published article
Leverett, T. (2009, Sept.). Zoom in, zoom out.
Global Study Magazine 5, 3, London, pp. 38-39.
I will let you know when this is available online.
Labels: bib, internet, personal, second life
virtual piranhas
One thing a good interviewer does is keep the interview focused and make sure that all the questions are answered precisely. I'm a lousy interviewer, so what I'm about to show you doesn't really do this. It's what you get when you try to do this stuff after a long week or a long term, in a window of free time late Fri. afternoon.
But Thom Thibeault is my friend, runs the language lab here at SIUC, and is actively using Second Life in his German class; I can see some of his graduate assistants use it as I share the lab some days. They get in their avatars, walk on down the virtual line, and set up language classes for whoever happens to be next in line to take them.
The interview is about what he does and what the possibilities of SL are, and it's worth reading just for the account of the lake with the virtual bridges over it, and the piranhas in it, ready to devour any unfortunate avatar whose partner forgets the difference between "left" and "right"...it adds context (virtual) to what most of us would recognize as a familiar lower level exercise.
What it's missing is any sign of what the rest of the university thinks of it, including the students. So, at a German Club bake sale, I bought a cupcake and asked. Nobody had been in that particular class, though one guy said it made him nervous; he wasn't comfortable with 3d controls. At the swimming pool, I talked with another German professor, this one 30 but intimidated by iPhones. He gave the other side: as long as there's a teacher in the room, the virtual will not replace the teacher, he said. This is a common rebuttal, and I didn't argue with him, though on hindsight I can think of lots of things Thom can do that I can't.
I'll end it here. Read it for yourself, it's just a blog post.
Leverett, T. (2008, Oct.).
Second Life and language learning: an interview with Thom Thibeault. http://whereuatwchat.blogspot.com/2008/10/interview-with-thom-thibeault-lets.html.
Labels: chat, language, second life, siuc
from out & around
FACEBOOK
Lady Zee (2008, Feb. 3).
Facebook redefines the word "private." e-controversy. http://www.e-controversy.com/Facebook_Privacy_1a.html. Accessed 10-08.
Boutin, P. (2008, Sept. 22).
Million-member march begs for old Facebook back, valleywag. http://valleywag.com/5052891/million+member-march-begs-for-old-facebook-back. Accessed 10-08.
Lacy, S. (2006, Sept. 8).
Facebook learns from its fumble.
Business Week. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2006/tc20060908_536553.htmchan=top+news_top+news+index_technology. Accessed 10-08.
Spool, J. (2006, Sept. 13).
The Facebook controversy: A lesson about embraceable change. User interface engineering. http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2006/09/13/the-facebook-controversy-a-lesson-about-embraceable-change/. Accessed 10-08.
OTHER TECH:
Shankland, S. (2008, Sept. 10).
Flickr revamp spotlights photos, social features. cnet news. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13580_3-10038016-39.html. Accessed 10-08.
Kuchera, B. (2008, May 6).
Second Life a danger for children? Lawmaker trawls for votes.
ars technica. http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2008/05/06/second-life-a-danger-to-children-lawmaker-trawls-for-votes. Accessed 10-08.
Paul, R. (2008, Mar. 19).
Twitter breaks down barriers in the classroom. ars technica. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080319-twitter-breaks-down-barriers-in-the-classroom.html. Accessed 10-08.
CNN.com (2008, Apr. 25).
'Monotonous page turning helps digitize books for Google. http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/25/google.books.ap/index.html. Accessed 10-08.
Waldrop, M. (2008, April 21).
Is open access science the future? Scientific American. http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=science-2-point-0&print=true. Accessed 10-08.
LANGUAGE
Belin, P. (2008, Sept.)
Monkey brains hint at evolutionary root of language processing.
Scientific American. http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=monkey-brains-hint-at-evolutionary-root. Accessed 10-08.
MISC.
empty bottle weblog. (2008, July).
My home is dying, story of forests dying in British Columbia.
Cui, Weiping (2008, Sept. 28).
Behind the milk scare, a frightening silence. Washington Post online.
Labels: bib, facebook, language, second life
articles from around & about
small worldWarner, B. (2008, May 21).
Google takes on Portuguese, and wins.
Times Online. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3978345.ece. Accessed 6-08.
history of chatStrom, D. (2006, Dec. 7).
Beyond IM: Group chat evolving into e-mail 2.0. Information Week. http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196602327. Accessed 6-08.
Schofield, J. (2002, Aug. 08).
Chat to the future.
Guardian. Technology. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2002/aug/08/onlinesupplement.newmedia. Accessed 6-08.
internet etc.Ito, J. (2008, May 23).
Is mobile Internet really such a good thing? Joi Ito weblog. http://joi.ito.com/weblog/2008/05/23/is-mobile-inter.html. Accessed 6-08.
Whyte, M. (2008, Jun. 1).
Tweet, tweet- there's been an earthquake. thestar.com, Toronto. http://www.thestar.com/News/Ideas/article/434826. Accessed 6-08.
Carter, D. (2008, May 2).
University nixes web access during class.
eSchool News. http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53691. Accessed 6-08.
Second LifeDawson, C. (2008, May 8).
Second Life is the latest reason our kids are doomed. ZDNet. http://education.zdnet.com/?p=1662. Accessed 6-08.
Labels: bib, chat, internet, second life
articles from around and about
Blogs
Rose, A. (2008, Feb. 1).
Decision: Blogs vs. New York Times The Long Now Foundation. http://blog.longnow.org/2008/02/01/decision-blogs-vs-new-york-times/. Accessed 5-08.
Wikipedia
Hesse, M. (2008, April 27).
Truth- Can you handle it?.
Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/25/AR2008042500922.html. Accessed 5-08.
Literacy/Reading/Education
Golan, A. (2007, Dec. 5).
The hand that moves the mouse.
Haaretz, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/930806.html. Accessed 5-08.
Shapiro, S. (2008).
It's time for a progressive vision of education.
Tikkun. http://www.tikkun.org/magazine/tik0801/frontpage/education. Accessed 5-08.
Open Access
Waldrop, M. M. (2008, April 21).
Is Open Access Science the Future? Scientific American Magazine, http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=science-2-point-0&print=true. Accessed 5-08.
Second Life
Lakshmi, S. (2008, May 13).
Second lease of Life.
Business Standard, Markets & Investing. http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?autono=322703&subLeft=0&chkFlg=Strategy. Accessed 5-08.
Bhaskaran, P. (2008, Mar. 29).
Going gets real in virtual world. Gulf News. http://www.gulfnews.com/world/India/10201339.html. Accessed 5-08.
New World
Eisenberg, M. (2008, May 1).
The parallel information universe. Library Journal. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6551184.html. Accessed 5-08.
Feran, T. (2008, Apr. 12).
Case Western Reserve expands Cleveland Plus virtual experiment.
Plain Dealer, Cleveland. http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living-0/120798921322270.xml&coll=2. Accessed 5-08.
Labels: bib, internet, second life, wikipedia
education in Second Life
Having agreed with my wife not to cross the threshold of Second Life, for fear I would never return, so to speak, I still haven't done it, although I did notice that my computer was on it one day, in the language center, and I almost walked away in someone else's avatar. However, I didn't. I stayed in my own body, and finished my homework.
This didn't stop me, however, from sitting with a guy, Christopher Hill, from my own native state of Ohio, who knew quite a bit about Second Life, at the TESOL Convention. As we talked, I watched him manipulate his avatar a little and talk about SL's possible uses in education, a topic which he admitted to be still in development.
You may know from reading this blog that I felt almost immediately that SL would have a dramatic effect, both on education and on language; that I'm profoundly interested in both; that as a long-standing practitioner of drama in language education (and other kinds of education) I can think of numerous benefits of a virtual self in the language learning classroom right away. This does not mean that I'm ready to give my students a tour. In fact, I asked him, what if I take a group of students into SL, only to be accosted by rude people, or to see an orgy on the first street corner?
Legitimate concerns, he said, and I hope I paraphrase him correctly. He told us about Ohio State's pioneering efforts a little; you can see their wiki
here. He said that there were some language learners in SL, although language learners haven't been flocking to the place, deliberately, knowing that it was the place to be. In particular people have been on there giving both English and Spanish lessons, and those have been received well. He said that in general, finding sexual activity on SL is like the rest of the internet: it's all over the place, yet you have to know where it is, generally, to go there. So you are NOT likely to just stumble upon it, but, who knows? And people use their avatars to make gestures to each other, all of which have their own unique meanings, some recognizable out here in RL.
A number of SL words came out: griefer- one who goes around being rude and causing grief. prim- an object one uses, in its primitive form, to develop something one wants that is not primitive. In other words, you might pick up a crude virtual "shirt" and then go about adding colors, etc. to it.
In general one worries a lot about appearance, since one doesn't want the stigma of "newbie" which is attached if one doesn't. In general, one tends to fly a lot, since it's possible, and has uses that teleporting or walking don't have. To be safe, landmark a familiar place, put it in your inventory (kind of like putting your mom's phone number in your cell phone), and click on it when you feel uncomfortable; you'll teleport home immediately, and start over.
Similarly, if you die or are shot, you just start again. "I try to have some space between me and my avatar," he said, "because it's healthy." He tells the story of when his avatar was shot and killed. He was letting a student use it, play with it, manipulate it and see what it was like, walking around and grabbing stuff. But the student accidentally bumped into someone hard. "Hey," the guy said, "watch what you're doing!" Some basic elemental politeness would have sufficed at this point, a simple apology. But instead, the student panicked. He backed up, twirled around a little, and, still panicking, bumped the guy again, hard. This time the guy said, enough, let's draw; he drew, and shot him.
There's a lesson in here somewhere, but, I'm still mulling it over. While I struggle to put it into words, I'll leave you with this. If you're ever stuck in a virtual box, truly can't get out, can't figure out how it works, just make sure you have good landmarks in your inventory, and click on one of them. It works, so they say. Of course, I wouldn't know.
Labels: second life, tesol
articles from here & there
Language learning & technology
Tetens, K. & Mulcrone, L. (2007, Nov. 16).
Language learning at MSU moves into the digital age. newsroom.msu.edu, Michigan State Univ.
http://www.newsroom.msu.edu/site/indexer/3250/content.htm, Accessed 11-07.
UVa Today. (2007, Nov. 15).
Engineering professor evangelizes 'Higher Ed 2.0' approach to teaching. Univ. of Virginia.
http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=3310. Accessed 11-07.
Internet
Wolf, C. (2007, Nov. 15).
The web fuels hate speech.
International Herald Tribune.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/15/opinion/edwolf.php. Accessed 11-07.
Hesse, M. (2007, Oct. 21).
In walks this avatar, with a thick, papery thing... Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/19/AR2007101900628.html?sid=ST2007101901894. Accessed 11-07.
Second Life
McCoy, A. (2007, Nov. 11).
Forget the real world; Second Life is the place for me.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh PA.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07315/832353-96.stm. Accessed 11-07.
McCoy, A. (2007, Nov. 11).
What it takes to get a Second Life.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07315/832369-51.stm. Accessed 11-07.
Since I can't let it pass without mentioning, I used to deliver this same
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, mornings, for 42 cents a week. Now I can't even find the cents mark on the keyboard.
Labels: bib, internet, second life
facebook
I have promised students and friends to look into making a CESL-SIUC group on Facebook, and inviting everyone to join it. This would probably be quite simple and harmless. But I hesitate; I'm not sure why.
One reason is that people I know are basically using Facebook as an entire medium of communication, much like e-mail, or cell phones, or any of the other new media. As a media, it has its own unique features, and people are always inviting me to use new ones; many of them I don't understand, or can't control. I don't know how to take things off of my wall, for example, or just tell someone I'm interested in an application, but don't have time to figure out what it is or does.
I
will get to it though. This blog is becoming basically a written record of good ideas that aren't quite coming to fruition, because of lack of time, distractability, pressing family issues, stack of papers or whatever. My intentions are good. If someone were to take the ball and run with it, I would not only get out of the way, but also block, so to speak. Maybe it's not so complicated- like videocams on cellphones. You get used to seeing the other person, and then you can't imagine that you ever communicated without bumping up against their image every couple of minutes. Or without seeing them as they spoke. And someday, all the features of each- e-mail, chat, cell-phone, videocam, facebook, twitter, myspace, second life, blogs- will all be combined in an optimal medium that people can use as they see fit, can use to their own fullest advantage.
So, I sit on the cliff- in awe of the river, knowing it's just a river, yet, hesitant to get wet. Maybe it was growing up near Niagara Falls that draws this kind of analogy out of me.
Labels: cesl, chat, facebook, internet, second life, weblogs, writing
articles from here & there
Cho, Jin-seo (2007, Aug. 3).
Indians to teach English via Internet. The Korea Times.
Hill, H. (2007, May 15).
Online learning. The Times Democrat, Orangeburg, SC.
Bodie, J. (1998).
Teaching technology technique: Computers as teaching tools in postsecondary education. From the 1998 Archives of
Black Issues in Higher Education, Diverse Issues in Higher Education online.
Anderson, N. (2007, May 11).
File-swapping: As "the Man" says no, students say yes. Ars Technica.
Popular Mechanics. (2007, July).
Microsoft Surface: Behind the scenes first look (with video). (new computer applications). (long-loading)
Mystery File. (2007, Aug. 4).
The Second International Congress of Crime Writers, 1978.
SECOND LIFE (lest you thought):
Stuhldreher, K. (2007, July 30).
Colleges bring learning to a virtual world.
Philadelphia Inquirer. Linux Insider.
Haegele, K. (2007, July 15).
Second Life literati create "book world". Philadelphia Inquirer.
Lamont, I. (2007, May 21).
Harvard's virtual education experiment in Second Life. IDG, Computerworld blogs.
Labels: bib, internet, personal, second life
publication
Leverett, T. (2007, May). Dialects in a changing language.
Global Study Magazine 4, 3. London. pp. 56-57.
This is one attempt at social commentary on the effects of online environments on modern culture. Because of the computer, various things are happening: we who are online have much more contact with people in faraway lands; standardization of the language is a steady but sure process; oral dialects have become less integral as part of our lives, as most people have command of a standard Hollywood kind of dialect that they can use with strangers; the written language has become more important as a introductory tool and as a shared language among people who don't know each other and have never met; written dialects exist in places where people do a lot of online interaction, share many experiences in common, and develop their own shortcuts independently of the written language outside the confines of that environment (examples: World of Warcraft, Second Life); the relationship of written and oral language is actually changing in front of our eyes.
Enough for now. I'll let you know when this one is online; it's really not that complicated. The magazine is extremely well-made, interesting, modern, hip and glossy- all at the same time. I'm not sure if you can get it at the corner store, though. Fortunately, they're really nice about putting it online. They also put really nice pictures along with the articles, and give us (CESL/SIUC) free advertising. It's a bargain for everyone, unless, of course, I were trying to make a living from writing.
Labels: chat, endangered languages, internet, personal, second life
more on second life
It's well known that I had to choose between Second Life and second wife, and chose the latter- as a testament to marital fidelity, I've stayed off of it. But I'm still working on my two hypotheses:
Second Life (and online environments like it) will change education as we know it, permanently and profoundly, so we'd better pay attention.
and
Second Life (and online environments like it) will change language as we know it, permanently and profoundly, so we'd better pay attention.
-trying to fine-tune them, give them more depth, be more specific. Be patient!
One interesting thing I found out about Second Life: A guy walks into a bar (this is a true story, though virtual) in Second Life and notices that the chat is empty. It appears that nobody is talking. But in fact, people are using IM to talk to each other privately, and chat, only when they want to yell out and have the entire room hear it. So they are using different media simultaneoulsy for different purposes.
Here are some more articles:
Parker, Q. (2007, Apr. 6).
A second look at school life. Guardian Unlimited. http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2051194,00.html. Accessed 5-07.
Woodward, S. (2007, Apr. 1).
Virtually Real. The Oregonian, login may be required. http://www.oregonlive.com/O/entertainment/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1175124333181570.xml&coll=7. Accessed 5-07.
ZDNet focus on Second Life- lots of articles.
NMC- Virtual worlds- explores possibilities of education in Second Life.
Valleywag -
Second Life's absentee population- about how there are fewer people than we thought...
Labels: second life
who's on second
Thought I'd be quiet on the subject for a while, but this came up and I couldn't resist. It's full of resources and very up-to-date.
Stevens, V. (2006, Dec.).
Second Life in education and language learning.
TESL-EJ (online journal) 10, 3. http://www.tesl-ej.org/ej39/int.html. Accessed 1-07.
No comment for now- still reading it. Thanks, though, Vance!
Labels: second life
paving bricks
An old quote by an immigrant went something like this:
"They told me that in America the streets were paved in gold, but when I got here I found that there was no gold, and that the streets weren't even paved, and that in fact the only job I could get was paving them."
I'm thinking of applying this to Second Life, though I still admit that I haven't, and probably won't, at least not for the time being.
"They told me that in Second Life the streets were created by the imaginations of the people who walked on them, but when I got there..."
Oh, heck you finish it. I haven't even been there. What do I know?
Labels: second life
no comment for now
Business Week. (2006, May 1).
My Virtual Life. good overview
Second Opinion (2006, Mar.)
Teen Grid hits 10,000.CNET News (Nov. 2006).
Copy Bot threatens virtual economy.Publishing World. (2006, Feb. 8).
Fear and Shivering in Second Life. By Jason Boog.
Economist. (2006, Sept. 28).
Living a Second Life.
Labels: second life
second life, cont'd
What I said about the last war still holds true: while there's nothing new about war itself, or about the flimsy pretenses the modern ones have been based upon, it is new when the games they use to train the bombers are so realistic that the trainees can lose track of when they're training and when they're dropping bombs. I feel the same way about
Second Life, though I've never visited it. The mere fact that it is so close to reality in so many ways makes it an important development,
even if it is still seen as a game by many people.
So I've been challenged, in a way, to prove that it's not just like a glorified video game, for people who are missing something, or unable to achieve something, in their first life, basically a hideout for losers. I think that even the geekiest video games can teach us some skills at a relatively low cost, most notably computer skills, and so have some virtue, but it's become a sore point in our house, where three hours a day of killing/chatting doesn't seem to be enough for the gamers or even to compare to what some other teens are doing, etc., and on our end appears to be taking people directly out of "first world" where we could at least experience their gaming withdrawal and otherwise cheerful demeanor, or involve them in our fantasy of good times that involve fresh air or perhaps exercise.
So I'll make my case for Second Life quickly and then try to prove it gradually, or rather, let time prove it for me. I'm sure there will be competition for SL soon enough, but the point is the same: the development of online virtual worlds will have profound consequences on life as we know it, especially on education, human self-awareness and perception, and we should pay attention quickly. I'll start with the things that interest me most.
First, I agree with
Eric Rice: "You can call it a video game, which is true and false at the same time. You can call it a virtual world, which is more accurate, yet socially, a new concept." The fact is, we don't know what will happen here; just because it's being treated like a game by many shows only that that's what many need most immediately. When we get a handle on other needs that can be met here, it will take over other functions as well.
Online education, for example, has been most held back by a single factor: that the single student operating alone at the computer loses out on the learning environment that other traditional students enjoy. Where is the camaraderie, the community of people learning together? The student center or college bar neighborhood? The environment was always considered one of the high points of college; learning hasn't been the same without it, for the online denizens, even if you could chat with your professor at a prescribed time online. But now online education doesn't have to be without that environment. You want to go to college at night? You can actually go there, online, and stop after class to visit with other students, etc. Once people get in the habit, staying in dorms might lose its appeal. The geographical necessity of changing towns (in Iowa, for example, having to move to one of about 20-30 towns) will certainly be gone- to what effect?
Obscure languages are hampered by lack of geographical space where they are not muscled out by larger languages that people have to learn anyway. The new world does not really have a geography as such, so its dialects are driven by online communities that share needs and activities- for that reason, I'm sure new languages will spring up if they haven't already. But how about saving a few old ones? Those who are interested don't have to be driven apart by geographical barriers caused by diaspora. Quick- before it's too late- let's make online venues for Scots Gaelic, Yiddish, and Arawak! I'm one of a minority who would do this just for its own sake. More likely, people will do this for other reasons, or will at least be assumed to have ulterior motives, even if they're like me. You want privacy? Some folks may be looking into these languages
just to get some...reminds me a little of the Navajo code-jumpers, who found that knowing a language with its own complete vocabulary was an unexpectedly valuable commodity in an unusual situation.
Finally, and I'm running out of time here, just remember this mantra:
in the future bandwidth won't be an issue...these days, even with relatively new computers, we have to wait a while for the gamers to get off the computer before we can get on just to do routine stuff. But we're still living in the caveman era. My children will probably have different avatars for different functions- and be able to jump in and out of them. Nothing I've predicted is really radical- it's pretty much on the next horizon. If you'd like to ruminate about what could happen, look at what
already is, and imagine how it will be when anyone can go there at little cost or effort. Briefly here are some other fields that I think will be radically changed fairly quickly, though I can't explain exactly how, at least not yet. Music; intentional communities; our understanding of altering perception through altering environments; and, our understanding of human behavior in large anonymous groups, or even small ones. The concept of "gender", I believe, has already been turned on its ear; just because no one has studied the change (for more than a year)- doesn't make it any less profound. What happens when people can
routinely choose their gender? Slip in and out of them like slippers? I have no idea. But I can assure you- it's more than just a game.
Labels: second life
out and about the virtual world
postcards from northern illinois university- about what an innovative teacher at niu is doing, and the use of Second Life in education. Read down the post (the blog itself is from Harvard; the writer spoke with Aline Click, but the post mentions an ESL teacher who is unnamed).
virtual photo album of northern's Altgeld Hall (remember, all four, Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western have one, apparently)...
Read about
crowdsourcing: getting large numbers of avatars to do your important work for you...
webheads in second life montage
church of the customer blog - not sure what this is about, but it's interesting reading!
managing the gray- building costs in second life
Labels: bib, second life
here's something scary
Told the webheads about
this, then realized that this article never mentions Second Life by name. George is an avatar; he lives on the internet; he gains intelligence, and has learned many languages, from the people he chats with. But he's a "bot". Where does he chat? Where does he get so smart? It just says "the Internet." I guess they assume you know. It's one thing to talk to someone, for example, in SL (that's Second Life, not St. Louis)- and not know whether their true self is really a man or a woman. That's ok. But not knowing whether they are real? This could play games with you. If anyone doubts that it's a new world, read this article.
Labels: internet, second life, webheads
st louis in the rearview mirror
So
Second Life announced today that it has over a million residents, and that over $400,000 is spent there every day. As a city it is larger than St. Louis, and soon will be more vibrant. I didn't have to read too much about it (
here's a good place) to find out that it has working-class neighborhoods, glitzy areas, red-light districts, etc. It has its own language, its own culture, and its own population of trouble-makers who set loose cyber-cannonballs to wreak havoc on innocent gamers. I haven't had time to actually
join it, but still I can't get it off my mind. Here are my thoughts:
1. The world has changed forever- subtly, but nevertheless permanently. Online communities will change the way people think, live, do business and use language.
2. The primary language of Second Life and most online games is chat. I may be totally wrong about some of this, but if so would love to be corrected. I am interested in chat and what it is doing to people's minds and their language. I think this should be studied carefully. This is only one minor way in which the world has changed forever; nevertheless it's the one I'm most interested in. So I'll run with it- indulge me.
3. Chat is based on English, at least the English version of chat that I'm most familiar with and which as far as I know is used in Second Life and a number of other games. That is, users of chat for the most part already know English and use abbreviations (R U w me?) because they're typing quickly and communicating quickly. Chat has unusual discourse conventions- often two or three conversations are taking place simultaneously- but for the most part its grammar is the same as that of English from which it springs. It does not invent its own grammar- or if it does, I'd like to know about it. It's an abbreviated, written form of English that is in many ways a cross between spoken English and written English.
4. It is, however, possible for people to enter Second Life or another game from a country in which they have not been exposed to English at all. For these people chat is their doorway to English. They learn chat first; English later if at all. They learn English language grammar through chat but would have to construct meanings (lol=laughing) without knowing what the letters stand for, unless they observe someone asking, and then find out- or ask themselves, and then find out. For these people chat would be a kind of stepping stone to fluency which would then influence the degree of fluency and their understanding of the new language - see story below.
5. There are also native speakers who spend considerably more time on chat than on anything else- and for all I know, they may start on chat before they even write anything else. The pervasiveness of chat is not understood, nor is the influence it would hold on someone who writes/types chat maybe 5, 6 times more than they write anything in formal English. For the most part these kids have learned to talk already- but how do they view the formal written word? I'm curious.
Years ago I was in Korea and was struck by the different styles of people who were trying to learn English. On the one hand were the people who studied little books, some printed very cheaply as part of the daily newspaper, and they would study these on the train very carefully, yet not really have much fluency with the spoken word; I could barely say hello to them, though they were friendly enough. On the other hand were the street-hawkers of Itaewon, the soldiers' district, who stood in the street yelling "free" and trying to entice passers-by into basement discount clothing outlets. These hawkers lived entirely by the facial cues of the people they were working on- they had a number of phrases, and lots of charm, and actually a rustic kind of pleasant fluency, even when you didn't buy anything or they didn't really have time for you. I doubt they could read or write a word, but they could carry on a conversation sometimes for ten or fifteen minutes depending on how good you were at stalling. When you were in the shop, of course, their job was done and the manager took over. But the idea that listening always precedes speaking, and both always precede reading/writing, is not true in second language acquisition, and the entry point of the learners is always important, especially when one (reading, for example) is done at the exclusion of others (speaking/listening, for example). One other unusual kind of learner I'd like to mention is the guy I met who, deep in the interior of Mongolia, had mastered both reading and listening- listening through Voice of America- until he could pass the TOEFL, which he did...but he had never actually
talked to anyone at all in English, and was absolutely not used to the discourse conventions of routine speech.
A hybrid speaking/writing chat changes the mix considerably. One interesting thing about chat, of course, is the heightened sense of communication- the urgency of knowing how much was understood, etc. Chat has its own ways of working this stuff out which are very interesting and clearly different from e-mail or spoken conversations.
The primacy of English in this gaming world brings up another issue- which is the end of the geographical assumptions we make about language as we know it. These include such things as: you grew up in X, therefore you probably learned what English you know in this way....these assumptions have always been tenuous anyway- but they are pervasive in our present world anyway. And, as a side research question, how is this: If a gendered world teaches boys to talk differently than girls, what happens to this person who spends
more time chatting, in their opposite-sex avatar, practicing the gendered speech conventions of that avatar (not to mention using the language specific to that world)- than they do, here in the real world, being themselves? Just a thought.
Somebody brought up the idea of a class field trip to Second Life. If I could find a
reason, I'd do it in a minute.
Labels: second life
webheads do second life - 10-06
Around my house, Second Life is when the first cereal box is down to the crumbs and you get to start the next one fresh. But these days it also refers to an extremely popular and scary online game that according to
this article has over 700,000 users and is being given the eye by educators. Since webheads aren't afraid of anything they were given a tour of it this week by the very same Gavin Dudeney (I believe) who is quoted in this article. Since I am already multitasking on Sun. morning I was unable to get the voiced part of the tour, but got enough of the essence of it to be flabbergasted nonetheless.
My question really is, this Second Life business is ok for those of us who are already doing fairly well in First Life- have a job, an education, fluent in English, etc. What if one gets to "Second Life" before one gets to "First Life"? What if one's exposure to English comes by way of chat, by way of this online world? Just curious. I'm sure this has not been studied in any depth- SL is relatively new. Not to malign the intentions of SL makers, who probably made something cool basically
because they could, but the implications of having so many people on SL are enormous, and completely un-thought-out, is my guess. They can try to manage them, but it's already a city larger than St. Louis (another SL, I guess).
We're still sticking to the cereal boxes- I haven't started in on SL yet though I expect
one of my kids to give it a whirl any day now. As it is, something is overriding "force quit" and "log off" on his profile and making it so you have to unplug the computer in order to start over and do anything else- I suspect it's some whirring function of
cockroaches on astroturf, otherwise known as runescape, that keeps going long after even safari or firefox has shut down. And is there any way for us mortals to figure out what it is? I doubt it. The cord may be our only true weapon.
Labels: second life, webheads
