How To Waste 87 million dollars: English Villages
Via EFL Geek and Scott Sommers comes a rather odd news story that I have never heard of before: English Villages (Accessed Friday, April 21, 2006)
Both EFL Geek and Sommers point to a very interesting letter by Steven Krashen located here: Taipei Times - English Villages and Hype
Krashen makes some interesting points about the English Village:
1. The village is not real. It’s a glorified role-play.
2. How can you tell progress in learning English is being made?
3. It’s an expensive spot to go to.
Intrigued by the whole idea, I delved a little deeper and found this scary video over at Reuters (Accessed today: Friday, April 21 2006) The title alone got my attention, because as I was reading the articles EFL Geek pointed to, I began thinking of Disney World.
While the idea is interesting, I think the English Village concept is totally off. The place is fake. It looks (watch the video) like a movie set from Universal Studios, and if you listen to the "immigration officer" she sounds totally…unreal - just like the listening activities you can get with most ESL material these days.
The real thing, in general, is a whole other animal. The officers are usually far more….direct and to the point. While they MAY be friendly, most immigration officers I’ve come into contact with are harried, suspicious of everything (and they should be), and just not an easy experience…especially if your a nervous EFL student.
I applaud the attempt at making language learning more authentic, but I think the English Village, as is, has missed the boat big time.
The comparison with Disneyland is great. I suggest that after this project is declared a success, the Korean government could build English theme parks based on other entertainment concepts. Why not an English Love Boat or an English Lost?
Comment by Scott Sommers — April 23, 2006 @ 6:29 am
Scott,
You made me laugh out loud. Thanks! I think your Love Boat idea is worth millions…you should seriously think of doing it!
Comment by Aaron Nelson — April 24, 2006 @ 8:08 am
Actually, I think the idea of a ‘Lost’ RPG in English isn’t a bad idea - I’d sign up to be a teacher, but only if I could be one of ‘The Others’
:)
Comment by Graham Stanley — April 28, 2006 @ 9:51 am
Graham,
Thanks for your comment! I think there is a huge difference between a RPG and the afore mentioned “English Village.” An RPG hits you at a far more personal level, because it’s deeply engaging and pulls you into what is happening. I agree with you: A RPG designed to help you learn a language would be very effective. I think the English Village falls way short of this level of engagement don’t you? Or maybe I’m missing something here.
When I visited Disney in Florida, I was excited and had fun, but I never was totally absorbed by the experience. There was no role for me to become. I was just a tourist who was passing through.
Comment by Aaron Nelson — April 28, 2006 @ 11:16 am
Back in the 80s I remember hearing that some D&D players were practicing their foreign languages while playing. For example, ogres spoke French or German or whatever so to interact with them players had to speak those lanugages.
don’t know that I’d suggest that as a new methodology but i thought it was relevant.
Comment by daniel — April 30, 2006 @ 5:32 am