Dear Board of Directors,
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:
Though not yet within your foundation’s guidelines,
kindly present this request for assistance during one of your upcoming strategy
meetings. Instinct tells me that Mr. Gates, along with other visionary members
of the Board will like my new E:P:N classroom proposal for enhancing the teaching of English language skills throughout the world . . . one country
at a time, starting in
This E:P:N classroom project started during my MA TESOL
training at the
So far I have little more than a couple of
hand-shake contracts with Vice-Deans of university-level CALL programs, but the
response to the idea of reducing the
cost of Computer-Assisted Language Learning by arranging the classroom in various-size clusters, was a hit
with everyone. And not only because of the reduced need for computers, but
because this project uniquely solves
the problem of “How do we get teachers who believe in the superiority of the
Grammar-Translation process, to authorize the use of Communicative Learning,
without loosing their much-needed control?” I have a PPT presentation
at http://clozeonline.us/EPN_classroom.ppt
that outlines that process,
and there are several letters and documents that explain the details at http://clozeonline.us/Beijing.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, if you
agreed that this is a worthy global outreach project, could sponsor the first
six classrooms in each of the autonomous provinces, and offer to do so during their
national CALL convention. Though teachers, at large, have not as yet agreed
that computer-assisted language learning is a positive addition to the learning
process, they know that something is soon coming and they feel threatened by
it. My E:P:N classroom solution is bound to help
replace those strong feelings of apprehension with feelings of gratitude and
curious quandary (as to how this use
of Physics 101 will influence the learning process). From my point of
view, any process that gets learners motivated, without doing harm, is a good
process. The E:P:N classroom is such a process . . .
especially, once blessed by a Gates Foundation education grant!
Thank you for listening. Your underwriting could be threefold:
(1) You could sponsor just the computers (we will need 14 plus a server per
classroom); (2) maybe forgive the license fee for running the program on a
Windows server (rather than using VMware), or (3) you could also furnish the
tables and chairs (to have a ready-to-go classroom for 2,000 students in a
school). All we would need are: 3 banquet-size round tables, 2 rectangular
tables for six, and 3 round card tables. (The 3 groups of two would share one
of the large banquet tables with the teacher.) Of course, we will also need 45
chairs plus 6 bar stools (for spying tasks, etc.). The mentioned electronic
whiteboard would be a great help for demonstrating what will be encountered
during the restoration process, but it is not a requirement. A simple
projector, attached to the teacher’s laptop, would do the same. An estimated
$1.10 per student per week is expected to be the ongoing cost of maintaining a
classroom.
The outcomes listed are: (1) Better math scores through better reading comprehension
(researched to be enhanced by the regular use of the C-Test);
(2)
Better reading skills through using the
Book Flood model (later validated through the
READ and REAP models of enhancing reading skills); (3)
better communication skills through practice in negotiating values
and strategies, and reaching a consensus (judged through a peer evaluation) solicited
at the end of each contract period;
(4) better grades on all
language-related subjects through increased oral production of language
during negotiation tasks (in class, at home, and via e-mail, etc.); and (5) superior motivation, (which is
researched to be present whenever young learners get to choose their own
learning style, curriculum, and associated responsibilities). The slide
finishes, saying: “The E:P:N procedure is also a mini lesson in physics, which is
expected to increase a learner’s interest in, and love for, this finest of
fields for developing cognitive and contemplative prowess (thinking skills).”
My own background may not be the best for
orchestrating this monumental undertaking, but I have always been fortunate to
have been surrounded by dedicated experts. Besides, I have the competent help of
my son, a network engineer of highest licensure, to guide me through tasks
still new to me. Feel free to ask for further details. The C-Test research is
at http://clozeonline.us/Research.
My own C.V. is at http://blumenterprise.org/JoeBlum-CV.htm.
Even if negative, it would be a pleasure to receive your
response. And, naturally, I would be more than
willing to run the entire project through a group such as the Asia Society’s
Network of International Studies Schools, a current recipient of your goodwill
and support, or any other group you prefer to support. My suggestion to my new
friends in
Most sincerely,
Joe Anthony Blum
E:P:N ombudsman
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