The Future of Language Learning SoftwareI was going to write more about Pakistan today, especially after having my ire aroused by a very biased article in "The Economist". But forget the magazines, their information is always a few days old. The latest is that Musharraf agreed to hold elections in January, as previously planned.
Language learning is one of my hobbies, I guess you could say, but it is very frustrating. I have tried many languages in many different ways, but the only way that has made me fluent is the "sink or swim" school. I have studied
Spanish for over 10 years, and I still can't understand Mexicans when they talk fast. But after a year in Austria, with no previous
German instruction, I was fluent. The difference was, of course, immersion.
One of the best language learning tools I have seen so far is
Rosetta Stone, thanks to its system of helping you to learn a language without using English as a crutch, but it still consists of drills, drills, and drills... which help get the language in your head, but don't deliver the payoffs that are necessary to keep a language learner psychologically motivated.
The 'payoffs' that I'm talking about come from ordering a meal in a restaurant, or getting and understanding directions from someone, or getting a joke in another language in a casual conversation. This is the main reason that immersion works so well. Our brains are wired to learn faster when we perceive something as useful, and when we can put it to use. And I don't know of any language learning software that provides that essential element of learning.
I am also a strong believer that learning a language should be fun. Languages are fascinating, and you can get swept away in the sheer beauty of a language when your understanding of it slips up another notch. It's exhilirating. But it doesn't happen when you are doing grammar exercises. It happens when you read something in a newspaper article, or you overhear something at a bus stop.
Immersion, however, has some serious shortcomings. It is not an organized way to learn. There is no efficient system of building vocabulary, the system most people deal with is bringing a dictionary everywhere and thumbing through it every time they hear a word that they don't understand. Grammar, if not studied separately, usually gets skipped when learning by immersion.
Not only that, but most of the essential conversational learning that takes place with immersion occurs at excruciatingly remote intervals. In a natural environment, people have to have a reason to speak with you. You generally can't count on being able to strike up conversations with random strangers and expect them to bear with you while you struggle with the language. Most people don't have the patience.
Also, a lot of potential learning time is squandered in an immersion environment, because you don't learn anything from hearing a person and not understanding them. Often, seeing what a person is saying in text clarifies the 'shortcuts' that occur when people talk, and that can accelerate learning immensely. So could having unknown words translated without having to flip through the dictionary-- a process which oftentimes discourages a learner from looking up one more word.
The main advantage that immersion has is the 'payoff'. You are using what you learn to get what you want. That is why, in spite of all its inefficiencies, immersion is the fastest way to learn a language. When you see you are making progress, your brain automatically learns faster.
So I had an idea. Tell me if this sounds crazy. We need a video role-playing game, like
Final Fantasy XII, for example, in which learning the language,
Arabic, for example, would be essential to advancing in the game.
Of course, the game would be tailored and engineered to promote the fastest learning possible, but it would be necessary for it to be every bit as fun as any other popular RPG. It would have to have a built-in grammar reference, dictionary, and other tools, and a structured learning curve, too, but the key advantage it would have is the payoff. Hours of enjoyable gameplay would be transformed into a concentrated immersion session which encompasses the best aspects of both the best learning software and actual immersion.
There are actually video games out there that simulate everyday situations, too, like
The Sims. All the essential situations for learning a language, like ordering food, asking directions, or chatting with a friend, could easily be incorporated into a fun game, just like everyday situations are incorporated into
The Sims.
I think that this kind of thing could be the future of language learning, and it would bring the world closer together, and help us to understand each other that much better. It would require a wide range of talent, including professional video game designers, writers, programmers, also linguists, native speakers, and language pedagogy experts. It would be exciting.
I would be very interested in cooperating in such a project, and my experience with learning languages would be helpful in streamlining the learning experience provided by the game. But as of now, I am kind of at a loss for how to get it off the ground. Please let me know if you have any ideas.
Enjoy your afternoon!
Geoffrey Taylor
Source: feedproxy.google.comFESTISAHARA-SALCEDA 09
Nova edicion do festisahara, festival benefico que terá lugar o Sábado 20 de xuño no campo e futbol que hai detras do pavillón de Salceda, cun prezo de 5 euros a entrada.
Actuarán en directo grupos: BALDOSA AMARILLA, ISLEM HIJO DEL DESIERTO, RUXE-RUXE, DISEMIA, SOM DO GALPOM e TOÑITO DE POI E RASA LOBA.
O Festisahara Salceda 09 é organizado pola Asociación de Solidariedade Galega co Pobo Saharaui en colaboración co Concello de Salceda de Caselas e outras administracións co obxetivo de recaudar fondos para o apoio ó Pobo e refuxiados saharauis.
Source: feedproxy.google.comWhat the heck is Kwanzaa?
Nova edicion do festisahara, festival benefico que terá lugar o Sábado 20 de xuño no campo e futbol que hai detras do pavillón de Salceda, cun prezo de 5 euros a entrada.
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