Why do people fail at language learning?

Just wanted to show you this video I came across, that discusses an important issue: why do so many people fail in the attempt to learn a new foreign language?

It's a sad fact that the average native English speaker canNOT communicate to ANY reasonable degree in a foreign language. The notable exceptions are perhaps those who have taken their foreign language studies to the university level (though even that's no guarantee!) or have grown up in a bilingual environment (ditto!).

This video discusses some of the reasons for this, and I think this will be of interest to readers of this blog:

Learning a language online

The time, I believe, has finally come for the online language course! At least judging by the massive success enjoyed by the market leaders, some of them with multi-million dollar annual sales to prove it.

Why would someone decide to 'attend', say, an online French course, rather than enrolling on a traditional course?

While there are a number of aspects to the language learning process that an online course cannot entirely cover (who do you practice speaking with, yourself?!), there are also plenty of advantages - here are three that I can think of:

1) Flexibility - an online language course can be picked up and put down, and while this can have its downsides (those lacking in discipline or organisational skills may not get the most from it), it is just what the doctor ordered for busy working people, parents and students who already have a full schedule offline.

2) Stickiness - an online course has a certain attraction that is hard to replicate in a classroom course, or when learning language from a book. Let's put it this way: how much time do people spend with their nose in a book these days? Now, how much time do they spend surfing the net? I rest my case. The online experience has a certain something which is irresistible, especially to the modern, hi-tech generation.

3) Interactivity - learning a language online is a rich experience. The textual portion is just the beginning. There are pictures, video, recorded dialogues and words that can be repeated at will again and again. Some online courses (see the BBC's French course for example) additionally make use of the power of Flash presentations to make the learning experience an even richer one.

The one thing that cannot be got online, as mentioned earlier, is conversation and feedback from a real human being, which is ultimately what language is all about! But some of the courses I have looked at provide some pretty good alternatives, such as dialogues in which the learner has to play a certain role, saying their bit in French from an English prompt, which simulates the nervy experience of speaking to an actual French person surprisingly well!

All in all, online language courses have come of age and represent a real option to anyone seriously considering learning a foreign language.

Language learning - how do we learn a language?

What is the science behind learning a language and how should this inform your choice of language learning ebooks, online courses, or whatever way you decide to try to learn a language? There are good materials and bad materials out there, and what separates them is whether they are really created on a sound basis in the science of language-learning.

Now I want to share with you some of what I know about language learning in simple terms and help you understand what makes a quality language learning resource - whether ebook, online course or regular book.

How do babies learn language?

Think about how we learn our own language as human beings - what is known as language acquisition. Nobody sits us down in a classroom and teaches us grammar and syntax. As babies, from about the age of 9 months (though this can vary quite a bit), we simply start to learn the language of our parents and the others around us.

What prompts this sudden development? Well, we don't need to go into biochemistry, neurology or anything like that, the answer for our purposes is simple, it's

NEED

What do I mean by need?

Well until the age of, say, 9 months, a baby has had its every need catered for by its mother, and those needs are very simple (basically to eat and to sleep!). It's enough to start crying and Mom will come and help those needs get met. That's all the language a baby needs!

Later though, baby starts developing a mind of his own (like my little guy right now). He starts wanting other things - the toy, the cup, to watch a cartoon! Initially he will do this by pointing, but gradually he will figure out that it's more effective to say that word - he will get the cup faster if he's thirsty, and get his need met quicker!

Learning a second language

What on earth has this got to do with learning a language as an adult, I hear you cry! Well, the current methodology in language teaching says that although we cannot learn language as adults as easily as we did as babies, we still learn language best when a need is created.

You will hear people say, "I learned the most of x language when I lived in the country for while". That is true, because when you are living in a foreign country you NEED to learn the language, you have no choice! You NEED it to get around, to get anything done! And you LEARN it because we learn best by DOING!

Any online language course or ebook (and classroom course too) worth its salt will seek to put you in an artificial situation of NEED, to try to simulate this language learning process of learning by NEEDING then DOING.

They do this by creating role-playing situations, games and other exercises where you are forced to USE the language to get something done. This approach to language learning is known as the 'communicative approach' and is proven to give better results.

Be wary, therefore, of online courses or ebooks that focus heavily on repetitive gap-filling exercises or with an excessive emphasis on grammar. Those things have their place in language learning, but for you as a learner that does not create a NEED to communicate and learn.

When choosing a language learning ebook or online language course, make sure that besides good explanations of the use of the language, you are given many opportunities to practice your language, even if you're talking to yourself!

That is the way to learn a language, and that is the kind of material that we will be looking into on this blog.

Stick around!

Learning a language - don't believe the hype!

Before I get into any discussion of specific language learning ebooks I want to emphasise one thing that I can say with absolute rock-solid certainty on the basis of my many years of experience learning languages:

THERE IS NO SHORT-CUT TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE!

And don't believe anyone who claims otherwise.

There are a LOT of courses, ebooks, websites and whatnot out there, making wild promises along the lines of:

Learn French in a Week!

Speak German like a Native Within a Month!

Now I jokingly wrote somewhere on this page, in reference to language learning, "You'll be fluent in no time!" But the fact is, learning a language, whether from an ebook or online course, a printed coursebook or in the classroom, is a process that takes TIME and EFFORT. When learning a language, this is something you should accept from the outset.

Learning a language means learning a SKILL. Can you learn to play the piano in a week? Of course not. Can you learn carpentry in a week? Not likely! For you to take these skills on board, certain changes have to happen in your brain. A completely foreign "program" has to take root in there and begin the process of turning a newly-learned action (piano-playing, carpentry, speaking a foreign language) into second nature, a process that will always have room for further development.

So don't fall for promises of easy and quick results! These promises are at best exaggerated. The ebooks and online courses I will be considering on this site will be tested to ensure that they embody a scientifically sound approach to language learning and that they will truly help you master the language you wish.

I look forward to discovering new languages and ways to learn them together with you!

Introduction to language learning ebooks

With the rise of the Internet and of digital formats, it is easier to learn a language than ever before.

All you have to do is choose from the huge number of language learning ebook titles that are out there. No waiting for the product to arrive, no piles of books or CDs/DVDs to get scratched. An ebook language learning course is entirely in digital format and can be read on your screen, or better still, on one of the many ebook reading devices that are beginning to flood the market.

There are a great many ebooks out there for learning a great many languages, French, German, Russian, Italian, Spanish - all the European languages you would expect of course - but also language ebooks intended to help you master the languages of some of the world's booming markets. Hindi or Chinese anyone?

On this site we will be taking a regular look at the language learning ebooks currently on offer, as well as discussing how to best make use of an ebook language course, and what devices these can be displayed on.

Stick around! (now I wonder how you say that in Hindi!)