Making Learning Groups, 3 Reasons

Groups are essential for learning. Look around and you will find all kinds of groups dedicated to learning. The easiest one is a school. Children attend school for a bunch of reasons, but one reason is that people learn better in groups than by themselves. Churches, temples, synagogues are all devoted to spiritual learning in groups. Classes at the community center are all about collecting people together to learn something, yoga, cooking, dance. Groups are essential.

Yes, individual learning and practice is essential. Learning to play an instrument, learning how to hook yarn efficiently when crocheting. Those are things we have to do by ourselves, because in the end, those skills won't get learned by a group. I get it, but practicing to perform in a group or getting together with your group of knitters bolsters everyone's individual practice.

There are three reasons to make a group for language study. First, no on learns languages alone. Small children learn from their elders, and even as adults we learn languages best when surrounded by others who depend on them for routine, meaningful communication. The second reason is that alone we are only one, with the input and bandwidth of an individual. In a group we are many with combined powers. Thirdly, it is just more fun to learn together.

Watch children soak up language. From everyone around them, and without fear or prejudice, they mimic what they hear, and cobble together utterances, learning new language all through their lives. On the contrary, are there children who don't learn in a group? There is a rather special, and very unfortunate case, of Genie, a child who was abused by her father. He kept her isolated until she was rescued by local authorities when she was 13 years and 7 months old. Though she received excellent care for a few years afterward, she never acquired a first language. We need groups of people to communicate with.

Have you ever been engaged in a project by yourself, and then had someone else come in to cooperate? I have. Work went much smoother, and in directions that I had never dreamed. When learning a language the same is true. One is one. Two is four. The effect of a team is geometric, not + but x. When others come, they bring their ideas, influences, and web of relationships with them. That is far more powerful than going it alone.

Finally, learning with others is just more fun. There will be chances for sharing ups and downs, good food and experiences that none of you would have been able to experience alone. When I have taught small groups of people, we have always benefited from the dynamics of the group. There are cases where conflict happens, some disagreement about how the group should proceed or how one person dominates the group or something. Those conflicts should be times when the group negotiates solutions. After all, language is useful in fun, happy situations, as well as serious, sometimes painful ones.

I just gave three reasons for making a group for learning English together. Now it's up to you do get the job done. It can be a group with virtual meet ups, or one in meat space. Either way, they are essential. You don't need to pay anyone, and there are loads of spaces that you can use for free or for the price of a cup of coffee.

Introduction: Why the blog name?

I intend this blog, and the accompanying media, to be for Japanese people who use English. Notice, I did not say, "...who are learning English." If you are here, you use some English. Maybe you want to use more. Then this site is for you.

The English Industrial Complex here in Japan wants you to believe that what you know is never enough, and you will never have enough. They want you to keep attending classes, buying materials, and believing that you are not good enough to actually go out there and use it. Using it is actually how you get the confidence and hints about where to go from where you are.

I make a distinction here between English and 英語. English is a dynamic, evolving language that people all over the world use to communicate. 英語 is an abstract code, devised mostly for discriminating between students who can 英語 well, and those who can't. 英語ing well usually means getting high scores on tests in formal learning settings. Using English well means being able to order yourself a sandwich when you're on vacation.

You will find blog posts and other media here. Both the blogs and other media will contain some Japanese explanations that are intended to make things easier to understand. I will use Japanese, or 日本語, not 国語. I expect to make lots of mistakes in my Japanese. The objective of using Japanese will be to help understand the English a little better. If it doesn't help, ignore it.

これがイングリッシュを使う日本人のためのブログと関連しているメディアだ。気づいてください。”英語を勉強している”と言うわなかった。ここまで来た人はイングリッシュを使うから。もしかしたら、もっとイングリッシュを使いたいなら、これはあなたのために出来たものだ。

日本語にいっぱい間違いはでる。このブログの目的はイングリッシュだから。