Learning or improving upon a second language is no longer confined to rote learning audio cassette tapes or out of date computer language programs on cd-rom that look like they were created in the late 1980’s. People around the world are slowly starting to visit online language websites that cater to a diverse set of creative teaching methods largely integrating web 2. 0 technologies that create an environment of collaboration and sharing amongst its users. Methods that didn’t exist 10 years ago are now available to millions of language learners across the world. Not only do these new methods promise convenience, they also promise access to new and improved materials for online use. Online language learning is now being considered by students around the world and one of the up and coming methods is learning online using voice and video in order to communicate with a tutor. An online voice chat is kind of like talking to your tutor over the phone except it’s over the Internet and you have access to a webcam while you use a variety of online materials to help learn. Tutors are no longer tied to a specific region or city in the world but rather wherever there is an Internet connection. Students who normally don’t have access to a teacher now have access to a teacher. When considering which method of online learning is right for you, you should consider a variety of factors to determine the best option. · Ease of Use· Price (if there is one)· Availability· Reputation and Quality of ProductThese are only some of the factors you should think about before choosing an online solution to your English language learning needs. Ease of use is really all about the website or product and how easy it is for you to use. Is there a help section, frequently asked questions and should these not solve your problem how easy is it to contact a real person either through email or by telephone. Online connectivity vs. offline connectivity refers to being able to use the program or website when you are not connected to the Internet. Price is usually a very important factor for most people when making an involved purchase that could easily cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Don’t confuse the lowest price with the best offer by any company selling you an education related learning experience. Everybody has heard the saying before “you get what you pay for,” so just be aware of this great advice before you choose the cheapest language help out there. Availability can be a very important factor if you are using live video and voice chat online English lessons which would probably require you to schedule your lesson times well in advance. Most new companies offering this type of live video and voice chat service will have several teachers available with many choices of times to make it very easy to schedule weekly lessons with a tutor. Reputation and quality of product can be checked by visiting the better business bureau (assuming the company you are interested in is using their services) or by asking a friend if they have heard about any good companies or by a referral from someone you trust. Another method which is often overlooked is asking the company for a list of emails of clients who have used their service before. If the company is well established you can even ask for a list of other students in your area or region. Any company who is not willing to give you the names of students should be passed by unless they are restricted due to legal reasons as the last thing you want to do is pass up a great company to learn online English with. Choosing the right online English language solution today is more about convenience than anything else, so sometimes it may be best to go with the company offering the higher price. The Internet can suit about any learning style that you can possibly think of. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and talk with friends and ask them what they are doing to help them learn. About the Author Marc Anderson is the General Manager of an online English language learning company called TalktoCanada. com that helps companies of all sizes and individuals around the world learn English online using voice chat and a webcam with experienced native English tutors. If you would like to learn how live online English lessons can help you or your company please visit TalktoCanada. com today and find out how you can improve your online spoken English.
Posts Tagged ‘Language Learners’
Choosing the Best Online Method to Learn the English Language
December 25th, 2009How to Learn a Language – The Three Secrets of Foreign Language Learning
October 29th, 2009In my school days I never really learned how to learn a language. As a result, I spent years struggling and failing to learn various foreign languages. To help me finally become successful in my language learning, I had to research and learn about the techniques used by the seemingly “natural” language learners. I learned that successful language learners develop three very distinct areas of their minds.
Speak It To Learn It
The first pillar of language learning is to practice speaking. This is the primary skill to develop and also the most neglected aspect of language study. If you want to learn to converse in a second language, you have to speak it, often. It is that simple. The main purpose of learning a language is to communicate. However, if you spend all of your time making lists of words and learning about grammar, you will never progress past a simple conversation in the language.
Listening – Immerse Yourself In The Sounds Of The Language
The second pillar of language learning is to practice listening. In addition to being able to speak the language, you have to be able to understand the person who is speaking to you. You have to expose yourself to the sounds of the language. For this to be possible, you need to immerse yourself in the sounds of the language. Spend as much time as possible listening to podcasts, conversations around you, the radio, radio, etc., all in your target language. At first everything will be unintelligible. However, over time you will begin to recognize certain repeating patterns and phrases. In time, you will begin to comprehend individual words. Finally, one day, you will begin to start to understand meaning. However, all of this takes time. It is necessary to expose your ears to to the sounds of the language.
Reading Practice
The third and final pillar of how to learn a language is to practice reading. It is easy to disregard this step, but it a very effective method of learning a language. As with listening, reading is a method of immersing yourself in your target language. The key is to read, as often as possible, newspapers, popular magazines, and web pages in the foreign language. This helps you learn the language in context, as it is actually used. You will also develop a sense of correctness about the language. You will know when things just look right
To maximize your success with your language, a good starting point is to study how to learn a language. Successful language learners devote time to each of the three main pillars of language learning: speaking, listening, and reading.
By: Chris Chan
Stress-Free Foreign Language Learning: Eliminate Frustration when Listening
October 12th, 2009If you get frustrated listening to a language you’re trying to learn, you’re not alone. Difficulty understanding the spoken word is one of the common complaints language learners have. Fortunately, though, this problem is relatively easy to solve if you go about it the right way.
Forget Perfection
Most of the frustration with listening comes from trying to understand every word perfectly. Sometimes striving for perfection is a good idea. When you’re learning to pronounce a difficult sound or word correctly or when you’re doing focused work on grammar, you want to try to get it 100% right.
With most listening tasks, though, perfection just isn’t practical. Think about what you need to listen to in real life. It might be the TV news, the dialogue in a movie, or what someone’s telling you in person. In all these cases you, have other clues to help you get the gist of what’s being said. With TV and movies, you have visual cues. With live conversation, you have the person’s tone of voice and gestures to help you out.
The problem is listening tasks in most language classes have you listen to someone reading a script and then ask you specific question about what the person said. It’s not a very realistic situation and it’s much harder than most everyday “listening tasks” in real life.
In reality, most people who are conversational, but not yet fluent, in a language don’t understand every word they hear in that language. Yet they can still hold conversations with minimal problems. Not understanding every word doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. When you’ve just started to learn a foreign language, it’s perfectly normal not to understand everything. So then, if you’re not aiming for perfection, what are you aiming for?
Go for a General Understanding
Instead of trying to hear and understand every single word, just do your best to understand enough words to get the gist of what’s being said. Take the words you did understand and try to guess based on those. Yes, sometimes you’ll “guess” wrong, especially in the beginning. With practice, though, your listening skills will improve.
After you’ve listened to something, ask yourself if you could explain the general idea to someone else. If you can, then you’ve really accomplished something. Then ask yourself somewhat more focused questions. For instance, if it’s a radio talk show, see if you can summarize the speaker’s overall opinion on the topic. As you learn more vocabulary and do more listening, you’ll be able to fill in more and more details.
Listen to Music
The great thing about music is that you can enjoya it even when you haven’t got the faintest idea what the singer’s going on about. When you do understand, it’s a bonus. Music has another plus, too: repetition. Listening to your favorite songs over and over again helps you remember not only words, but also whole phrases.
Eventually, you’ll have a few phrases you remember well that you can use those phrases as examples of grammar. For instance, students of English sometimes remember how to form the second conditional based on the famous line, “If I were a rich man” from Fiddler on the Roof.
You can still go for global understanding when listening to songs. Just try to understand enough to decide whether the song about love, politics, a social problem or something else? Then see if you can understand the “story” behind the song.
By: Amelia Green
