Posted on by Peter Editor

Online Language Learning Program with Earn-Back

As of February 2014, GamesforLanguage has been a completely free-to-use site. You can play all Quick Games online without registering. When you register, you can also play our online courses. Because of their format, the games and courses work best on the computer. On a mobile device, you can squeeze the frame to fit. 

For us, GamesforLanguage has been and continues to be an amazing resource. We have used it to learn and improve our Italian, French and Spanish, with the result that our travels are much enriched.

We enjoy the interaction with other language enthusiasts online, and love the challenge of learning new languages for the pure fun of it. And, we are very happy so see that old and new learners come to our site daily.

Original Post. February 2012:

As a new online foreign language learning site – we just celebrated our first anniversary in January – that uses a story and games as key teaching tools, we are still experimenting with the pricing structure for our programs. GamesforLanguage.com currently offers beginner/refresher courses for four (4) languages: French, Spanish, Italian, and German.

We are interested in attracting learners who either can't afford the expensive programs on the market or who find some of the free programs not sufficient or effective. Programs which require CDs, DVDs, or downloads also may prevent learners from practicing while traveling or at a lunch break during the day. We believe that frequent, ideally daily, “language breaks” will greatly accelerate the foreign language learning process. That's where an online program really works well!

During our free Beta phase we quickly acquired thousands of learners who wanted to try our free language program. (See also: "How to Play and Learn with Gamesforlanguage.com".) However, many of these learners were not motivated enough to “stick with it” and continue with the course.
 
On the other hand, there are clearly many who acquire language courses for hundreds of dollars (e.g. Rosetta Stone, Fluenz et. al.) and, because they now have “some skin in the game,” these buyers are quite motivated to use such courses. (They may also experience the “Rosetta Stone Effect” - but that's another matter...)

The G4l Earn-back program

That's why we came up with an innovative "earn-back your purchase price” offer. Maybe our purchase price of $29.95 per course is too low for anybody to consider having “skin in the game.” But for someone who is motivated to start learning a new language in 40 days, the incentive to earn back his/her purchase price by completing daily lessons with a 95% score should be irresistible. The first two (2) lessons of the 36-lesson course are free.

T
he 40-day window for completing all remaining 34 lessons will also allow for some skipped/lazy days. The reimbursement of $.88 for each completed lesson with a 95% score also applies to each referral to our site. (One caveat: As some buyers also benefit from our “Play&Learn” coupons and our four-course package of $59.95, the per lesson reimbursement may be lower for some buyers and, in any event, cannot exceed the purchase price.)

We assume that some interested learners may doubt their own commitment to complete all or most of the lessons in 40 days. They may also doubt GamesforLanguage's commitment to proceed with the earned reimbursement 40 days after the purchase – but those who do, should keep in mind that we want to acquire our language learning customers by word of mouth and referrals and not by expensive marketing campaigns.

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

Musings of An Adult Language Learner

Musings of an adult woman - Gamesforlanguage.com When you google something like “language learning boosts the brain” dozens of entries come up.

The technology for studying the brain has become quite advanced, so there seems to be some proof. But not everyone has the same experiences with the same results.

Here are some musings of mine about language learning.

Engagement is Key

For me, learning something new or getting better at an activity requires that I engage in doing it. If I don't, I don't progress. For example, I'm a skier and every year in November, I start my first run of the season thinking: “OK, weight on your lower ski, stay away from ice, avoid the moguls for now.”

During my first days on skis, I discover muscles I hadn't used for months, I get used to my edges again, I try out all kinds of turns. But, hey, by the end of ski season, I happily head for the moguls, and feel that I could follow Lindsay Vonn down a black diamond. Preferably in Austria.

Engagement with Italian

Something similar is happening with my Italian language skills. For a while, I didn't practice my Italian very much. I was too busy with work! But then I found a way to motivate myself to do a daily practice. 

What I do is read a daily article in an online newspaper and watch an episode of the soap opera Un posto al sole on my computer. Does this help to keep my brain fit? I think it does.

I particularly enjoy the articles by Roberto Gervaso. When I can read through one of his articles and get the meaning without looking up any words, I get a great feeling of pleasure and boost in confidence. This affects whatever else I do during that day.

The same happens when I understand what's going on in an episode of “Il posto al sole.” They speak fast and there's always some kind of underlying scheming going on.

I learned Italian from scratch as an adult adult. It didn't all come easy. For instance, it took me a couple of weeks to fully learn internalize the word “pomeriggio,” the Italian word for “afternoon.” With all the claims about how hard it is for adults to learn a language, I feel I've done well.

Engagement with Spanish

Emboldened by my success with Italian, I'm now learning Spanish. For obvious reasons, I am using our GamesforLanguage.com Spanish 1 course. The games make it fun.

In addition to the language games I use Twitter feeds for practice. When I'm ready, I'll start watching Spanish films. For now, my biggest challenge isn't learning new words, it's trying not to mix up Italian and Spanish. The two languages are similar and my comprehension of Spanish is good. But when I speak Spanish, Italian gets in the way.

But everyone's different. What about those who say they can't learn another language? That their efforts will probably fail because they're not skilled, too old, too busy, etc.? My answer to that brings me back to skiing.

"Row with the Oars you Have"

During this week, the ski area at Waterville Valley NH is hosting the National Adaptive Alpine Ski Races. I've been watching the skiers, many of them quite young, skiing through difficult race courses.

Each one of them has a physical challenge, perhaps a lost limb, spinal paralysis, an illness. Yet each one of them skis with such skill, that he or she way outshines the rest of us on the mountain.

The pleasure that these skiers radiate makes me appreciate the value of determination and the effort for overcoming challenges. As the Dutch say: “You must row with the oars that you have.” (Je moet roeien met de riemen die je hebt.)

So for language learning, the approach: “I've tried it once and it didn't work” – is not a good one. You've got to have passion, patience, and persistence. And you may find that your brain will thank you for it. 

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

6 Key Elements for Learning a Language With Games

key elements - Gamesforlanguage.comThere's no totally right way to learn a language. You may learn a new language out of necessity or by choice, but you have to do it yourself and find a way that works. No-one can learn a language for you. 

Surf the net and you'll find hundreds of "tips" on how to best learn a language. The bottom line is that you've got to practice often, and have fun doing it.

Children vs Adult Language Learning

A lot of attention has been focused on how easily children assimilate one, two, or more languages. See a review of Welcome to your Child's Brain.

But adults learning a language actually have some advantages, as argued in this blog post. Or look at Agustina Pringganti 's Academia.edu blog: "Children VS Adults Second Language Learning."

For example: "Adults are able to digest abstract or formal  thinking cognitively," and are able to make abstractions based on their first-language's patterns. These are skills that children do not yet have.

Why Games?

Learning a language as an adult requires a disciplined effort and a commitment to practice on a regular basis. This is not always easy when your daily schedule is full. Adding another "chore" just doesn't cut it.

This is where learning with games comes in. Games put the player into a different frame of mind. When you are more relaxed, your brain is more receptive to absorbing what you are practicing.

Games can get you into a state of flow, where you can shut out the world (and your critical self) for a time. It's a great little break. So, for learning a language with games, what should you look for?

1) Structure: The key is to have structured lessons that have been put into a series of enjoyable games. (Games that are isolated drill snippets don't get you very far.)

2) Context: It's best to learn a language in a context that lends meaning and teaches communication. (Learning a series of unrelated words and phrases is not that useful.)

3) Pronunciation Practice: There should be lots of opportunities to practice your pronunciation. For an adult, pronunciation may be the hardest part of learning a language. If there's a way to record your own voice and play back, all the better.

4) Writing: Brief writing games train an important skill and allow you communicate using social networks on the Web.

5) Grammar: What you want, especially as a beginner, are short grammar explanations, plus opportunities to figure out some of the grammar rules for yourself. You'll remember them and will apply them even better.

6) Progress Scoring: There's no way around having to memorize new foreign words and phrases. Scores are a way to measure your progress. Getting positive feedback when you improve your scores encourages you to continue.

Web-based foreign language games can be played for 10-15 minutes daily, even during a lunch break. They may be more effective for learning a foreign language than the 30-60 minutes (or longer) modules of many self-teaching programs that you end up doing only once or twice a week.

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

How to Individualize Your Language Learning?

Language Learning - Gamesforlanguage.comWe all learn a little differently, so how do you individualize your own learning?
Here are some questions for you:
• Do you like grammar, or not?
• Are you a risk taker when you learn?
• Do you mind making mistakes?
• Do you read voraciously?
• Do you love listening to stories?
• Do you like memorizing things?

It's probably worth paying attention to your likes and dislikes. Being aware of HOW we learn makes learning so much more interesting and effective.

LEFT AND RIGHT BRAIN

Research on left brain (logical, verbal, auditory, sequential) and right brain functions (creative, visual, spatial, emotional) has been ongoing for decades, and new imaging techniques have greatly enhanced our knowledge of how the brain works.

It's no mystery learning a language involves many functions of the brain for everyone.  We don't learn a language just by listening (a left brain activity) and speaking, and kids don't do that either.

Small children don't yet know how to read and write. Still, they pick up a lot of visual and other clues from people (facial expressions, gestures), their surroundings (objects, movement), the context of a conversation (asking for something, looking for a toy), etc.

Once kids have learned to read and write, a mental “text image” may start to play along. Because we live in a text-based world, wanting to know how a word “looks” (is spelled) is part of language learning.

PRONUNCIATION AND SPELLING

For example, when I was learning Chinese strictly through listening, I found myself imagining how the word would be spelled with western letters.

Without thinking about it, I used the “regular” German sound-letter system for this. The pronunciation of almost every [German] word can be derived from its spelling. 

When not too long ago, I was learning Italian by just listening, I spontaneously (and erroneously) used French spelling to imagine how the Italian words are written.

I've come to realize that I best learn when I both hear and see a word or phrase.

PACING YOURSELF

Digital games are a perfect vehicle for structuring your own language learning.

They have auditory (spoken language, sounds) and visual features (text, colors, images, design), as well as kinesthetic elements (typing against the clock, clicking on moving images, etc).

If you want to focus on the sound, you can close your eyes or look away from the text.

If you want to focus on a text, you can click on it several times to absorb it visually. You can rush through a game to simulate a rapid-fire conversation. Or you can linger on specific individual phrases or sentences.

You can skip the writing games, or spend extra time with them. You can puzzle over grammar structures – and to follow up, google a dictionary and grammar to double-check. Or you can let your brain figure out the grammar intuitively.

Don't we all have an innate capacity to decode basic grammar?

It's a mistake to think that you have to learn in any prescribed way. Go ahead and learn a language at your own pace and in a way that keeps you motivated. Language learning more fun that way!

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

Games For Language and Digital Learning Innovations

video games - GamesforLanguage In the last few years, Digital Learning Games have become an increasingly powerful presence on the Internet.

No doubt, it's been that trend, which has encouraged us to create and develop our platform for foreign language learning: GamesForLanguage.com

LEVEL UP

The landscape of Digital Learning through games is full of innovative energy and diversity. Just for fun, I looked what I could find on the web.

A digital learning site that caught my special attention is www.scholastic.com “Level Up” which provides STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and Language Arts standard-based lessons that use video game design as a teaching tool.

In other words, students gain the “knowledge and tools to design their own video games” and learn in the process. That's cool. How I wish this kind of learning had existed when I went to college!

SERIOUS GAMES

There's also plenty of gamified digital learning going on outside of the strict educational setting. And the spectrum is wide.

At one end stand the “serious games,” which refer to games that are not just pure entertainment. One noteworthy example is G4C (Games For Change), an organization that supports games for social change and “provides a platform for the exchange of ideas and resources.”

Another, different example would be the Danish company “Serious Games Interactive” which has developed and sells educational games for “Corporate, Social, Educational, Health, or Market Education.”

TRIVIA GAMES

At the other end of the spectrum stand “trivia games,” which despite their name, have a lot of educational potential. A site that immediately comes to mind is the trivia games site Sporcle, which was featured in a Boston Globe article last year: “On top of the world: Thanks to Sporcle, young people are learning about geography, and other subjects.”

Another popular trivia site is “Trivia Plaza” which has been online since 2001 and continues the interest in trivia, sparked by the board games of that name.

GAMIFICATION

As I'm browsing around on the web, I learn that gamification is becoming the focus of all kinds of research projects. The word “gamification” is fairly new, but the trend itself goes back a few years. It seems to be one with good educational potential – provided the “products” are done thoughtfully and with pedagogic expertise.

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

Why People Of All Ages Learn by Playing Games

Children Playing - GamesforLanguage (Updated 8/1/2017) Play is a great vehicle for learning. In fact, we learn our first language while playing games, naming things, repeating, imitating sounds, etc.

Playing can transform any difficult learning task into something fun – if packaged in the right way.

Games, can be that package. With their specific rules and controlled processes, games provide an excellent platform for play and learning.

Childhood Memories of Playing Games

When I was 5 years old, I spent two weeks in the Netherlands with my family. Highlights of this visit were days spent at the magnificent North Sea beach at Zandvoort near Haarlem.

girl playing on the beach - Gamesforlanguage.comMy father often told the story that I had quickly found a group of kids to play with in the sand, and within hours I was fully engaged, playing and speaking Dutch.

(My mom was originally from the Netherlands, so I had heard Dutch at home, but had never needed to use it myself. This was my first chance to talk with Dutch kids.)

Playing at the beach: building a sand city, digging ditches around it, getting the water from the ocean, decorating our streets and buildings, all of this required skills of cooperation, strategy, and negotiation.

Apparently, within hours I had learned the basics for negotiating this kind of “team work” in Dutch, playfully. I wasn't aware of “learning Dutch” at that time, but I do remember feeling good about being able to communicate that way.

I wonder sometimes, if that early experience set me on my path to become a linguist and language teacher.

Adults Playing Games

Sports games, such as tennis, golf, baseball, etc. - which many of us love to play - are complex and complicated activities.

Lawn games - Gamesforlanguage.comThey are fun to do, especially because they challenge a player to focus, to figure out the rules, and to play at his or her highest skill level.

Usually, the more we play these games, the more comfortable we become with the intrinsic skill activities - we get better while playing.

Besides, there's a wonderful social aspect to playing such games. We are part of a team, we learn from each other, and of course, we compete with each other.

Connections

In an article entitled “Play,” Kevin Carroll (author of Rules of the Red Rubber Ball  and speaker on sports and play for social change) is quoted as saying:

connnections - Gamesforlanguage.com“[sports and play activities] we remember from childhood … were also exercises in resourcefulness, planning, strategy, design, decision making, creativity and risk taking.” (See also Kevin Caroll's Ted Talk: Play is necessary.)

In the same article, founder of the National Institute for Play, Dr. Stuart Brown states: “Humans are designed by biology to play throughout their entire life cycle.”

He describes our state of mind during play as “... not cognitive, linear thinking. And it's not sleep and dreams. It's kind of a bridge between.”

In the last couple of years “Games for Learning” have become popular, and such sites have mushroomed.  Games for language learning are no exception. See also: Are Games Effective for Language Learning?

Multi-sensory games for language learning - using sound, colors, text, images, movement, etc. put the learner on the “bridge” between “linear thinking” and and the rich world of “imagination and memory.” Good games make language learning fun, and yes, effective!

Posted on by Peter Rettig

How to Play and Learn With gamesforlanguage.com

Playing Practice - GamesforLanguage.com As we were adding more scenes to our 4 language courses – German, French, Spanish, and Italian, we are also interested in learning more about the playing habits of our visitors.

Everyone comes to learning a language with a somewhat different attitude and often discovers new and different ways to practice.

We don't track players that register, but we are able to see which lessons they played and how long they were on the site. From that information, we are able to distinguish a number of different types of players:

The Curious Player

We can reasonably assume that anyone clicking the “demo” button is curious about our invitation to “Learn Languages the fun way!”

Maybe he or she has tried other self-teaching language programs and found them either no fun, or is just intrigued by the idea of playing some free games.

The “0” Games Player

Now and then we see visitors who have clicked the “demo” button, but then decided on the next screen not to click on one of the four languages. They may simply not be interested in these particular languages. We promise: More languages will be coming!

We also know that certain browsers and/or screen/zoom settings, especially on netbooks, may be causing problems for some players. We are working on solving those issues and welcome your comments and suggestions.

The Nibbler 

May have listened to the dialog and may have played one or two games, but then decided this was not for him/her. Either the program itself did not interest these players, or they had selected the wrong language.

Some Nibblers try out another language later.

The Finisher

Plays through all or most of the games, though he/she may skip a game here and there.  Some of the Finishers come back at a later time. They sometimes redo the course after practicing the language in another way. 

The Focused Player

Completes all or most of the games of the first scene. Then, having met the score requirement, he/she immediately moves on to scene #2 or even scene #3. These players seem to be interested in one language only. They may also “nibble” sometimes by trying out another language, but then return to the language of their choice.

The Polyglot Player  

Plays at least one scene of two or more languages right away. From his/her scores we can speculate that this player may already know one or more of the languages.

Polyglot players sometimes are also Nibblers who try out different languages. Their scores are often high enough to let them move on to further scenes.

The Returning Player

We are very pleased and encouraged by the many returning players who probably fall mostly into the focused or polyglot player categories. These players may have logged on and registered several months ago and are now checking on other scenes or languages.

Is Gamesforlanguage a Serious Program?

It's clear to us that with a tag line such as “Learn Languages the fun way” some visitors to the site may assume that gamesforlanguage.com is not a serious and professionally developed self-teaching language program.

They could not be more wrong. Our courses are based on our own extensive experience in foreign language learning, as well as a 20-year experience in writing and editing self-teaching language programs.

Key Features for Mid-Beginners

Each of our four available courses integrates several key features into one unique comprehensive language learning program for mid beginners.
• A travel story sequel of a young American visiting the country of his father's family. Fun games that practice reading, listening, speaking, and writing.
• Vocabulary, which is introduced, practiced, and then repeated in later scenes.
• The first scene starts with easy sentences, but the sentences get increasingly difficult.
• 15 to 20 new words and structures introduced in every scene, and familiar words and structures repeated from previous scenes.
• Travel-related and culturally relevant dialogs, expressions, and vocabulary that are immediately useful on a foreign trip.
• There are no grammar drills in the courses, only grammar and structures that the learner can discover gradually. Brief comments and tips that clarify aspects of language and culture.

How to Play and Learn

One of the screens we intend to add soon will be titled “How to play and learn.” For those players who indeed are interested and committed to learning a first or another foreign language, we would like to suggest the following:
• Play only one(1) new scene per day.
• Play some games every day to get into the learning habit. You are free to re-play any scenes or games.
• Repeat the native speaker's words and phrases whenever you can in any game.
• Repeat any games until you get close to 100%.
• "Shadow" the sentences, by saying them along with the native speaker or repeating them a split-second after. You can do that as often as you want. Keep practicing until you feel that you're getting close to the native speaker's pronunciation.
• Before you start a new scene, listen again to the dialog of the previous scene. Re-play any of the games for which you score less than 100%.

Posted on by Ulrike S. Rettig

Are Games Effective For Learning a Language?

Games - Gamseforlanguage.com Games have a long tradition of being both a fun way to spend time and to challenge the mind. Games can be playful and they can be serious, but always they engage us as we enjoy puzzling things out.

One case in point is the widely popular "Lumosity" site which offers a wide variety of games for brain training. Research and testimonials vouch for the effectiveness of training your brain with games.

More Language Games

The sheer number of games for learning on the Internet has exploded in recent years. More specifically, many language programs have added games to their site as a way to enhance foreign language learning.

For example, Transparent Language has added games such as "word seek" "hangman" "fill in the blanks" or "unscramble." Or, check out rong-chang.com, which lists dozens and dozens of ESL learning games.

Games are Tools

Gamesforlanguage.com is offering something still different: Games are not individual learning clips and they are not an "addition" or an "enhancement" of a language program. With gamesforlanguage.com the games ARE the language program.

The game-based beginner courses provide fun tools for learning French, Spanish, Italian, or German:
- A controlled vocabulary acquisition program of 650+ frequently-used content words
- Extensive audio practice
- Listening comprehension practice
- Gradual reading practice that enables you to read a 1800+ word text at the end of a beginner course (36 scenes/lessons)
- Beginning writing practice
- Essential grammar tips
- Speaking practice, by repeating, anticipating, and shadowing words, phrases and sentences.
- All of this is wrapped up in a fun story-sequel of a young man traveling to the country of his family's origin and is presented in the form of fun and easy games.

Feedback from Learner

Here are some comments we've received to date:
- "The variety of activities is good."
- "What's nice is that it doesn't teach too much at once."
- "It flows easily, doesn't feel like I'm memorizing."
- "I like the easy set-up."
- "I like the pronunciation training."
- "I like the way of teaching."
- "The interaction is great."
- "It's helping me to learn and memorize español words in correlation to English! Thank you!"

GamesforLanguage, just like other online programs, is a fun resource with which a learner can engage in another language. Our games help to build basic language skills, which in turn will increase a person's confidence to start speaking the new language in real life. That's the goal!

Posted on by Peter Rettig

Games for Language Learning – Observations of a Non-Player

video players - gamesforlanguage.com Maybe mankind is divided into people who like to play games and those who don't. Well, I'm sure there are some who argue that we all like to play – certainly as children.

I'll even agree and concede that I "played "(European) football as a child and young adult. I now "play" with my grandchildren, and play tennis quite regularly. However, card games, board games, and certainly computer games keep me entertained and focused only for a short time.

Maybe it is somewhat ironic that I am now engaged in a new venture, which has at its main purpose to help people learn a foreign language playfully.

SKILL LEVEL AND FLOW

I began to think about why certain games are enjoyable to me and why I quickly lose interest in others. I recently read a book, "The Art of Game Design" by Jesse Schell, in which the author described the tension between flow and skill.

He explains that a well-designed game requires the player to increase his/her skill level in just the right amount. Keeping the skill level constant, makes the game boring. On the other hand, demanding too much from the player, interrupts the play and may make him give up, i.e. interrupt the "flow" of the game.

I realized that many board games become boring to me because they don't require much skill, just luck. For others, such as Bridge, Black Jack, Poker, etc. I never progressed to a skill level which made it enjoyable for me, and thereby never getting into the "flow" of the game.

SKILL AND FLOW IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

As we are designing our games around the language to be taught, we are first faced with finding the right balance between gradually augmenting the required skill level while maintaining the flow of the games.

"Skill" in a language program is acquired by listening, reading, and understanding new foreign words and phrases, then pronouncing and speaking them, and finally translating one's native vocabulary and sentences into the foreign language in spoken and written form.

Creating games that do all of that, without losing the player's attention, remains our major challenge for now. We've started to include game points and will certainly experiment "with a reward structure that includes a steady stream of rewards, points, etc."

We wouldn't mind making GamesForLanguage "addictive." Certainly, getting people to speak several foreign languages would seem a positive accomplishment. But for now, we are more focused on making our language games challenging enough not to lose players like me.

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

How to Learn Grammar : Simply Go With the Flow!

grammar Grammar explanations in language games? Maybe not. Game playing thrives on the experience of “flow,” a term that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explores in his book Finding Flow.

Flow is a state of mind in which things come easily and are done without overthinking. Grammar explanations definitely take your mind away from experiencing flow.

Most people will agree that we don't learn a language from a grammar book. Grammar rules themselves are not set in stone. Some of them are controversial and people argue about them. If you google “controversial grammar rules” plenty of hits will come up.

We learn a language and its grammar – the rules by which a language works – mostly just by listening to and imitating other speakers. Lots of research suggests that our brains are wired to do this.

How to Learn "Grammar"?

Knowing certain grammar rules obviously is an essential part of mastering a language. But consciously learning grammar rules is a different type of activity from engaging in a language: reading, speaking or actively listening to it.

As you are learning a new language, there is a wonderful sense of “being in the flow”: when you are reading a story and getting it; when you are listening and understanding the gist of what is being said; when you are talking, and saying what you intend to express. This feeling of flow often makes the process of language learning an enjoyable experience.

As we are developing GamesforLanguage.com, the question of combining meaning with flow comes up consistently. We agree with Ron Davidson, Making a Game of Education (who argues that “games and education are a natural fit.”)

The question is how we can best make that natural fit work for us. For now, we go as far as adding brief grammar “tips” in a translation game. But mostly we set up the language games in such a way that the player makes grammar connections intuitively.  

When you get curious enough about a grammar point, it is interesting to check up on it. Sometimes that's the only way that you can figure out the meaning of something.

But while you're talking or listening to someone talking to you, it's not usually possible to say “Hey, let me look that up.” Language games intend to put you right into the flow of understanding and using a language. That's not a bad skill to practice.

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