April 2013 New Classes ２０１３年４月からのクラス

Here is the advertisement for the new classes starting in Takenotsuka in April.

東京都足立区竹ノ塚での４月からのクラス案内

This year we'll have 2 parent/child classes at Takenotsuka to create an English foundation for babies.  Recent research shows that even but the age of 1 year old babies loose the ability to hear sounds not in the language(s) that they do not hear spoken regularly.  Personal experience also shows that toddlers can be resistant to learning a language they are not already familiar with so why not start early?!

There will be a Baby Signing Time Basic class on Wednesdays from 11 AM.  Students who join this class of the option of continuing on to the Advanced class for further study.  This class is taught in a bilingual English/Japanese format and will help help parents to learn to communicate with their children from as early an age as possible. Signing is a natural first style of communicating for babies.  They wave "bye bye" before they can say the words, right?  The class includes signing, Japanese, English, songs and activities all designed to promote multisensory learning. You'll learn a lot and have fun!

A new class, Baby Class held on Wednesdays from 10 AM~, is a chance for babies/parents to become comfortable with using English or, for those who already use English regularly, a place to get new ideas and spend time each week in an English language environment.

Registration for both classes can be done through Takenotsuka Lutheran Church English School or through the Kotoba & Sign hompage.

A bit about the teacher...

These classes are taught by Heidi - a Signing Time Academy certified Master Instructor with over 15 years of experience teaching various baby, children and parent/child classes.  She also has over 10 years experience teaching English in Japan yet retains the ability to "forget" all Japanese when teaching an English class in order to create an immersion environment which is optimal for English language study.  Her experience as a baby sitter and later as a mother makes her uniquely qualified for leading parent/child classes.  Heidi is an avid reader with a deep interest in childhood development and the Montessori method.

A Hide-and-Seek Book サインでかくれんぼ絵本

We recently got a new book!

Where is Baby?  is an children's book that includes a number of ASL signs we cover in the Baby Signing Time classes.

Each page has an English sentence on the left with the key words/signs in red.  There is also a small description of how to make the sign.  On the left is a lift-the-flap area that will reveal the object you just signed.  Little kids love peek-a-boo and hide-and-seek so they love this book too!

Takes One to Know One!

There is a common English phrase "It takes one to know one."

Basically it means that sometimes you need to experience or be something to recognize another person who has experienced the same thing.

My Dad is a signing grandpa and in a recent channel surf he recognized something in a TV interview that most people probably missed.

Mariah Carey was on TV last week and while talking about her twins she shared about her daughter relaying a time when her daughter asked if a room in the house was her's.   Mariah made gestures for "my" and "more" that looked like 2 yr old signs so my Dad asked if I knew if she was signing with her kids.
Honestly, I have no idea if Mariah Carey does some kind of Baby Sign Language.
What I do know is that when I relay something my kids have told me I often mimic their signs and words.
I also know that the hand gestures she made mean nothing to most people but if you are around a signing 2 yr. old you may see them as signs!

You can see the whole video of her interview for yourself.  The "Signing Moment" I'm talking about happens about the 1:50 mark so you can skip to that area if you prefer.

ASL in Movies and on TV

ASL (American Sign Language) is an actual language so like many other languages it sometimes get used in movies and on TV shows.  For someone who is learning/using a language it is interesting to see how it is used in these kinds of situations.  

I posted on twitter earlier that Mr. Holland's Opus is one such movie. It that includes a music teacher who learns to sign to communicate with his deaf son and creates a concert that would be enjoyable for people who are deaf/hard-of-hearing.  The sign language used in the movie is ASL, the same as the ASL vocabulary taught in Signing Time.  You may recognize some of the signs the next time you watch the movie!

ハリウッド映画にもサイン(ASL)が出てきます。たとえば、陽のあたる教室 (Mr. Holland's Opus)では、耳が聞こえない息子のために音楽の先生である父親はサインを学び、耳が聞こえない人たちも一緒に楽しめるコンサートをつくりあげました。この映画に使われてるサインはサイニングタイムと同じASLなので、あなたもサインが読み取れますよ！

I've set up a section in the Kotoba & Sign Amazon.co.jp store where I'll add movies and TV shows which use ASL as they become available in the Japanese market.

言葉＆サインストーア　http://www.kotobaandsign.info/store.html

I'll also post information about them on Twitter with the hashtag＃映画でサイン

Happy Signing!

赤ちゃんの耳はいつから母国語になれる？Culture Bound Listener

先週ハナハウスで、赤ちゃんのバイリンガル脳についてのTEDTalkの講演のことを話しました。いつから耳が母語に慣れてしまうのか？日本語だけを聞いてる赤ちゃんは、英語のraとlaの違いを１歳前には聞きとることができなくなるそうです。

I've really come to enjoy the TED homepage which compiles lessons/lectures from various experts on many interesting topics.  Recently this talk from Patricia Kuhl was brought to my attention.  It speaks directly to what I do in teaching babies/moms signing in English.



The thing that I found the most interesting is the research that shows babies become culture bound listeners by age 1.  This means they stop hearing words/sounds that are not in their native language(s) by their first birthday.  I thought they had up will age 3... 1 is so early!
As I learned Japanese as an adult I have been able to learn to hear a few sounds that I wasn't able to when I first came to Japan however I still can't hear the difference between yu and ryu or byoin and byouin.  Thanks to this research I can understand that the reason is because my parents didn't have me take Japanese lessons with a native speaker when I was a baby.  Wonder if there was even a Japanese speaker in the area way back then...???

Another thing that caught my attention is the importance of hearing the language spoke by a person, not simply watching TV or listening to a CD.  This is a great reason to take a mommy & me style class!