Okay, so right off the bat today Jeff hands us this paper full of little symbols and asks us to decode it. Talk about frustrating! No context, no key, nothing. I get so uncomfortable with tasks like that because there's no way to know if you're doing it right. Which is exactly where our discussion went. I was SO happy that the first part of the discussion centered around the foreign language folks (sorry all other disciplines). It seems rare that this happens, so it was exciting for me to be able to add valuable input to a conversation. In relation to the task Jeff presented us, Mindy brought up this idea of ambiguity in the context of foreign language learning. She made some very interesting and insightful observations. But I still have to go back to my point that the ability to be comfortable with ambiguity in a subject presumes, I think, a certain level of knowledge and understanding of that subject. I can be comfortable with a certain level of ambiguity in Latin because I know the fundamentals of the language, and I know where and how much ambiguity is acceptable. I do, however, agree with Mindy's point that reading texts in a foreign language is very much like problem solving. This is something I hadn't really considered before, but it resonated with me very strongly. I love reading Latin and find it so much fun to figure out how all the individual pieces fit together into a coherent whole.
The second half of class was podcasting. Which, again, was frustratingly fun. It took me a while to figure out how to navigate the aviary software, but definitely worth the struggle. I enjoyed making the "commercial" for Marginalia- the blog I follow- even though the end product has me sounding like an enthusiastic clown. Oh well, isn't that the point of commercials? I haven't yet listened to my classmates' podcasts, but I'm sure they are all very entertaining. I'm still a little apprehensive about the podcast assignment due on Friday, but am ever so grateful to Kristin for sitting through this practice session with us and helping to clear up questions and problems that arose.
Definitely an enjoyable class!
I'm really nervous about the podcast, too! About both being able to sort out the technical issues (I had some last time) as well as being able to think of something honest and compelling to say. The truth is that I feel, um, a little bit stressed and under pressure! But the assignment has definitely got me thinking...I'm constantly thinking of ideas and how they might relate together...
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it was nice to get some foreign language talk time! When you mentioned third declension neuter nouns or whatever it was, I feel like there was a strong bond formed between all us FL people, I wanted to get up and hug you. I hope that's not creepy, I was just happy we were finally getting a moment to show off our language nerdyness.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you about needing to know the basics in order to have a tolerance for ambiguity. Some ambiguity is good, but total ambiguity, as would be if there was no knowledge of basics...not so much.
Diane, Mindy and I were actually talking about the ambiguity idea again this morning, in terms of when it's appropriate to speak to students in the target language. In general, we felt that grammar rules are most efficiently given in English, because students can't navigate any ambiguity without knowing the general rules. Plus, there are some grammar concepts that took forever to understand in my immersion classes, and I was always frustrated that the teacher didn't just give the rule in English instead since it would be much, much faster. At a certain point it becomes a matter of being efficient with time.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the podcasting was a little intimidating at first, but ended up being a ton of fun! I don't really like to listen to my own voice, so being able to record ourselves multiple times until we were happy with the finished product was a nice way to make me feel more comfortable. And getting to pick our own music...so cool!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Kyle's podcast is hilarious!