1. Find your inner motivation
Before you start learning a foreign language get an answer for a question –
why will you study it? What do you need it for? Will it help to change
something in your life? Honest answer for these questions will help you to get
motivated to achieve your main goal – to start speaking your target
language. The idea is that before we take any action we must find the
reason, very important reason that will give us drive to move forward.
2. Do not ask why
It is not important in learning languages to know why French use articles that
differentiate genders and Russian do not use them at all, why Russian use
just present, past and future tenses while English have more. It is not so
necessary to understand – why. The most important is to understand how to
speak the language and not waste time analyzing why it is one way and not
another.
3. Spend the time
One of the most important factors when learning a foreign language is how
much time you invest in exploring it. The more time you spend with the
language, the faster you will learn. This does not mean just sitting in a class
looking out the window. The most vital is spending time enjoyably connected
to the language you are learning.
By saying that I mean that you need to spend your time listening, reading,
writing, speaking, and studying words and phrases. Active communication
with native speakers, reading interesting content, watching movies in a target
language - do things which are useful for achievement your goal to start
speaking a foreign language.
4. Get a grammar manual
In the beginning it is better to have a manual that explains all the basics of
the language. It will be your guide. Whenever you have a problem, you will
come back to this manual. It can be a book, or even software. Nowadays you
can find a lot of good software on the Internet. If you spend lots of time
using your PC it might be better to use some software because it will save
your time comparing to the process of searching information in a book.
However, you may feel more comfortable using paper materials and looking
for necessary rules in a book. In this case, keep your grammar guide all the
time close to you (at your work place, on your own desk at home etc).
5. Listen and read every day
Reading is a great way to learn a foreign language. Read what you like:
novels, short stories, magazines, blogs etc. You will expand your vocabulary
through reading. Choose the content that is of your interest. In this case you
will not get bored but get pleasure of the process of studying.
Listening is an essential thing which you must do in order to become familiar
with your target language. The more you listen to real language, the faster
you will speak. You understand native speakers faster and your pronunciation
is better. Listening is a super key to success. Listen wherever you are on your
MP3 player. Read what you are listening to. If you keep listening and reading
you will get used to the language. One useful way to learn a foreign
language is passively listening to it. Even though you might not be able to
comprehend all that you listen to, you will still get familiar with pronunciation
and usage of words. You can also listen to music tapes or audio books,
podcasts and radio programs while commuting from one place to another, on
your way to work, while doing household jobs or exercising.
Television and movies can be valuable, too. One of the best choices is the
type of show referred to as a novela - these are like American soap operas,
and allow you to hear the language spoken with clarity and good diction.
Watch movies with subtitles on. You will slowly absorb words and their
meaning while watching your favourite films! This is an inexpensive and fun
multi-media technique.
6. Focus on words, phrases and idioms
Build up your vocabulary that you will need the most. Start to notice words
and how they come together as phrases. Learn these words and phrases
through your listening and reading. Learn idioms! It is very important
because you will start understanding a speech of native speakers through
them. There are thousands of idioms; luckily, you do not need to know all of
them. However, you must know the most common idioms because native
speakers use them all the time.
To understand them fast, you must understand common idioms. Soon you
will run into your new words and phrases elsewhere. Gradually you will be
able to use them. Do not worry about how accurately you speak until you
have accumulated a plenty of words through listening and reading.
7. Do not be afraid of making mistakes
You cannot avoid making mistakes when learning a language! It is natural.
Think of a child falling down who is learning to walk or imagine a person who
is learning to ice-skate. Do not be embarrassed of your mistakes; stop
thinking of what other people might think of you. Speak in the way you feel,
write in the way you feel. The most essential thing for you is to start
speaking. You will see that other people can understand what you are saying!
If you make some minor grammar mistakes but people still understand you –
you are on the right way and will start speaking a proper language much
sooner than a person who keeps silent because of his fear.
8. Relax and enjoy yourself
Research shows that anxiety blocks language acquisition. In other words,
more relaxed students actually learn a foreign language faster. They improve
their vocabulary, grammar, listening and speech faster than students who are
worried, nervous, anxious, or bored. Do not worry about what you cannot
remember, cannot understand yet, or cannot say yet. It does not matter.
You are learning and improving. The language will gradually become clearer
in your brain, but this will happen on a schedule that you cannot control. So
sit back and enjoy. Just make sure you spend enough time with the
language. That is the greatest guarantee of success.
9. Take responsibility for your own learning
If you do not want to learn the language, you won’t. If you do want to learn
the language, take control. Choose content of interest, which you want to
listen to and read. Seek out the words and phrases that you need to
understand what you listen to and read. Do not wait for someone else to
show you the language, nor to tell you what to do. Discover the language by
yourself, like a child growing up. Talk when you feel like it. Write when you
feel like it. A teacher cannot teach you to become fluent, but you can learn to
become fluent if you want to.
10. Practice as much as possible
To learn a language well you need to have at least 20 hours of contact a
week with the language. Though it is difficult to gather enough time for
regular practice out of busy schedules it needs to be done. Practicing
whatever you have learnt is essential. The best way is to gather people who
you could practice your target language with. Find people in your
neighbourhood, at work, through Internet and get acquainted with people
who know the language.
Practice as much as you can. If you want to learn to speak fluently, you need
to practice it as often as possible. One thing you can do is to put up notices
in your work place or in your locality to find people who would be interested
in practicing it with you. You can join classes with a friend, and you can
practice both inside and outside class.
Do different things on different days of week. Combine humor and fun! With
monotony, you might get bored quickly and loose interest in learning a
foreign language. Imagine looking forward to studying a foreign language.
Forget about boredom, fear or worry! Make your lessons wild, weird, funny,
scary, outrageous! That will keep you interested and the coursework won't be
monotonous! Work out a schedule for the whole week. Do different things
everyday.
11. Think about your progress
Once you start feeling that you make a progress in foreign language learning,
you become passionate about the process. When you have fun with your
lessons and passion for learning you will have the best learning habits and
will get great results in the shortest period of time!
12. Take help from the Internet
There is a possibility that you might not be able to find regular classes that
can be fitted into your work schedule or something similar. But if you are still
determined about learning the language you can use help of the Internet.
There are a lot of good courses online that you can make use of. Look
around, find something that suits your purpose and practice daily. You will
see that you start speaking fluently soon.
Try online programs. It's also the best bet if you want to be in touch with
the language regularly and at your own time and pace.
13. Study everyday
Look at the statements above. Read them several times. Do you really
understand them? Can you really feel the difference between what is said
and what is done? Once you get it, decide whether you are a person who just
talks but does nothing or the one who takes action to achieve goals. I believe
that you want to be a person not say-er but do-er. I know that because you
did a great action – you started to read this eBook. So set up a goal to study
and do not skip a day. The golden rule of learning any other language is to
keep at it daily. Practicing daily has better efficiency than even the very best
method of language training. Daily classes help you pick up the language
quickly. If you are seeking to become fluent in your target language you have
to practice it every day.
14. Communication with a native
There's a good chance you can find someone to talk to no matter where you
live. This is the first thing you need to do. If you want to learn a foreign
language, you need to speak to someone on a weekly basis. You have
different methods to do this, and the Internet made this even easier.
You can use skype, Yahoo or msn messenger. It's much cheaper than the
traditional telephone, and hence, you will be able to speak more often and
longer. It is even better if you have a native speaker in your neighbourhood,
but it is not frequent. If you cannot find anyone who speaks the language as
their first tongue, see if you can practice with students from a local college or
a local speaking club.
15. Make your lessons pleasant
Learn a language in a pleasant way. Lessons do not have to be boring.
Foreign language comic strips online and in newspapers make a great source
of learning. They expose you to idioms that you might not see in a textbook,
and they are relatively easy to understand.
Favourite kids’ books in other languages are also a great choice. They do not
have to be simple, either. If you love Harry Potter, consider picking up your
target language translation. You already know the story, and puzzling out the
words is a lot easier.
Make your way to learn a language become an interesting journey. Think of
more ways of learning that will look like a funny pastime not boring lessons.
Fuente: http://www.helpwithstudy.com/
martes, 21 de julio de 2009
Kató Lomb's “Requests” and “No’s”
Ten “Requests” for language learning
The thoughts distilled in the course of my linguistic excursions are organized into the little compendium below. Heaven forbid that we should call them Ten Commandments—let us perhaps call them Ten Requests.
I.
Spend time tinkering with the language every day—if there is no more time available, then at least to the extent of a ten-minute monologue. Morning hours are especially valuable in this respect: the early bird catches the word!
II.
If your enthusiasm for studying flags too quickly, don’t force the issue but don’t stop altogether either. Move to some other form of studying, e.g., instead of reading, listen to the radio; instead of assignment writing, poke about in the dictionary, etc.
III.
Never learn isolated units of speech, but rather learn words and grammatical elements in context.
IV.
Write phrases in the margins of your text and use them as ‘prefabricated elements’ in your conversations.
V.
Even a tired brain finds rest and relaxation in quick, impromptu translations of billboard advertisements flashing by, of numbers over doorways, of snippets of overheard conversations, etc., just for its own amusement.
VI.
Memorize only that which has been corrected by a teacher. Do not keep reading texts you have written that have not been proofread and corrected so as to keep mistakes from taking root in your mind. If you study on your own, each segment to be memorized should be kept to a size that precludes the possibility of errors.
VII.
Always memorize idiomatic expressions in the first person singular. For example, ‘I am only pulling your leg.’ Or else: ‘Il m’a pose un lapin’—‘He stood me up.’
VIII.
A foreign language is a castle. It is advisable to attack it on all fronts at once: via newspapers, the radio, un-dubbed movies, technical or scientific articles, textbooks, or via a visitor at your neighbor’s.
IX.
Do not let the fear of making mistakes keep you from speaking, but do ask your conversation partner to correct you. Most importantly, don’t get peeved if he or she actually obliges you—a remote possibility, anyway.
X.
Be firmly convinced that you are a linguistic genius. If the facts demonstrate otherwise, heap blame on the pesky language you aim to master, on the dictionaries, or on this little book, not on yourself.
Ten “No’s” of language learning
As seven of the biblical Ten Commandments are in the negative, let me now approach the question from a forbidding angle and list what not to do if you aim to achieve an acceptable level of linguistic mastery within an acceptable time frame.
1. Do not postpone embarking on learning a new language—or restarting such a study—until the time of a prospective trip abroad. Rather, try to gain access to native speakers of your target language who are on a visit to your country and who do not speak your language. They could be relatives or friends. If you accompany them and show them around, they will help you solidify your knowledge of their language out of gratitude; they will enrich your vocabulary and overlook the mistakes you make.
2. Do not expect the same behavior from your compatriots. Do not practice on them because they will be prone to giving prime time to your errors—or at the very least, they will be inclined to employ meaningful facial gestures—to demonstrate how much better they are at it.
3. Do not believe that instruction by a teacher in a course, however intense and in-depth that might be, gives you an excuse not to delve into the language on your own. For this reason you should, from the outset, get into browsing through illustrated magazines and into listening to radio programs and/or prerecorded cassettes.
4. In your browsing, do not get obsessed with words you don’t know or structures you don’t understand. Build comprehension on what you already know. Do not automatically reach for the dictionary if you encounter a word or two that you don’t understand. If the expression is important, it will reappear and explain itself; if it is not so important, it is no big loss to gloss over it.
5. Do not miss noting down your impressions in your own words, with familiar expressions. Write in simple sentences; words you can’t think of at the time can be replaced by words from your own language.
6. Do not be deterred from speaking by the fear of making mistakes. The flow of speech creates a chain reaction: the context will lead you to the right track.
7. Do not forget to store a large number of filler expressions and sentence-launching phrases in your memory. It is great when you can break the ice with a few formulas that are always on hand and can help you over the initial embarrassment of beginning a conversation, such as ‘My English is kind of shaky’ or ‘It’s been a while since I spoke Russian,’ etc.
8. Do not memorize any linguistic element (expression) outside of its context, partly because a word may have several different meanings: e.g., the English word ‘comforter’ may refer to someone who is consoling another, or it can mean a knitted shawl, a quilt or eiderdown, or yet again a baby’s pacifier. In addition, it is good, right off the bat, to get used to the practice of leaving the vortex of meanings around the word in your own language alone and reaching out to its kin word in the new language or to the context you have most frequently encountered it in.
9. Do not leave newly learned structures or expressions hanging in the air. Fix them in your memory by fitting them into different, new settings: into your sphere of interest, into the reality of your own life.
10. Do not be shy of learning poems or songs by heart. Good diction plays a more significant role in speech performance than the mere articulation of individual sounds. Verses and melodies impose certain constraints. They set what sounds must be long and which ones must be short in duration. The rhythm inherent in them guides speakers and helps them avoid the intonation traps of their native language.
Fuente: http://www.lingua.org.uk/lomb.alkire.html
The thoughts distilled in the course of my linguistic excursions are organized into the little compendium below. Heaven forbid that we should call them Ten Commandments—let us perhaps call them Ten Requests.
I.
Spend time tinkering with the language every day—if there is no more time available, then at least to the extent of a ten-minute monologue. Morning hours are especially valuable in this respect: the early bird catches the word!
II.
If your enthusiasm for studying flags too quickly, don’t force the issue but don’t stop altogether either. Move to some other form of studying, e.g., instead of reading, listen to the radio; instead of assignment writing, poke about in the dictionary, etc.
III.
Never learn isolated units of speech, but rather learn words and grammatical elements in context.
IV.
Write phrases in the margins of your text and use them as ‘prefabricated elements’ in your conversations.
V.
Even a tired brain finds rest and relaxation in quick, impromptu translations of billboard advertisements flashing by, of numbers over doorways, of snippets of overheard conversations, etc., just for its own amusement.
VI.
Memorize only that which has been corrected by a teacher. Do not keep reading texts you have written that have not been proofread and corrected so as to keep mistakes from taking root in your mind. If you study on your own, each segment to be memorized should be kept to a size that precludes the possibility of errors.
VII.
Always memorize idiomatic expressions in the first person singular. For example, ‘I am only pulling your leg.’ Or else: ‘Il m’a pose un lapin’—‘He stood me up.’
VIII.
A foreign language is a castle. It is advisable to attack it on all fronts at once: via newspapers, the radio, un-dubbed movies, technical or scientific articles, textbooks, or via a visitor at your neighbor’s.
IX.
Do not let the fear of making mistakes keep you from speaking, but do ask your conversation partner to correct you. Most importantly, don’t get peeved if he or she actually obliges you—a remote possibility, anyway.
X.
Be firmly convinced that you are a linguistic genius. If the facts demonstrate otherwise, heap blame on the pesky language you aim to master, on the dictionaries, or on this little book, not on yourself.
Ten “No’s” of language learning
As seven of the biblical Ten Commandments are in the negative, let me now approach the question from a forbidding angle and list what not to do if you aim to achieve an acceptable level of linguistic mastery within an acceptable time frame.
1. Do not postpone embarking on learning a new language—or restarting such a study—until the time of a prospective trip abroad. Rather, try to gain access to native speakers of your target language who are on a visit to your country and who do not speak your language. They could be relatives or friends. If you accompany them and show them around, they will help you solidify your knowledge of their language out of gratitude; they will enrich your vocabulary and overlook the mistakes you make.
2. Do not expect the same behavior from your compatriots. Do not practice on them because they will be prone to giving prime time to your errors—or at the very least, they will be inclined to employ meaningful facial gestures—to demonstrate how much better they are at it.
3. Do not believe that instruction by a teacher in a course, however intense and in-depth that might be, gives you an excuse not to delve into the language on your own. For this reason you should, from the outset, get into browsing through illustrated magazines and into listening to radio programs and/or prerecorded cassettes.
4. In your browsing, do not get obsessed with words you don’t know or structures you don’t understand. Build comprehension on what you already know. Do not automatically reach for the dictionary if you encounter a word or two that you don’t understand. If the expression is important, it will reappear and explain itself; if it is not so important, it is no big loss to gloss over it.
5. Do not miss noting down your impressions in your own words, with familiar expressions. Write in simple sentences; words you can’t think of at the time can be replaced by words from your own language.
6. Do not be deterred from speaking by the fear of making mistakes. The flow of speech creates a chain reaction: the context will lead you to the right track.
7. Do not forget to store a large number of filler expressions and sentence-launching phrases in your memory. It is great when you can break the ice with a few formulas that are always on hand and can help you over the initial embarrassment of beginning a conversation, such as ‘My English is kind of shaky’ or ‘It’s been a while since I spoke Russian,’ etc.
8. Do not memorize any linguistic element (expression) outside of its context, partly because a word may have several different meanings: e.g., the English word ‘comforter’ may refer to someone who is consoling another, or it can mean a knitted shawl, a quilt or eiderdown, or yet again a baby’s pacifier. In addition, it is good, right off the bat, to get used to the practice of leaving the vortex of meanings around the word in your own language alone and reaching out to its kin word in the new language or to the context you have most frequently encountered it in.
9. Do not leave newly learned structures or expressions hanging in the air. Fix them in your memory by fitting them into different, new settings: into your sphere of interest, into the reality of your own life.
10. Do not be shy of learning poems or songs by heart. Good diction plays a more significant role in speech performance than the mere articulation of individual sounds. Verses and melodies impose certain constraints. They set what sounds must be long and which ones must be short in duration. The rhythm inherent in them guides speakers and helps them avoid the intonation traps of their native language.
Fuente: http://www.lingua.org.uk/lomb.alkire.html
Bill Handley's sugestions for learning languages
My suggestions for learning languages are:
1. Use more than one textbook. Use them simultaneously.
2. Have at least one audio course for the correct pronunciation and for aural understanding.
3. Learn the words that hold the language together. Learn the most frequent words and the most strategic words. "I would like," I am, I have, I am going, I need, I want, can you help me? Where is?
4. Read material you enjoy. Read magazines that interest you, visit web sites in the language. Read comics and joke books. Read novels you enjoy or biographies when you are able.
5. Join a club or organization where the language is spoken.
6. Speak with colleagues on the job if anyone speaks the language you are learning. Conduct your business in the language if possible.
7. Keep a journal or diary in the language.
8. Speak to yourself in the language. Hold imaginary conversations with yourself.
9. Do a little every day.
10. Reward yourself for each new achievement.
11. Don’t get discouraged if you lapse in your study. You can always make a comeback and it is always easier the second time around.
12. Don’t get discouraged if you simply cannot understand some point of grammar or you simply have some block in your learning. Just keep going. Your problem will sort itself out.
13. Write emails to people or organizations in your new language. It is fun. You will probably never meet the person you are writing to so who cares if you make a mistake.
14. I prefer audio courses that are recorded entirely in the language I am learning so I am encouraged to think in the language.
15. Work your way through the course as fast as you can and leave the technicalities of grammar, exercises and explanations for later, and then go back to the beginning and learn the lessons in greater depth and complete any exercises. Keep forging ahead while you do this.
16. Carry a small pocket dictionary with you so you can look up any words immediately that you need or don’t understand. Make sure it is a two-way dictionary.
17. I like to learn language in context. I don’t like word lists and I don’t use flash cards. I don’t say others shouldn’t use them – I just don’t like them. I do teach a fun method for learning word lists and vocabulary but I still prefer to learn new words in context.
18. Watch foreign movies. This is easy with DVDs where you can change the soundtrack to the language you want. Watch with subtitles until you are reasonably familiar with the language.
19. I make mini-immersion days where I just live in the language. I talk to myself in the language, I listen to music, read books, study some lessons, review old lessons, watch a movie, eat food associated with the language and country, and generally spend the day only thinking in my target language. I save things I enjoy for the day, like reading comics and joke books, short stories I enjoy and playing my favourite music. My Internet activity will be all in the language as well.
20. I try to enjoy learning the language. I treat it as an adventure. I don’t treat it as something I have to do. I don’t treat it as work. I don’t take it seriously—it is all fun and games. I play at learning.
Fuente: http://www.helpwithstudy.com/
1. Use more than one textbook. Use them simultaneously.
2. Have at least one audio course for the correct pronunciation and for aural understanding.
3. Learn the words that hold the language together. Learn the most frequent words and the most strategic words. "I would like," I am, I have, I am going, I need, I want, can you help me? Where is?
4. Read material you enjoy. Read magazines that interest you, visit web sites in the language. Read comics and joke books. Read novels you enjoy or biographies when you are able.
5. Join a club or organization where the language is spoken.
6. Speak with colleagues on the job if anyone speaks the language you are learning. Conduct your business in the language if possible.
7. Keep a journal or diary in the language.
8. Speak to yourself in the language. Hold imaginary conversations with yourself.
9. Do a little every day.
10. Reward yourself for each new achievement.
11. Don’t get discouraged if you lapse in your study. You can always make a comeback and it is always easier the second time around.
12. Don’t get discouraged if you simply cannot understand some point of grammar or you simply have some block in your learning. Just keep going. Your problem will sort itself out.
13. Write emails to people or organizations in your new language. It is fun. You will probably never meet the person you are writing to so who cares if you make a mistake.
14. I prefer audio courses that are recorded entirely in the language I am learning so I am encouraged to think in the language.
15. Work your way through the course as fast as you can and leave the technicalities of grammar, exercises and explanations for later, and then go back to the beginning and learn the lessons in greater depth and complete any exercises. Keep forging ahead while you do this.
16. Carry a small pocket dictionary with you so you can look up any words immediately that you need or don’t understand. Make sure it is a two-way dictionary.
17. I like to learn language in context. I don’t like word lists and I don’t use flash cards. I don’t say others shouldn’t use them – I just don’t like them. I do teach a fun method for learning word lists and vocabulary but I still prefer to learn new words in context.
18. Watch foreign movies. This is easy with DVDs where you can change the soundtrack to the language you want. Watch with subtitles until you are reasonably familiar with the language.
19. I make mini-immersion days where I just live in the language. I talk to myself in the language, I listen to music, read books, study some lessons, review old lessons, watch a movie, eat food associated with the language and country, and generally spend the day only thinking in my target language. I save things I enjoy for the day, like reading comics and joke books, short stories I enjoy and playing my favourite music. My Internet activity will be all in the language as well.
20. I try to enjoy learning the language. I treat it as an adventure. I don’t treat it as something I have to do. I don’t treat it as work. I don’t take it seriously—it is all fun and games. I play at learning.
Fuente: http://www.helpwithstudy.com/
Ziad Fazah’s Methodology
Ziad says that everyone should build up his or her own methodology but that there are three basic steps to follow that he has used and finds very effective.
1. Listen to the target language for at least half an hour a day. In a week you should be very familiar with the sound system of the language.
2. Study the language (written form) for another half an hour a day. In two weeks you should have a good grasp on it.
3. Shadow or recite the language out loud for at least fifteen minutes a day. Ziad wanted me to emphasize this step. What you recite isn’t nearly as important as doing it out loud for at least fifteen minutes a day.
According to Ziad, if you follow these steps, you will be speaking the language well in three to six months, depending on the language and the capabilities of the learner. These steps seem remarkably similar to Dr. Alexander Arguelles’ who is also an accomplished self taught language learner. The remarkable thing is that Dr. Arguelles and Mr. Fazah came to similar conclusions independently through personal study.
Fuente: http://thelinguistblogger.wordpress.com/
1. Listen to the target language for at least half an hour a day. In a week you should be very familiar with the sound system of the language.
2. Study the language (written form) for another half an hour a day. In two weeks you should have a good grasp on it.
3. Shadow or recite the language out loud for at least fifteen minutes a day. Ziad wanted me to emphasize this step. What you recite isn’t nearly as important as doing it out loud for at least fifteen minutes a day.
According to Ziad, if you follow these steps, you will be speaking the language well in three to six months, depending on the language and the capabilities of the learner. These steps seem remarkably similar to Dr. Alexander Arguelles’ who is also an accomplished self taught language learner. The remarkable thing is that Dr. Arguelles and Mr. Fazah came to similar conclusions independently through personal study.
Fuente: http://thelinguistblogger.wordpress.com/
Learning foreign languages. Tips
If you are searching tips to improve the foreign language your studying, here's some articles about different strategies to be used.
10 Tips for Language Learning Success
1. Set realistic expectations
2. Break study time into smaller chunks
3. Learn vocabulary effectively
4. Practice language actively
5. Do homework conscientiously
6. Form study groups
7. Identify your learning style
8. Maximize your language exposure
9. Spend time on task
10. Communicate with your instructor
15 Language Learning Resources at Your Fingertips
1. Find a pen pal
2. Rent and watch a foreign film
3. Read or watch foreign news online
4. Find native speakers in your community
5. Join or start a conversation group
6. Visit an ethnic restaurant
7. Find a book or magazine in your library
8. Use a foreign language search engine to explore your interests
9. Join a foreign language discussion board
10. Visit a foreign language chat room
11. Plan a trip
12. Study abroad
13. Explore a foreign language magazine
14. Locate heritage events in your area
15. Listen to foreign language music
Learning a Language - The Basics
Study Little Often
Revision
Do Not Run before You Can Walk
Targets
Look for Partners with Similar Interests
Do Not Expect to Feel Progress all the Time
Make as Many Mistakes as You Can
Enjoy yourself
fuente:
http://babelanmicroblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.vistawide.com/
http://www.huitalk.com/
10 Tips for Language Learning Success
1. Set realistic expectations
2. Break study time into smaller chunks
3. Learn vocabulary effectively
4. Practice language actively
5. Do homework conscientiously
6. Form study groups
7. Identify your learning style
8. Maximize your language exposure
9. Spend time on task
10. Communicate with your instructor
15 Language Learning Resources at Your Fingertips
1. Find a pen pal
2. Rent and watch a foreign film
3. Read or watch foreign news online
4. Find native speakers in your community
5. Join or start a conversation group
6. Visit an ethnic restaurant
7. Find a book or magazine in your library
8. Use a foreign language search engine to explore your interests
9. Join a foreign language discussion board
10. Visit a foreign language chat room
11. Plan a trip
12. Study abroad
13. Explore a foreign language magazine
14. Locate heritage events in your area
15. Listen to foreign language music
Learning a Language - The Basics
Study Little Often
Revision
Do Not Run before You Can Walk
Targets
Look for Partners with Similar Interests
Do Not Expect to Feel Progress all the Time
Make as Many Mistakes as You Can
Enjoy yourself
fuente:
http://babelanmicroblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.vistawide.com/
http://www.huitalk.com/
miércoles, 13 de mayo de 2009
Powerful Listening and Excellent Speaking
1. Practice “Narrow Listening”
“Narrow listening” means listening to many things about the same topic. This method is more powerful than trying to listen to many different kinds of things. Students who listen to similar things learn faster and speak better than students who listen to different kinds of things.
For example, you can choose one speaker and find many things by him. Listen to all of his podcasts, audio books, and speeches. This is powerful because all speakers have favorite vocabulary and grammar. They naturally repeat these many times. By listening to many things by the same person, you automatically get a lot of vocabulary repetition. You learn faster and deeper!
Another example is to choose one topic to focus on. For example, you could read an easy book, listen to the same audio book, listen to a podcast about the book, and watch the movie.
I did this with my class in San Francisco. We read “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. Then we
listened to the audio book. Then we watched (and listened to) the movie. Then we listened to interviews with actors in the movie. My students learned a lot of vocabulary in a short time, and their speaking improved very quickly.
2. Divide Your Listening Time
Which is better: to listen for two hours without a break, or to divide that time during the day? Well, dividing your listening time is best.
By dividing your time throughout the day, you remember more and learn faster. So its much better to listen 30 minutes in the morning, then 30 minutes in the car or train, then 30 minutes coming home from work, then 30 minutes before sleep. In fact, this is the exact schedule I recommend to my students!
3. Use an iPod or MP3 Player
iPods are fantastic. You can put a big listening library on one. Then you can carry your English lessons everywhere. You can learn English while walking, while shopping, in the car, in a train, while cooking,.......
With an iPod or MP3 player, you don’t have to worry about CDs. Also, you can find a lot of English listening on the internet. You can find lessons, stories, podcasts, TV shows, interviews, and audio books. Simply download the audio, put it on your iPod.. and learn English anywhere!
4. Listen To Movies
Movies are great for learning English BUT you must use them correctly. Don’t watch all of an
English movie. You will not understand it, and therefore you will not learn anything.
Only watch one scene or segment per week (maybe 2-3 minutes). Follow this method:
a) First, watch the scene with subtitles in your language. This will help you understand the general meaning.
b) Second, watch the scene with English subtitles. Pause. Use a dictionary to find new words you
don’t understand. Write the new sentences in a notebook.
c) Listen to the scene a few times, with English subtitles. Do not pause.
d) Listen to the scene a few times, without subtitles.
e) Repeat a) - d) everyday for one week.
On the second week, go to the next scene/segment and repeat again. It will take you a long time to finish a movie. That’s OK, because you will improve your listening and speaking VERY FAST. This method is powerful-- use it!
5. Read and Listen at the Same Time
Listening and Reading together are very powerful. While you listen to something, also read it. This will improve your pronunciation.
Reading while listening also helps you understand more difficult material. Read and listen to learn faster. After you do this a few times, put away the text and just listen. You will understand a lot more and you will improve faster. Always try to find both audio and text materials.
fuente: www.effortlessenglish.com
domingo, 10 de mayo de 2009
Teaching Grammar in Context
Sentence Transformation: From Basic to Complex Sentences
1. Take a basic sentence:
Juan lost his book.
2. Expand on it:
Juan lost his science book.
3. Expand again with additional information:
Juan lost his science book at the playground.
4. Combine two sentences:
Juan lost his science book. He was playing on the swings.
Juan lost his science book while playing on the swings.
Juan lost his science book while playing on the swings at the playground.
5. Make substitutions:
Juan lost his science homework ...
Juan lost his math book...etc.
6. Transform a sentence to elaborate or link ideas:
Juan lost his math book. Did Juan lose his science book, too?
7. Add information and construct a short narrative around the sentences students have created:
Juan was playing on the swings at the playground when he lost his math book. Juan also lost his science homework because it was in his math book.
...
Sentence Recombination
Sentence recombination is an effective activity for teaching sentence structure, paragraph structure, punctuation, transition and coherence, and parts of speech. Students must also use critical thinking skills to cluster and organize ideas and concepts. Sentence recombination exercises are thematic and can be easily constructed in advance by the teacher or as a group activity with the students. Here is an example.
1. People all over the world build houses.
2. People all over the world like their homes.
3. Houses are built in many shapes.
4. Houses are built in many sizes.
5. Houses are built of grass.
6. Houses are built of palm leaves.
7. Houses are built of wood.
8. Houses are built of steel.
9. Houses are built of stone.
10. Houses are built of adobe.
11. Houses are built of plaster.
12. Houses are built of concrete.
13. Houses are built of other materials.
14. The construction may be simple.
15. The construction may be complex.
16. Construction must be adapted to the climate.
17. Construction must be adapted to the materials available.
18. Construction must be adapted to the skills of the workers.
fuente: http://coe.sdsu.edu/people/jmora/Grammar.htm
1. Take a basic sentence:
Juan lost his book.
2. Expand on it:
Juan lost his science book.
3. Expand again with additional information:
Juan lost his science book at the playground.
4. Combine two sentences:
Juan lost his science book. He was playing on the swings.
Juan lost his science book while playing on the swings.
Juan lost his science book while playing on the swings at the playground.
5. Make substitutions:
Juan lost his science homework ...
Juan lost his math book...etc.
6. Transform a sentence to elaborate or link ideas:
Juan lost his math book. Did Juan lose his science book, too?
7. Add information and construct a short narrative around the sentences students have created:
Juan was playing on the swings at the playground when he lost his math book. Juan also lost his science homework because it was in his math book.
...
Sentence Recombination
Sentence recombination is an effective activity for teaching sentence structure, paragraph structure, punctuation, transition and coherence, and parts of speech. Students must also use critical thinking skills to cluster and organize ideas and concepts. Sentence recombination exercises are thematic and can be easily constructed in advance by the teacher or as a group activity with the students. Here is an example.
1. People all over the world build houses.
2. People all over the world like their homes.
3. Houses are built in many shapes.
4. Houses are built in many sizes.
5. Houses are built of grass.
6. Houses are built of palm leaves.
7. Houses are built of wood.
8. Houses are built of steel.
9. Houses are built of stone.
10. Houses are built of adobe.
11. Houses are built of plaster.
12. Houses are built of concrete.
13. Houses are built of other materials.
14. The construction may be simple.
15. The construction may be complex.
16. Construction must be adapted to the climate.
17. Construction must be adapted to the materials available.
18. Construction must be adapted to the skills of the workers.
fuente: http://coe.sdsu.edu/people/jmora/Grammar.htm
jueves, 7 de mayo de 2009
Ilya Frank's reading method
Language, by nature, is a means, not a goal. That’s why it is best learned not when somebody sets a specific purpose of mastering it, but when it is being naturally used either in conversation or when a person becomes engrossed in reading something interesting. Then it is learned by itself, latently.
Our memory is closely related to what we are feeling at a particular moment; it depends on what condition our inner world is in, how “awake” we are right now (and not, for example, how many times we repeat a certain expression or how many exercises we do).
In order to remember we don’t need to be frantically memorizing something, while half-asleep, or polishing certain skills. What we need is novelty of impressions. Instead of pronouncing the same word several times, it would be better if we saw it in different collocations and various contexts of meaning.
...
The biggest mistake anyone makes when studying a foreign language is that they do it little by little, not jumping into it head first. Language is not mathematics; one doesn’t need to learn it, one needs to get accustomed to it. It’s not about logic or memory; it’s about experience and skill.
It rather resembles a sport that one should practice according to a certain schedule, because otherwise there’ll be no result. If you start reading in a foreign language at once and do it a lot, then fluency is only a matter of three or four months (for beginners). If you read little by little, it’s just agonizing and slow. Language, in this sense, is akin to an icy hill – you have got to move fast if you want to get to the top of it. As long as you can’t reach the top you’ll be sliding down each time. If a person attains fluency in reading, they will never lose that skill or forget the vocabulary, even if they don't use it for several years.
fuente: http://english.franklang.ru/6/
Our memory is closely related to what we are feeling at a particular moment; it depends on what condition our inner world is in, how “awake” we are right now (and not, for example, how many times we repeat a certain expression or how many exercises we do).
In order to remember we don’t need to be frantically memorizing something, while half-asleep, or polishing certain skills. What we need is novelty of impressions. Instead of pronouncing the same word several times, it would be better if we saw it in different collocations and various contexts of meaning.
...
The biggest mistake anyone makes when studying a foreign language is that they do it little by little, not jumping into it head first. Language is not mathematics; one doesn’t need to learn it, one needs to get accustomed to it. It’s not about logic or memory; it’s about experience and skill.
It rather resembles a sport that one should practice according to a certain schedule, because otherwise there’ll be no result. If you start reading in a foreign language at once and do it a lot, then fluency is only a matter of three or four months (for beginners). If you read little by little, it’s just agonizing and slow. Language, in this sense, is akin to an icy hill – you have got to move fast if you want to get to the top of it. As long as you can’t reach the top you’ll be sliding down each time. If a person attains fluency in reading, they will never lose that skill or forget the vocabulary, even if they don't use it for several years.
fuente: http://english.franklang.ru/6/
miércoles, 29 de abril de 2009
Methodologies in Foreign Language Teaching
a brief historical overview
Grammar-Translation Method (1890s-1930s): Around the turn-of-the-century, language students often translated cumbersome volumes from Classical Greek or Latin into English vía this approach. It consisted mainly of exhaustive use of dictionaries, explanations of grammatical rules (in English), some sample sentences, and exercise drills to practice the new structures. Little opportunity for real second-language acquisition existed then.
Cognitive Approach (1940s-1950s): This approach introduced the four principle language skills for the first time: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Oral communicative competence became the focus. Comprehensible auditory input became important and speaking in the target language began to occur. Learning about the language was overemphasized.
Audio-Lingüal Method (1950s-1960s): With the advent and popularity of audio tapes, this approach ushered in the first recordings wherein the language learner could actually hear and mimic native speakers on reel-to-reel audio tapes, often used with earphones in a language lab setting. Lessons often began with a sample dialogue to be recited and memorized. This was followed up with substitution pattern and saturation drills in which the grammatical structure previously introduced was reinforced, with emphasis given to rapid fire student response. Repetition, substitution, transformation, and translation became the order of the day. This method was strongly influenced by B.F. Skinner's behaviorist view toward learning which favored habit-forming drill techniques. Unfortunately, most students couldn’t transfer these dialogues into their own real-life experiences.
The Direct Method (1970s): This method presented discussion in the target language as the major priority. Reference to English equivalents became discouraged. Grammar learning became inductive in nature without overt explanations given the pupil. Teacher/student interaction became fuller, guessing of context or content, completing fill-ins, and doing “cloze” exercises were the order of the day. Accuracy in pronunciation and oral expression became vital. Examples to be followed became the main intention.
The Natural/Communicative Approach (1960s-2000s): Originally developed by Tracy Terrell and Stephen Krashen, this acquisition-focused approach sees communicative competence progressing through three stages: (a) aural comprehension, (b) early speech production, and (c) speech activities, all fostering "natural" language acquisition, much as a child would learn his/her native tongue. Following an initial "silent period", comprehension should precede production in speech, as the latter should be allowed to emerge in natural stages or progressions. Lowering of the Affective Filter is of paramount importance. Only the target language is used in class now, introducing the "total immersion" concept for the very first time, with auditory input for the student becoming paramount. Errors in speech are not corrected aloud. Now enters the era of glossy textbooks, replete with cultural vignettes, glossaries, vocabulary lists, and glazed photographs. A deliberate, conscious approach to the study of grammar is considered to have only modest value in the language learning process. Pairing off of students into small groups to practice newly acquired structures becomes the major focus. Visualization activities that often times make use of a picture file, slide presentations, word games, dialogues, contests, recreational activities, empirical utterances, and realia provide situations with problem-solving tasks which might include the use of charts, maps, graphs, and advertisements, all to be performed on the spot in class. Now the classroom becomes more student-centered with the teacher allowing for students to output the language more often on their own. Formal sequencing of grammatical concepts is kept to a minimum.
Total Physical Response/TPR (1960s-2000s): This approach, also known as TPR, was founded by James Asher. In this method, both language and body movement are synchronized through action responses and use of the imperative (direct commands). TPR may be used in conjunction with some other methods involving psychoneuro kinetic techniques wherein the teacher gives a host of commands with the students then responding by “acting out” the command: “Stand up”, “Go to the door”, "Sit down", etc. Kinetic movement of the hands and arms is incorporated in lieu of rote memorization. Student speech is delayed until they feel comfortable enough to give other students commands too. TPR is very effective in teaching temporal states, personal pronouns, and other deep grammatical structures.
The Silent Way (1960s-2000s): Dr.Caleb Gattegno, originally out of Alexandria, Egypt, introduced this classroom technique wherein the teacher remains silent while pupils output the language on cue through perpetual prompting. This is the production before meaning school of thought and practice. A color-coded phonics (sound) chart called a fidel, with both vowel and consonant clusters on it, is projected onto a screen to be used simultaneously with a pointer, thus permitting the pupil to produce orally on a continuous basis in the target language, vía a sequence of phonemes or sound units. Brightly colored Cuisenaire rods, which are also used in Mathematics, are integrated into this method (used as manipulatives) for pupils to learn spatial relationships, prepositions, colors, gender and number concepts, and to create multiple artificial settings through their physical placement. Lines or blank spaces on a chalkboard represent syllables, devoid of letters in them, for a subliminal, collective memory experience in recall for the students. Students are encouraged to self-correct their pronunciation errors through manual gesticulation on the part of the instructor. Modeling of correct pronunciation for students is discouraged. The greatest strength of this method lies in its ability to draw students out orally, while the teacher "takes a back seat". This method works most effectively with round tables being used to promote small group discussion and for ample student rotation. In general, reliance on and the use of a structured textbook or an outlined syllabus is much discouraged during the initial phases of learning. The Silent Way truly gives students a spoken facility.
Suggestopedia (1960s-2000s): This extremely esoteric, avant-garde method is subconsciously subliminal in texture. It is based on the pioneering efforts in 1967 of Bulgarian medical doctor, hypnotist, and psychology professor Georgi Lozanov and on his techniques into superlearning. Classes are small and intensive, with a low-stress focus. Material is presented in an especially melodic and artistic way. By activating the right "creative side" of the brain, a much larger portion of the intellectual potential can be tapped, thus drawing out long-term memory. This innovative approach to language pedagogy maximizes the learners' natural holistic talents. Background classical or baroque chamber music, oftentimes accompanied with soft lights, pillows or cushions on the floor for relaxation, accentuate active and passive meditations, séances, yoga, breathing exercises leading into the "alpha state", songs for memorization purposes, therapy sessions and stream-of-consciousness catharsis in the target language with little reliance on English. Little emphasis on grammar is given. Such non-verbal communication as kinesics, paralanguage, environmental proxemics, and oculesics can be incorporated into the method, along with Robert Rosenthal's Pygmalia used in the classroom. Soviet Hypnopedia (sleep-learning) which was developed by such researchers as A.M. Syvadoshch in Leningrad and by L.A. Bliznitchenko in Kiev, Sophrology (a memory training system), the Tomatis Approach, Schultz-Luthe's autogenic therapy, Suggestology, and the Suzuki Method of learning music are considered to be closely related to this Bulgarian approach. This method has sprung two offshoots or derivatives which include Donald Schuster's Suggestive-Accelerative Learning and Teaching (or SALT) and Lynn Dhority's Acquisition through Creative Teaching (or ACT). Like other "modern" approaches, language is perceived globally (in chunks or blocks), while attention to fine tuning or to detail comes later.
Community Language Learning/CLL: (1960s-2000s): This creative, dynamic, and non-directive approach to language learning was first elaborated by Charles Curran. It is designed to ease the learner into gradual independence and self-confidence in the target language. This is also known as the Counseling-Learning method. Curran's approach is beyond simply a methodical pedagogy, but is rather a veritable philosophy of learning which provides profound, even quasi-theological reflections on humankind! It encourages holistic learning, personal growth, and self-development. Learning a language is not viewed necessarily as an individual accomplishment, but rather as a collective experience, something to be disseminated out into the community at large at a later stage in the second-language acquisition process. Its basic premise can be found in the acronym SARD: S stands for security (to foster the student's self-confidence), A represents attention or aggression (the former an indication of the learner's involvement, the latter their frustration level), R equals retention and reflection (what is retained is internalized and ultimately reflected upon), and D denotes discrimination (the learner can now discriminate through classifying a body of material, seeing how one concept interrelates to another previously presented structure). Student "participants" are thus allowed to register abstracted grammar both peripherally and semi-consciously.
"Total immersion technique": This generalized technique in foreign language pedagogy "immerses" or "submerges" the student directly and immediately into the target language from the first opening day or hour of class. There are basically two (2) types of total immersion approaches: (a) effective and (b) ineffective. An effective total immersion environment begins in hour one wherein the teacher speaks the foreign language slowly, clearly, and uses easily understandable and comprehensible cognates, at least to the best of his or her ability as a foreign language professional educator. These closely and oftentimes immediately recognizable related words may differ only slightly in pronunciation or spelling from the student's native language. Hand gesticulation, appropriate modeling, various realia (such as picture files or photos), and sometimes TPR can facilitate such effectiveness. An ineffective total immersion approach occurs when the teacher opens class by speaking rapidly at native speed as if the students were residing within the target culture, as if they were inputting the attempted language on an hourly, daily basis. In essence, the student is being treated as if they were living in the country where the foreign language is predominant. Thus, the intended language "goes over the heads" of the students from the very first day of class, thus creating a distancing and ultimate loss of the student's attention and cognitive awareness of just what is being communicated in class. Either type of immersion oftentimes overlaps any or all of the above-mentioned methods in second-language (L2) acquisition.
fuente: http://www.linguatics.com/methods.htm
Grammar-Translation Method (1890s-1930s): Around the turn-of-the-century, language students often translated cumbersome volumes from Classical Greek or Latin into English vía this approach. It consisted mainly of exhaustive use of dictionaries, explanations of grammatical rules (in English), some sample sentences, and exercise drills to practice the new structures. Little opportunity for real second-language acquisition existed then.
Cognitive Approach (1940s-1950s): This approach introduced the four principle language skills for the first time: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Oral communicative competence became the focus. Comprehensible auditory input became important and speaking in the target language began to occur. Learning about the language was overemphasized.
Audio-Lingüal Method (1950s-1960s): With the advent and popularity of audio tapes, this approach ushered in the first recordings wherein the language learner could actually hear and mimic native speakers on reel-to-reel audio tapes, often used with earphones in a language lab setting. Lessons often began with a sample dialogue to be recited and memorized. This was followed up with substitution pattern and saturation drills in which the grammatical structure previously introduced was reinforced, with emphasis given to rapid fire student response. Repetition, substitution, transformation, and translation became the order of the day. This method was strongly influenced by B.F. Skinner's behaviorist view toward learning which favored habit-forming drill techniques. Unfortunately, most students couldn’t transfer these dialogues into their own real-life experiences.
The Direct Method (1970s): This method presented discussion in the target language as the major priority. Reference to English equivalents became discouraged. Grammar learning became inductive in nature without overt explanations given the pupil. Teacher/student interaction became fuller, guessing of context or content, completing fill-ins, and doing “cloze” exercises were the order of the day. Accuracy in pronunciation and oral expression became vital. Examples to be followed became the main intention.
The Natural/Communicative Approach (1960s-2000s): Originally developed by Tracy Terrell and Stephen Krashen, this acquisition-focused approach sees communicative competence progressing through three stages: (a) aural comprehension, (b) early speech production, and (c) speech activities, all fostering "natural" language acquisition, much as a child would learn his/her native tongue. Following an initial "silent period", comprehension should precede production in speech, as the latter should be allowed to emerge in natural stages or progressions. Lowering of the Affective Filter is of paramount importance. Only the target language is used in class now, introducing the "total immersion" concept for the very first time, with auditory input for the student becoming paramount. Errors in speech are not corrected aloud. Now enters the era of glossy textbooks, replete with cultural vignettes, glossaries, vocabulary lists, and glazed photographs. A deliberate, conscious approach to the study of grammar is considered to have only modest value in the language learning process. Pairing off of students into small groups to practice newly acquired structures becomes the major focus. Visualization activities that often times make use of a picture file, slide presentations, word games, dialogues, contests, recreational activities, empirical utterances, and realia provide situations with problem-solving tasks which might include the use of charts, maps, graphs, and advertisements, all to be performed on the spot in class. Now the classroom becomes more student-centered with the teacher allowing for students to output the language more often on their own. Formal sequencing of grammatical concepts is kept to a minimum.
Total Physical Response/TPR (1960s-2000s): This approach, also known as TPR, was founded by James Asher. In this method, both language and body movement are synchronized through action responses and use of the imperative (direct commands). TPR may be used in conjunction with some other methods involving psychoneuro kinetic techniques wherein the teacher gives a host of commands with the students then responding by “acting out” the command: “Stand up”, “Go to the door”, "Sit down", etc. Kinetic movement of the hands and arms is incorporated in lieu of rote memorization. Student speech is delayed until they feel comfortable enough to give other students commands too. TPR is very effective in teaching temporal states, personal pronouns, and other deep grammatical structures.
The Silent Way (1960s-2000s): Dr.Caleb Gattegno, originally out of Alexandria, Egypt, introduced this classroom technique wherein the teacher remains silent while pupils output the language on cue through perpetual prompting. This is the production before meaning school of thought and practice. A color-coded phonics (sound) chart called a fidel, with both vowel and consonant clusters on it, is projected onto a screen to be used simultaneously with a pointer, thus permitting the pupil to produce orally on a continuous basis in the target language, vía a sequence of phonemes or sound units. Brightly colored Cuisenaire rods, which are also used in Mathematics, are integrated into this method (used as manipulatives) for pupils to learn spatial relationships, prepositions, colors, gender and number concepts, and to create multiple artificial settings through their physical placement. Lines or blank spaces on a chalkboard represent syllables, devoid of letters in them, for a subliminal, collective memory experience in recall for the students. Students are encouraged to self-correct their pronunciation errors through manual gesticulation on the part of the instructor. Modeling of correct pronunciation for students is discouraged. The greatest strength of this method lies in its ability to draw students out orally, while the teacher "takes a back seat". This method works most effectively with round tables being used to promote small group discussion and for ample student rotation. In general, reliance on and the use of a structured textbook or an outlined syllabus is much discouraged during the initial phases of learning. The Silent Way truly gives students a spoken facility.
Suggestopedia (1960s-2000s): This extremely esoteric, avant-garde method is subconsciously subliminal in texture. It is based on the pioneering efforts in 1967 of Bulgarian medical doctor, hypnotist, and psychology professor Georgi Lozanov and on his techniques into superlearning. Classes are small and intensive, with a low-stress focus. Material is presented in an especially melodic and artistic way. By activating the right "creative side" of the brain, a much larger portion of the intellectual potential can be tapped, thus drawing out long-term memory. This innovative approach to language pedagogy maximizes the learners' natural holistic talents. Background classical or baroque chamber music, oftentimes accompanied with soft lights, pillows or cushions on the floor for relaxation, accentuate active and passive meditations, séances, yoga, breathing exercises leading into the "alpha state", songs for memorization purposes, therapy sessions and stream-of-consciousness catharsis in the target language with little reliance on English. Little emphasis on grammar is given. Such non-verbal communication as kinesics, paralanguage, environmental proxemics, and oculesics can be incorporated into the method, along with Robert Rosenthal's Pygmalia used in the classroom. Soviet Hypnopedia (sleep-learning) which was developed by such researchers as A.M. Syvadoshch in Leningrad and by L.A. Bliznitchenko in Kiev, Sophrology (a memory training system), the Tomatis Approach, Schultz-Luthe's autogenic therapy, Suggestology, and the Suzuki Method of learning music are considered to be closely related to this Bulgarian approach. This method has sprung two offshoots or derivatives which include Donald Schuster's Suggestive-Accelerative Learning and Teaching (or SALT) and Lynn Dhority's Acquisition through Creative Teaching (or ACT). Like other "modern" approaches, language is perceived globally (in chunks or blocks), while attention to fine tuning or to detail comes later.
Community Language Learning/CLL: (1960s-2000s): This creative, dynamic, and non-directive approach to language learning was first elaborated by Charles Curran. It is designed to ease the learner into gradual independence and self-confidence in the target language. This is also known as the Counseling-Learning method. Curran's approach is beyond simply a methodical pedagogy, but is rather a veritable philosophy of learning which provides profound, even quasi-theological reflections on humankind! It encourages holistic learning, personal growth, and self-development. Learning a language is not viewed necessarily as an individual accomplishment, but rather as a collective experience, something to be disseminated out into the community at large at a later stage in the second-language acquisition process. Its basic premise can be found in the acronym SARD: S stands for security (to foster the student's self-confidence), A represents attention or aggression (the former an indication of the learner's involvement, the latter their frustration level), R equals retention and reflection (what is retained is internalized and ultimately reflected upon), and D denotes discrimination (the learner can now discriminate through classifying a body of material, seeing how one concept interrelates to another previously presented structure). Student "participants" are thus allowed to register abstracted grammar both peripherally and semi-consciously.
"Total immersion technique": This generalized technique in foreign language pedagogy "immerses" or "submerges" the student directly and immediately into the target language from the first opening day or hour of class. There are basically two (2) types of total immersion approaches: (a) effective and (b) ineffective. An effective total immersion environment begins in hour one wherein the teacher speaks the foreign language slowly, clearly, and uses easily understandable and comprehensible cognates, at least to the best of his or her ability as a foreign language professional educator. These closely and oftentimes immediately recognizable related words may differ only slightly in pronunciation or spelling from the student's native language. Hand gesticulation, appropriate modeling, various realia (such as picture files or photos), and sometimes TPR can facilitate such effectiveness. An ineffective total immersion approach occurs when the teacher opens class by speaking rapidly at native speed as if the students were residing within the target culture, as if they were inputting the attempted language on an hourly, daily basis. In essence, the student is being treated as if they were living in the country where the foreign language is predominant. Thus, the intended language "goes over the heads" of the students from the very first day of class, thus creating a distancing and ultimate loss of the student's attention and cognitive awareness of just what is being communicated in class. Either type of immersion oftentimes overlaps any or all of the above-mentioned methods in second-language (L2) acquisition.
fuente: http://www.linguatics.com/methods.htm
History of English Language Teaching
The changing winds and shifting sands of the history of English Language Teaching
Dimitrios Thanasoulas
Introduction
As the title implies, the English language teaching tradition has been subjected to a tremendous change, especially throughout the twentieth century. Perhaps more than any other discipline, this tradition has been practiced, in various adaptations, in language classrooms all around the world for centuries. While the teaching of Maths or Physics, that is, the methodology of teaching Maths or Physics, has, to a greater or lesser extent, remained the same, this is hardly the case with English or language teaching in general. As will become evident in this short paper, there are some milestones in the development of this tradition, which we will briefly touch upon, in an attempt to reveal the importance of research in the selection and implementation of the optimal methods and techniques for language teaching and learning.
The Classical Method
In the Western world back in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, foreign language learning was associated with the learning of Latin and Greek, both supposed to promote their speakers' intellectuality. At the time, it was of vital importance to focus on grammatical rules, syntactic structures, along with rote memorisation of vocabulary and translation of literary texts. There was no provision for the oral use of the languages under study; after all, both Latin and Greek were not being taught for oral communication but for the sake of their speakers' becoming "scholarly?" or creating an illusion of "erudition." Late in the nineteenth century, the Classical Method came to be known as the Grammar Translation Method, which offered very little beyond an insight into the grammatical rules attending the process of translating from the second to the native language.
It is widely recognised that the Grammar Translation Method is still one of the most popular and favourite models of language teaching, which has been rather stalwart and impervious to educational reforms, remaining a standard and sine qua non methodology. With hindsight, we could say that its contribution to language learning has been lamentably limited, since it has shifted the focus from the real language to a "dissected body" of nouns, adjectives, and prepositions, doing nothing to enhance a student's communicative ability in the foreign language.
Gouin and Berlitz - The Direct Method
The last two decades of the nineteenth century ushered in a new age. In his The Art of Learning and Studying Foreign Languages (1880), Francois Gouin described his "harrowing" experiences of learning German, which helped him gain insights into the intricacies of language teaching and learning. Living in Hamburg for one year, he attempted to master the German language by dint of memorising a German grammar book and a list of the 248 irregular German verbs, instead of conversing with the natives. Exulting in the security that the grounding in German grammar offered him, he hastened to go to the University to test his knowledge. To no avail. He could not understand a word! After his failure, he decided to memorise the German roots, but with no success. He went so far as to memorise books, translate Goethe and Schiller, and learn by heart 30,000 words in a dictionary, only to meet with failure. Upon returning to France, Gouin discovered that his three-year-old nephew had managed to become a chatterbox of French - a fact that made him think that the child held the secret to learning a language. Thus, he began observing his nephew and came to the conclusion (arrived at by another researcher a century before him!) that language learning is a matter of transforming perceptions into conceptions and then using language to represent these conceptions. Equipped with this knowledge, he devised a teaching method premised upon these insights. It was against this background that the Series Method was created, which taught learners directly a "series" of connected sentences that are easy to understand. For instance,
I stretch out my arm. I take hold of the handle. I turn the handle. I open the door. I pull the door.
Nevertheless, this approach to language learning was short-lived and, only a generation later, gave place to the Direct Method, posited by Charles Berlitz. The basic tenet of Berlitz's method was that second language learning is similar to first language learning. In this light, there should be lots of oral interaction, spontaneous use of the language, no translation, and little if any analysis of grammatical rules and syntactic structures. In short, the principles of the Direct Method were as follows:
. Classroom instruction was conducted in the target language
. There was an inductive approach to grammar
. Only everyday vocabulary was taught
. Concrete vocabulary was taught through pictures and objects, while abstract vocabulary was taught by association of ideas
The Direct Method enjoyed great popularity at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth but it was difficult to use, mainly because of the constraints of budget, time, and classroom size. Yet, after a period of decline, this method has been revived, leading to the emergence of the Audiolingual Method.
The Audiolingual Method
The outbreak of World War II heightened the need for Americans to become orally proficient in the languages of their allies and enemies alike. To this end, bits and pieces of the Direct Method were appropriated in order to form and support this new method, the "Army Method," which came to be known in the 1950s as the Audiolingual Method.
The Audiolingual Method was based on linguistic and psychological theory and one of its main premises was the scientific descriptive analysis of a wide assortment of languages. On the other hand, conditioning and habit-formation models of learning put forward by behaviouristic phychologists were married with the pattern practices of the Audiolingual Method. The following points sum up the characteristics of the method:
. Dependence on mimicry and memorisation of set phrases
. Teaching structural patterns by means of repetitive drills (??Repetitio est mater studiorum??)
. No grammatical explanation
. Learning vocabulary in context
. Use of tapes and visual aids
. Focus on pronunciation
. Immediate reinforcement of correct responses
But its popularity waned after 1964, partly because of Wilga Rivers's exposure of its shortcomings. It fell short of promoting communicative ability as it paid undue attention to memorisation and drilling, while downgrading the role of context and world knowledge in language learning. After all, it was discovered that language was not acquired through a process of habit formation and errors were not necessarily bad or pernicious.
The "Designer" Methods of the 1970s
The Chomskyan revolution in linguistics drew the attention of linguists and language teachers to the "deep structure" of language, while psychologists took account of the affective and interpersonal nature of learning. As a result, new methods were proposed, which attempted to capitalise on the importance of psychological factors in language learning. David Nunan (1989: 97) referred to these methods as "designer" methods, on the grounds that they took a "one-size-fits-all" approach. Let us have a look at two of these "designer" methods.
Suggestopedia
Suggestopedia promised great results if we use our brain power and inner capacities. Lozanov (1979) believed that we are capable of learning much more than we think. Drawing upon Soviet psychological research on yoga and extrasensory perception, he came up with a method for learning that used relaxation as a means of retaining new knowledge and material. It stands to reason that music played a pivotal role in his method. Lozanov and his followers tried to present vocabulary, readings, role-plays and drama with classical music in the background and students sitting in comfortable seats. In this way, students became "suggestible."
Of course, suggestopedia offered valuable insights into the "superlearning" powers of our brain but it was demolished on several fronts. For instance, what happens if our classrooms are bereft of such amenities as comfortable seats and Compact Disk players? Certainly, this method is insightful and constructive and can be practised from time to time, without necessarily having to adhere to all its premises. A relaxed mind is an open mind and it can help a student to feel more confident and, in a sense, pliable.
The Silent Way
The Silent Way rested on cognitive rather than affective arguments, and was characterised by a problem-solving approach to learning. Gattegno (1972) held that it is in learners' best interests to develop independence and autonomy and cooperate with each other in solving language problems. The teacher is supposed to be silent - hence the name of the method - and must disabuse himself of the tendency to explain everything to them.
The Silent Way came in for an onslaught of criticism. More specifically, it was considered very harsh, as the teacher was distant and, in general lines, the classroom environment was not conducive to learning.
Strategies-based instruction
The work of O'Malley and Chamot (1990), and others before and after them, emphasised the importance of style awareness and strategy development in ensuring mastery of a foreign language. In this vein, many textbooks and entire syllabi offered guidelines on constructing strategy-building activities. Below therer is an example of a list of the "Ten Commandments" for good language learning (taken from Brown, H. D. [2000: 137]):
These suggestions cum injunctions are able to sensitise learners to the importance of attaining autonomy, that is, taking charge of their own learning, and not expecting the teacher to deliver everything to them.
Communicative Language Teaching
The need for communication has been relentless, leading to the emergence of the Communicative Language Teaching. Having defined and redefined the construct of communicative competence; having explored the vast array of functions of language that learners are supposed to be able to accomplish; and having probed the nature of styles and nonverbal communication, teachers and researchers are now better equipped to teach (about) communication through actual communication, not merely theorising about it.
At this juncture, we should say that Commuicative Language Teaching is not a method; it is an approach, which transcends the boundaries of concrete methods and, concomitantly, techniques. It is a theoretical position about the nature of language and language learning and teaching.
Let us see the basic premises of this approach:
. Focus on all of the components of communicative competence, not only grammatical or linguistic competence
. Engaging learners in the pragmatic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes
. Viewing fluency and accuracy as complementary principles underpinning communicative techniques
. Using the language in unrehearsed contexts
Conclusion
From all the above we can see that the manageable stockpile of research of just a few decades ago has given place to a systematic storehouse of information. Researchers the world over are meeting, talking, comparing notes, and arriving at some explanations that give the lie to past explanations. As Brown (2000: ix) notes, "Our research miscarriages are fewer as we have collectively learned how to conceive the right questions". Nothing is taken as gospel; nothing is thrown out of court without being put to the test. This "test" may always change its mechanics, but the fact remains that the changing winds and shifting sands of time and research are turning the dessert into a longed-for oasis.
fuente: http://www.englishclub.com/tefl-articles/history-english-language-teaching.htm
Dimitrios Thanasoulas
Introduction
As the title implies, the English language teaching tradition has been subjected to a tremendous change, especially throughout the twentieth century. Perhaps more than any other discipline, this tradition has been practiced, in various adaptations, in language classrooms all around the world for centuries. While the teaching of Maths or Physics, that is, the methodology of teaching Maths or Physics, has, to a greater or lesser extent, remained the same, this is hardly the case with English or language teaching in general. As will become evident in this short paper, there are some milestones in the development of this tradition, which we will briefly touch upon, in an attempt to reveal the importance of research in the selection and implementation of the optimal methods and techniques for language teaching and learning.
The Classical Method
In the Western world back in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, foreign language learning was associated with the learning of Latin and Greek, both supposed to promote their speakers' intellectuality. At the time, it was of vital importance to focus on grammatical rules, syntactic structures, along with rote memorisation of vocabulary and translation of literary texts. There was no provision for the oral use of the languages under study; after all, both Latin and Greek were not being taught for oral communication but for the sake of their speakers' becoming "scholarly?" or creating an illusion of "erudition." Late in the nineteenth century, the Classical Method came to be known as the Grammar Translation Method, which offered very little beyond an insight into the grammatical rules attending the process of translating from the second to the native language.
It is widely recognised that the Grammar Translation Method is still one of the most popular and favourite models of language teaching, which has been rather stalwart and impervious to educational reforms, remaining a standard and sine qua non methodology. With hindsight, we could say that its contribution to language learning has been lamentably limited, since it has shifted the focus from the real language to a "dissected body" of nouns, adjectives, and prepositions, doing nothing to enhance a student's communicative ability in the foreign language.
Gouin and Berlitz - The Direct Method
The last two decades of the nineteenth century ushered in a new age. In his The Art of Learning and Studying Foreign Languages (1880), Francois Gouin described his "harrowing" experiences of learning German, which helped him gain insights into the intricacies of language teaching and learning. Living in Hamburg for one year, he attempted to master the German language by dint of memorising a German grammar book and a list of the 248 irregular German verbs, instead of conversing with the natives. Exulting in the security that the grounding in German grammar offered him, he hastened to go to the University to test his knowledge. To no avail. He could not understand a word! After his failure, he decided to memorise the German roots, but with no success. He went so far as to memorise books, translate Goethe and Schiller, and learn by heart 30,000 words in a dictionary, only to meet with failure. Upon returning to France, Gouin discovered that his three-year-old nephew had managed to become a chatterbox of French - a fact that made him think that the child held the secret to learning a language. Thus, he began observing his nephew and came to the conclusion (arrived at by another researcher a century before him!) that language learning is a matter of transforming perceptions into conceptions and then using language to represent these conceptions. Equipped with this knowledge, he devised a teaching method premised upon these insights. It was against this background that the Series Method was created, which taught learners directly a "series" of connected sentences that are easy to understand. For instance,
I stretch out my arm. I take hold of the handle. I turn the handle. I open the door. I pull the door.
Nevertheless, this approach to language learning was short-lived and, only a generation later, gave place to the Direct Method, posited by Charles Berlitz. The basic tenet of Berlitz's method was that second language learning is similar to first language learning. In this light, there should be lots of oral interaction, spontaneous use of the language, no translation, and little if any analysis of grammatical rules and syntactic structures. In short, the principles of the Direct Method were as follows:
. Classroom instruction was conducted in the target language
. There was an inductive approach to grammar
. Only everyday vocabulary was taught
. Concrete vocabulary was taught through pictures and objects, while abstract vocabulary was taught by association of ideas
The Direct Method enjoyed great popularity at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth but it was difficult to use, mainly because of the constraints of budget, time, and classroom size. Yet, after a period of decline, this method has been revived, leading to the emergence of the Audiolingual Method.
The Audiolingual Method
The outbreak of World War II heightened the need for Americans to become orally proficient in the languages of their allies and enemies alike. To this end, bits and pieces of the Direct Method were appropriated in order to form and support this new method, the "Army Method," which came to be known in the 1950s as the Audiolingual Method.
The Audiolingual Method was based on linguistic and psychological theory and one of its main premises was the scientific descriptive analysis of a wide assortment of languages. On the other hand, conditioning and habit-formation models of learning put forward by behaviouristic phychologists were married with the pattern practices of the Audiolingual Method. The following points sum up the characteristics of the method:
. Dependence on mimicry and memorisation of set phrases
. Teaching structural patterns by means of repetitive drills (??Repetitio est mater studiorum??)
. No grammatical explanation
. Learning vocabulary in context
. Use of tapes and visual aids
. Focus on pronunciation
. Immediate reinforcement of correct responses
But its popularity waned after 1964, partly because of Wilga Rivers's exposure of its shortcomings. It fell short of promoting communicative ability as it paid undue attention to memorisation and drilling, while downgrading the role of context and world knowledge in language learning. After all, it was discovered that language was not acquired through a process of habit formation and errors were not necessarily bad or pernicious.
The "Designer" Methods of the 1970s
The Chomskyan revolution in linguistics drew the attention of linguists and language teachers to the "deep structure" of language, while psychologists took account of the affective and interpersonal nature of learning. As a result, new methods were proposed, which attempted to capitalise on the importance of psychological factors in language learning. David Nunan (1989: 97) referred to these methods as "designer" methods, on the grounds that they took a "one-size-fits-all" approach. Let us have a look at two of these "designer" methods.
Suggestopedia
Suggestopedia promised great results if we use our brain power and inner capacities. Lozanov (1979) believed that we are capable of learning much more than we think. Drawing upon Soviet psychological research on yoga and extrasensory perception, he came up with a method for learning that used relaxation as a means of retaining new knowledge and material. It stands to reason that music played a pivotal role in his method. Lozanov and his followers tried to present vocabulary, readings, role-plays and drama with classical music in the background and students sitting in comfortable seats. In this way, students became "suggestible."
Of course, suggestopedia offered valuable insights into the "superlearning" powers of our brain but it was demolished on several fronts. For instance, what happens if our classrooms are bereft of such amenities as comfortable seats and Compact Disk players? Certainly, this method is insightful and constructive and can be practised from time to time, without necessarily having to adhere to all its premises. A relaxed mind is an open mind and it can help a student to feel more confident and, in a sense, pliable.
The Silent Way
The Silent Way rested on cognitive rather than affective arguments, and was characterised by a problem-solving approach to learning. Gattegno (1972) held that it is in learners' best interests to develop independence and autonomy and cooperate with each other in solving language problems. The teacher is supposed to be silent - hence the name of the method - and must disabuse himself of the tendency to explain everything to them.
The Silent Way came in for an onslaught of criticism. More specifically, it was considered very harsh, as the teacher was distant and, in general lines, the classroom environment was not conducive to learning.
Strategies-based instruction
The work of O'Malley and Chamot (1990), and others before and after them, emphasised the importance of style awareness and strategy development in ensuring mastery of a foreign language. In this vein, many textbooks and entire syllabi offered guidelines on constructing strategy-building activities. Below therer is an example of a list of the "Ten Commandments" for good language learning (taken from Brown, H. D. [2000: 137]):
| Teacher's Version | Learner's Version | |
| 1 | Lower inhibitions | Fear not! |
| 2 | Encourage risk-taking | Dive in |
| 3 | Build self-confidence | Believe in yourself |
| 4 | Develop intrinsic motivation | Seize the day |
| 5 | Engage in cooperative learning | Love thy neighbour |
| 6 | Use right-brain processes | Get the BIG picture |
| 7 | Promote ambiguity tolerance | Cope with the chaos |
| 8 | Practice intuition | Go with your hunches |
| 9 | Process error feedback | Make mistakes work FOR you |
| 10 | Set personal goals | Set your own goals |
These suggestions cum injunctions are able to sensitise learners to the importance of attaining autonomy, that is, taking charge of their own learning, and not expecting the teacher to deliver everything to them.
Communicative Language Teaching
The need for communication has been relentless, leading to the emergence of the Communicative Language Teaching. Having defined and redefined the construct of communicative competence; having explored the vast array of functions of language that learners are supposed to be able to accomplish; and having probed the nature of styles and nonverbal communication, teachers and researchers are now better equipped to teach (about) communication through actual communication, not merely theorising about it.
At this juncture, we should say that Commuicative Language Teaching is not a method; it is an approach, which transcends the boundaries of concrete methods and, concomitantly, techniques. It is a theoretical position about the nature of language and language learning and teaching.
Let us see the basic premises of this approach:
. Focus on all of the components of communicative competence, not only grammatical or linguistic competence
. Engaging learners in the pragmatic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes
. Viewing fluency and accuracy as complementary principles underpinning communicative techniques
. Using the language in unrehearsed contexts
Conclusion
From all the above we can see that the manageable stockpile of research of just a few decades ago has given place to a systematic storehouse of information. Researchers the world over are meeting, talking, comparing notes, and arriving at some explanations that give the lie to past explanations. As Brown (2000: ix) notes, "Our research miscarriages are fewer as we have collectively learned how to conceive the right questions". Nothing is taken as gospel; nothing is thrown out of court without being put to the test. This "test" may always change its mechanics, but the fact remains that the changing winds and shifting sands of time and research are turning the dessert into a longed-for oasis.
fuente: http://www.englishclub.com/tefl-articles/history-english-language-teaching.htm
sábado, 25 de abril de 2009
Seven Rules - A.J. Hoge
Always Study and Review Phrases, Not Individual Words
you must change the way you study English. Your first action is to stop studying English words. What? Stop studying English words. That's right, do not memorize words. Native speakers do not learn English by remembering single words. Native speakers learn phrases. Phrases are GROUPS of words that naturally go together.
Research by Dr. James Asher proves that learning with phrases is 4-5 times faster than studying individual words. Also, students who learn phrases have much better grammar.Never study a single, individual word.
When you find a new word, always write down The Phrase it is in. When you review, always review all of the phrase,.. not the word. Collect phrases. Your speaking and grammar will improve 4-5 times faster. Never again study a single word. Never write a single word in your notebook, always write the complete phrase. Learn Phrases Only.
Don't Study Grammar
Stop studying grammar. Right now. Stop. Put away your grammar books and textbooks. Grammar rules teach you to think about English, you want to speak automatically-- without thinking!
The Most Important Rule: Listen First
You must listen to UNDERSTANDABLE English. You must listen to English EVERYDAY. Don't read textbooks. Listen to English. Its simple. That is the key to your English success. Stop reading textbooks. Start listening everyday. Learn With Your Ears, Not Your Eyes. In most schools, you learn English with your eyes. You read textbooks. You study grammar rules. Spend most of your study time listening- that is the key to great speaking.
Slow, Deep Learning Is Best
The secret to speaking easily is to learn every word & phrase DEEPLY. Its not enough to know a definition. Its not enough to remember for a test. You must put the word deep into your brain.To speak English easily, you must repeat each lesson many times. How do you learn deeply? Easy- just repeat all lessons or listening many times. For example, if you have an audio book, listen to the first chapter 30 times before you go to the second chapter. You could listen to the first chapter 3 times each day, for 10 days.
Use Point Of View Mini-Stories
"How can I learn English grammar if I don'tstudy English grammar rules?"You must learn grammar by listening to real English. The best way is to listen to the same story... told in different times (points of view): Past, Perfect, Present, Future. How do you do this? Easy! Find a story or article in the present tense. Then ask your native speaker tutor to write it again in the Past, with Perfect tenses, and in the Future. Finally, ask him to read and record these stories for you. Then you can listen to stories with many different kinds of grammar. You don't need to know the grammar rules. Just listen to the Point of View stories and you will improve grammar automatically! You can also find Point of View lessons and use them to learn grammar automatically.
Use Only Real English Lessons & Materials
Something is wrong with the schools you went to, and the textbooks you used. English textbooks and audio tapes are horrible. You never learned REAL English. You learned TEXTBOOK English. To learn real English, you must listen to English that native speakers listen to. You must watch what they watch. You must read what they read. How do you learn Real English? It's easy. Stop using textbooks. Instead, listen only to real English movies, TV shows, audio books, audio articles, stories, and talk radio shows. Use real English materials.
Listen and Answer, not Listen and Repeat
Most English CDs use "listen and repeat". The speaker says something in English, and you repeat exactly what they said. This method is a failure. "listen and repeat" is not enough-- when you repeat, you only copy the speaker. But when you hear a question and you ANSWER it-- you must think in English.
fuente: http://effortlessenglish.com/
you must change the way you study English. Your first action is to stop studying English words. What? Stop studying English words. That's right, do not memorize words. Native speakers do not learn English by remembering single words. Native speakers learn phrases. Phrases are GROUPS of words that naturally go together.
Research by Dr. James Asher proves that learning with phrases is 4-5 times faster than studying individual words. Also, students who learn phrases have much better grammar.Never study a single, individual word.
When you find a new word, always write down The Phrase it is in. When you review, always review all of the phrase,.. not the word. Collect phrases. Your speaking and grammar will improve 4-5 times faster. Never again study a single word. Never write a single word in your notebook, always write the complete phrase. Learn Phrases Only.
Don't Study Grammar
Stop studying grammar. Right now. Stop. Put away your grammar books and textbooks. Grammar rules teach you to think about English, you want to speak automatically-- without thinking!
The Most Important Rule: Listen First
You must listen to UNDERSTANDABLE English. You must listen to English EVERYDAY. Don't read textbooks. Listen to English. Its simple. That is the key to your English success. Stop reading textbooks. Start listening everyday. Learn With Your Ears, Not Your Eyes. In most schools, you learn English with your eyes. You read textbooks. You study grammar rules. Spend most of your study time listening- that is the key to great speaking.
Slow, Deep Learning Is Best
The secret to speaking easily is to learn every word & phrase DEEPLY. Its not enough to know a definition. Its not enough to remember for a test. You must put the word deep into your brain.To speak English easily, you must repeat each lesson many times. How do you learn deeply? Easy- just repeat all lessons or listening many times. For example, if you have an audio book, listen to the first chapter 30 times before you go to the second chapter. You could listen to the first chapter 3 times each day, for 10 days.
Use Point Of View Mini-Stories
"How can I learn English grammar if I don'tstudy English grammar rules?"You must learn grammar by listening to real English. The best way is to listen to the same story... told in different times (points of view): Past, Perfect, Present, Future. How do you do this? Easy! Find a story or article in the present tense. Then ask your native speaker tutor to write it again in the Past, with Perfect tenses, and in the Future. Finally, ask him to read and record these stories for you. Then you can listen to stories with many different kinds of grammar. You don't need to know the grammar rules. Just listen to the Point of View stories and you will improve grammar automatically! You can also find Point of View lessons and use them to learn grammar automatically.
Use Only Real English Lessons & Materials
Something is wrong with the schools you went to, and the textbooks you used. English textbooks and audio tapes are horrible. You never learned REAL English. You learned TEXTBOOK English. To learn real English, you must listen to English that native speakers listen to. You must watch what they watch. You must read what they read. How do you learn Real English? It's easy. Stop using textbooks. Instead, listen only to real English movies, TV shows, audio books, audio articles, stories, and talk radio shows. Use real English materials.
Listen and Answer, not Listen and Repeat
Most English CDs use "listen and repeat". The speaker says something in English, and you repeat exactly what they said. This method is a failure. "listen and repeat" is not enough-- when you repeat, you only copy the speaker. But when you hear a question and you ANSWER it-- you must think in English.
fuente: http://effortlessenglish.com/
FSI: fifty years of theory and practice
Lessons learned from fifty years of theory and practice in government language teaching
Frederick H. Jackson
Marsha A. Kaplan
Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State
Lesson 1. Mature adults can learn a foreign language well enough through intensive language study to do things in the language (almost) aswell as native speakers.
Lesson 2. “Language-learning aptitude” varies among individuals and affects their classroom learning success (but at least some aspects of aptitude can be learned).
Lesson 3. There is no “one right way” to teach (or learn) languages, nor is there a single “right” syllabus.
Lesson 4. Time on task and the intensity of the learning experience appear crucial.
Lesson 5. Learners’ existing knowledge about language affects their learning.
Lesson 6. A learner’s prior experience with learning (languages or other skills) also affects classroom learning.
Lesson 7. The importance of “automaticity” in building learner skill and confidence in speaking and reading a language is more important than has been recognized by the SLA field over the last two decades.
Lesson 8. Learners may not learn a linguistic form until they are “ready,” but FSI’s experience indicates that teachers and a well designed course can help learners become ready earlier.
Lesson 9. A supportive, collaborative, responsive learning environment, with a rich variety of authentic and teacher-made resources, is very important in fostering effective learning.
Lesson 10. Conversation, which on the surface appears to be one of the most basic forms of communication, is actually one of the hardest to master.
fuente: http://digital.georgetown.edu/gurt/
Frederick H. Jackson
Marsha A. Kaplan
Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State
Lesson 1. Mature adults can learn a foreign language well enough through intensive language study to do things in the language (almost) aswell as native speakers.
Lesson 2. “Language-learning aptitude” varies among individuals and affects their classroom learning success (but at least some aspects of aptitude can be learned).
Lesson 3. There is no “one right way” to teach (or learn) languages, nor is there a single “right” syllabus.
Lesson 4. Time on task and the intensity of the learning experience appear crucial.
Lesson 5. Learners’ existing knowledge about language affects their learning.
Lesson 6. A learner’s prior experience with learning (languages or other skills) also affects classroom learning.
Lesson 7. The importance of “automaticity” in building learner skill and confidence in speaking and reading a language is more important than has been recognized by the SLA field over the last two decades.
Lesson 8. Learners may not learn a linguistic form until they are “ready,” but FSI’s experience indicates that teachers and a well designed course can help learners become ready earlier.
Lesson 9. A supportive, collaborative, responsive learning environment, with a rich variety of authentic and teacher-made resources, is very important in fostering effective learning.
Lesson 10. Conversation, which on the surface appears to be one of the most basic forms of communication, is actually one of the hardest to master.
fuente: http://digital.georgetown.edu/gurt/
Nicola Robinsonova guide (10 consejos)
Here is Nicola’s guide to studying a foreign language for free:
Take the path of least resistance. Though there is no way round the fact that learning a language takes time, that doesn’t mean it should be difficult. If you find a way of learning which is fun, you’re far more likely to put in the time. Luckily there are loads of great, free resources now available on the Internet. So experiment with some of the different sites available and see what you enjoy most.
Explore. There are many different types of sites for language learners because web 2.0 technology is so perfectly suited to helping you learn a new language. I have organised a tour of some of them here, and I’ve put together a directory of sites that might be useful on learn10.
Label things. Post-it notes are your friends - use them wantonly. Use them to label things (nouns) around you. Our brains are pre-wired to learn languages. As babies we learn the words for the things around us first, then actions (verbs), and after this start putting words together to form sentences. Natural language acquisition just happens without us studying grammar.
Remember the 80:20 rule. To be time effective, you need to be a pragmatic learner. You will learn more in the end by concentrating on the easy 80% of content rather than spending 80% of your time on the things you find difficult. Those who speak English as a second language have to dedicate years of hard work to attain the high level of grammar which is natural to native English speakers, and even these ‘experts’ make mistakes.
Listen without worrying. I advise all my English students to listen to BBC Radio 4 whenever they can. Right now I’m listening to Cesky Rozhlas 2 - the talk radio channel in the Czech Republic. I don’t understand every word, but it’s helping me develop a sense of the rhythm and sound of the language. In time I’m comprehending more and more and recognising which words occur frequently. I met a student who hadn’t studied English for years apart from listening to the BBC every day, she had perfect pronunciation and a great vocabulary.
Learn what’s important - common phrases and the 1000 most frequently used words. Once you’ve got the first 1000 words and a few phrases you’ll be able to make yourself understood - even though you might not understand everything that’s said to you. If you learn 10 words a day, you’ll get to this stage in about 3 months.
Talk, talk, talk. Once you know a few words and phrases you can use sites like italki.com to meet native speakers of the language you are learning in order to do a language swap. However, if you can’t meet in person, you can use video phone systems such as Skype or a Multi User Virtual Environments - such as Second Life - my current favourite place to hang out and speak Czech.
Remember how to remember. In order to retain new words you will need to review them. Our brains classify information by how important it appears to be. If we remembered everything we would not be able to function! The ideal time to review material is after 2,10,30 and 60 days - so that new learning goes from the ‘temporary recall’ draw in our brains to the ‘permanent’ section.
Make learning a habit. It takes less than a month to create a habit if you do something every day. I dedicate time to learning Czech when I first wake up in the morning (as this is my best learning time). I use learn10 on my iPhone to learn, test and revise a list of 10 words for the day. I then see the same vocabulary on my computer’s screensaver. The daily email and Twitter posts helped me create the habit without having to really think about it.
Immerse yourself! The very best way to learn a language is to live in a country where that language is spoken and spend all of your time with it. This is not a realistic option for most people - however if you use the tools we’ve talked about above, you can immerse yourself in a new language no matter where you are in the world. Good luck, and more importantly, enjoy!
fuente: www.learn10.com
Take the path of least resistance. Though there is no way round the fact that learning a language takes time, that doesn’t mean it should be difficult. If you find a way of learning which is fun, you’re far more likely to put in the time. Luckily there are loads of great, free resources now available on the Internet. So experiment with some of the different sites available and see what you enjoy most.
Explore. There are many different types of sites for language learners because web 2.0 technology is so perfectly suited to helping you learn a new language. I have organised a tour of some of them here, and I’ve put together a directory of sites that might be useful on learn10.
Label things. Post-it notes are your friends - use them wantonly. Use them to label things (nouns) around you. Our brains are pre-wired to learn languages. As babies we learn the words for the things around us first, then actions (verbs), and after this start putting words together to form sentences. Natural language acquisition just happens without us studying grammar.
Remember the 80:20 rule. To be time effective, you need to be a pragmatic learner. You will learn more in the end by concentrating on the easy 80% of content rather than spending 80% of your time on the things you find difficult. Those who speak English as a second language have to dedicate years of hard work to attain the high level of grammar which is natural to native English speakers, and even these ‘experts’ make mistakes.
Listen without worrying. I advise all my English students to listen to BBC Radio 4 whenever they can. Right now I’m listening to Cesky Rozhlas 2 - the talk radio channel in the Czech Republic. I don’t understand every word, but it’s helping me develop a sense of the rhythm and sound of the language. In time I’m comprehending more and more and recognising which words occur frequently. I met a student who hadn’t studied English for years apart from listening to the BBC every day, she had perfect pronunciation and a great vocabulary.
Learn what’s important - common phrases and the 1000 most frequently used words. Once you’ve got the first 1000 words and a few phrases you’ll be able to make yourself understood - even though you might not understand everything that’s said to you. If you learn 10 words a day, you’ll get to this stage in about 3 months.
Talk, talk, talk. Once you know a few words and phrases you can use sites like italki.com to meet native speakers of the language you are learning in order to do a language swap. However, if you can’t meet in person, you can use video phone systems such as Skype or a Multi User Virtual Environments - such as Second Life - my current favourite place to hang out and speak Czech.
Remember how to remember. In order to retain new words you will need to review them. Our brains classify information by how important it appears to be. If we remembered everything we would not be able to function! The ideal time to review material is after 2,10,30 and 60 days - so that new learning goes from the ‘temporary recall’ draw in our brains to the ‘permanent’ section.
Make learning a habit. It takes less than a month to create a habit if you do something every day. I dedicate time to learning Czech when I first wake up in the morning (as this is my best learning time). I use learn10 on my iPhone to learn, test and revise a list of 10 words for the day. I then see the same vocabulary on my computer’s screensaver. The daily email and Twitter posts helped me create the habit without having to really think about it.
Immerse yourself! The very best way to learn a language is to live in a country where that language is spoken and spend all of your time with it. This is not a realistic option for most people - however if you use the tools we’ve talked about above, you can immerse yourself in a new language no matter where you are in the world. Good luck, and more importantly, enjoy!
fuente: www.learn10.com
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