June 24, 2009
If software can facilitate as good a language learning as qualified instruction, doesn’t it also make sense that the same can be said of online methods? In a way, that’s right. All types of software that you can run on your PC should, in theory, also run on a server with results sent back to you.
There are, however, many reasons why we recommend client-based learning (such as the products we have here) as opposed to online alternatives. It has to do with convenience.
Always Available
Using a desktop client as your language software allows you the flexibility of studying even without an internet connection. Even if you’re on vacation at some out-of-the way place where networks are hard to come by, you can simply plug in your laptop and return to your language lessons. Compare that to online learning where an always-on internet connection is typically required.
Faster Results
Whenever you use the web, the speed of interaction is usually predicated on many things that are out of your control, including server resources, internet bandwidth and the number of concurrent users. With client-based language learning software, these issues are virtually non-existent, with a response immediately available to any action you take.
In the future, I have no doubt that online language learning will be the norm, with desktop software relegated to a legacy platform. At this moment, however, that is still decades from being realized. There simply is no comparison to the value of a software that you install on your PC compared to one that you’ll have to access via HTTP.
June 23, 2009
In the past, language learning tended to be best accomplished by studying in a formal class with a group of students looking to do the same. Under the classroom setting, language lessons are explored fully, with take-home readings and assignments usually included as supplementary materials.
While solo learning facilities were available at the time – from books to audiocassetes – they were considered secondary to studying under qualified instruction. Self-education simply lacked the interactivity and feedback mechanism that many teachers consider necessary in order to best learn language. As such, using it as your primary avenue for learning a language just isn’t the best way to achieve results.
Learning languages, on your own, while advantageous on first thought, just didn’t work too well in practice. While you were able to go through lessons in your own pace, there was nothing to measure yourself up against. As such, a lot of folks who studied language on their own typically exhibited limited absorption even after going through a whole book.
All that, of course, changed with the advent of computer-aided instruction. With major advancements in the field of language software, interactive instruction and simultaneous feedback is easily integrated into the materials, allowing students to derive the same benefits of the classroom while catching up with their lessons in the privacy of their homes.
Language learning on your own, while it was difficult many years ago, has evolved in a major way in just the last few years. You should try it sometime – it may be easier than you think.
June 22, 2009
The English language has one of the largest vocabulary among the world’s languages, with close to one million word items estimated to be available in its arsenal. As such, mastering the English vocabulary typically takes a very long time, especially for those starting their English education from scratch.
Despite that, gaining a good enough mastery of the English lexicon isn’t an impossible task. In fact, if you put in the time for study and use the proper tools, you might just surprise yourself with the amount of vocabulary you find yourself equipped with.
One way of enriching your facility with the English language is to write in the vernacular on a frequent basis, all while employing new words within your sentences every time. Whenever you sit down to write something in English, whether an email or a essay, put the thesaurus included with your language software to good use, employing it to help you discover new words to express your ideas.
While vocabulary mastery isn’t the easiest thing in the world, it’s definitely something you can integrate into your everyday life, making it an achievable goal to aim for. Apart from the exhaustive thesaurus, writing software (such as Whitesmoke) usually includes a suggestion feature that recommends replacement words and phrases, for both clarity and better reading.
June 19, 2009
I once heard a guy boast that he will try to achieve fluency in a language in three months. While I’m not discounting the possibility of that happening, setting such a lofty goal is almost tantamount to setting yourself up for failure.
Unless you’ve had experience learning a language from scratch in the past and have successfully done so in the span of three months, you really have nothing to base such a goal on. When you set milestones for achievement in language learning, always keep them grounded in reality based on your personal experiences.
If you don’t have any past work to base the new goal on, look towards others who achieved the same goal. If you’re trying to learn French, try to find statistics of the average length of time it takes a total novice to gain facility with the language. Base your goal on that, instead of some arbitrary challenge you came up with in your head.
Whether you use a language learning software or hire a private tutor, I highly doubt the possibility of expedited learning such as the goal that the aforementioned guy set. If you’re thinking that setting higher-than-usual goals isn’t so bad, think again. One of the reasons for setting goals in the first place is for the gradual successes that it brings, which help buoy you towards the next stage of the process. If your first goal is such a lofty undertaking, you would probably soon rather give up than persevere at the task.
June 18, 2009
Looking for more ways to practice your growing store of English skills? Try writing using the technique of Exploding Texts, which allows you to gradually fashion more and more complex sentences as you go along.
The way the exercise works is that you start with a short and simple statements, then gradually add words and phrases to it till it becomes a long complex sentence. If you’re a beginner learning English, it will prove a great way to begin getting into grammar, beginning from the most basic constructs and progressing. For more advanced learners, it’s an excellent way to gain a greater control of sentence construction, not to mention stretching your creativity with the vernacular.
Here’s a sample of an Exploding Text exercise:
That is a car.
That is a blue car.
That is a blue car with white stripe.
That is a midnight blue car with white racing stripes.
…and so on.
Basically, you just expand the sentence as far as you can, adding new elements, objects and even verbs, if you want to. Later on, try running what you’ve written through your English grammar language software to see if you committed any casual mistakes. If you do, jot it down with your notes so you can remember it for later.
June 16, 2009
Why do people study new languages?
For many of us, it’s a career move. Gaining facility in a new vernacular simply allows us to expand our horizon, opening up doors that aren’t available to just anybody else. This is especially important if you’re traveling to a new country in order to further your career prospects. Going to Germany and not learning the local tongue is akin to snuffing out any chance you have of building a meaningful career.
Local Opportunities
Even when you’re not angling after an international career, there are plenty of local opportunities for individuals who gain facility in a second language. Learning English, for one, is a particularly valuable skill in many countries both in Asia and Europe, where you can serve as a translator, a language instructor, a professional consultant or any other sort of specialized job.
Many companies with international clients would love to have an employee on board who can speak a foreign tongue fluently, immediately putting you in a position of potentially high value to the organization. Given the choice between two equal job candidates, after all, would you go for someone with skill in another language or one without?
Learning A Language
While the benefits of gaining facility in a second language certainly seem tempting, the work going there is frequently not as attractive. Mastery of a new language, after all, will require you to invest plenty of energy and time. Whether you’re taking a class or studying with the help of a language software, the path is similar: you’ll have to bust your ass to get results. For that reason, very few people really take the time to master a new language, short of having a gun pointed to their heads.
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