Very interesting post, Louise; thanks!
Just a quick comment -- your ideas about LLF remind me of the principles of
universal design, which seems to be creeping into more and more discussions,
philosophies, applications...

This has been one of my favorite discussions ever on the listserv -- lots of
voices chiming in!  Keep the ideas coming, please.
I'm hoping to add a more substantive post before the discussion 'closes' --

holly

On Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 1:20 PM, Louise Wiener <lwiener at llfinc.org> wrote:


> Hello All,

>

> I have been following the language development / critical thinking

> discussion with interest.   Learning and Leadership in Families, the

> non-profit I lead in Washington, DC, uses visual literacy - i.e. learning

> through looking - to encourage both language development and critical

> thinking.  We teach critical thinking through  exercises that gather

> information through careful observation and encourage critical thinking by

> comparing and contrasting  what the adult already knows with the

> information

> gathered from visual clues.

>

> LLF teaches how to use visual vocabulary (line, shape, color, texture, etc)

> to explore familiar environments and/or to decode unfamiliar environments.

> This can be done with dress / costume, with buildings or with other objects

> that encourage discussion about cultures and their similarities and

> differences. The process of building on what people already know and

> underpinning their knowledge with a structure that encourages critical

> thinking and deductive reasoning results in language development.

>

> What is most interesting in an ELL context is that the visual vocabulary

> provides a structure that cuts across cultures, but different cultures

> interpret different visual elements differently.  For example, the meaning

> of different kinds of lines is universal. The meaning of different colors

> and patterns varies from culture to culture - but is present as an

> identifier across cultures.  Makes for interesting conversations.   Louise

> Wiener

> --

> Louise W. Wiener, Executive Director

> Learning and Leadership in Families

>

> Holly (Dilatush)

>

> holly at dilatush.com

> (434) 960.7177 cell phone

> (434) 295.9716 home phone

> [OK to call 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. EST / GMT -5 time]

>

> "Live with intention. Share inside~out smiles, inspire hope, seek awe and

> nurture in nature." (original by Holly)

>

> www.tales-around-the-world.blogspot.com

> www.abavirtual-learningcenter.org

> www.blogblossoms.edublogs.org

> *Twitter ID = smilin7

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