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September 2022 Vol 4 Issue 9

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):
Specializing in Entrepreneurial and Linguistic Communication
Let me teach you to tell your story!

IN THIS ISSUE:
ARTICLE 1: Why bother studying languages? Because language learning lasts a lifetime
STORYTELLERS’ CORNER:
On “accent hallucination” and “accent bias,” from “Grammar Girl,” Mignon Fogarty
SHOP NEWS
ABOUT US
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Welcome Mid-September 2021!

The prairie heatwave of August and early September has finally abated (and still pales next to the 40+ degrees my students in Europe have reported).
As we conclude the second full week of September, I can hear renewed road construction nearby,suspended in the late summer, but now intensified (perhaps because winter looms?).

Have you, like many Canadians, felt saddened by the sudden (but not unexpected) passing of Queen Elizabeth II? Her dignity, grace and unsurpassed 70 years of service, as the monarch of Great Britain
and Commonwealth nations, cannot be dismissed, even by those not interested in royal history. Most of us were not alive (or cannot remember) a time before she acceded the throne.

My sense of sadness at her passing has been mitigated by the queen’s sense of humour, while the world observed her Jubilee year. Have you seen (maybe more than once?) her “tea party” with Paddington Bear, at Buckingham Palace? (This clip was recommended to me last spring by friends in
the UK): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UfiCa244XE
May Queen Elizabeth II rest-in-peace and inspire us to show the kind of dedication to our lives’ work that she did, to hers.
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In Article One of this month’s issue of “Tell Your Story Newsletter,” as a teacher of (and writer in) the English language, I discuss a surprising truth of the longevity that language learning has, in our minds.
Many arguments are regularly made for the importance of studying sciences and mathematics (STEM fields), but seldom has anyone discussed the time defying power of learning new languages.

And in “Storytellers’ Corner,” I discuss the worrisome development of “accent hallucination” and bias, as described by American “GrammarGirl,” Mignon Fogarty. Equally important are steps we can take to stop them.

Despite the exhaustion many of us find during these world-weary, pandemic days, I wish for you that this autumn will allow you both to plan and accomplish your professional endeavours; and that you will take heart in some of the joys of life that have arisen from our recent summer season.

And may each of us find gratitude for the blessings that we sometimes fail to notice, but which continue to grace our lives.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth
Principal
Storytelling Communications
www.elizabethshih.com
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Article One: Why bother studying languages? Because language learning lasts a lifetime
In a recent article in “The Conversation” enewsletter, author Monika Schmid discussed the lasting nature of language studies, as shown in recent research conducted in the United Kingdom.

This year, students in the UK took 25,000 A-levels and 315,000 GCSEs (“General Certificate of Secondary Education”) in a modern foreign language. (GCSEs are needed for colleges and employers in the UK. Passing five GCSE exams at the grades of C or higher is considered roughly to equal a North American, “high school” diploma).

These statistics indicate that the extent to which languages are studied as subject matter for GCSEs has fallen by more than 40% (and A-levels by about 25%), over the past 20 years.

Schmid notes that between 2014 and 2019, there was a 19% reduction in students taking GCSEs in modern languages. Why does this matter?

This development concerns educators because, contrary to some popular belief, language learning is a very useful pursuit. Studies have shown that being able to read and write in a language other than
English allows students to perform higher on standardized examinations and also to earn more at work, especially in Europe, the US and Canada.

Of particular interest to Schmid and her readers is her recent research that shows that “language knowledge will last you a lifetime.” The capability you develop in a foreign language lasts longer than many of us might think and is “astonishingly stable over long periods of time.”

The first sign of such results was reported, nearly 40 years ago by American psychologist Harry P. Bahrick, who found that 600 Americans retained high school Spanish studies up to 50 years after their original classes: while he found “a small amount of loss between the third and sixth year after
learning had ceased, knowledge appeared stable for decades afterwards.”

For instance, 25 years after they stopped studying other languages, learners were found to have preserved about 70% of their vocabulary, despite not having used the language in the intervening time.

By contrast, unless learners became math students in college or university, within three or four years, their memory of high school mathematics, calculus and geometry-trigonometry, were all virtually forgotten.

In the UK, nearly 500 test participants who had studied French GCSEs or A-level courses, up to 50 years previously, but who had not used or studied the language since, performed “at the same level as those who only took the exam a few months ago, and as those who did, on occasion, use French”
(Schmid).

This surprises many (including me), because of the common belief that one must “use it or lose it” when it comes to our education. But Schmid says that the reason such memory is possible is due to the “way we acquire, remember and use language.”

More specifically, while the vocabulary of a new language is learned by memorization, similar to the facts and rules of algebra and science, which are vulnerable to forgetting, grammar functions are learned in a way that Schmid says is like “riding a bicycle.”

Studying grammar involves using the part of our brain that is good at remembering sequences and patterns through frequent repetition, so that linguistic grammar becomes “more like a reflex,” and a kind of knowledge that “resists forgetting” (Schmid).

For example, I remember first learning the “causative faire” and the conditional mood in grade nine French. Today, I still remember how it works, although more than 30 years have lapsed since that instruction.
Furthermore, the brain does not compartmentalize “English” grammar and usage apart from “French” or any other language. Instead, the brain can develop a very complex, responsive net that we draw on, when we use a word or phrase.

When we draw on that linguistic net in our brains, researchers have found that one area that lights up with energy then transmits to other areas that are connected to it. (For e.g., words that sound similar, words that mean similar things, and are often used together, are all energized.)

Studying a foreign language causes a learner to build a net that partly overlaps the one we already built in our native language. Then, every time you use the word “apple” in English, the term “pomme” in French “receive[s] a small amount of stimulation every time you use the English version.” That stimulation “prevents the [second] language from eroding entirely” (Schmid).

While this does not mean we will start conversing in a second, third or other foreign language, years after our high school/GCSE education ended, it does make it possible for us to return to the language without having to “painstakingly re-learn the grammar [we] were taught” in the past” (Schmid).

Schmid adds a particularly wonderful insight about the value of studying foreign languages: when we experience minor emergencies in life, “like lost luggage or a broken-down car,” language learners find we can excavate words from the language of that country, with just a bit of prompting or help
from its native speakers, whom we encounter.

Schmid’s article in “The Conversation” enewsletter explains that the depth of mental engagement that comes from learning a language reveals that non-Native language studies should be better appreciated and promoted, as a part of education systems, globally, and certainly our own.

And now it’s your turn: Have you seriously studied foreign languages at any time in your life? Have you tried to remember that knowledge, later, when interacting with native speakers?
Please write in; I’d be delighted to hear from you!
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STORYTELLERS’ CORNER . . . .
STORYTELLERS’ CORNER: Words, stories, riddles and more on writing and editing . . .
On “accent hallucination” and “accent bias,” reported by “Grammar Girl,” Mignon Fogarty

Mignon Fogarty (America’s “Grammar Girl”) recently shared some findings on issues raised by accented English, from the research of Professor Valerie Fridlund (Department of Linguistics, U of Nevada, Reno, NV).

Fogarty began by saying that research shows that people tend to prefer those who sound like we do. This leads to what linguists call “accent bias” (AB).

AB occurs when someone feels negatively about another’s (different) accent and develops resistance or prejudice toward it. Fogarty goes on to report that AB can make it harder for those with minority accents to succeed in
school or at work. Those with different accents also may not find legal recourse for such discrimination.

Even the belief that people (who may be perceived as non-native speakers) have an accent, rather than the accent itself, can create a barrier to comprehension and acceptance. So some speakers are discriminated against or suffer accent bias, without even having an accent!

The increased processing time (a small amount more of cognitive functioning) that we need to understand a non-Native speaker of English, or even the anticipation that we will hear an accent, can lead to problems in comprehension.

That might be challenging enough for a non-Native speaker. But the phenomenon that someone who looks different will have an accent can lead to “accent hallucination.” Here, a native speaker is heard to have a foreign accent, when they actually don’t (e.g. such as a speaker who is a second-generation
speaker)!

Fridland’s research shows that online, oral comprehension among university students of a lecturer believed to be an international graduate student Teaching Assistant (TA) can be reduced, even if students are simply shown a photo of the TA as a non-Native speaker. Here there is a perception
(“hallucination”) of accent, not an actual one.

Just being shown a minority person’s photo made it harder for students to accurately transcribe what a Native Speaker TA was saying! “Accent hallucination,” indeed!

The bias is believed to pertain to the listener’s resistance to making extra cognitive effort to decipher another’s accent, which diverts attention from their transcribing process. Processing efforts may play a role in how comprehensible speakers are found to be, whether or not
they actually speak with accents.

Hearing something unexpected, like a foreign accent, can have other, detrimental consequences, such as finding a non-Native speaker of English to be less trustworthy or believable (credibility).

In the face of racist implications from linguistic misperception, Fogarty reports that “fortunately, we are fast and flexible learners” of others’ accents and speaking styles. She shares these insights:

(1) Recognizing listeners’ bias parks some responsibility on the listener’s efforts and not only the speaker’s. (I can remember learning to adjust to understand a South African professor, 25 years ago,
whose accent was new to me.)
(2) We can reduce listener’s bias (and delay in comprehension) by (i) increasing our exposure to non-Native speech and (ii) by receiving more information about what to expect before we hear a non-Native speaker

For instance, prior exposure to or training on speech with a foreign accent reduces the cognitive processing we as listeners must do and can decrease negative value associations (e.g. the belief that accented speakers are less credible than “non-accented” ones). In truth, all speakers of every
language are accented, according to some background, such as Western Canadian, as I found when living in the UK. Some Londoners found my English hard to comprehend.

But tolerance can be found when listeners are willing to make additional effort and not if they are unwilling or refuse out of racism. Giving listeners the information that they’re about to hear a foreign accent prior to exposure can help them adapt more quickly. This is likely because less of a mismatch arises between listeners’ expectations and what they actually hear (which pertains to at least some of the results of “accent hallucination” studies).

Likewise, when subjects in linguistic processing studies were told, before hearing and rating non-Native speakers, that the process could affect the believability of the speakers, listeners no longer judged those with mild accents to be untrustworthy.

(3) Broader exposure to other, non-Native linguistic communities also improved listeners’ processing. Encouraging listeners to have a “growth mindset” whereby they will improve in their ability to understand and transcribe non-Native accents by increased exposure, helped to decrease resistance and accent bias.

Fridland’s findings on “accent hallucination” and “accent bias” can improve communication between Native and non-Native speakers globally, thereby reducing racism.

As Fogarty concludes, it is our responsibility to “prim[e] a positive mindset” and to give listeners more contextual information about who they are listening to, when we teach, introduce, or translate speakers with foreign accents, so as to reduce negative outcomes for both listeners and speakers,
alike.

Do you have a concept, idea, or problem involving any aspect of writing or communications?
Please share it with me; I’d be delighted to use it in an upcoming issue.
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SHOP NEWS:

A very deep “thank you” this month to Dr. Ravi Basi and the team of wonderful nurses and care aides, at City Hospital’s Observation Ward (of the Emergency Room).

These talented individuals provided sensitive and compassionate, patient-centred care for an elderly relative who is enduring poor health.
To receive such quality care in the chaotic context of an Emergency Room and amid a high number of Covid patients makes me deeply grateful. I do not take this for granted, and a written “thank you” is certainly forthcoming!

It can be challenging to secure quality senior care in hospitals, especially in crisis times for the health care industry. So thanks are doubly due, when care is excellent and deftly handled.

Many “thank yous” to all involved.
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Equally important thanks to Parish Nurse, Laura Van Loon (RN), for helping my family navigate the choppy waters of hospital care in Covid times.
Laura is a discerning, wise, and powerful advocate for many–truly an “unsung hero” of physical, mental and spiritual health in our community.

Thank you deeply, Laura.
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Special thanks also this month to the very gifted business coach and facilitator, Deanna Litz, of “Powerful Nature Coaching and Consulting.” Deanna has coached me through the digiSMART program, as I seek local clients for my language teaching services.
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A huge thank you and SHOUT OUT to Monica Kreuger (Chief Visionary Officer), Brent Kreuger (VP) and the Team at the Praxis School of Entrepreneurship (PSE), whose company, Global Infobrokers, is a finalist for Saskatoon’s SABEX Award for “Business of the Year, 2022!”

CVO Monica Kreuger, who is a long-time member and also has directed both local and provincial Chambers of Commerce, VP Brent Kreuger, Administrator Elaine Mantyka, Facilitator and Coach, Deanna Litz, Bookkeeper Marie Weinkauf, Coordinator Silvana Cracogna, and Director of Chinese Operations, Grace Wang, along with a host of part-time facilitators, have undertaken colossal work on program development, and refinement throughout recent, Covid years.

Programming innovation and excellence are among the reasons the PSE has been finalized for this much-deserved award! To many of us alumni and facilitators, the PSE is already the business of this year and many more (both past and future)!

Congratulations to the Praxis Team and “Bonne chance” in the competition!
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And while we’re on the topic of entrepreneurial training, here is a renewed call to readers with entrepreneurial instincts: If you (or someone you know) is entrepreneurially minded or even  simply has “an idea for a business,” the digiSMART and startSmart programs (developed and
offered by the Praxis School of Entrepreneurship) will help you make it a reality.

Besides core training on entrepreneurial concepts and processes,
the PSE also offers deep instruction on complementary topics, including content marketing and communications.
Furthermore, a network of support continues long after Praxis programming ends.

The PSE is a forging ground for fruitful relationships with talented leaders, entrepreneurs and alumni, under the visionary leadership of Monica and Brent Kreuger, and their deeply talented and experienced team.

To learn more, contact program administrator Elaine Mantyka today at: (306) 664-0500, or email elainem@globalinfobrokers.ca
(Disclosure: I facilitate on blogging to entrepreneurs in digiSMART, on a quarterly basis, as part of my suite of teaching services.)
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Thank you to Clarity Coaching and Development CEO, Jolene Watson, for generously accommodating a recent scheduling snafu. Thank you, Jolene, and I look forward to a future conversation on Facebook marketing!
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A tip of the hat to the fine staff of the Saskatoon assisted living building, The Franklin Retirement Residence, where my family is living.
Particular thanks to the generous and very gracious Vinod, Steve, Dee, Mason, Charmaine and several others who assist senior residents with kindness.
I am grateful to them all.

There are always new businesses and entrepreneurial programs to promote.
Please write me to share your success stories!
I’m excited for what’s ahead in our entrepreneurial community.
But for now, this is a wrap for mid-September!
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ABOUT US:
Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I now help newcomers to Canada land better jobs and economic immigrants to secure contracts by improving their English skills; I help SMEs close more sales by communicating better; and I write the legacy stories of major
companies.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant
website (www.elizabethshih.com). After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!

Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca)