Supercalifragilistic... !

We just completed another database upload, adding over 700 new words.

Our commitment to support this program with a database that represents pretty much the entire English language constantly keeps us on our toes, searching for new words, recording live those that could stand improvement, editing the accompanying information.

Every time one of our members adds a word that is not found in the database, we receive a call for evaluation. Many times the word was left out because it was not the base form of a word (dreams or dreaming instead of "dream").
Such variations are frequently not included, unless they are irregular.

Often the word is not found because it is misspelled or does not exist (as per Merriam-Webster and other lexical authorities). Sometimes it is a real find - a word that is not yet in our database, but should be.
One of the new words that now adorns our precious word collection is Mary Poppins' famous song title Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

The only reason why a project of eSpindle's dimensions is possible is the advanced technology of TTS (Text-To-Speech), and the good sound quality it now provides. We refer to our computer voice as "Mike," and Mike does amazingly well on most challenges, breezing through the bulk of words and sample sentences errorfree and even attempting that certain human sounding modulation.

Want to hear how Mike, the computer voice, says supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? - http://www.espindle.org/audio/words/97757.mp3.

Pretty impressive, hm ;-)?

By the way, this is what Wikipedia has to say about the meaning of this word, which is one of the longest words of the English language:

"The word itself has obscure origins, pertaining as to when it was first used, but the roots are fairly clear, as Richard Lederer wrote in his book Crazy English:

super- "above," cali- "beauty," fragilistic- "delicate," expiali- "to atone," and docious- "educable," the sum meaning roughly "Atoning for extreme and delicate beauty while still being highly educable."

This is the perfect word for Mary Poppins to use, being that she thinks of herself as incredibly beautiful but also extremely intelligent, which makes up for it."

In response to adding supercalifragilisticexpialidocius to our database, I received this little sentence in my email box from one of our editors (thanks, Sandi!).
This sentence is of unknown origin. It goes like this:

Imagine a holy man, who walks barefoot most of the time, producing an impressive set of calluses on his feet. Many times, such a mystic will also eat very little, which makes him rather frail, and his minimal diet may lead to bad breath.

This would make him - are you ready for this? -

A "super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis."

Why this hasn't been done before

Why has a concept like eSpindle never been attempted?
Will one of the educational software giants step up and copy our concept?

Answer:
Unlikely.
It has not been done because it is not likely to be sustainable for a for-profit company.
Designing limited units of study is profitable, but a vast and on-going project like eSpindle is a tremendous and risky undertaking.
It is a project fit for the Internet Age and thrives on lots of visionary spirits coming together and pitching in to make it happen – not for a for-profit company focusing on its bottom line.

eSpindle is made possible through the support of a large network of volunteers and supporters.
At its core is a vast and growing database that currently encompasses about 100,000 words – that is most every word of the English language in its base form, including about 30,000 words that are considered “Spelling Bee words.”

Only with such a tremendous foundation is it possible to power a learning experience that is ongoing and can accommodate learners of varying and developing skill levels – that will accommodate most any word that you may request when uploading word lists for priority study.

Were we to offer eSpindle in CD format, our members would currently have to load 18 CDs of data into their computers to install the database supporting this project – and eSpindle’s resources are constantly growing and evolving.

Just the audio license by itself (which is provided to eSpindle by one of our sponsors) would make it impossible for a for-profit company to offer such a resource without making access prohibitively expensive.
Add to that the custom edits needed to make sure our brief definitions do not give away the word to be spelled; adding sample sentences; proofing the audio generated by Mike, the computer voice.
Who can count the hours needed to live record all entries Mike does not get right, editing, and proof-editing them – plus all the other ongoing expenses associated with running a large Web project?

A project of these dimensions can only be accomplished as a community attempt, and is fueled and sustained by our volunteers, supporters, and membership contributions.

It is only possible because people from all walks of life are joining this project – as volunteers, members, and contributors and are helping out in any form they can.
You’re making it all possible!
Thank you for helping us create our innovative, amazing, wonderful eSpindle!
It is a tremendous, exciting undertaking. With your support, the sky is the limit!

How eSpindle got started

My days are filled with talking to people:
Introducing our program, answering questions, establishing partnerships. The one thing everyone wonders about - How come a non-native English speaker has created an English Word Tutor?
Someone who is not an English teacher or enmeshed in the educational system? Someone who may be caught mixing in a German word here or there (I grew up in Germany and still speak German with my daughter) and who sports a pretty strong accent?
Someone who loves words, but is by no means an English language expert?

The answer: eSpindle somewhat happened to me.
The idea came to me in a rather casual way, while helping my daughter learn her spelling words.
Have you ever had an idea that just doesn't want to go away?
No matter how often I discarded it, the idea for eSpindle kept coming back, bringing with it the allure of the new and the temptation of a great adventure... When the idea for eSpindle started to take roots in my mind, I was VP for Sales and Marketing at AromaLand, an Aromatherapy and Spa company based in Santa Fe - a stimulating and creative job that I could attend to from my home in California, with lots of flexibility and a regular paycheck.
Oh, no, I had no use at all for this idea that started flirting with my imagination.

But my unwanted idea kept coming back to me, persistent, nagging.
Pointing out news about students struggling with vocabulary, or dropping hints about how this "good" idea could be turned into a "great" idea. Reminding me of how I had struggled to learn English as a foreign language without having proper audio support, how it would help my daughter and so many more students - I started researching, looking for that very solution that I wanted to see.
The more I reviewed what was available, the more aggravated I became.

I saw programs using misspellings of words (a pedagogic sin according to brain research), lots of programs where parents were asked to record and enter information for the words to be quizzed (gee, that certainly helps a lot!) and programs that focused on limited word units, normally comprising between 50 to a few hundred words. The largest program I encountered featured 1,000-some words, but was unaffordable for most students. Just looking at the class of my daughter, I saw struggling ESL students next to book-devouring word whizzes who delighted in learning new words.
How could these students be served with uniform, unit-based study?
It was obvious that what was currently offered was patchwork at best, and a complete let-down for a lot of the students, especially the bright and the struggling.

The part that surprised me was that most programs I found on the Internet were basically virtual translations of text books into online format.
A little bit of animation was added here or there, teddy bears and butterflies, but it seemed like their designers either did not understand or did not care for the new opportunities powered by the Internet and computer technologies.
And slowly, "the" idea became "my" idea. I started talking with other parents about it, and received enthusiastic feedback and support.
Yes! Why wasn't there a better tool to help students memorize new words?
Why were we still doing good ole' spelling word lists with our kids in the age of information technology?
And what about families where parents did not have the time, resources or skills to tutor their children?
Why were teachers still wasting time and resources on spelling tests, which are long proven to not be very effective at all?
And wasn't it a shame to have a large number of students go through school without every learning how to read and write with confidence?

Now that my idea had convinced me of its necessity, I let it occupy the "guest room" in my brain, not really knowing what to do with it. Then, a friend of a friend introduced me to an educational software development firm, their quote sounded okay, a network of editors, writers and English teachers formed, I cracked my piggy bank and found myself tempted to trade my job for my calling...

There was only one more question left:
If the idea was so important and splendid, why had nobody done it yet? Well, it is late at night right now, and I will write about that a bit more in my next blog…