Constant review equals constant progression.
This isn’t exactly a new concept when we take the age-old adage of “practice makes perfect”, but it is something that is often neglected when learning a language.
The approach I’m going to outline is one I use for actual course material (Assimil, Linguaphone, FSI, etc.) mostly from the beginning of my language studies. Once you’ve progressed further there are other things that will probably push you along toward fluency more efficiently and for some ideas you should read the Next Step article.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch and with regard to course books, many people have the presumption that once you have “mastered” a unit you can move on and not look back. At the risk of sounding harsh… this is wrong. Click here to read more.. »
Krashen introduced the theory that we acquire language via comprehensible input. That is to say that if we are exposed to language at a level we understand then we can begin to acquire it. This ties in with my strong support of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, which can be basically broken down by saying that if we understand around 90% of what is presented then we can fill in the blanks for the remaining 10%.
There is also the premise in Krashen’s Input Hypothesis that the learner doesn’t need to produce the language until they are ready to do so. The focus is on received the language and understanding. Many language programs work within these guidelines; Assimil promotes the passive wave and active wave philosophy, which is practically the same as a focus on input and not producing the language for quite some time. There are a number of polyglots that work within these guidelines also. The first that springs to mind is Steve Kaufman, who has no interest in speaking until he feels he ready to do. Click here to read more.. »
This is a difficult question to answer. As teachers we like to think that we know, but do we actually know?
Personally, I have my doubts. I mean sure, we know how we are supposed to teach and what we are supposed to teach, but each student is an individual and pleasing everybody all of the time is near impossible. Click here to read more.. »
This was written in August 2006 after my experience at Yonsei University as an exchange student, so some of the information may be out-dated now.
There are two main programs at Yonsei – DIEE and KLI.
DIEE (Division of International Education and Exchange) is what I was involved in. It is a general exchange student program where you take Click here to read more.. »
There are about as many language learning products as there are icecream flavours. And just like icecream, some are delicious and some should just be avoided like the sweet perfume of durian. To make life a little less roulette-like, I’ll give you a list of some of the products I have personally used with some of their key features.
Assimil: A dialogue-based course from France. Everything is contained in one sleek book; target language on the left, translation on the right. It’s light on grammar and that’s how I like it. The audio is of a high quality, although a little slow and as a result needs some editing. The dialogues themselves are light-hearted and often a little humourous, which makes studying even less of a chore. The downside to Assimil? Not a wide collection of languages unless you have reading knowledge of French, Spanish or German. I usually buy several books at a time direct from Assimil to save on shipping costs and I’ve had them sent to both Australia and Korea with no problems. Click here to read more.. »
