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    Finding Your Way to Languages
    Finding Your Way to Languages
    Finding Your Way to Languages
    Ebook73 pages1 hour

    Finding Your Way to Languages

    By Erik Zidowecki

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    About this ebook

    So you want to learn another language? Great! You've chosen the one you want, and are ready to jump in with the learning? Fantastic!

    Now the REAL question: What is the best way to learn a language? This is one of the most asked questions by those in your position. It is also one of the most difficult to answer in a definitive, useful way. Most people who ask it are looking for the secret "trick" that will enable them to learn a language quickly and easily. They see the titles like Mastering Ancient Tibetan in 39 Seconds and are anxious to do just that! Those who have more experience (that is, have been learning languages for a while) are likely to answer with: it depends.
    Since each person learns in a different way, there is no method that works the best for everyone. This book is designed for those that don't yet know what their way is. It examines six common methods of studying a language: through audio, like audio courses and podcasts; by books, ranging from phrasebooks to full textbooks; classes, with a teacher and other students; software, using computer programs to help train you; internet, utilising the potential of some of the other methods on a global scale; immersion, in which a person is completely surrounded by the language and must learn it to survive.

    This book won't teach you any secrets, any overnight paths to fluency. What it will give you is a solid understanding of what the strengths and weaknesses are of each approach, allowing you, the reader, to find your own way to languages.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherErik Zidowecki
    Release dateMay 22, 2014
    ISBN9781310534454
    Finding Your Way to Languages
    Author

    Erik Zidowecki

    Erik Zidowecki is a computer programmer and language lover. He is a co-founder of UniLang and founder of Parleremo, both web communities dedicated to helping people learn languages.

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      Book preview

      Finding Your Way to Languages - Erik Zidowecki

      Finding Your Way to Languages

      Six Methods of Language Learning

      A look at six methods used in learning new foreign languages: Audio, Books, Classes, Software, Internet and Immersion. Material includes basic overviews, pros and cons, examples and anecdotes.

      by Erik Zidowecki

      Published by Scriveremo Publishing

      Smashwords Edition

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Copyright 2014 Erik Zidowecki

      Acknowledgement

      Special thanks to Cath O'Reilly for helping with the editing and the handful of beta-readers who helped me polish off some of the rougher points, and thanks to the dozens of people who have over the years shared their language learning experiences with me.

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      Audio: From ears to the mouth

      Hitting the books

      Class is in session

      Software: An update is available!

      Internet: Surfing through your knowledge

      Jumping in with immersion

      Last Word

      About the Author

      Connect with Me

      Introduction

      What is the best way to learn a language? This is one of the most asked questions by those wishing to acquire another tongue. It is also one of the most difficult to answer in a definitive, useful way. Most people who ask it are looking for the secret trick that will enable them to learn a language quickly and easily. Those who have more experience (that is, have been learning languages for a while) are likely to answer with: it depends.

      Each person learns in a different way, so there is no uniform method that works the best for everyone. Some people need the heavy structure of a class or tutor. Some learn much faster by diving into a conversation with a native speaker. A person might learn best through the memorization of phrases and dialogues while another person prefers mastering the grammar rules.

      In order to provide a more comprehensive answer to this question, I decided to examine six common methods of studying a language: through audio, like audio courses and podcasts; by books, ranging from phrasebooks to full textbooks; classes, with a teacher and other students; software, using computer programs to help train you; internet, utilising the potential of some of the other methods on a global scale; immersion, in which a person is completely surrounded by the language and must learn it to survive.

      I am not a scholar, so this will not be a formal study. I will try to present an overview of each method, discuss some of the pros and cons, give examples where applicable, and provide some anecdotal experiences of my own.

      I hope you find this text useful as well as entertaining, and that it aids you in your own language pursuits.

      Audio: From ears to the mouth

      When we talk about learning a language, the most common idea is probably of taking a course, perhaps at a local university, college, or language school. However, there are many other methods of picking up a new language that do not require long classes with total strangers and high fees. A popular alternative is an audio course. With the increase in usage of digital players and podcasts, this has increasingly become the method of choice.

      Audio courses have the benefit of very quickly getting a person to a conversational level in speaking, as they learn common daily words and phrases. However, audio courses lack in flexibility and pace, as a person must listen to each lesson as it is presented and at the speed at which it is taught.

      Audio courses are not a new idea. Ever since the first audio playback devices were invented, they have been used as teaching tools for languages. A student could obtain a long-playing record (LP) with relative ease. Over time, these became replaced by cassettes, then CDs, and now digital files. The contents of these different mediums have not evolved as much. Since an audio recording is not truly interactive - one can only listen and respond but no one actually hears your response - it is up to the learner to gauge their own progress. Most of the time, if only achieving the ability to be understood is desired, then this is fine. However, for true fluency to be achieved, some kind of feedback from another person is required.

      The methods used in these recordings vary. There are a number of popular commercial courses which invoke different ways of presenting their material. The oldest method is to have the announcer on the audio speak a word in your native language, then have a native speaker say the equivalent word, in the language that is being learnt,

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