Sanako Global Newsletter SPRING 2015 ... · Endangered Languages Zealand’s official languages,...

NewsletterSanako Global Newsletter www.sanako.com

SPRING 2015 CONTENTS:•EndangeredLanguages•13modernlanguageprogramsatOakton•NewSanakoSLH-07USBheadsetcableavailabeinshorter length

•LP:FlippedLearninginyourlanguagelessons•LanguagelearningatHuaQiaoUniversity•NewsinBrief•Events

MyveryfirstvisittoNewZealandrecentlybroughttolightthe

positiveimpactthatdeliberateactioncanhaveonendangeredlanguages.

Stillconsidered‘vulnerable’byUnitedNationsEducation,ScientificandCulturalOrganisation(UNESCO)whoregularlypublishesalistofendangeredlanguages,theMaorilanguage,tereoMaori,wasindeclineinthe1970swithorganisationsevenhavingtopaytheNewZealandBroadcastingCorporationtousetheMaorilanguageinbroadcasts.

Butpro-activecampaigningtoraisetheimportanceofthelanguageandcultureofMaoriinNewZealandhasbroughtaboutadegreeofchange,includingfreetoairtelevisionchannelsintereoMaori.

AmongUNESCO’sdefinitionsofendangeredaretheattitudeandpoliciesofthegovernmenttothelanguage,andthepassingonofthelanguagetoyoungergenerations.BothofthesehaveplayedamajorroleinstrengtheningtereoMaori:since1987thelanguageisoneofNew

Endangered Languages

Zealand’sofficiallanguages,andopportunitiesforimmersivelearningareenshrinedinthecountry’sEducationAct.

Allofthismeansthatanincreasingnumberofpeopleareusingandhearingthelanguageinmoresituations,andalsothattheyoungergenerationaregettinginvolvedinwhatwasrapidlybecomingthedomainoftheoldergeneration.OntheothersideoftheworldinthenorthernreachesofCanada,livesMillieQitupanaKuliktana,whohasdevotedherlifetokeepingherownInuinnaqtunlanguageandculturealive.

TheInuinnaqtunpeopleliveinasmall,isolatedcommunity,andfind

thattheiryoungstersareleavingtheareaforstudyandwork,andsodriftawayfromtheirowncultureandlanguage.

Milliementorsyoungerpeoplefromhercommunitytohelpthemmaintainandimprovetheirlanguageskillsandculturalknowledge.Sheandother‘elders’teachtheyoungerpeoplesongs,craftsandtraditions,allthroughthemediumofInuinnaqtun,sothatthelanguagedoesnotbecomeextinct.

Ofcourseitallsoundswonderful,butit’snoteasyineithercountry,asmodernlifestylesovertakeoldertraditions,andyoungerpeoplebecomelessinterestedintheirrootsandassociatedlanguage.Whatthesetwogeographicallydistantanddiversecommunitieshaveincommonisawillingnessto

effectchange,andthefocusoninvolvingchildrenandyoungpeopletolearntheirheritagelanguage.

Andsoifthelanguageisnotmarginalisedandisallowedtobearegularpartofeverydaylife,whetherathome,ontelevision,orinthechambersofgovernment,thensurelyitbecomesapartofnormalitynotjustforthe

indigenouspeople,butforanyonewholivesinthecountry?We’veallreadthenewspaperarticlessayingthatspeakingmorethanonelanguageboostsbrainpoweretc;thenwhynotboostthebrainsofouryoungergeneration–oureconomicandculturalfuture–byensuringthatweallbecomeatleastbilingual?AsMilliesaysinhervideo“Languagedoesnotstandalone.Languagestandswithculture.”Weworkhardtopreventanimalspeciesfrombecomingextinct,surelyourownlanguageandcultureisjustasimportant?

ByMarie O'Sullivan,TheLanguagepoint

"Whynotboostthebrainsofouryoungergeneration–oureconomicandculturalfuture–byensuringthatweallbecomeatleastbilingual?"

Newsletter

andESL-aspecialplacetoexperimentsafelywithlanguagelearningaswellasthesupportoflanguagelabequipment,softwareandserviceshasprovedveryvaluable.

Why Choose Sanako

OurnewlanguagelabwasinstalledinSeptember2014andneededtobeuser-friendly.Thesystemalsoneededgoodlisteningandrecordingcapabilities.Asendusers,weusethesoftwaredaily.

TheSanako Study 1200hasallowedmodernlanguageteacherstocustomizetheirlanguageclassesandmakemoreefficientuseoflabtimeandconductingexams.OurESLteachershavebeenabletoexperimentwithdifferentexercises,likelisteningtoaudiobooks,whichcanbedoneatthepaceofeachstudent,andusingtheDiscussionfeature,whichallowsstudentstospeakmorefreelywithaclassmate.Thelanguagelabstaffoffersmanysuggestionstoourmodern

languageandESLfacultyabouthowtousetheSanako Study 1200 softwaretoimprovetheirlabuse.WeareluckythatouradministrationandfacultypartnerwithustoimprovelanguageteachingandlearninginthelanguagelabsatOaktonCommunityCollege.

OnespecifictaskforwhichweusetheSanako Study 1200isrecordingusingtheVoiceInsertfeaturewithourModernLanguageclasses.Thisisaveryimportantfeatureforourlanguagetesting.Ratherthanhavingstudentsreadasituationandrecordaresponse,theVoiceInsertfeatureallowsourstudentstosimulatearealconversationbylisteningtothetestquestionsinthetargetlanguageandhavingtorecordaresponseinthetargetlanguage.

Bringing the World to Oakton

AtOaktonCommunityCollege,studentshaveanunusuallyricharrayofopportunitiestostudyculturesandlanguages.FromSpanishtoKorean,ItaliantoArabic,theCollege'sModernLanguagesprogramofferscoursesin13differentlanguages-morethananyothercommunitycollegeinIllinois.Thesecoursesstressthebasiclanguageskillsofspeaking,listening,reading,andwriting,andtheyarenowenhancedbythefeaturesoftheSanako Study 1200 multimedialanguagelab.Inaddition,OaktonCommunityCollegehasnon-creditandcreditEnglishasSecondLanguage(ESL)classes,whichalsoutilizetheLanguageLabforvariousactivities.

Oaktonintroducesstudentstotheworldthroughprogramsin13modernlanguagesandtheSanakoStudy1200multimedialanguagelab

Havingpreviouslyusedanout-of-datecassettetapelanguagelab,the

ModernLanguageDepartmentknewwehadtostartusingcomputersanddigitalmediatoserveourlanguageinstructorsandstudents.WebeganconvertingourlablittlebylittlefromanalogtodigitalbyaddingmoreandmorecomputersandrecordingstudentexamsdigitallywithSanako Study Solo,untilfinallyOaktonapprovedacompletereplacementforourlanguagelab.

Additionally,ourModernLanguageandESLdepartmentsmadethecaseregardingtheimportanceforhavingadedicatedspaceforlanguagelearningandteachinginourLanguageLabs.ReducingtheanxietyoflanguagestudentssothattheycouldperformbetteraslanguagelearnerswasabigpartofourmessagetoourCollegeabouthowourLanguageLabssupportlanguagelearning.Givingallofourlanguagestudents-ModernLanguage

ByBethWrobel,LanguageLabCoordinator

Whilethe1.5mshorterlengthUSBcablewasprimarilydevelopedforcustomerswithwirelesslabswhouselaptopcomputers,manywired/LANcustomerswillbenefitfromitaswell.Forexample,instationarySanakolanguagelabsweareseeingmanyschoolswhoarenowpurchasinglaptops,all-in-onecomputers,ortheslim/smallformfactordesktopcomputerswhichcansitonthestudentdesk.Sincetheselabsallhavetheteacherandstudentcomputerswithinarm’sreach,thecurrent2.5mUSBcableprovidesfarmorelengththanisrequiredfortheheadsettocomfortablyreachthecomputer.

ThereforeSanakohasalsodesignedthisshorterlengthUSBcableinanefforttobetteraccommodatetheenduserandtopreventearlydamagetotheheadsetcables.Replacingyour2.5mUSBcableswiththenew1.5mUSBcableorwrappingupanyextracablelengthshouldresolvethisissueforyou.

IfyouareinterestedinutilizingthenewSLH071.5mUSBheadsetcableinyourSanakolanguagelab,pleasecontactSanakooryourlocalreseller.

http://www.sanako.com/contact/http://www.sanako.com/resellers/

NewSanakoSLH07USBheadsetcableavailablein1.5mshorterlength

Newsletter

Stimulating language learning with technology

FromtheviewpointoftheHuaQiaoUniversity,ahighqualitylanguagelabofferingadvancedtechnologyandalltheneededfunctionsforteachingisanessentialtoolforamoderncampus.Amodernlanguagelabwillhelptheteachertoimprovethemeansandqualityofteaching(withtechnology)byprovidingasecureandefficientsystem.Witha“student-oriented”approach,astheteachersatHuaQiaodescribe,thelanguagelabprovidesdailyteachingactivitieswithadvancedtechnologywhichimprovestudents’communicationskillsinforeignlanguage,makingthemostout

oflimitedclasshours.Learninginalanguagelabwillstimulatestudents’motivationandmakethelessonsmoreactive,meetingthecommunicationalneedsofallskilllevels,alsothemoreadvanced.

LanguagelearningatHuaQiaoUniversity,China

With a history of more than 50 years, the Hua Qiao University offers education for over 30 000 students, out of which 5000 are foreign students from altogether 40 different countries, making the university a truly international institution.

FlippedLearninginyourlanguagelessonsBy Marie O'Sullivan, The LanguagePoint

InrecentmonthsI’vebeenreadingalotmoreaboutflippedlearning–

anapproachinwhichstudentslearnandpreparefortheirlessonsathomethrough,forexample,pre-recordedvideolecturesorexplanations.Duringclass,teacherscanthenusetheirtimetoengagewithstudents,helpingthemtoapplytheirknowledgethroughactive

learning,suchaspracticalworkandproblemsolving.

Teacherscanaidstudentswhenandwhereitisneeded,thereforemakingthemostofone-to-oneinteractiontimeavailablewiththestudentsinclass.

Researchsuggeststhatbenefitsofflippedlearninginclude:improvementinstudentperformance,studentsfeelingmoreengagedandempoweredtotakeonmoreownershipfortheirlearning,andgreaterflexibilityforstudentsastheycanrepeatthelessonstounderstandthecontentinordertopreparefullyforclass.

Flippedbasedlearningthereforeseemsverysuitableforlanguageteachingandlearning,wheresomuchprogressdependsonthestudentsthemselvespracticingtheirspeakingandlisteninginatargetlanguage,butwheresooftentheteacherisanecessarysupportintheseactivities.

Foraflippedbasedlanguagelesson,youcouldprepareanexplanationforatopicsuchasthefuturetense.Then,whenyourstudentscomeintoclass,theycouldbeputinpairsusingtheStudy1200languagelabandpracticetheirspeakingwiththefuturetense.Thelanguagelabisreallyusefulhere,asyoucaneasilylistenwithheadphonestoanyoftheconversationsandinterveneifnecessary.Thelabthereforeallowseachstudenttodemonstratetheirunderstandingwithouttheneedforeachpersontospeakindividuallyinfrontoftheclass.

Byrecordingtheconversationswithaclickofthemouse,thelanguagelabgivesthestudentsfreedomtopracticeandallowsyoutomonitorthemallwithease.Alotofushaveprobablyalreadyimplementedthistypeoflearningplanwithoutevenrealizingit!

©iStockphoto.com/dr911

Sanako language labs in efficient use

ThelanguagelabsatHuaQiao,altogether20ofthem,nowinactiveusebythousandsofstudents,arethefullydigitalyetnonPC-basedSanakoLab100languagelabs.Forthedemandingtrainingofinterpretationskills,theHuaQiaoalsoworkswiththeextensionmoduleofSanako Lab 100 STS,thatoffersfeaturesthatarespecificallydesignedfortraininginterpreters.AmongthefavouritelearningactivitiesofferedbytheSanakoLabsatHuaQiaoarethepossibilitytopracticephoneconversationsandmeetings.Sanako language labs are currently in active use by

thousands of students at the prestigious University of Hua Qiao

New

s in

bri

efNewsletter

Sanako CorporationHeadquartersHighTechCentreLemminkäisenkatu46FI-20520TurkuFinlandT:+358207939500F:+35822363440info@sanako.comwww.sanako.comwww.thelanguagepoint.com

New activities in Sanako Study v. 8.0

Fromtheperspectiveoflanguagelearnersandteachers,Studyv.8.0includesseveralnewfeaturesandenhancementsthatexpandthelearningexperience.ThenewPhone Conversation activityhasbeenmuchrequestedandisafamiliaractivitytomanylanguageteachers.PhoneConversationallowsstudentsto“call”eachother,whichallowsforawiderangeofreal-lifebasedconversationexercises.

ThesecondnewactivityinStudyv.8.0integratesthewell-likedPronouncetoolwiththeStudyclassroom.ThePronounce activityallowsteacherstoconvertanytextintoapronunciation

exercisethatcanbelauncheddirectlytostudents.Atthestudentend,aseparatewindowwillopenwheretheycanproceedwiththepronunciationexercise.ThePronounceactivityemploysallthespeechrecognitionandpronunciationanalysistoolsinSanako Pronouncetoproduceobjectiveresultsofstudentperformance.Additionally,teachersareabletocollectstudentworkandareportofstudentscores.

Introducing: Pronounce Classroom

Weareexcitedtoannouncethereleaseofanewproduct, Sanako Pronounce Classroom.

PronounceClassroomcombinesthepronunciationtoolsofSanako Pronounce withautomaticmanagement,evaluationandcollectionfeaturesfortheteacher.

ThesystemincludesanewPronounceManagerapplicationthatallowsteacherstomanageexercises,viewstudents’progressandperformanceandcollectstudentwork.

Sanako Everyday English content

Sanako Everyday EnglishisaseriesofEnglishlessonsoneverydaytopics.Thematerialistargetedforyoungteenagers,butisalsosuitableforlearnersofallages.ThereallifesubjectsintheEverydayEnglishlessonsprovidelearnersatangiblecontextforlearnlearningEnglishandtheywillbeabletoimprovetheirlanguageskillswhilediscussingtopicsthatarepresentintheirday-to-daylives.

Eve

nts

March 12-14th - TESOL Arabia, Dubai, UAE

The21stTESOLArabiaInternationalconferencewillbeheldattheHYATTRegencyhotel,Dubaiandinvitesteacherstoexplore‘themyriadways’ofhowtechnologycanenhancetheirlessons.

Sanakoareproudtoonceagainbeinattendanceofthisfantasticevent.

April, 10-12th -China International Education Equipment

Sanakoisaregularparticiupantofthiseventandarelookingforwardtoexhibitingagainthisyear.

April 23rd - International Education South-East Asia Expo, Manila, Philippines

InternationalEducationSouth-EastAsiaExpoManilaisa1dayeventbeingheldon23rdApril2015inManila,Philippines.Thiseventshowcasesproductslikeboardingschools,privateschools,holidayandsummercamps,internshipsandlanguageteachingassociatedwiththisfieldetc.intheEducation&Trainingindustry.