHERE
DVGU, 56 Ul. Aleutskaya, 3rd Floor, Humanities Corpus,

STARTING TIMES
Registration: January 20, 1:00 p.m. (Just come!)

Jan 20: Thursday: 14:00-18:00
Jan 21: Friday: 14:00-18:00
Jan 22: Saturday: 10:00-14:00

ACCOMODATION
Those needing a place to stay in Vladivostok should send their name and phone number immediately to kevin@kevinmccaughey.com. We will try to arrange dormitory accomodation for a reasonable price.

CONTACT
tel: (4232) 45 93 92

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American Corner Presentations
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Kazan: January 27, 15:30 “Love Across Borders: Russian American Marriages”
Moscow: January 31, 16:00 “Love Across Borders: Russian American Marriages”

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“In the Next Issue”
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on or about January 24th, 2004:
Some Very Lucky Expressions
“Solo Language Learning Tips (Part III)”
Statistics on Russian Internet Use