Monday, November 30, 2009

Hello Hello Language Learning Website


Hello-Hello Redefines Online Language Learning with Interactive Site and Proven Methodology

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/11/prweb3231704.htm


Hello-Hello.com, the world’s first free online language learning and social networking website developed in collaboration with the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), will be officially launched during ACTFL’s Annual Convention and World Languages Expo. The conference begins Nov. 20 in San Diego.

Hello-Hello is a Washington-based free language training website that allows members to:

- Learn: complete the lessons online anytime, anywhere.
- Teach: help other members to learn their native language and get help from native speakers.
- Communicate: chat with people around the world to practice the language and make friends.

The Council is the largest association of teachers and administrators of all languages at all levels with more than 12,000 members. ACTFL’s tests are used by major corporations and the American government to determine language proficiency. Hello-Hello has training modules for English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. Hello-Hello will be adding more languages, including German, Mandarin Chinese and Italian, in the next few months.

Hello-Hello co-founder Rakesh Gupta is a leading entrepreneur in the information technology and publishing sectors. Prior to starting Hello-Hello, Gupta founded Aptara, which is the world’s largest publishing services company. He is also a co-founder and CEO of KiwiTech, a leading technology firm that develops e-book readers for smartphones and provides mobile app development services.

“The market for online language learning continues to grow at a fast pace and there is a need to satisfy that demand with new innovative and effective online tools such as Hello-Hello,” Gupta said.

Sarah Gontijo, a Brazilian political consultant and co-founder of Hello-Hello, said the website addresses a critical need for people who want to develop better language skills.

“While there are many language learning websites available to people, Hello-Hello is the only site based on a proven methodology that will give users the necessary skills to be proficient in a particular language. I want to thank ACTFL for their critical role in ensuring the site’s content meets the council’s highest standards,” Gontijo said.

Other language learning software and websites try to replace, rather than complement, the hard work of instructors, Gontijo said. Hello-Hello’s intent is to serve as a complementary tool for language teachers and students around the globe.
ACTFL Executive Director Bret Lovejoy said Hello-Hello’s launch is occurring during an important time.

“As the demand for online language learning increases, it is critical that we have quality content available and Hello-Hello achieves this mission. The lessons have a conversational approach with real-life situations that will enable students to have interactions in the target language from the very first lesson,” he said.

About Hello-Hello

Hello-Hello is an interactive language learning website combined with social networking with a community of like-minded individuals who help each during the learning process. Our lessons were developed in collaboration with the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), which is the largest association of teachers and administrators of all languages at all levels with more than 12,000 members. Hello-Hello is based in Washington, D.C.

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Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 100 countries. Get your FREE E-book, “If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Then E-mail me for further information.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Part 2 - What does it Really Take to Learn a Foreign Language?


Use Additional Foreign Language Learning Resources

Yes, most certainmly you can still use additional resources to fine-tune a linguistic point, clear up a bit of confusion, add on an expression or two and push your vocabulary a bit higher if you’d like. I recommend supplementing your immersion experiences with a bilingual dictionary, a phrase book, a foreign language only dictionary, a CD, DVD or audio-cassette-based foreign language course of the tongue or dialect you’re actively immersed in and working on. For that matter, you can even contract a tutor in your foreign language to help get and keep you on track. Use any or all the added language learning resources you like. Just bear in mind, language learning methods number one, two and three are:

Get out there, do things, immerse yourself in the language and talk, talk, talk.

But I’ll sound like an idiot.”

Well maybe a bit at first, but even when you botch something – and you probably will at times – the little old ladies, the vendor or the mechanic, among throngs of other native speakers of the foreign language you’ll engage, will answer your question, give you the information you want, and then likely correct your speech (after a chuckle or two, naturally). This is opposed to your sounding like an idiot while “practicing” with a classmate, who doesn’t know either, and their answering back – sounding like an idiot too. Neither of you knowing what you’re doing “wrong”. It happens so often it’s almost passe. Get off the foreign language learning merry-go-round and go for total immersion as soon as you can.

Foreign Language Learning Errors are Not Fatal

Hey, wanna hear a good one? Once, years ago on a brutally hot afternoon, I confused “Tengo calor” (I’m hot - from the weather) with “Estoy caliente” (I’m horny) while talking with a female co-worker. While this could also possibly mean I'm hot from a fever or illness, the look on her face was priceless. It also immediately told me I’d committed a serious faux pas. She immediately corrected me and explained the difference in the two sentences (which both can be translated to mean I’m hot, but are culturally different)– before a good laugh by both of us. Quite possibly, in a foreign language class, this “mistake” could have gone unnoticed and uncorrected. Foreign language learning errors are not fatal, at least the overwhelmingly vast majority of the time they’re not. By far and large they’re more humorous and occassionally a bit embarrassing, but you’ll live, to screw up yet another day.

Again, “The more you immerse yourself in it, the faster and more easily you will become fluent in any foreign language.” That’s my down-to-earth, hard and fast rule. Anything else you might say, do or be is just added icing on the cake.

Now suck up your courage, start packing your bags and get ready to make some dramatic foreign language learning progress.


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 135 countries. Get your FREE E-book, “If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Then E-mail me for further information.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

What does it Really Take to Learn a Foreign Language?


How Long Does it Take to Learn a Foreign Language?

So, how long does it take to learn a foreign language?

If I hear that question one more time I’ll just scream. Okay, so maybe I won’t scream, but I’ll give an answer similar to the one I’ve already seemingly given a thousand times or more. Only now, my stock answer is getting a lot shorter and more concise.

How long it will take you to learn Spanish, French, Japanese, Italian, German, Chinese or whatever other foreign language you’re attempting to dabble in actually depends on you.”

The more you immerse yourself in it, the faster and more easily you will become fluent.”

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.

Foreign Language Learning Immersion

As a veteran of several decades in foreign language learning of French, Kpelle, Twi (Akan), and Spanish to mention a smattering of tongues I’ve broached, I’m thoroughly convinced that the only sure way of quickly and successfully acquiring a foreign language is to immerse yourself completely and totally in the language and culture for as long a period – or series of periods if need be - as you possibly can.

Learn to Speak Spanish

Say or think whatever you like, but if you want to learn to speak Spanish, for example, spending six weeks of summer vacation in a non-tourist town or area of Mexico or other Spanish-speaking country, will allow you to speak far more Spanish than a full year or even more “studying” Spanish in a school.

Why?

It’s because you’ll have to function completely in the foreign language all day everyday, day in and day out. Everything you do will be foreign language vocabulary acquisition-based. From “Where’s the soap?” for your morning shower, to “What’s for breakfast?” and “Where’s the bus to Cuautla?”or “I’m hungry. Where’s a good, cheap restaurant?” – throughout the entire day, will be in Spanish.
You’ll ask a thousand questions with authentic language responses from one word answers to “full diatribes of innocuos discourse”. You’ll have to mentally process it all, extracting the needed information, wholly or in part, from each interaction.

Everyone will be your foreign language teacher

Everyone will be your foreign language teacher from the schoolgirl waiting for the bus on the corner to the little old ladies strolling out of the “tienda” with their woven baskets of ingredients for the day’s lunch. A grease-smeared car mechanic you pass by while walking down the block, a policeman, a vendor at the newspaper kiosk, a watchman taking a break in the shade of a home’s porch. They will all teach you Spanish. It might be one word, an expression, a gesture or the sight of a new food. “What’s that?”, “Where is this?” and “Can you tell me ...” will become your calling cards. All in the foreign language that you’re learning, of course.

Open your books please to page 86, exercise 2.”

Be sure to study your list of verb conjugations from today’s vocabulary practice.”

Review the false cognates from the reading in your textbooks.”

How would you rather acquire your foreign language communications skills? By learning and practicing what you need to know and learn on-the-spot, or from a list of lexical items?

Continuing in the next post we'll have more on what it really takes to learn a foreign language. See you then.


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 135 countries. Get your FREE E-book, “If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Then E-mail me for further information.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Whole Language Resources in English Language Teaching and Learning


Teaching English as a Foreign Language

While there are a number of commonly accepted, viable approaches to teaching English as a foreign language, there are elements of the whole language approach as postulated by Rubin, which lend themselves well to a broad range of methodologies and program types. It is important however, to consider how the inclusion of these will be viewed on the part of the English as a foreign language learners themselves.

English as a Foreign Language Learning Resources

Listening Laboratory – used to play audio recordings for repeating, substitution drills and guided speaking practice individually or in groups of up to 50 foreign language learners

Audio-visual auditoriums – these are designed for showing audio-visual presentations to medium or large groups of learners up to 100 or more at a time

Computer rooms – relatively new on the didactics scene as a regular medium of instruction, computer rooms have earned an indemnible space in foreign language teaching and learning especially when combined with internet access

Conversation clubs – when continual practice in speech fluency needs practicing on an on-going basis , a regular conversation-based series of sessions can be established for the EFL learners. This can also be a great venue for connected speech elements acquisition and practice.

Cinema clubs – almost certainly foreign language learner will love videos, documentaries, shorts and full-length feature films in their target language.

Poetry and literary group sessions – depending on your foreign language learners’ levels of course, rhythm, rhyme and rap in addition to poetry, can be a highly effective means of vocabulary, grammar, idioms and expression and other linguistics elements practice. Shakespeare has been a long-term favorite.

Foreign Language Learning Practice

Teachers can introduce, model and practice grammatical themes with their foreign language learners to a somewhat limited degree during class hours. The number of class contact hours though, can at times be severely limited. A minimum of five contact hours of class per week is an absolute minimum requisite for successful foreign language acquisition, although there are far too many classes in school systems and institutes which have fewer than this. In order in increment foreign language exposure, active and passive learning and provide regular foreign language practice, additional resources, as listed above, can be called into play. All the foreign language learning resources in the world, however, will be of little value if the learners do not avail themselves of these resources when and where available.
Why Ignore Foreign Language Learning Resources

But why wouldn’t foreign language learners avail themselves of such a plethora of linguistic resources, if they are indeed, effective in any way? To gain more insight, I interviewed a number of EFL learners on their attitudes and motives for using or not using additional language learning and practice resources.

Here are some highlights:

Scheduled times are inconvenient – When specific hours are assigned for EFL learners to attend Listening Laboratory sessions, for example, the assigned hours may not necessarily be good ones that fit in well with learner class schedules in other subjects.

Activities are repetitive or boring – pre-recorded listening laboratory activities can tend to be repetitive, quickly becoming uninteresting or even boring for learners.

Lack of motivation – Learners can and do lack intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for foreign language learning activities. When such is the case, additional resources which may be available will typically be ignored or remain unused by these types of learners.

• Foreign language learners fail to see or understand the benefits of extra-curricular language acquisition and practice activities – It’s often a case of EFL or foreign language learners simply not understanding the real benefits that attending and participating in these types of extra-curricular foreign language or language acquisition and practice Activities can bring to their language learning efforts.

• Foreign language learners fail to have sufficient time to engage in extra-curricular foreign language learning activities – The case may simply be that the EFL learners do not have sufficient time outside of class hours to attend and participate in extra-curricular foreign language acquisition and practice activities despite their accepted benefits.

Foreign Language Learning Resources: What Can Be Done?

So what might possibly be done to help remedy or at least alleviate the main crux of this on-going problem of foreign language learners not availing themselves of valuable language practice and acquisition resources when available? In the following segment of this article, we’ll discuss some suggestions in more detail.

See you then.


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 135 countries. Get your FREE E-book, “If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Then E-mail me for further information.

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