laoshu505000

Senior Member

United States

Joined 4301 days ago

121 posts - 231 votes

Speaks: English*



Message 1 of 25 14 January 2010 at 4:14pm | IP Logged

As promised, I've made an overview of the technique I use for picking up new languages. There are 4 steps to the process, but step 3, I've already talked a lot about that step in a lot of my previous videos. I basically talked about utilizing chat rooms and other output.For some reason, I was unable to upload the video on youtube. I will try again later, but for now, I will post up the other steps. I will also post the script here for you guys to see. I hope it helps those who are just beginning a language. Thanks for viewing.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY5oOOlvsN4 Step 1,2



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJFX5tTnK3c Step 3



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlgaT1jzVHQ Step 4





STEP#1



(Who)

- Who's teaching you the language?

- Who taught you the language?

- Who did you learn the language from?

- Who is your teacher?

*And any other questions using ''who''

----------------------------------------



(What)

- What is your name?

- What's your reason for learning the language?

- What is your job?

- What do you do?

- What is your age?

- What do you do in your spare time?

- What does this mean?

- What time is it?

- What is today's date?

- What are your hobbies?

*And any other questions using ''what''

-----------------------------------------

(When)



- When did you start learning the language?

- When did you go to the country?

- When will you go to the country?

*And any other questions using ''when''

------------------------------------------



(Where)



- Where are you from?

- Where did you learn the language?

- Where in the country have you been?

- Where in the country will you go?

- Where is your hometown?

- Where do you want to go

*And any other questions using ''where''

-------------------------------------------

(Why)



- Why are you interested in the language?

- Why did you choose to learn the language?

- Why do you think the language is interesting?

* And any other questions using ''why''

-----------------------------------------------

(How)



- How did you learn the language?

- How long have you learned the language?

- How much time do you spend studying the language?

- How do you say(......)

- How do you write (......)

- How are you learning the language?

* And any other questions using ''how''



(Which)



- Which countries have you been to?

- Which books are you using to learn the language?

- Which city do you live in?

- Which language you enjoy learning the most

- Which languages are you learning?

*And any other questions using ''which''

--------------------------------------------------

(What kind)



- What kind of food do you like?

- What kind of books are you using?

- What kind of audio are you using for the language?

* And any other questions using ''what kind''

----------------------------------------------------



Other important questions that will be asked:



(Have you ever been to the country?)

-Have you ever been to China before?

- I've never been to China before, (but) (I'm sure) one day I will get the opportunity to go there.

(Do you think the language is difficult?)

(Do you think the language is difficult?)

----------------------------------------------------



ROAD RUNNING KEY WORDS:



Although, But, even if, if, when (when something occurs), and, now, other, told me,

Moreover, whenever, or, also, now, because, after, before, to think, very, is that so,

than, as long as, continue, still, probably, maybe, usually, sometimes, ok, I see, to make(make something happen) once in a while, always, especially, like this, like that, must, simply, Yet, feel, Hope that ,just, just(a minute ago), for example, as soon as, believe, with, at least, more and more, Most interesting of all, seems, I'm sure that, in order to, for me, more, the more...the, easiest-Most difficult (Superlative),too(excessive), also, in comparison to, certainly, in my opinion, to me, in my point of view, soon, as a matter of fact, honestly, Actually, already, Heard that, for sure, better (I'd better), about, even.

------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------



* One should incorporate these key terms as much as possible with everything

learned. Here's a list of examples using them with interrogatives:



- WHO'S TEACHING YOU THE LANGUAGE



I'm learning the language on my own (now), (but),(although) I'm learning on my

own, I don't (think) it's a difficult task. (As long as) I (continue) to work hard,I will be successful.



- WHICH LANGUAGES ARE YOU LEARNING?



(Now) I'm learning Chinese (and) Japanese, (but) I will (probably) start learning (other)languages (because) I (Believe) learning (many) languages is very enriching. (Although) it (may) be difficult for an individual, (at least) the learning process will be fun.

------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------



Moses McCormick











Edited by laoshu505000 on 15 January 2010 at 12:21pm

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jondesousa

Tetraglot

Senior Member

United States

goo.gl/Zgg3nRegistered users can see my Skype Name

Joined 4749 days ago

227 posts - 297 votes

Speaks: English*, Portuguese, Japanese, Esperanto

Studies: Latin, Mandarin, Spanish



Message 2 of 25 14 January 2010 at 5:08pm | IP Logged

Moses,



Thanks so much for these other wonderful videos. I'll check them out tonight. Are you back home now? How did you enjoy your trip? Your videos have been entertaining and interesting.



Jon

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laoshu505000

Senior Member

United States

Joined 4301 days ago

121 posts - 231 votes

Speaks: English*



Message 3 of 25 14 January 2010 at 7:15pm | IP Logged

jondesousa wrote:

Moses,



Thanks so much for these other wonderful videos. I'll check them out tonight. Are you back home now? How did you enjoy your trip? Your videos have been entertaining and interesting.



Jon



Yes, I got back home about 1 week ago. The trip was fantastic.I'll be going back in 2 years time.



Moses

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RipeIdeas

Newbie

Japan

orangeroomstudios.wo

Joined 3847 days ago

3 posts - 11 votes

Speaks: English*



Message 4 of 25 02 April 2010 at 9:43pm | IP Logged

Moses,



Thank you for your inspiring work in foreign language teaching and learning. I haven't gotten around to watching all of your videos, but between the videos I have seen, and just knowing how much time, effort, and thought you have invested, I am once both humbled and encouraged



More specifically, I was glad to find tonight your videos and overview of your FLR Technique. With well-defined, well-developed methods like this, and those of Prof. Arguelles (like the Shadowing and Scriptorium techniques, as wel as his general educational philosophy and approach to autodidacticism), I believe the entire community of independent language learners will not just benefit practically, but more importantly come together and, with time and collaborative efforts, change the way we see the world.



You may have answered this question on another thread, but what is your timeline for this 4 step technique? Is this what you use when you mention your plan to work on one new language every 3 months? I am curious, then, how you deal with the question of maintenance?



Tommy

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laoshu505000

Senior Member

United States

Joined 4301 days ago

121 posts - 231 votes

Speaks: English*



Message 5 of 25 06 April 2010 at 2:11am | IP Logged

RipeIdeas wrote:

Moses,



Thank you for your inspiring work in foreign language teaching and learning. I haven't gotten around to watching all of your videos, but between the videos I have seen, and just knowing how much time, effort, and thought you have invested, I am once both humbled and encouraged.



More specifically, I was glad to find tonight your videos and overview of your FLR Technique. With well-defined, well-developed methods like this, and those of Prof. Arguelles (like the Shadowing and Scriptorium techniques, as wel as his general educational philosophy and approach to autodidacticism), I believe the entire community of independent language learners will not just benefit practically, but more importantly come together and, with time and collaborative efforts, change the way we see the world.



You may have answered this question on another thread, but what is your timeline for this 4 step technique? Is this what you use when you mention your plan to work on one new language every 3 months? I am curious, then, how you deal with the question of maintenance?



Tommy



Hi Tommy,



Sorry for the late reply.First off, I wanna thank you for watching my videos. I'm very happy to have read your message regarding FLR.



As for time period, it shouldn't take no longer than 3 months to go through this process. It's basically for those who've never studied a language before independantly and don't know where to begin. It gives the learner a jump start, building a strong and basic foundation of whatever language they're attempting to learn. I've pretty much used this strategy for all of the languages I've ever studied.



As for your question- ''maintenance'' that's very important. It will then be up to the learner to continue expanding knowledge in targeted language. Just like any other language, one would have to use it consitantly in order to keep things in tact-even if that means getting a job in the country or just using it with friends on a daily basis.



I hope this all made sense and I've answered your question thoroughly. Let me know if you ever have any questions. Talk to you soon.



Best,



Moses McCormick



Edited by laoshu505000 on 06 April 2010 at 2:11am

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delta910

Diglot

Senior Member

United States

Joined 4360 days ago

267 posts - 313 votes

Speaks: English*, Spanish

Studies: Dutch, German



Message 6 of 25 06 April 2010 at 6:27am | IP Logged

First off, great videos Moses. I always enjoy watching your videos and they're great to boost my motivation. Keep

it up!



Ok, maybe it's me but I'm somewhat confused with the FLR technique. It seems as though that right when one

begins a language one should right away create and learn these phrases you have put up to use in a

conversation, but how can one do that when one knows nothing in the language or very little of that language? It

seems as though it is more of a way to do output rather than input and is more intended for learners to use

when they are at a higher level.



Also, when talking about key words in a text, at the beginning for a new learner of that language, wouldn't all of

the words of that dialogue be considered key words since one has no to little vocabulary and needs words to

build off from?



It seems you are wanting to do output before you have any input of that language or use that language before

one has knowledge or a large vocabulary of that language. Also, when speaking to a native speaker, one just

can't expect to know some key phrases and anticipate what a native will say; furthermore, they may ask you one

of those questions and you'll give the answer but then they'll come with another question that you haven't

"rehearsed" and you'll be caught with your pants down with very very limited vocabulary with nothing else to

help you.



Is this technique intended for right out of the box learners with now knowledge of that language, or is it more of

a method for people to use later on in their learning to help strike up a conversation with natives as output?



I'm curious about your thoughts Moses.



Thanks!





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RipeIdeas

Newbie

Japan

orangeroomstudios.wo

Joined 3847 days ago

3 posts - 11 votes

Speaks: English*



Message 7 of 25 06 April 2010 at 7:58am | IP Logged

@delta910



Your question is related to Steve Kaufmann's ideas of having to do a lot of listening and vocabulary-building before speaking, as particularly emphasized in his response to Benny the Irish Polyglot's latest attempt to pass as a native speaker of German after only 3 months of immersion.



Without getting off topic, though, I see the FLR Technique as one of many tools in the polyglot's arsenal, and in this regard, the FLR technique is a tool that a beginner can use for early conversational encounters with native speakers by, in steps 1 and 2, prioritizing vocabulary (basically by memorizing interrogatives and the keywords). I imagine that other polyglots are always supplementing their techniques with other strategies, materials, resources etc which, over time, also build words.



Probably the Road Running Keywords part needs more explanation and better categorization, if anything, as the words listed, while all very important to have in your vocabulary at some point, represent a large range of complexity. For example, "but" and "in my opinion" are really different concepts, and here delta910 might agree that it would be kind of bizarre and unproductive to whip out on a whim "as a matter of fact,..." without the "appropriate" lexicon to subsequently justify its grand entrance.



However, having been in many situations with a (missed) chance to communicate with a native speaker of a foreign language of my interest, I have to say that, at the very least, the FLR approach is on the right path. On many levels, it's much better to barely get through one or two questions of such an encounter than to have nothing to say at all. Who knows, you might end up making a friend with whom to practice with later. Basically we will always be "caught with a pants down" in foreign language study; its just a question of how much you show, and how far you get (away) with that ;)



Anyway, I am also curious about Moses' thoughts.





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laoshu505000

Senior Member

United States

Joined 4301 days ago

121 posts - 231 votes

Speaks: English*



Message 8 of 25 08 April 2010 at 4:24pm | IP Logged