Illustrations for language learning

All about language programs, courses, websites and other learning resources
User avatar
Bakunin
Orange Belt
Posts: 245
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:11 pm
Location: Zürich
Languages: German (N), English, Thai, Swiss-German (adv.), Khmer, Isaan (studying); dormant: French, Polish
x 660
Contact:

Re: Illustrations for language learning

Postby Bakunin » Mon Oct 26, 2015 1:56 pm

@rdearman: You're right, it needs some dedicated effort but then you could do a lot in a relatively short time. Wouldn't it be cool to have such a picture story library here on the forum?

@astromule: I've found the illustrators on Upwork. Pretty happy with the platform so far (as a client, don't know about the freelancer side of things).
2 x

Fromed
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon May 16, 2022 11:31 am
Languages: English, Czech
x 1

Re: Illustrations for language learning

Postby Fromed » Mon May 16, 2022 11:34 am

Bakunin wrote:I don't usually cross-post, but in this case I think the topic might be of broader interest, at least the concept I'm experimenting with, and maybe shouldn't be tucked away in my log. Let me know if what I'm doing is against the rules...

I've just launched my new website with an illustration project and two related recording projects for Thai and Khmer. I want to use this post here to discuss a bit the background and also my plans; this forum, if any, is the right place for this more in-depth discussion, I guess.

The general idea should have broader appeal, so even if you’re not interested in these two languages, check out the website and have a look at the concept.

South East Asia Illustrations - Khmer
South East Asia Illustrations - Thai

The concept in a nutshell
I’m developing a set of illustrations specific to South-East Asian culture - the four Buddhist countries Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. These illustrations, about 60 in total, depict everyday life and range from basic activities like "getting up", "eating noodle soup" or "taking a motorcycle taxi" to more complex ones like "alms round" and important festivals like the "water festival". The illustrations can be used stand-alone with tutors to learn basic vocabulary [beginner/input] or to stimulate speaking [intermediate/output] and maybe even discussion [advanced/conversation]. I will also provide a set of recordings (Thai, Khmer) as well as written descriptions plus recordings of those texts (Khmer only), targeting learners* at the intermediate level.

*… targeting mostly myself in the case of Khmer :lol:

How this idea came about
Nothing comes out of thin air. I've been using picture-supported learning for quite some time as people here know well. I was introduced to picture-supported learning through the so-called Growing Participator Approach, a self-contained method to learn any language exclusively with native speakers (even languages which don't have a writing system). The workbook Action English Pictures gave me the idea to develop a set of illustrations specific to my target cultures and also expand on this by providing recordings, another of my favorite language learning techniques. I had been using Action English Pictures for Khmer but was often frustrated with the many limitations - mostly cultural - of that book. It's still a good book, and probably quite useful for English and related languages, but it doesn't cut it for Khmer.

Some thoughts on culture
We still live in a world where cultures and ways of life are quite different from region to region. Daily activities, everyday objects, habits, social customs, they all vary a lot. They also make up the basic vocabulary of each language. For us language learners, it's as important to get familiar with the target culture as it is to learn the language. You can't separate these two. When using picture-supported learning, it's therefore important to work with culturally neutral stories (animal stories, global adventures etc.) for some basic vocabulary development, and then get your hands on culturally appropriate material. Given the economics, it's clear that there's a huge bias towards Western culture, at least that's my experience with Khmer. I found a few books in Thailand and Cambodia with pictures suitable for language learning, but nothing as deep and comprehensive as, for instance, Action English Pictures (USA), or any of the excellent story-telling “busy books” like "Ein Tag in Wimmelhausen" (Germany).

With my project "South-East Asia Illustrations" I'm trying to fill that gap to some extent. I'm totally aware of it's limitations, and also that these illustrations are biased by my personal view on South-East Asian culture and may differ from a local understanding or miss important bits. But they go a long way, I hope, and they’re really fun to design.

Minority languages
Now here's something I'm really excited about. I haven't pushed this point too often, but I'm really passionate about linguistic diversity. I believe that every culture has intrinsic value and the right to be protected and preserved. I also believe that culture is intertwined with language, and you can't keep your culture if you can't keep your language. Languages are constantly changing and adapting and will thrive if the speaker communities have positive attitudes towards their own culture. I hate seeing dominant national languages destroy minority languages (Thailand is a sad case in point, systematically going after their minority languages; it’s not as bad as it used to be, but the damage is unfolding now). As I'm neither a linguist nor working in the humanities (I’m a mathematician), I can't do much about it, but I would like to use these illustrations to give a few languages a presence on the web. These illustrations can be used to record easily upwards of 15 hours of descriptions, covering a wide range of basic and relevant vocabulary. Languages I have in mind are: Northern Khmer, various Tai languages like Northern Thai, Shan, Lao, and other Mon-Khmer languages like Kuy. For most of these languages, there's basically nothing of substance available, and some are drifting towards being endangered.

Funding and license
The entire project is self-funded. I provide everything under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license. I hope to see derivative uses, in particular for other languages in the region, and I'm also willing to host such projects. The funds actually come from - and use up - a lucky punch I was able to make with a short-term bitcoin investment two years back. Once this project is done, funding for follow-up projects will be more difficult.

How does this fit in with my own learning?
Khmer: The materials I publish for Khmer are exactly at my current level. I will be my best customer, I guess, for Khmer.
Thai: Even though it is the best-served language in the region, Thai is still short of materials. I'm providing recordings aimed at intermediate learners who want to take the next step after maybe having completed one or two textbooks. As I’m writing the vocabulary lists (not really transcripts, but key words and phrases as they appear in the recording), I’m also getting something out of it: spelling, the odd word here or there, and many interesting phrases/chunks.

Finally, I have to say that this project is a bit a shot in the dark. I don't know if there is much interest in the materials I put up. I do hope it, of course, but it may turn out that learners’ needs are different. In any case, I’m getting out a lot, and I really enjoy the creative process :D

The idea is very cool, I hear about it not for the first time. My girlfriend works at a language school and decided to take the same approach. The school is aimed at children and for learning the language, I create cool pictures-illustrations, choose a bright palette of colors to illustrate on https://create.vista.com/colors/palettes/maroon-color-palette/, just bright, because it attracts the attention of children. The approach with illustrations is working :)
1 x


Return to “Language Programs and Resources”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests