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Brazilian Kids Learning English By Video Chatting With Elderly Americans
Hugh Pickens DOT Com (2995471) writes "Tim Nudd writes that it's the perfect match: Young Brazilians want to learn English. Elderly Americans living in retirement homes just want someone to talk to. Why not connect them? The advertising company FCB Brazil did just that with its 'Speaking Exchange' project for CNA language schools where young Brazilians and older Americans connect via Web chats, and they not only begin to share a language—they develop relationships that enrich both sides culturally and emotionally. 'The goal of the Speaking Exchange project is to transform lives,' says Luciana Fortuna. 'Our students have the opportunity to practice English with people who are willing to listen. During the chat sessions, the students discuss ideas and information from their lives in Brazil with the American senior citizens, many of whom have never had contact with anyone from Brazil before.' The pilot project was implemented at a CNA school in Liberdade, Brazil, and the Windsor Park Retirement Community in Chicago. The conversations are recorded and uploaded as private YouTube videos for the teachers to evaluate the students' development. 'The idea is simple and it's a win-win proposition for both the students and the American senior citizens. It's exciting to see their reactions and contentment. It truly benefits both sides,' says Joanna Monteiro."
There are thousands of languages in the world, many not committed to writing, so there are a lot of "minor" languages for which one would have trouble finding texts. But what is the likelihood of you being interested in languages so "minor"? For languages large enough for people in other countries to hear of them, there's a good change that you can find texts on the internet if you simply look harder.
For example, I am a linguist working with minority languages of Russia, namely Mari, Chuvash, Tatar and Udmurt, and even when I started learning these languages a decade ago, there were already abundant internet resources: lots of bloggers, provincial newspapers, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has a Tatar service with long articles on their website. Text has always been easy to get, but the last five years have seen a rise in the availability of audio/video materials. State television is now regularly uploading broadcasts to YouTube, and independent media occasionally posts videos.
Plus, linguists have been one of the scholarly communities most dedicated to supporting pirate ebook sites. If you know where to look, you can find scanned and uploaded readers for nearly any documented language.
Not all of us care to read Reddit.
The ones who sure surely are mentally strong enough to handle a repost every now and again?
Besides, don't you have the private pleasure of reading it first...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
"This scheme is a great success that is transforming the Brazilian culture"
And American culture too, I predict. As we don't have time for our elderly, I wonder how many more will find new little friends on the internet to whom they can recount their stories and who will keep them company?
This is a good story for everyone.
--- "We've always been at war with Eastasia."
I have seen far too much senior exploitation
My son participated in something similar in the early 90's. He was in the last year of primary school (Australia), after introducing the kids to a group of senior via a "party" in a nearby retirement home they paired off kids with seniors followed by maybe a dozen weekly visits where the kids and seniors just sat around and talked. The class was the weekly visit itself there were no set topic of discussion and no notebooks, the home work was to describe each weeks visits in writing. My son was paired up with a Hiroshima survivor who had fought for the Japanese army in Burma, not an everyday lesson but certainly a valuable one.
Having said that, I fully acknowledge that the majority of old people living in these places are either not lucid, require hospitalization, or are not lucky/rich enough to land in descent seniors accommodation: I drove a taxi for 3yrs during the 80's, I've probably seen the inside of more old people's homes than you would care to imagine. A "computer pen pal" scheme such as this one would be a welcome improvement to the depressing circumstances I witnessed in at least 3/4 of those homes. I can still picture the (very)old man with a vomit stained dressing gown tied to a wheel chair in a "geriatric centre" that had been built in the windowless basement of a large hospital, they hadn't even bothered to paint the concrete walls. It's one of the most pitiful real life scenes I've witnessed in 55yrs. But old people wallowing in "piss and vomit" is much worse than just "exploiting" someone vulnerable for financial gain, it's two of the worst of human traits combined - cruelty and neglect.
What these disgracefully neglected people need is basic dignity and respect. Assuming the status-quo in old folks homes doesn't inexplicable change tomorrow, a "bright-eyed and bushy tailed" teenager that reacts to them as a student reacts to a respected teacher is precisely the psychological boost they need. Life experience is all they have left to offer society and they find dignity in the fact that a "young person" (under 70) accepts their offer. Assuming there's no "profit sharing" arrangements between the entity running the old folks home and the advertising company providing the ad-supported social network, I really can't see why you would have a problem with it.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
Thanks to YouTube, we can outsource our grandchildren.
These comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of my employer or colleagues...
People succeeding and failing regardless of the language they speak? Are you seriously making that statement?
The most successful people are those that speak the lingua franca. (Yes, I know exactly what that means and where the term came from.) The Chinese are not a counter-example. When the Chinese became more unified, they did so through language unification and even simplification. The language has become very efficient. And English? Well, it's the lingua franca for now despite how bad it's getting.
I seriously don't know why I have been modded as flamebait. What have I said that's not true? It's far from pseudoscience when there have been many studies on the connection between language and intelligence which lead to this general understanding. It may be simplistic to say, but highly illustrative to the point, but languages that do not include a zero in their counting systems understandably have weaker math skills. That should come as no surprise to anyone. But as language and standards and styles of usage go, it's not hard to see where things break down and fail.
People are amazingly quick to bash, but amazingly reluctant to to offer up anything substantive to counter. (And once again, in case I wasn't clear, there is no 3000 year old Chinese language. Mandarin, in its current form doesn't go back that far. The oldest standard goes back what? Just over 600 years or so? So if you think you are right, please try again.
This is a good story for everyone.
I don't know. Just wait until have a generation of Brazilians speaking English and sounding like a Jewish grandmother. ;-)
the growth in cynicism and rebellion has not been without cause
Does nation of Brasil have the word "America" in its official name?
How about Canada? Mexico? Guatemala? Let's go down the list and see.
Except that the America in the name of the USA refers to its location. Everyone in North and South America is an American. Because, as per your logic, they live on a continent with America in its official name. When I travel abroad and people ask me where I am from, I tell them I am from the United States. I do not tell them that I am an American because that narrows it down to 35 countries.