Eric Grimm

Background

About Eric Grimm

Director of Effective Chinese, a Mandarin language training school in downtown Portland. We provide Mandarin classes and tutoring in several locations, as well as our own highly integrated and interactive web based Mandarin learning platform. Our vision is a classroom where students interact in language activities that reinforce the learning that occurred on the website. The initial inspiration for the school occurred when I read about the "Input Hypothesis" from Stephen Kraschen, a visionary in second language acquisition theory. To paraphrase, his theory states that "The only way people learn a language is by experiencing comprehendible input". In other words, you have to use it to learn it. But I couldn't find any adult classes that encouraged students to use the language. So sought out teachers to collaborate on the design of a curriculum centered around language activities that students can engage in. The idea is to maximize the amount of class time spent listening and speaking mandarin. This was fun, but it places a burden on students to learn the content outside the classroom. Our challenge became creating materials that are so easy to understand that students can get it without the teacher being there. The internet is obvious medium for delivering these lessons. Online textbooks are inevitable, and they have the potential to allow students to read, listen, watch and interact with material that directly prepare them for class. There are still very few examples of this level of interactive integration (Khan Academy is one), but Effective Chinese is not afraid to lead the way. Our website is now ready for the public: This website provides a public interface where students can sign up for classes and access the study materials, including quizzes and flashcards. It is highly integrated and mobile accessible.