Sunday, April 4, 2010

Second CLAP requisite: Attitude
CLAPの前提その二「心構え」


「イェス、ウィー・キャン(そう、出来るのだ!)」
バラク・オバマ

「あなたに出来ると思っても、出来ないと思っても、正しい答えである。」
ヘンリー・フォード

「能力というのは、考え方次第。」
デビッド・シュワーツ

CLAPを活用するのには、自分を知ることが必要、自分が好きな物・欲しいもの、自分が持っている資源など。そして、狙いを定めたら、「出来る」という自信をもつこと。もっと読む。。。

何かやりたいことがあったら、ぜひとも進めてもらいたい。他の人たちはみんな意見をくれるけど、それはあくまでも彼らのコンテキストをもとに意見をくれてるので、参考までにしかならない。本当に重要なのは、「自分」がどう考えるか(どう感じるか)ということである。そして、やるべきと感じたことに関しては、自信を持ってやるのみ。ベストを尽くせば、思ったよりも遥かに失敗することが少ないということに気づく。また、マルチリンガルなお子さんを育てたいご両親にもこう言いたい。決して、自分が出来るかどうかとか、自分が自分に対して感じる限界と恐怖心で子供に制限をかけてもらいたくない。大人がしっかりとサポートさえすれば、彼らには凄まじいパワーがある。特に、「子供には一ヶ国語ずつ学ばせないと、頭がごっちゃになって、一つもしっかりできなくなる」と思っている親にこのメッセージを理解して貰いたい。本当に待たないでもらいたい。そもそも、どのレベルになってから、2カ国語目を習っていいのか分からないけど、いまの20代の子で、日本語を完全にマスターできているのは少ないのではないかと思う時もあるので。僕の場合、6才までにはすでに日々5カ国語(北京語、英語、日本語、台湾語、客家語)が当たり前だったけど、頭ごっちゃにはなっていないよ(言語に関してはね(笑))。

ただね、自信って色んなことによって影響されるので、気をつけましょう。いまさっき子供の能力を自分の限界と恐怖心で制限しないでもらいたいと言ったけど、「現実性」は持たないとね。非現実的な要求は、自信喪失に繋がる。例えば、言語習得に完璧主義はいけない。「完璧」というのは非現実的で、絶対に達成しない。自分に対しても、子供に対しても、完璧は求めずに、進歩することと、その過程を楽しむことが何よりも大事。そして、再び自分が言葉を習う「目的」を再確認し、その方向に進む一歩一歩に対して、自分や子供にサポートと励ましを与えるべきだと思う。

自信を持って、自分やお子さんにとって最適な言語習得コンテキストを構築する。それには、目的と心構えがないと、クリアに見えない。でも、これさえ出来れば、あとは努力するだけ。面白いことに、前が見えれば、努力するのは簡単なことなのよ。比較的難しいのは、賢く頑張ること。でも、それもちょっとだけ頭を使えば出来るので頑張ろう!それは、どういうことなのかは、僕が次の記事で教えるよ。



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“Yes we can.”
–Barrack Obama

“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right!”
–Henry Ford

“Capacity is a state of mind.”
–David Schwartz

CLAP is about knowing yourself, what you like to do or achieve, and what resources are available to you. And then, once you put your mind to it, know that you can do it. Read more...

If you think of something that you like, then don't hold back in fear of striking out. People will always try to tell you that a certain idea is good or bad, but that doesn't matter, because the opinions will always be based on other people's Contexts. So what is important is that you think (or actually, feel) it is a good idea. And if so, you should have all the confidence in the world to just do it. Give it your best swing and you'll be pleasantly surprised. The same applies for parents wanting to raise multilingual kids. In particular, parents should be careful not to automatically apply your own limitations and fears to your children. They can do more than you can imagine if you provide the right support. This message goes specifically to those parents who underestimate their children and think that they should first learn one language perfectly before going on to the second one. Don't wait! I was accustomed to using 5 languages (Mandarin, English, Japanese, Taiwanese, and Haka) on a daily basis by the time I was 6 years-old.

Several things can affect one's confidence level though. I just told you to not lower the bar for your children to your own limits and fears, but at the same time of course, be realistic. Unrealistic expectations can have negative impacts on confidence. For example "perfection" is NOT realistic and is unattainable. You should accept imperfection in your or your children's linguistic capabilities and simply enjoy the process of improvement as you go along. Remember what your PURPOSE for language acquisition is and support and encourage yourself or your kids for every step taken to get closer to destination.

Remember, you need to take control and create your own language learning context or that of your child, and knowing the purpose and having the right attitude will help you define it clearer. After that you just need to work hard, which ironically is the easy part, but also smart, which is slightly more challenging but nonetheless achievable. Let me show you what I mean in the next post.

4 comments:

  1. Tetsu 親切! (Ha! It rhymes!)

    Your comment section looked lonely, so I thought I'd spruce it up. *SPRUCE SPRUCE* Consider it spruced.

    I haven't commented recently because I'm basically just watching a ton of French TV and listening to French podcasts & music. No methods, no worries, just sweet, savory immersion.

    I don't have a tough question for you today, but I know a way around this. My question is "What question to you want me to ask, and what is the answer to that question?" (Yes, I know, I'm a genius)

    Enjoy the cherry blossoms!

    -Matt

    ReplyDelete
  2. Matty! Thanx for the comment!

    Been pretty busy lately.

    So my question for you to ask me is: What do you want me to ask you to ask me to ask?
    And the answer is: I will ask you what you want me to ask you to ask.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You've deflected my attack and turned it back on me, like some kind of verbal Aikido!

    Here's an easy question: Do you use SRS (Spaced Repetition Software) like Anki/Supermemo for learning languages? What do you think of using this kind of software to learn Kanji/Hanzi?

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  4. ha ha ha.... verbal Aikido! I love it! You got a way with expressions man. I could never come up with that.

    Spaced Repetition Software... hmm... the idea is nice. I like it. I didn't know what it was, so I had to Wiki it though. I don't learn languages now, so the answer to your question is: No, I don't use it.

    Now, is it good for learning Kanji? It depends. To read? Or to write? For reading, I'm sure it is. But you'll become like me,,,can't write with your hands. But as long as you can read, you can type. If you want to write, then I think there's no way around practice, practice, practice. I did try to learn to write for a little while, but found it wasn't worth the effort. Even in Japan, I have very little opportunity to use my own hands to write.

    ReplyDelete