Training

Mindset: Learning Foreign Languages

Your mindset or attitude toward learning a foreign language is extremely important.

1. Be informed about the benefits:
• Boosting confidence
• Gaining better skills
• Becoming more independent
2. Learn from the experts. Think like a baby or small child, so it is easy for you to mimic and copy.
3. Don’t be afraid of making any mistakes. When you have a chance, speak up and speak out!
4. Don’t try to ask questions when you first start to learn, listen, and converse. Every question could be a stop sign; language-learning is different from other subjects such as math or physics.

Procedure for Learning Foreign Languages

1. Mindset---> act like a child or even a baby--->open heart/mind--->mimic/copy: just like a sponge absorbing knowledge quickly and easily.
2. Step-by-step Approach: listening, babbling, speaking, reading, and writing.
3. Sing2Learn Approach: singing + repetition + pattern + story + picture + drawing through DVD animation.
4. Creator of Dunstan Baby Language
5. Q & A Role-Play --> You can communicate in real life.

Assessment Standards

With sensitivity to varying expectations, Sing2Learn assessments are guided by these simple principles:

1. Ability to sing along with the DVD animations (B-, B)
2. Ability to sing along or read aloud without using songbook text (B+)
3. Ability to sing along and follow lyrics with the corresponding physical action (A-)
4. Ability to role-play with others using vocabulary and sentence structures found in the song, form questions and answers, and reverse roles (A)
• Boosting confidence
• Gaining better skills
• Becoming more independent
5. In addition to these previous skills, acquire and demonstrate the knowledge to apply new vocabulary to various sentence patterns, those newly learned and learned in previous lessons (A+)

Student Motivation Tips (SMT): Tactics Geared to Foster Student Motivation

1. Utilizing additional significant words to motivate students
2. Using props to inspire student learning
3. Sharing personal experiences to inspire students
4. Incorporating questions to motivate students
5. Engaging students to participate is a very successful approach for two-way communication, sentence-building blocks, singing competitions, singing connections, etc.
• Sample Pattern 1:
• Nose, nose, nose, where is your nose?
• Nose, nose, nose, my nose is right here.
• The student has learned this, so ask the student, "what real life vocabulary would you like to put in?":
• Student A - "House"
• Student B - "Money"
• Ask the student to replace “nose” with “house/money.” Thus, the sentence becomes meaningful to the student. The student wants it, needs it, and gets it. That student can then apply his or her sentence to a real-life situation.
• Sample Pattern 2:
• I want, I want, I want to go to the park.
• The student has learned this vocabulary and structure, so ask the students what real life vocabulary they would like to insert:
• Student A - "Hotel"
• Student B - "Field Trip"
• The teacher follows the same procedure using SMT for two-way communication. It is exactly what the student wants to learn; the sentence is the most meaningful and realistic for the new student's life and needs.

Evaluating Student Listening and Speaking Ability

Our eight knowledge levels make evaluating student listening, speaking and reading abilities extremely easy.

Here is a quick rule of thumb: Let students listen to the CD, watch the DVD, and read the book. If it is too difficult, then go to a lower level; if it is too easy, move up one level at a time until students are eighty percent or more proficient on the topics.

What Can Sing2Learn Provide to You?

What is provided during one-day training sessions is invaluable when it comes to efficiently teaching the Sing2Learn System in the classroom, providing

1. an introduction to the Sing2Learn System.
2. an overview of ideal student mental preparation for individual success:
• Benefits and Target: why learn foreign languages?
• Personal Mental Preparation - Teachers need to encourage students: Act like children. Don't be afraid of making mistakes. Don't ask “why.” Copy and mimic.
3. Evaluation: Assessment Standards Briefing
4. Standard Teaching Procedure (STP) Training
5. Student Motivation Tips (SMT) Workshop
6. Role-Play Workshop
7. Q & A (General Question and Answer)
8. Sing2Learn Teaching (TT) Certification

DVD Issues: Troubleshooting

We have made extensive efforts to create DVDs compatible with most standard DVD players and drives. If you are having playback issues with our DVDs, please consider the following:

• When attempting to play on a personal computer or laptop, please download and try VideoLAN to alleviate any playback issues.
• Or, please update your DVD drive's drivers. Refer to your owner's manual or online reference help to locate the proper drivers.
• When attempting to play it on a traditional DVD player, try playing it on another DVD player.
• Unfortunately, we cannot provide any information on where you can find drivers for your DVD drive. If the problems persist, please let our S2L team know immediately using our support page.