An experience in the Arabian desert caused Steve Walker's brain to become a Jingles mill.

Dear Fellow Earthlings,

Meeting Masad in the desert in Saudi Arabia back in 1978 was enlightening for me. For one thing Masad greeted me

by saying that he and I were at the center of the world. At first, I was a bit skeptical of Masad for he had said that all he

needed was the sun, the moon, the stars, some water and his camel -- and that Allah would take care of the rest. But my

appreciation of this man would soon grow by leaps and bounds.

Masad knew nothing of other countries or other languages. Indeed, he couild not even read or write his own language,

Arabic. But he was full of confidence when he told me that he wanted MY language, too. I had already had extensive

experience teaching languages up to that day back in 1978 when I met Masad: I had taught English, French, Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese. So I knew what it took to have someone start speaking. ---- But Masad was a language learning natural!!!

As soon as I would say somehing, he instantly repeated it -- but only once. He explained to me that a new utterance needed

time to "become part of the body". He refused to say anything more than just once. While it is true that in the first few minutes

of our training, Massad used Arabic-based speech motor skills application strategies, as his number of expressions increased,

we would go over each expression (always careful to repeat the utterance only once) -- and then seek out a few selected,

individual sounds and/or sound combinations to ask me about for the purposes of "fine tuning" or "polishing" before attempting

them himself -- before moving on. I caught on quickly to what he wanted and needed, so that each time Massad said a given

utterance, it would sound closer to the pronunciation of a native speaker of English than his previous rendition of that same

utterance had.

I never saw Masad again after we parted ways as the sun rose. I had worked with him continuously for approximately 12 hours.

His progress in acquiring the ability to speak English was remarkable! The English exchange he and I had at the end of our long training session tells it all:

M: Steve, I thank you. You have taught me a new language and now I am your slave.

S: And YOU have taught me so much too. Therefore, likewise, I am YOUR slave.

M: May Allah be with you! Please have peace in your life.

S: God willing, I shall do that. I enjoyed speaking with you, dear Masad.

M: Come back again so that we can teach more to each other, Steve. The sentences you gave me are now part of my body.

Partially due to the inspiration I gained from Masad, two years later (1980), having returned to the United States, I spontaneously

began designing "little jingles" in response to a need to teach native speakers of Hmong, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and other languages how to develop their English pronunciations.

The "real deal" Jingles began forming in my mind and body in 1981.

Steve Walker

Earthsaver and Jingles Creator

© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.