18 JUN 2006

 

 

 

Dear Flash,

Shirley tells me that your English is superb. Congratulations. I know you had to work hark to get this far. Are you willing to share some comments on what you did to allow this to come about? Were you to teach someone to learn to speak as well as you do, what mixture of "methods" would you employ in what order? And, on the new E:P:N scale, what would you consider yourself to be?

Flash, besides being truly interested in hearing your answers, I also wish to ask whether you would consider acting as an interpreter for my questions to Shirley's friend, Hong Mei, the attorney. Her last note to me was not clear enough for me to know for sure what she said.

In essence, what I need to know is --

1. What kind of entity structure my new friends in China will need to start a study?
2. Can people other than Chinese nationals be directly involved in the study?
    If so, by what label(s);
    if not, under what type of visa and title would I need to operate to help get it off the ground?
3. Can someone like Crystal, Eastman, or you (someone in the private sector) be involved in the same consortium as will be educators in universities?

My intent is to bring the E:P:N structure even into the organizational consortium, which means, we will need 45 people involved to get this 3-phase, 3-sector study started properly.

Flash, as a patent attorney, she may not be able to give us valid legal advice, but she or her friends would know better than we, what our choices will be. Might you be able to help me with this? The beginnings of the study and some early letters are at http://clozeonline.us/Beijing. Much more is to come. Qian Jiancheng at Zhengzhou University will probably lead the 15 people for the formal sector. Eastman, or someone like him, would be a good candidate for orchestrating workers such as Crystal, who are already in the field of teaching through Embassies and private channels. In fact, this private group could even offer their services to some of the struggling rural schools on a contract/consulting basis.

If we start this China project with all Chinese nationals, or at least two-thirds (from the two sectors just mentioned), the study will have more than a passing impact on foreign language teaching . . . anywhere!

The third sector should probably be offered to established foreign schools/corporations already licensed to operate in China. These three sectors are not really competitors, but having them all involved at the same time should result in broader and better data collection, by providing the underlying competitive environment that is built into every aspect of the E:P:N classroom project.

Thank you, Flash. And to keep me from trying to sell you on joining the inner sanctum, please let me know early where your dreams are leading you. I know Wilmington will be a stepping stone, but I always like to know what people have in the back of their mind.

My own life has always been mapped out in 20-year segments. I am now working on my fourth, and have a pretty clear vision of what even my subsequent segments will consist of. Don't laugh. I mean it. It works.

Talk to me soon.

Sincerely,

Joe
407-761-1611