confirm

confirm means:

• repeat "same story, different ways"
• ask questions to make sure the language is understood
• ask questions to make sure the meaning is understood

if the language being learned is used in the context of a story, the same story can repeat in a different way.. for example, if the story is about a three-eared pig who wants peace and quiet but lives next to the airport, the same story can repeat different ways:

• act:oink oink q-tips hooves in ears socks sonic boom sound effects
• draw:pumping nostrils, little hairs, screaming jet, visual details
• write:cold clear text description, possibly with translation twext
• read:follow the finger pointing out sound by syllable
• sum it up:not a happy pig.. we're talking about one sad pig here

repetition of a story in any variety of these different ways confirms the story (and the words used to tell the story).. each repeat moves the story away from incomprehensible darkness, through the fog of the increasingly familiar and toward the light of language that is known.

"confirm" may be a better description that "repeat", because variable repeats of a familiar story serve to make sure the story is understood.. "confirm" also describes the storyasking practice of asking good questions, which often circle around an understanding .. why? to confirm that the language is understood.. or to confirm that whoever is listening actually even cares about what's being talked about

• define
• connect
• confirm

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

each phase of define, connect, confirm storyasking process reflects the other two phases.. if one element is key to learning, it maybe be to connect the language with the learner.. for example, language should be defined and confirmed to truly connect with a learner..