Group Dialogue Practice: hints for creating successful group practice

                                This whole blog is much about group dialogue practice and this is more on that same theme. Dialogue of this sort is often called social dialogue. Social dialogue has been called a pillar of social resiliance and cohesion. It makes our co-operation more powerfully effective. It may be that which makes human and humane co-operation possible. Using language is a marvel of humanity. By the time you have read a dozen of these little essays, you will have provided yourself the ability to recognize a successful dialogue group and know much of the reasons why it is successful.

Hints:

~In the very beginning it helps to have at least 6 or 7 interested persons committed to three or four consecutive meetings. This could be called your pilot group. Forty practicants is too many for most well working groups.

~ During practice one person addresses the group as a whole and avoids directing her words to only a few persons at a time.

~ The practice is mostly a listening practice with one person speaking and the rest listening. Even so, all intened to make sure that every one has an equal opportunity to speak.

~ Remember that the speaker is most likely doing his best to be honest and to make his words understood.

~ Avoid interrupting another. You will have your chance to speak and other times to listen. The dialogue continues so that there is more oppertunity to understand and to be understood. If a speaker is interrupted several listeners may be interrupted and so the effectiveness of the practice may be damaged.

~ Keep expenses to a minimum. Everyone helps take care of necessary expenses, Do your part as you are able to.

~ Listen well to that which the speaker is saying. Improved understanding is an aimof your group.

~ Practice listening wel and gain more powerful listening and understanding skills.

~ Encourage each and every one to use their opportunity to say something at each meeting. Their words and yours are gifts to each of us.

~ Usually limit speaking to one or two minutes. It is great to have time to speak more than once at a meeting.

~ Rememvber that focusing dialogue on the topic and on personal experience is good practice.

    

                          The hints offered here can be useful for keeping the practice pleasant and effective, but are far from all inclusive or comprehensive. There is much more offered in other posts on this blog. Consider beginning a practice group of your own, if you have not already done so.

                        Thank you for your visit and for reading.

                                                                                                        rcs

            

Practice English in a Dialogue Practice Group: ELGP

Dialogue Practice With RCS: Call it a Magic Table Dialogue Group. Call it a Dialogue For Peace group. Call it an English Language Practice Group.

                As an English Language Practice Group it can be easy enough to be practical and productive for a beginning learner; it can be enjoyable enough and culturally enhancing enough for a native speaker of English to keep her coming back; it is a focused practice of listening to, and hearing a variety of individuals speaking English. 

                So our "ELPG" helps a beginning learner to hear the sounds of English as he listens to a variety of speakers say a few sentences on a limited topic. He experiences a focused intensive listening practice. He also has opportunities to choose the topic. When he is taking English class elsewhere to he will see his learning exhilarate.

                This practice group can be of considerable interest to a native speaker. Such an English speaker can learn fun and empowering cultural enhancing rules of Magic Table Dialogue, she can also learn the Dialogue for Peace skills for dealing with and appreciating the assumptions and opinions perhaps very different from her own. She can also make friends with with individuals of a different language and culture than her own.

                The middle ground learner of English can build his own word power by hearing targeted words in context. He also learns hear the English of a variety of speakers rather than just the pronunciation and manner of speaking of the teacher. He will here a number of people speak a given word in their own way. Hearing and listening to this speech for, say, pronunciation and intonation is great language practice. This practice combined with hearing a  single word in a variety of sentences leads the learner into meaning and understanding in context. Practice is the main is the main aim here and listening is the principle practice. He will also get his turn by a very interested group of individual. He will say his few words. He will be listened to closely by the group.

                Our dialogue is not a substitute for other language studies. However, practice is super  important in learning a new language.

What's in it for you?
* You can improve your listening skills.   
* You can practice hearing what is said.
* You can practice using a language other than your own. 
* You can improve your understanding of language and people.
* You will be listened to.
* You will learn to understand a variety of English speakers.
* You will learn to be understood as you speak English.

                                                                                                               from Richard

Assumption: "Talk is cheap"

 A new kind of effective dialogue is being practiced and I have been posting about it.     

                  Let me repeat just a bit about the nature of our dialogue before writing about "assumptions," an important concept for those who advance in dialogue practice.

 

                    A useful size for a dialogue group can be about 28, with considerable flexibility. A couple alone can benefit from its practice. Groups of 40 or more change in nature and come to be more of a demonstration group and calls for facilitators.   

 

                    This kind of dialogue is a unusually effective and needed way of communication. It takes some practice to learn to work it. However,  much can be learned about it right here.

 

                    A happening that is proving important in our practice is "assuming."  An assumption is much like an opinion, but one may be less aware of it. We have found that it takes some effort to put our learning about assuming into practice. It is not even easy to keep in mind that assumption can be active in our talk even when we are not aware of their activity. So, how are we to be aware of the assumptions of those we are talking with.  

 

                    Even so, we find our growing awareness of assumptions very interesting; very interesting, valuable, and enlightening.   

 

                    So, yes, there are those who are finding the benefits of 

practicing our "new" kind of dialogue. You can place yourself among them.

 

                    If you care to think of this dialogue practice as a kind of schooling you may see us as working at a kindergarten or primary school level. That is true, but our vision extends to beyond the post graduate level.

                    Assumptions are probably not among your top reasons for an interest in dialogue. They were not among the first human behaviors which drew me to the dialogue. However, as my experience with dialogue has grown, the more important I see our assumptions to be.

                    The list which follows deals with assumptions and how their workings can effect our talk and understanding:

~ Assumptions are learned much as beliefs and opinions are, from experience, our own experience and that of others.

~ As assumptions appeared to be mainly learned from experience, we are learning that, for example, the more one understand of her experiences and how she has interpreted them, the better are our chances for for respecting and loving her fairly and truly. The same seems true as we become more aware of our own experience and how we interpret it.

~ As assumptions come up in our advanced dialogues, we find it useful to avoid believing them or disbelieving them. We have found it best to first come to better understand them.

~ Our assumptions are often an important part of who we are. We tend to want to defend them, but have found it best not to try to defend our own and very important to avoid attacking those of another.

~ We are becoming more willing to know more of the experiences which led to the creations of an assumption of our own and that of another member of the group. No one has to feel obligated to share an experience, but a time may come when it is useful to do so.

~ We find that we can take in many assumptions and privately note our reaction to each of them and so come to know more about our-self as well as he who shared an assumption.

~ We do want to come to a dialogue level whereat assumptions can come up and out somewhat freely in advanced meetings.

~ We would like assumptions, our own and those of others, to come out where we can all look them over and understand them in some comfort.

~ Many of our assumptions are unconscious or pre-conscious. We find it beneficial to become aware of them.

~ We feel that knowing the meaning of each assumption helps us appreciate the opinions and positions of others.

                    A practice group may meet weekly for a year without a mention of an assumption and still learn much and realize much progress. Even so, most who continue their practice, come to feel the power an importance of assumption in their lives and in society. The become please to be aware of them as the come up in their group.

                    More about the nature and the practice of dialogue to come. Have you taken a look at the other posts on this blog?

                    Just below the end of this post you can find the word "comments" or even "no comments." By clicking their you can find a place questions and comments about the content above and even add to it! Please do so.

 

                    Thank you for reading.

 

 

                                                       Richard 

 

              

Dialogue Practice: What it is and what it isn't.

Dialogue With RSC: About the nature of this practice    

 Dialogue Practice is not:

~ a place to make a particular point prevail.
~ a debate or discussion.
~ an attempt to gain points.
~ a game to win or lose.

A dialogue practice group is a way: 

~ to an activity which helps us to be us.
~ through the meaning of word.
~ to an honest supportive activity.
~ to greater awareness an enhanced consciousness.
~ to hone our listening skills.
~ to develop new speaking skis.
~ to practice effective methods of communication.
~ to cultural preservation, growth, and creativity.
~ of making a healthy effective society more probable.
~ to meet interesting people in an interesting environment. 
~ of putting honest thoughts on the table where we can look at them and begin to find their meaning.
~ of being heard.
~ of finding pleasure in speaking up.
~ to understanding among us and within us.
~ to satisfying relationship.
~ to exchange ideas and opinions.
~ to share experience.
~ to learn to effectively communicate outside the group.
~ to practice a "second" language.
~ to peace and good-will.
~ for us to see our words as gifts.
~ to keep a stream of meaning flowing among us.

According to David Bohm dialogue practice is:
~ participating in a flow of meaning between us, through us, and among us.
~ an activity out of which emerges new and renewed understanding.
~ an activity which helps us to be an us.

 

                There is more on this site and more to come.

                Thank you for reading,

                

                                                             Richard Sheehan