ULTRA — A Unified Linguistic Theory of Real Acquisition

In this talk, we unveil ULTRA — A Unified Linguistic Theory of Real Acquisition. Language learning isn’t just about exposure or practice—it’s about harnessing the power of structured, evidence-based principles. ULTRA integrates the best insights from linguistics and cognitive science, showing how meaningful Input (I), Story-logic (S), Addictive Learning (A), Negotiation (N), Conscious Noticing (C), and Big Linguistic Data (D) lay the foundation for acquisition. But true mastery emerges through Output (O) and is strengthened by Fluency (F), Language Focus (L), Retrieval (R), Mixing (M), Spaced Practice (P), Generation (G), and Elaboration (E). We explore how this framework aligns with Paul Nation’s Four Strands—balancing input, output, fluency, and language focus—to create a complete roadmap for language success. Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, ULTRA offers a research-backed guide to real acquisition and long-term fluency.

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Four Strands Activities for Language Learners

Note: this is a rough draft of ULTRA. Please feel free to comment, make suggestions, or criticize.

Power Up Your Presentations with Story Style — 3 Levels of Story Problems

Here are the slides for a webinar given on Friday, October 27, 2023 — for goFLUENT.

Synopsis:

Students, teachers, and business people often suffer a special kind of stress and frustration. What is it? They have to endure long, boring, overly-complex, and forgettable presentations. What’s the solution to this global problem?!

One solution comes from the power of story. Story works as the most powerful way to put information in human brains. And we can use the power and pattern of story to transform the way we communicate. Stories always follow a universal pattern. (1) A hero faces troubles and problems. (2) Our hero struggles to overcome these troubles and problems. (3) Our hero succeeds (or fails) to overcome their troubles and problems.

We can use this pattern when we communicate any kind of information. We can simplify the story pattern like this: (1) problem, (2) solution, (3) result. The audience stands as our hero. (1) We set our facts and data inside a problem they face. (2) Then we present our solutions to the problem. (3) Lastly, we present the result (the happy ending) that comes by following the solution.

In this webinar series, we will learn how to use tools and techniques to create presentations using story style. We’ll also learn how to use story style to clarify our written communication and the way we manage meetings. But most of all, we will learn to make our presentations more effective, impactful, and memorable.

Story-Centric Language Teaching — Focus on Form

A talk for The Japanese Association for Studies in English Communication (JASEC), The Twenty-ninth Annual Convention (online Zoom convention), October 17, 2020.

In this talk, I claim that humans are naturally wired for story. We find story more comprehensible, memorable, and compelling than non-story. And though story may be the language teacher’s oldest tool, we can clarify and simplify how we define story. And with the clear and simple sense of story, we can work to weave it more deeply into every strand of language education — making all our language teaching — more story-centric.

Language teachers may easily weave story into input, output, and fluency activities, but grammar and form-focused activities present a more difficult challenge because we usually teach grammar simply by focusing on the nuts and bolts of language. Thus, in this talk I introduce a few ways that we can infuse story into the teaching of linguistics forms.

Click here for a PDF of the talk.

Using Nudges to Boost Big Reading

Nudges encourage behaviors without mandating them. Using nudge theory, teachers can create a “choice architecture” to encourage students to read more and more honestly. Presenters compare nudges versus mandates in ER. We give numerous examples of ER nudges and suggest ways to research nudge theory to promote extensive reading.

A Paper Presented at The Fifth World Congress on Extensive Reading, Feng Chia University August 9-12, 2019. By Joseph Poulshock, Senshu University; Douglas Forster, Japan Women’s University

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Using AI for Extensive Listening

AI may solve problems we face when doing extensive listening. The cloud service Amazon Polly “converts text into life-like speech.” We show how teachers can use Amazon Polly, and we summarize a pilot research project that compares student responses to a human voice and Amazon Polly’s AI voice.