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為什麼孩子應該「提早」進教室?


準時到教室很好,但提早5-10分鐘到教室,對孩子來說有更多好處!

孩子剛進教室,可能需要裝水、上廁所、交作業與聯絡簿,這些動作通常會花費5分鐘。
如果孩子準時進入教室,並花費5分鐘進行上述的動作,代表他將錯過前5分鐘的課程(一個月8堂課將錯過40分鐘的課程)。
再加上孩子需要時間觀察一下,現在老師與同學在做些什麼,又會花個5分鐘進入狀況(我的老天鵝啊~這樣一個月8堂課下來,錯過課程的時間可是來到80分鐘,一個多小時哩!)

教學相長,爾思的老師們!上課啦~~


「教學相長」一詞出自《禮記.學記》:「學然後知不足,教然後知困。知不足,然後能自反也;知困,然後能自強也。故曰:教學相長也。」

是說老師在教學的過程中也是需要學習的,從教學或課堂中,老師發現問題後要去研究,求進步,找到新的方法或新的知識,應用到教學上,讓教學品質能自強不息,日新向上。當老師有這樣的覺醒,能帶動自身教與學互動,才能提高教的品質。

是的,Virginia,聖誕老人是真的


1897年一位8歲的小女孩寫了一封信給《紐約太陽報》

「親愛的編輯:

我現在8歲,我的小朋友們說,聖誕老人不是真的。

爸爸說:『如果你看《太陽報》也這麼說,那就是真的了』。

請告訴我真相:真的有聖誕老人嗎?

                                                  ── Virginia O'Hanlon」

爾思美語的小班制──幫助孩子跳脫舒適圈

#爾思的小班制
語言課的班級人數,取決於該校課程設計、所授課的孩子年紀與授課老師的課程進行方式,是門學問!

在爾思,上的是一堂需要人與人互動交流的美語課,孩子年紀都在國小,課程設計中有很多橋段以「動」的方式來進行,人數太少不好完成,人數太多也會卡卡。
幾年來的心得,我們認為一班4至10位孩子,是最適合爾思美語課程設計方針的班級人數,孩子在語言學習上能得好的結果。   

對我們來說,小班制的精隨在於,先幫助孩子建立安全感(因為有同儕),再來跳脫舒適圈(因為同儕也沒那麼多到可以讓孩子躲起來)。


爾思美語的感恩節 Thanksgiving


爾思不過萬聖節,但一定會過感恩節!
感恩節對我們來說是個重要節日,藉這個機會讓孩子了解感恩的價值所在。

我們讓孩子聚在一起,在歡樂的氣氛中,學習感恩。

Growth Mindset成長思維 ─ 讓孩子心中長出相信自己能進步的力量

「害怕」嘗試某件事,怎麼克服?

我「害怕」跟外國人用美語溝通
我「害怕」上台報告
我「害怕」考試
.... …

害怕嘗試某件事,背後的心理狀態是:我沒有自信、我不夠好、我會犯錯、我是失敗者...。

其實是我們的「自尊」在搞鬼。
自尊,是一種自我保護機制,它存在的目的是為了讓我們在群體生活中獲得生存。

2020【The Kids R Us Reading Challenge!】





一年一度的 The Kids R Us Reading Challenge頒獎典禮來囉!
我們邀請了校內孩子一同共襄盛舉!

孩子慣性遲到怎麼辦?

你能感受一分鐘的時間有多長嗎?

有自信且積極進取的人。
實際感受時間約58秒。

沒有目標,做事缺乏動力的人,
實際感受時間約77秒。

孩子慣性遲到怎麼辦?


為何要取名叫【爾思美語 Kids R Us English】?


先來跟大家講個笑話:

=======================================
有一天小華媽媽帶小華去『何嘉仁美語』
上課時, 媽媽問: 「我的小孩為什麼不是何嘉仁親自授課呢?」
員工說: 「我們何嘉仁不親自授課的。」
媽媽便問: 「不是何嘉仁授課為什麼取名叫『何嘉仁』?」
員工說: 「你去隔壁看『長頸鹿美語』 有沒有長頸鹿親自授課。
=======================================

以人名、動物名、地名或國家名作為美語學校名字, 的確很能給人清楚直白、或是帶點異國風味的意象. 然而, 我們更想要一個以孩子為本位, 能傳達我們對於孩子"學習"這件事想法的名字..... 所以有了Kids R Us 爾思.
Kids R Us 說的便是"孩子是我們", 期許我們自己能從孩子的角度來看學習與成長. 而, 爾思, "爾"是你, "思"是思考, 則在於希望這兒的學習是能帶領孩子發展獨立思考. 說穿了, 我們很在意教育的本質...不管你教的是甚麼 .
當然, 我們的專注在美語教學, 自然就簡單地加上English/[美語]二字.
爾思已經好些年了, 一路走來, 不知是否曾經有人想過何以我們叫"爾思"? 😌😌

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爾思美語 Kids R Us English
Line: skjean
0921-415083
竹北市勝利11路67號3樓
部落格: http://goo.gl/VLxg4M
FB: https://goo.gl/zm4coA
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自然拼音與聽聲辨字


拼字, 不是很難的事. 它可以是在你第一次聽到或讀到一個字的時候, 就可以正確地拼寫出來.
J在爾思美語上課已經10個月, 從零到現在, 她已經可以聽聲辨字, 寫出一個又一個單字, 並不需要死記硬背.
在爾思, 我們想賦予孩子自己的力量, 給他們可以自己學習成長的工具, 體會語言的奧妙! 

您若想知道更多, 請來我們的免費課程體驗與說明會: (請至以下表單預約2018/7)
https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSfW4NP_mh240iIvWW…/viewform

Spelling is not rocket science. It can be as easy as hearing or reading a word for the first time and being able to accurately spell it. J has only been at Kids R Us for 10 months. She has learned her ABCs here and here she is, spelling words one after the other. No rote memorization.
Learning should be about empowering kids, giving them the tools to learn on their own. And that's exactly what we're trying to do here.

If you want to learn more, sign up for our free demos. (2018/7)
https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSfW4NP_mh240iIvWW…/viewform

孩子J  聽聲辨字影片請至此觀看:
https://www.facebook.com/kidsrusenglish/videos/2022852441363773/



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爾思美語 Kids R Us English
Line: skjean 0921-415083
新教室: 竹北市勝利十一路67號3F
部落格: http://goo.gl/VLxg4M
FB: https://goo.gl/zm4coA
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神奇的自然發音法





以前, 我們這一代大多是從國中開始學起英文, 畢生難忘的, 是永遠搞不清楚的KK音標各式的音標符號, 實際念起來到底差在那兒.  對小時候的我來說, snake 跟snack 拼法不一樣, 讀起來是一樣的字.....

那時, 國中的英文老師就曾殷殷期盼地說過: "你們啊~ 要把音標學好, 這樣以後看到新的英文單字, 就能知道怎麼說出那個字."   天曉得, 這對我高中聯考英文分數拿到96分的我, 一直是個無法想像的畫面.  也幸好,  聯考不考KK音標, 勤能補拙, 硬是可以把單字文法背到讓我拿到高分.

後來, 年紀稍長了點, 聽說有種音標叫做"自然發音法", 孩子若是能熟悉口訣: "AAA-ㄚㄚㄚ-AㄚApple, BBB-ㄅㄅㄅ-Bㄅ-Bus......", 以後看到英文單字, 就能"自然地唸出那個單字的音".  只是我已經長大, 有點哀怨以前怎麼不是學這種"自然而然"就會發音的音標, 我就能少走點冤枉路.

學藝不精的我對於"自然發音法"的認知只停留在"AAA-ㄚㄚㄚ-Aㄚ-Apple, BBB-ㄅㄅㄅ-Bㄅ-Bus...…""這樣的口訣上. 這樣的口訣應是目前在台灣最常被使用的, 然而, 這樣的口訣仍建立在背誦之上, 也常被初學美語的孩子搞混, 因為他們不懂何以字母A/a有二種唸法, 也不知從何切起, 所以就一整串當作一個字來唸謠.

我們就曾接到家長打電話來問我們說: 請問"門"這個單字不是應該唸做"door"嗎?  為什麼我初上幼稚園的孩子, 回來後很堅持地告訴我, "門"這個字要念做"滴的door"??  親愛的爸爸啊~ 因為, 學校就是教這樣的口訣~ "DDD-的的的-滴的-door". 造成孩子誤以為"滴的door"是一個字, 指的是"門".

自然發音法之所以神奇, 在於孩子能夠看到一個英文單字, 即能唸出這個字的發音. 若能一開始, 就以小寫字母的發音法來開始(就不再另外學習26個大寫字母的讀法), 譬如s念作"斯",  i唸做"輕聲地一", 孩子的大腦就不需要再去想為何有個念做"滴"的大寫"D", 直接只記小寫"d"念作"的".  看到任何英文單字時, 因為看到每個字就能聯想出該發音, 唸出該字的發音的直覺與本能會更明顯.

自然發音法常被拿出來的討論的是, 有太多不規則的發音, 到後來, 孩子還是要記誦很多不規則的發音規則.

其實, 自然發音法發音規則已經可以涵蓋80%以上的英文單字發音, 若同時再搭配 Sight Words (維基百科: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sight_word), 對於學齡前至國小孩子來說, 已經能"聽聲辨字", 建立他們將來自學美語與自然開口說美語相當好的基礎, 以及掌握自己閱讀書本的關鍵力.

當然, 這個自然發音法的學習在爾思美語的課程設計中, 是非常重要的一環. 課程進度要剛剛好(有些坊間補習班會用三年的時間來上自然發音), 否則曠日廢時, 家長荷包損失, 孩子都疲乏了;  課程內容不能太單一, 否則教給孩子一把寶劍, 卻不給孩子機會擦亮寶劍, 練練招式. 怎能耍出一身好武功呢?!

而在接受大量的"聽"與"說"的與外師教授課程互動往來中, 孩子對於Sight Words的理解形成以及不規則發音, 會有些部分是由孩子的大腦去歸納演繹認知得出. 這也是在語言教學中, 爾思的老師們覺得最美妙也最有成就感的地方, 代表孩子能自己形塑出對於語言學習的思維邏輯, 而這也是孩子未來能自學的關鍵之一.

以下兩則影片, 是老師在課程上練習聽寫片段. (嚴格來說, 是"聽拚", 不用寫).

<<同場加映>>
2018/9 給爸媽的自然發音班,
詳情與報名請至  http://kidsrusenglish.blogspot.com/p/2018.html







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 爾思美語 Kids R Us English
 Line: skjean 0921-415083
 竹北市文信路139號2F
 部落格: http://goo.gl/VLxg4M
 FB: https://goo.gl/zm4coA
 ------

爾思美語與連鎖補習班的差異


上週日, 就在爾思美語的體驗課程與說明會後, 在偌大的教室內, Teacher Steve認真地表示, 他有很強烈的動機想讓來爾思美語的家長們了解何以爾思能與連鎖補習班有所不同, 何以來到這兒的孩子才是語言學習的港灣, 能真正學好一個語言……...(blah blah blah~這兒先省略1000字). 

 聽他侃侃而談後, 我輕輕地問: 請問您剛剛說的那番話, 能用更簡單方式呈現出來嗎?   他頭一回, 拿起筆, 就在白板上悉悉簌簌地沒幾秒的光景, 便畫出了這張圖…..  果真是經驗豐富, 教語言的老師! 一張圖可以回答這段時間以來, 我們所被問到的 幾個問題.


1. 爾思美語跟連鎖補習班有何不同?


連鎖補習班:  (淺藍框框的部分)
相信依據SOP編寫出來的教材準則與制度, 授課老師只要將所提供的教材教給孩子, 理論上孩子就能吸收, 然後以考試的方式來呈現, 有分數, 有寫錯沒得分的… 較容易給家長,學校與老師來展現學習成果.

因為教材是標準程度的產物, 所以每個章節會教的內容, 不外乎以所謂的”文法句型”來架構. 這一次我們學如何與人打招呼的句型/be動詞的用法, 下一次我們學 Be動詞開頭的問句, 再來是過去式要怎麼用……等等這樣的骨架, 有了骨架, 就會假以更多的單字字彙加入, 作為血肉.
這樣的學習設計,自然而然會形成 只要授課老師照著SOP教, 孩子只要背下被教的內容(甚至更多字彙), 在最後一道的考試(這種考試以非常多種形式存在著)表現出來, 就完成所謂的語言學習.

最終,
連鎖補習班相信授課老師是誰並不是那麼重要, 最好只要他是外國人, 講究一點的, 會強調母語是英文的外國人, 可以照著SOP教材來教就可以.
孩子對於美語的印象就是很多要背的東西, 是一個其他像”數學”一樣要學的科目. 開始覺得痛苦.
一直覺得自己英文不夠好的家長看到孩子有學所謂的文法句型, 而覺得心安.



爾思美語:  (橘色箭頭+貓頭鷹老師的部分)

我們有教材, 有教學目標, 每堂課所做的看來似乎只是好玩有趣的活動是授課老師精心規畫過的課程.

以課程體驗與說明會中展現的教學示範為例:    (這兒可以預約課程體驗與說明會
https://goo.gl/forms/RohQaGrI683PMrFx1
)
這個”Left. Right. Left. Right. I am walking down the street. What can you see?”的課程橋段, 已經將完整的句子以遊戲韻文的方式帶出, 即便課程中有孩子根本沒學過美語. 但是, 孩子能夠聽到一個完整有意義的句子, 輔以老師所做的動作, 帶的圖卡, 同學的反應, 孩子自身的認知能力自然會連結他自己的詮釋, 他很快就會歸納出這句話的意思. 我們不需要教孩子說 當你正在做這個動作時, 記得動詞要加ing. 就算真的這麼做, 應該也沒有用, 孩子不會聽懂你說的話.

授課老師需要做的是引領出孩子的想像力, 這過程對孩子來說必然是有趣的. 終究讓孩子注意到老師想教的東西(譬如, 遊戲中有+ing現在進行式,  W開頭的問句, 否定句的用法….). 是的, 帶領他們”注意”到. 孩子自然就會撿起(pick up)這個概念. 不需要背. 這過程中, 老師也必須持續與孩子以互動, 一來一往, 才能確定孩子是否理解, 發音是否正確.

所以,
授課老師是誰很重要. 他要 能了解清楚孩子語言發展的過程, 當他問孩子一個問題, 而孩子沒有回答時, 他要能分辨孩子是聽不懂不會說, 還是聽得懂不想說, 還是需要純粹需要我們再多點耐心等待.
孩子會喜歡來到這兒, 這也很重要. 凡事總要先不排斥, 再來喜歡, 然後才有可能精進.
而家長, 假以時日, 不需要分數, 也會見到孩子的成長與不同.


2. 爾思美語有沒有考試?  作業多不多? 


我們沒有考試. 很多時候, 老師已經在課堂中以不同的方式來了解孩子是否已經學到. 學期中會有個評量, 不過不會跟孩子事先說,  因為不需要準備, 也不會有分數, 純粹是用來真實反映孩子吸收程度. .

同樣地, 很多練習也都會在課堂中完成, 所謂的作業, 都是可以10分鐘內完成的小活動與遊戲. 
因為我們授課老師以這樣精緻的方式進行課程, 才得以沒有考試, 少到幾乎沒有的作業, 而達到我們想要的學習結果.


3. 聽起來你們好像不太注重文法?


是”聽起來”, 但是教語言, 不可能不教文法.  我們只是不將”文法”單獨拆解出來, 一個一個教.

想想孩子開始學講話時, 是您先教好文法, 再請她說出句子的嗎?

任何一位孩子總是經過大量地聽(從出生起, 寶寶一直在聽), 然後先說簡單的字詞, 慢慢進入較長的句子, 而中間周遭的人扮演著有意義的第三者, 不斷地給予他回饋….讓他知道怎樣說才是正確的.

孩子現在大了點, 要開始學第二語言, 循序這樣聽 ->說->讀->寫的過程才是語言內化在孩子心裡的過程.  如圖所示, 爾思美語的老師們就是要扮演好這有意義的第三者角色, 時時看顧孩子的進展, 包括發音與文法.


最後, 以之前我們在部落格轉貼的一篇文章做結尾.
希望每個孩子都能找到適合了解他的老師~

想讓孩子學好美語的關鍵
http://kidsrusenglish.blogspot.com/2016/02/blog-post_2.html


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爾思美語 Kids R Us English
Line: skjean 0921-415083
新教室: 竹北市勝利11路67號3F(2018.9啟用)
竹北市文信路139號2F
部落格: http://goo.gl/VLxg4M
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用孩子熟悉的學習方式教他們學英文吧!



在爾思的孩子, 一定可以感覺到
在這兒, Teacher Serge一直都是"用孩子熟悉的學習方式教她們學美語"!
所以孩子很愛來上課 也能"莫名其妙"學好了老師要教她的!
語言是個技巧, 如同游泳與騎腳踏車, 用孩子的方式來教他們, 學上了, 
自然也就像游泳與騎腳踏車一樣, 忘不了!

這個說到我們心坎裡的好文分享: 

【用孩子的方式教他學英文】:如何教英文?如何學英文?

陳超明(實踐大學應外系講座教授)

外籍老師專欄-Teaching Them HOW to Learn Rather Than WHAT to Learn: Listening



Teaching Them HOW to Learn Rather Than WHAT to Learn: Listening

VYLs (kids under 7) get the vast majority of what adults mean by observing and decoding non-verbal communication cues such as gestures, facial expressions, voice volume and tone, etc. 

Getting meaning by decoding non-verbal communication cues is a listening skill we develop early on in life. But as we mature, we discover other ways to listen and the old ways get automatically incorporated in our communication system without our being aware of them anymore. Thus we come to understand people by relying only on our ears. We trust our ears to the point that what our ears don’t hear, we conclude we don’t understand. When giving instructions in class, it’s not uncommon for teachers to hear “我聽不懂英文” from students despite all the teacher’s efforts to convey the meaning through gestures and other cues. Such students have completely forgotten that they can actually understand the teacher without a single word from his part, by just decoding his gestures, facial expression and voice tone.


How do we practically help students regain that knowledge? One of the most effective ways in doing that is through mime games. Played over time, they help students become more aware of other people’s non-verbal communication cues and therefore, come to understand more than they thought themselves capable of. This state of sudden improvement in understanding will propel them into what I refer to as the Virtuous Circle of Language Learning. It’s a self-sustained circle that builds on the success and confidence boost of the learner.

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 爾思美語 Kids R Us English
 Line: skjean 0921-415083
 竹北市文信路139號2F
 部落格: http://goo.gl/VLxg4M
 FB: https://goo.gl/zm4coA
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外籍老師專欄- Teaching Them HOW to Learn Rather Than WHAT to Learn: the Why




Teaching Them HOW to Learn Rather Than WHAT to Learn: the Why

Acquiring a language can be easily understood as the development and betterment of the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The strategies and technics used to acquire any language as a mother tongue are the very same one needs to acquire English as a second language. Another way of saying that is there are no listening strategies for only learning Chinese and different other strategies for learning English. In both situations, we use the very same strategies. And as anybody who has already successfully learned a second language can attest, learning a second language is really more of a skills transfer than a complete re-learning of a new system of communication. But for that, one needs to see English for what it really is, a language, a means of communication rather than a mere subject to study, be tested and graded for.

Students come to English classes already speaking Chinese. In order words, they have a track record of success in acquiring a language by using some strategies and technics. Some of these strategies and technics are unique to them as individuals and some others are common to all learners. However, many of these students are completely unaware of these strategies and therefore cannot leverage them on their own to acquire English. For them, they live in Taiwan and speaking Chinese just happened.


Our job as language teachers – and I believe as teachers in general – is to tap into this existing resource to help them achieve their learning goals. And we do so by teaching them HOW to learn rather than WHAT to learn: we help them become aware of their language learning strategies. By doing so, we help them feel safe and comfortable in learning as they discover they already know how to do it.  They learn faster and easier. They easily gain confidence and become more successful in learning and most importantly, we help them become effective and autonomous learners. Helping students become effective and autonomous learners is the best gift a teacher can ever give to his students and the best compliment a student can ever make to his teacher. 


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 爾思美語 Kids R Us English
 Line: skjean 0921-415083
 竹北市文信路139號2F
 部落格: http://goo.gl/VLxg4M
 FB: https://goo.gl/zm4coA
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外籍老師專欄- Why Kids R Us English?


Why Kids R Us English?

Nowadays, parents have high expectations in regard with the English ability of their children. They want to prepare them for the real world. It’s pragmatic world. It’s a world that measures one’s proficiency not based on one’s grades at school or scores at English proficiency tests but rather whether you can effectively communicate in English – at school, at work, on travel, in social settings…
There are countless numbers of English schools just in Chubei. They all aim at helping young children and adults develop or improve their English skills. Some are household names and others like Kids R Us aren’t. So why should you consider sending your child at Kids R Us instead? Here below are few thoughts without any order whatsoever to ponder over.

1.   We the teacher. Teacher Serge is a talented and experienced teacher who is good with children and has a passion for teaching. He speaks fluently four different languages including Chinese and has learned Latin for over 4 years. He leverages all these experiences from learning and teaching to assist his students and help them in their turn acquire English.

2.   We’re committed to small class sizes. How does a teacher give enough individual time and attention to students when they are 15 of them in class? How does he/she see the individual efforts to encourage, achievements to praise and struggle to address if there are 20 students to care for? And the list goes on. That’s why at Kids R Us, we limit our class sizes to eight (8) students for level 1 and 2 and to twelve (12) students for level 3 and above.

外籍老師專欄- Why Wee Read?



Briefly put, here are the 3 main reasons why we start Wee Read in Sunday Mornings at Kids R Us.


1. We believe in the importance and know the transformative power of books in shaping people’s destinies. If time is the most precious gift we can ever give to our children, then I would argue that cultivating in them the love for reading, for books is the second most valuable. As parents, our experience of life is limited and sometimes, what we want to say is better put by somebody else. By cultivating in them the love for reading, we give them the gift of a life without boundaries, a gift that will that will unleash the power within them to do and be anything that they want to. In books, they will find freedom, strength, courage, knowledge, wisdom, dreams and inspiration…all of which will help them live the life that we could only hope and pray for them to live.

2. We believe that there is more to learn in English in books than there is in textbooks. Learners will acquire and learn more English from books – picture books, bridging books, chapter books – than they could possibly do from the best textbooks and best teachers. This will require that they become autonomous learners. Our role as teachers is to know this truth, to embrace it rather than to fight it, to advise strategies and create an environment that nurture curiosity, autonomy and a love for reading books, and to inspire them to confidently go for it.

3. We believe in the unparalleled role of books in helping learners acquire languages. Books facilitate tuning in more than any other medium that I know. You see, only 5% of interpersonal communication is verbal. The whooping 95% is nonverbal, meaning they are codes we learn to decode. So when we tune in, we forget that we’re communicating in a different language. We’re 100% focus on making and conveying meaning. All the filters are down. We suddenly come to realize that we can understand more about what our interlocutor is saying than what our ears can actually hear. And it’s only then that acquiring the language is possible.

外籍老師專欄- “Play Games?” That’s All You Do? 你需要做的只是玩遊戲!


If you were to ask my students what they do in my classes, most of them would probably say “we play”. And if you were to observe me through a window glass, you might conclude that I don’t seriously teach, or as one of my colleagues jokingly put it “你是在騙錢吧?” You see, in my classes, we sing songs and dance, say chants and rhymes, perform fingerplays and play lots of task-based games. And all of this is what I will refer to as plays throughout the article or what the students might put it – we play. I don’t explicitly teach or explain grammar unless a student asks for clarification which is the time he or she’s stuck in his/her efforts of working out the rules of the language on his own (Read Understanding How VYLs and YLs Learn Languages, VYLs and YLs Learn through Experimenting). This way of doing is completely different from the way most of teachers and parents were taught English. Out of many, I would like to offer just three points to make the case for plays in teaching VYLs and YLs. 
如果你問我的學生, 我們在課堂上都做些甚麼, 絕大部分的他們大概都會說, 我們都在玩! 而且, 若你透過教室的窗戶來觀察我的上課, 你可能會覺得我沒有很嚴肅認真地在教課. 或是就像我一位同事曾開玩笑地說, 你是在騙錢吧?

外籍老師專欄- 學齡前的孩子與兒童是怎樣學會語言的! (四之四)




Rethinking our approach to teaching English to VYLs and YLs will require that teachers and parents alike become more aware of how this particular category of learners do learn languages. And the final point that we will discuss is how they learn languages through interactions.

Confirming or modifying their hypotheses of the rules that govern the language, picking up accents, decoding facial expressions and body languages, codes of conduct, transferring concepts from one