"I will be heading out to do a [sociolinguistic] survey in [Africa] shortly. Until now, I didn't think LinguaLinks would be very useful for me, but I just saw online all the sociolinguistic material available in the Library! This would save me A LOT of packing space!"
"I have been using the Literacy library extensively in the teaching of literacy here [in Australia] - it's a great resource."
Director of language programs:
I am currently serving as Director of Language Programs for Eastern Africa Group, and I am encouraging all our teams to have and use the LL Library. It is a great tool!! Keep up the good work!
Applied linguist in Papua New Guinea:
"I have the [LinguaLinks] Library bookshelves only which I think are very helpful at times, especially having a lot of info available in the village in a handy format is very pleasant. [Thanks for your offer to provide training, but] I don't think ... I would need any help for using this tool since it is not very complicated to use."
Applied linguist in Eurasia:
"The LinguaLinks Library has also helped bring me up-to-date on the current thinking in some areas. For example, a number of years ago I had a class which covered strategic planning, but it was not until a short time ago that I actually had to sit down and work on a strategic plan for our language project. The LinguaLinks Library offered me just the help I needed to put a plan together fairly quickly on my own. If I had had to go back and dig things out of class notes and books, the task would have been much more daunting for me. And, if I had had to go back to old class notes and materials produced some years ago, I would not have been certain I was seeing the most up-to-date thinking on the subject. By having these resources as a part of the LinguaLinks Library, they can be updated with each new edition, if necessary, thereby helping one to be current."
Language project director in Eurasia:
"I have been spending a lot of time with LinguaLinks Library lately, and wanted to say how much I appreciated the work that has gone into it. Tomorrow we begin a week of orientation for our members to brush up on their survey skills before doing some rapid [sociolinguistic] appraisal in our area. I will be using the notes in LinguaLinks Library extensively. They seem to anticipate quite well the questions I have: if this is so, what about this?, etc.
"It is my guess that there are two schools of thought in [sociolinguistic] survey ..., one which feels rapid appraisal has its place, and one which feels only an extensive survey is worth doing. It looks like the material given has tried to balance these two schools of thought."
Applied linguist in Central America:
"LinguaLinks Library: Who needs it?
"One of the questions that has been asked about the LinguaLinks tools and resources is who they are designed for. Regarding the LinguaLinks Library specifically, who needs it? Well, I do for one! And like with any good library, after you do some browsing around, you will probably find that you need it too!
"In my case, I'm [a linguist] who was trained back in the ... uh ... well, this gets embarrassing! At any rate ... I see the Library as a tremendous way for me to get caught up on what some of [my colleagues] are saying on topics from survey planning to learning theory to language shift and a host of other topics that affect those of us assigned to field projects. In the LinguaLinks Library, you can even get a lesson in how to print artwork on tee shirts!
"Those who are more up-to-date than I am will find the LinguaLinks Library useful for keeping track of a vast storehouse of knowledge and expertise that is quickly and easily navigated. For the most part, I would say that it is easier to locate information in the LinguaLinks Library than in equivalent hard copy because the hypertext links and search tools make it so easy to find things.
"All in all, this is a great product and will get even better with age. Even if you already have hard copy of many of the documents in the LinguaLinks Library, you will find that the electronic media approach not only speeds up research, but the interactive aspect can make work more interesting and enjoyable. Since I don't have hard copies of many of the items in the LinguaLinks Library, the CD-ROM is an invaluable asset to me and a bargain price for so many resources. I also regard browsing the LinguaLinks Library as a tremendous way to upgrade one's knowledge in the fields for which electronic bookshelves are provided."
"... I've never taken a literacy course, so I'm woefully ignorant of things literate, uh, things related to literacy. But here at my fingertips I have a whole library of information on every aspect of literacy from planning and carrying out a community-wide program to printing t-shirts for participants, from developing an orthography which will meet the needs of future readers (as well as politicians) to preparing the first primer. They have entire books in [the LinguaLinks Literacy Bookshelf]! They even have multimedia demonstrations of different instructional strategies and primer styles, etc., that are instructional in spite of being entertaining! We have a literacy consultant coming this fall; I want to be prepared in advance for her visit: I can get ideas and make plans using the information in the LinguaLinks Literacy [bookshelf] so that I will use that precious consultant time to much better advantage. ... The [LinguaLinks] literacy folk have done a very complete, very practical presentation of their field."
More....
"...Any serious language learner will find incredible help in [the LinguaLinks Language Learning Bookshelf], and the casual language learner will be motivated by practical applications that can be squeezed into already full lifestyles -- from planning an overall approach to planning one session with a language teacher, from helps for brand-spanking new learners to helps for people who have plateaued in their language skills. For the first time in my life, I've realized that I am a tactile learner -- it makes so much sense and helps me understand a better way to approach learning tasks. I learned this through this [bookshelf's] multimedia learning style inventory presentations. I would love to spend more time using their many resources to help identify and solve problem areas in my learning of the language I'm studying."
SIL
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