Phraselator

[Susan Penfield]

Ah, Phil,
So well said--and all of this discussion should be a reminder that
technology is a powerful tool -and its use needs to be carefully
calculated so as not to over-power the central purpose of the task at hand.
Language and language learning are the most human of activities and language
exchange is the richest part of that experience. We take much away from that
when we subsititute
technology for real human interaction. The message coming through all of
this is to not be too quick to jump 'on the band wagon' -- but to carefully
consider not just the immediate impact but the long-term results of reliance
on technology.  That said, in situations where there are few remaining
speakers, technology can support some of the pedagagical tasks, and
certainly can be of value -- but the  overall perspective must not be lost.

and that is my two cents $$
Susan

On 9/7/06, phil cash cash <cashcash at email.arizona.edu> wrote:
>
> For the past week, I have been flooded with emails from people who are
> redistributing this news article and others like it.  The news is also
> spreading in the community where I am currently doing language fieldwork
> (Colville Indian Reservation, Washington).  People who would normally not be
> interested in learning a language have also taken an interest in this new
> device and are telling me all about it.
>
> Thus, it is quite facinating how community people are responding to "new
> technologies" like the Phraselator.  The fact that indigenous communities
> are actually using it really excites people, never mind that it costs 3.5k!
>
>
> I wonder if part of the interest that people are taking stem from the
> perception that new technologies like this tend to relieve of us of the
> complexities of face-to-face interaction and instead offer a more "private,"
> unburdened form of learning.  If so, then it certainly fits the trend where
> "self-directed" learning styles have become the norm in technology-rich
> learning environments.
>
> Or maybe we have become so technology-saturated that any new device that
> can "talk back" to us is our fix...wow.
>
> People like to talk in $$ metaphors, so I will add my "two cents" worth
> here.  The high price we pay for technology is when we remove the living
> breathing fluent speaker from our learning experience and replace them with
> language-based technology.  For communities that have no speakers this may
> not be an issue, but for others it certainly is if you have a living
> breathing fluent speaker in your community who is willing to speak to you in
> your indigenous language.
>
> I admit though that learning language is different from documenting the
> language and in doucmentation situations technology can be very useful,
> sometimes vitally necessary.
>
> But how often do you hear from our/your language teachers "where are our
> language learners?"  Perhaps busy watching TV, DVDs, crusing the internet,
> listening to iPods, and fantasizing about using a Phraselator.
>
> I tease.
>
> Phil Cash Cash
> UofA ILAT
>
>


-- 
Susan D. Penfield, Ph.D.

Associate Director, Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language
and Literacy (CERCLL)
Department of English (Primary)
American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI)
Second Language Acquistion &Teaching Ph.D. Program (SLAT)
Deptartment of Language,Reading and Culture
Department of Linguistics
The Southwest Center (Research)

Phone for messages: (520) 621-1836
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