COMMON CORE GLOSSARIES
A MULTI-LINGUAL APPROACH
“Multi-Lingual Glossaries” is a faculty-led and
student-involved project to develop a series of
common core glossaries that explain essential
concepts and terms, in more than one
language. The central purpose is to foreground
and reinforce the intellectual content of
specific courses, in a simple but 'innovative form
that can involve all of our students.
This is the first step in a more expansive plan to
foreground UWB as a multi-lingual campus
through three interrelated projects: Multilingual
Glossaries, Multilingual Cookbook & Multilingual
Directional Signage.
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The Art of Teaching
The art of teaching is to educe—drawing something out
from within, rather than cramming something into the
mind from the outside. Educe means to draw forth or bring
out, as something potential or latent; elicit; develop.
Confucius: 温故知新【wēngùzhīxīn】 gain new insights through
restudying old material; reviewing past helps one to
understand the present. The Analects
Plato: all knowledge is drawn from what we already have in
our intelligence. Meno
Coleridge: by awakening the principle and method of selfdevelopment. Essays on Method, from The Friend
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969), 472
This “something” is the rich resources already in shape
on campus: this project tries to transform students’
linguistic/cultural heritage into positive energy in their
academic pursuit.
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Need Analysis
Native Language (L1) as an Aid
to cope with a second language (L2)
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1. These multilingual glossaries are obviously valuable to the
1.5 Generation and international students. In winter 2013 alone,
UWB, boasting 3,500 as the fastest growing branch university
in Washington State, has 277 students coming from 31
countries;
2. This will help students who are learning a second language
in a place where it is not used on a daily basis;
3. Those who want to participate in a Study Abroad Program
but may be poorly prepared linguistically;
4. Certain majors/minors that require language proficiency at
different levels.
Everyone has a stake. But the key is to help students help
themselves.
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A “LIVE IDEA” & A SIMPLE PLAN
Alfred North Whitehead:
The Aims of Education (1916)
Phase 1. For each class included in this project, the instructor will
develop a short list of around 30-50 concepts, ideas, and terms
that are essential for that course and subject matter. Each will
have a brief definition, explanation, and critical evaluation.
Students will then be recruited from the class to develop a
provisional translation into another language that they know.
Students’ work will be rewarded with credit or extra credit.
While we will start with Chinese and Spanish (the languages
now taught at UWB, we will include other languages as
possible.
Phase 2 will be refinement of the translations, with the help of
experts, to produce a DOUBLE COLUMN entry for each
concept or term with English and a second language next to it.
As the glossary for a course is polished and expanded, it will be
available as an on-line or published resource, for instance,
laminated reference chart—show an example.
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LINGUISTIC & INTELLECTUAL
TRANSFORMATION
The potential impact of this project is very clear. For bilingual/multilingual
students, this provides an immediate way to put the ideas they are
learning in an expanded context or “fresh combinations”, to quote
Whitehead. A multi-lingual glossary allows them to preserve and use
their native language as an instrument of transformation. In practice, it
also shows that translating ideas is never just a matter of finding words
in two languages. The process is organic, not mechanic.
For domestic students, this provides a very effective and simple way for
them to see and to explore a second language, without presuming that
they have to be fluent to recognize how language differences expand
our minds. But within four years, they can pick up some knowledge of
L2 or L3, a benefit to come to UW Bothell campus.
For the UW Bothell living and learning community, this also provides a
very direct way to foster more communication among students, in
discussions about the core ideas that their courses present and
develop.
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DEVELOPING A CRITICAL EDGE
When Implementing Multilingual Glossaries
In Plato’s Republic I, Socrates discusses how to define justice with Cephalus.
Cephalus, quoting Si'monides (556?–468?) b.c. a Greek poet., defines justice as
“… repaying debts”.
Socrates’ challenge: Is it that simple? “… no more than this? And even to this
are there not exceptions?” Socrates’ counter example: In case you return a
weapon to a crazy man, a simple definition of justice as “repaying debts” could be
consequential.
Plato treats questions like this as “provocatives” that seem to show a thing and its
opposite, sameness and difference, at the same time.
To follow Socrates, translation is not that simple as it creates a provocative
moment. A provocative moment is valuable as it is thought-provoking.
Let’s challenge Socrates! Though there might be exceptions to the rule, not
repaying debts will entail chaotic consequences. So the rule has some merit.
Socrates however seems to override the whole rule by an exception, therefore
taking his partial truth for the whole. But Cephalus escaped at this point as many
readers would. In Socrates’ logic, I don’t have to repay $100 in case the person
use the money to buy a weapon…
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Nurture Globally Competent Citizens
Everybody has a stake in world language learning
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To become a Globally competent citizen, one needs to have a
thorough cultural knowledge of global affaires;
Cultural knowledge to a great extent depends on one’s
linguistic competency. First and foremost, a globally competent
citizen should be linguistically competent;
Per UW Admissions policy (College Academic Distribution
Requirements), “All applicants must complete a minimum level
of preparation in six subject areas. This requirement ensures
that students entering the University have an appreciation for
the liberal arts and are adequately prepared to succeed in
college.” 2 credits (2 years) of “world languages” in high
school are required.
For purposes of admission, each quarter of language in college
is considered equivalent to one credit (one year) in high school.
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It is More Challenging
Fish Out of Water!
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To study a language in a place that is not used on
the daily basis is more difficult!
Multilingual Glossaries will increase the input of the
target language to a great extent for students who
are taking Chinese and Spanish on campus.
A multilingual campus makes sense as it will create
a swimming pool;
Sample directional signs are designed in English,
Chinese (Simplified characters & Pinyin, exclusive of
the traditional characters) and Spanish. Show the
signs here.
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SAMPLE SIGNS
http://www.forvo.com/word/librer%C3%ADa/
http://www.forvo.com/search-es/biblioteca/
Signs like these, installed around the campus (Library, Parking Lot,
Sports Field, and so on, will give constant reminders of language diversity
--close to 7000 living languages divided into many families.
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http://www.forvo.com/searches/Comida%20%20r%C3%A1pida/
Interaction between L1 & L2
Produces Something New
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赛百味
 【sài bǎi wèi】
 (phonetic/semantic
rendering: surpassing
hundreds of flavors
 SUBWAY
 Comida rápida
(“fast food” in Spanish)
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“Multilingual Glossaries” Will
Generates SomethingTautegorical
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While this treatment of the Symbol presents other problems,
Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s term, tautegorical, which the OED
attributes to him and defines from his Aids to Reflection (1825)
as “expressing the same subject but with a difference,” provides
a very powerful and useful term for indicating this characteristic
of metaphor, where similarities and differences co-exist.
Such a linguistic/conceutual juxtaposition will broaden our
intellectual horizon as it reveals something about how other
people interpret the same idea with differences.
A is B (in certain ways) simultaneously implies A is not B
(in other ways)—the second part is often shadowed!
My love is a red rose (smell good, looks pretty)
But a rose has thorns; it could prick you!
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Sample Entry on “Gestalt Switch” (the
Norming Session on Nov. 14th 2012
Definition/Application/Evaluation
Prepare Students for Essay Writing
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Gestalt, meaning "essence or shape of an entity's complete
form," is a German word that is often translated as “whole” or
“form”. It is a theory of the mind and brain of the Berlin School.
It maintains that “the whole is more than the sum of its parts.”
This holistic approach has its philosophical implications when
handling human affairs. In Frames of Mind: A Rhetorical
Reader with Occasions for Writing, Professor Robert DiYanni
explains that the way a doctor looks at a child patient differs
from that of a parent: one professionally or clinically, the other
emotionally or lovingly. (41) Opposite to this holistic approach is
a one-dimensional or single vision that fails to take into account
how complex an issue could be. A gestalt switch, similar to defamiliarization (in Russian formalism), tries to awake us (from
our own “paralysis” in James Joyce’s terms).
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Face or Vase?
http://www.forvo.com/search-da/Rubin/
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Rubin's Vase (or Face), a
set of optical illusions
developed around 1915 by
the Danish psychologist
Edgar Rubin, calls our
attention to an intellectual
blind spot we suffer without
our self-knowledge, and
challenges us to look at the
picture and other things from
a new perspective.
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Translation & Technology
How to Accelerate the Process?
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To accelerate the process, use online technologies. For
instance, in Microsoft Word/Power Point, highlight a word with
the mouse, and then right click. Choose “Translate” and in the
window opened on the righ set the source language (From) and
the target language (To) as desired. Make sure you reset
“Region and Language” in the control panel.
Vocabulary Expansion: highlight a word with the mouse, and
then right click. Choose “Synonyms” to paraphrase the word.
Be careful since synonyms are just cousins, and paraphrase
could be a heresy in Cleanth Brooks’ terms. Nevertheless, this
sharpens students’ understanding of each word. For instance, a
story differs from a parable, and a parable is not the same as
an anecdote.
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Translation as Creation
the relationship
between the Old and New
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Translation is a sophisticated process of negotiations and
interpretations between two languages and cultures;
When a counterpart is not available in one’s native tongue (which is
called developmental problems), translation creates something new
(as genuine poetry does) by reshuffling the cards (throw the old
in fresh combinations, to quote Whitehead) in the old structure;
电脑【diànnǎo】 computer; In Chinese, it means “electronic brain”
保龄球【bǎolíngqiú】 bowling, a “protecting age ball (game)”
My bowling record: the first shot is just fine; but it’s not progressive as
my arm gets tired.
Avocado 鳄梨【èlí】 crocodile/alligator pear.
Translation plays a significant role in enlarging Chinese vocabulary by
introducing loan words into Chinese;
It is the same as in English (loan words);
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Loan Words Haven Been Incorporated
a Powerful Language Has Its Built-In
Mechanisms to Be Perpetually Regenerative
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Translation as Transformation
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Empowerment -- for international students, it is a real step in the
direction of seeing them (by others) and seeing themselves less as a
problem than as a great and vital resource. Take a step back: invite
students to upload their translation on class website;
Translation improves conceptual understanding;
Translation may create a “provocative” (Plato) moment and highlight
differences for critical reflection and cultural understanding. Take a
step forward: invite students to present their translation and explain
where it differs from its English counterpart;
Translation offers something that (creative) writing can’t—you have to
face it until you come up with an equivalent.
The goal is to maximize positive transfers from L1 to L2 and vise
versa.
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Language Transfer &
Developmental Issues
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Language Transfer refers to
L1 interference with L2 or
vice versa. It could be
positive or negative. It is
highly predictable.
“I happy now”, an anecdote
about two Japanese women
hunting Matsutake, a pine
mushroom on Whidbey
Island; Note in Japanese as
in Chinese, there is no verb
to be. This negative transfer
is carried over from L1 to L2.
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Developmental issues in SLA
(Second Language Acquisition)
refers to a situation when a
counterpart is missing from the
mother tongue. When this happens,
it doesn’t mean your mother tongue
is useless; instead, you can still
educe something from your old
treasure-house.
Broadly speaking, we are dealing
with developmental issues on the
daily basis. Confucius said one will
be qualified to be a teacher if he
knows how to infer something new
from the old materials.
Whitehead: throw into fresh
combinations
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Student Sample Translation
B CUSP 134 AUTUMN 2012
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Anadiplosis (Spanish)
conduplicación, (linguística)
repetición retórica de la
última palabra de una
oración al comienzo de la
siguiente oración
The Alternating method:
Alternancia Sucesión de
forma recíproca y repetida
de fenómenos, hechos, etc.:
Ejemplo: alternancia de
partidos políticos en el
poder. (by Herlinda)
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Ethos, Pathos, Logos
The Greek philosopher
Aristotle divided the
means of persuasion,
appeals, into three
categories--Ethos,
Pathos, Logos.
希腊哲学家亚里士多德
把说服的方法分成了三
个类别：喻德，喻情，喻
理。(by Frank)
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The Sunken Garden:
Mathematically Magnificent, Especially
Juxtaposed by a Delicate Japanese Garden close by
(The Butchart Gardens in Victoria BC)
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Jennie Butchart’s transformation of
the Sunken Garden (started in
1904) from an abandoned
limestone quarry, is a stroke of
genius. Jennie’s genius lies in that
she capitalized on the old structure
without fighting it, moreover,
transforming trash to treasure. This
is the essence of Taoism—the
natural way.
Philosophically, “Multilingual
Glossaries” will mobilize L1 as a
valuable resource to master L2 and
vice versa. Bypassing L1 in L2
acquisition is like shooting a ball
without using the white ball when
playing the table pool.
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It’s sad to see students lose their cultural
and linguistic heritage…
Guo Jie’s Waterloo, May 20th 2012 “Only You”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHYicUe4ieo
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邯郸学步 【hándānxuébù】
imitate others slavishly and thus
lose one's individuality.
According to the legend, a
person from the State of Yan
travelled to Handan, city in the
state of Zhao. When he got
there, he became infatuated
with their unique way of
walking. He tried to imitate it so
intently, but was unsuccessful.
He tried so intently that he
forgot his own method of
walking, and ended up crawling
back to Yan.
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Guo, after 10 years stay in
France, may be comfortable
conversing in French or in
Chinese exclusively and
respectively, got stuck in a
bilingual setting.
He was puzzled when the lady,
one of the bosses who would
hire you on the spot, asked him
some questions in French. It
turned out that her French was
full of errors;
When the host mentioned some
films (Guo’s major) in Chinese,
Guo was completely out of
tune.
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SUMMARY
This project, starting with Multi-Lingual Glossaries, is a
first step to foregrounding the linguistic richness
already available in our community. Global learning
can happen close at home.
As the Glossaries are developed, they can serve to
foreground the intellectual content of our courses in
a very specific and effective form, for all students.
In future phases, we can build a greater awareness of
multiple languages through signage, activities,
projects, that all focus on multiple languages as a
huge resource.
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The Role of
Monolingual Students
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Instructors can
invite them to
identify and
compose additional
definitions/entries
for extra credit;
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Invite them to have
all the readings
recorded in English
in MP3, etc. for
extra credit;
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Advice to Instructors
Scale Down on the Master List
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Out of my exuberance, I’ve put together a list of over
100 words for 134 last quarter;
Do not try to generate a big list at the beginning of
the quarter; spread it week by week as it is labor
intensive;
Give priority to those courses that are repeatedly
taught to refine the list;
To ensure the quality and accuracy in definition,
application, and evaluation, instructors need to
take control of the master list in English;
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Game Design
Learning through Playing
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Adapted to Hedbanz by making flashcards!
We can also explore possibilities for
computer game designs the fundamental
principle of which being problem solving;
Knowledge Contest (Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire/Jeopardy) organized by themes:
coffee, justice, etc.
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Status of translation
in ESL Programs
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ESL Used to focus on grammar/sentence patterns/translation;
Nowadays it is generally not preferred: Over-burdensome; Slow down
the process;
Favor a model that maximizes the input of the target language, not the
native language;
Direct method emulates L1 acquisition ("The Berlitz Method” (1878)
pioneered the communicative approach, immersion, etc.; the French
model has its romantic appeal: boys meet girls (talk to your girlfriend in
French, your enemy in Deutsch, do business in Arabic, sing opera in
Italian, etc.; some have gone so far to punish students if they speak
their native language in class);
TPA (Total Physical Response), a German model (James Asher), very
effective to teach (action) verbs;
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L2 Learning is not quite the
same as L1 acquisition
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Though interesting, those approaches fail to take into account that L2
learners learn a language through their native tongue for reference; L2
learning is more comparative at every step;
The direct approach works in some situations, but overall, it puts
students in a guessing mode which leads to inaccurate
understanding and cultural misunderstanding;
“Multilingual Glossaries” is an Intensive Mode to study or
“investigate” something, proposed by Zhu Xi (1130-1200), in the
Song dynasty (N. Song 960-1126; S. Song 1127-1279). “Don’t do that
[survey a great many books]. Read one book thoroughly, then read
another one [thoroughly].” (Ebrey 169)
The Intensive method works most effectively for students taking lower
division classes when a solid foundation is most needed. The rationale
is slow but steady. Something microwaved may not taste good.
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