In this guest post, writer Estelle Shumann discusses the effects of English on world education, culture, and ideology, and how some consider the prominence of English a form of neo-colonialism. What’s your stand?
In his excellent TEDxRanier talk, Chris Bliss posits that “Every act of communication is an act of translation” and that great comedy can “translate deep truths for a mass audience”. I couldn’t agree more.
Paulino Brener is educator, performer, social media manager, and one of the few people I know who has managed to successfully blend all of his passions (foreign languages, teaching, crafts, social media, and performance arts) into one. And get paid to do so! In our interview, he discusses creative ways to harness one’s passions in foreign language learning, whether as teacher or learner.
In my interview with Jason West, the creator of English Out There, we discuss the weaknesses of traditional English schools, methodologies, and materials, and how his approach aims to overcome them. I especially enjoyed his effective, no-nonsense approach to language learning, his efforts to bridge the gap between traditional classroom-based learning and independent study, and his willingness to share before-and-after speech samples of his students.
Language schools can be a wonderful place to learn more about your target language, meet fellow learners (who can become both study partners or even lifelong friends), and get your linguistic and cultural feet wet before (or even while) immersing yourself in a new culture and foreign tongue. However, language schools can also be a major impediment to the very goal you go there to achieve: learning a foreign language as quickly and efficiently as possible. This may come as a shock to those who have been conditioned to believe that classrooms are the only place, or at least the best place, to learn a language. Read on to see the top ten disadvantages of formal, classroom-based language learning.
Check out this beautifully illustrated talk about how to learn foreign languages using the Pimsleur approach. No, I don’t believe you can learn a language in 10 days, but you can certainly get started in one, and Pimsleur is a good way to help get your brain and tongue used to a new language.
Chinese characters are arguably the most intimidating part of getting started in Japanese or Chinese, but I believe they can also be the most enjoyable if tackled correctly. This article shares the tips, tools, and psychology you need to master kanji and hanzi.
Arkady Zilberman, creator of Language Bridge and a former simultaneous interpreter in Russia, addresses what is perhaps the greatest impediment to adult language learning success: cross-translation to and from one’s native language. Few learners are probably aware this sub-concious process goes on at all, but Arkady’s extensive experience learning languages, interpreting, and experimenting on himself and other learners have proven that it does indeed occur. As he points out in our interview, even many seemingly successful foreign language learners still translate to and from their native language, but can just do so at such a rate that they can’t perceive the process.
If you are learning Spanish on your iPhone, Brainscape’s Spanish! app is definitely worth checking out. Read on to see why.
In the video, Harvard’s Steven Pinker discusses the great mysteries of language and human nature, backed up by the amazing whiteboard illustration of RSA Animate.
The Polyglot Project, a collection of language learning tips from polyglots and language enthusiasts across the globe (including yours truly), is now available as both a physical book on Amazon and as a free PDF download. This tome of language awesomeness contains over 500 pages of language learning goodness from 43 authors!
When I started my Vietnamese intensive course, a lot of non-linguistists I talked to said that the Chinese students would have an advantage because they already speak a tonal language. It is true that some westerns could be completely stumped by tones, and just not get the language at all. But, a person who already speaks a tonal language does not have an advantage over a westerner or a Korean or Japanese who is intelligent, motivated and who is trying to learn tones.
Just as the printing press democratized access to the written word, ebooks are again revolutionizing how information is produced, distributed, and consumed, offering language learners a more portable, affordable, and time efficient way to learn.
As a language learning addict, I follow lots (and I mean lots) of polyglot blogs and podcasts. It is always interesting to see what has worked (and what hasn’t worked) for successful language learners. While most agree on the vast majority of language learning DOs and DON’Ts, there is one area that always seems to cause heated debate: input (i.e. listening and reading) versus language output (i.e. speaking and writing). Here’s where I throw down on the issue…
More and more, it is becoming extremely beneficial to know a foreign language in today’s tough job market. Any kind of edge helps now more than ever in this economy, and one of the most sought-after and respected skills that can give you the upper hand is knowing a foreign language.