Posts Tagged ‘Learning Spanish’

Want to Learn Spanish, Learn it Online

January 5th, 2010

 
Spanish is one of the demanding languages in the world and it is also most commonly spoken by quite a large number of people. Learning Spanish is very easy because the Spanish language is somehow influenced quite a number of other languages all over the world. It is one of the easiest foreign languages to pick up. There are certainly many reasons why people want to learn Spanish language. Perhaps there is an opportunity for career advancement. Some people think that without extensive classroom hours it is difficult to master a second language, yet many people have reported that they were very successful.
Regardless of what motivation is for learning Spanish, it has been proven to be very convenient and easy to learn online. There are many different courses to choose from in the online tutors. Spend some time reviewing the various websites that offer these courses and search out sites that allow people to give honest review about them. One of the advantages of learning Spanish online is that you can organize your schedule in your own way. Online tutoring is more effectual and productive way of learning Spanish.
The Internet has simplified many things in the life of the modern human being and many things are affordable and achievable today because of it. One such advantage is about how to learn Spanish online. Usually, students consider private tutors or different language institutes for learning Spanish, but their fees are very high and you can organize your classes according to your time schedule. Online tutoring is cost effective and you don’t have learn according to their time schedule, you can organize your own time schedule. Online tutoring has emerged as an effective, beneficial and convenient way to get effective academic support. Surely, learning Spanish online is the finest and an exciting way to master one of the most favored languages i. e. Spanish.
Eduwizards is one of the leading online tutoring service providers offering online tutoring lessons in Spanish through highly qualified and experienced Spanish tutor.

Spanish Learning Software – Quick Review! Learn How You Can Easily Study Another Language

January 5th, 2010

Spanish learning software is one of the new ‘self-teaching’ language learning courses, which is based on advanced interactive technology. Spanish is considered as one of the most spoken languages on the planet, what naturally attracts many people to speak and understand it. Searching for new ideas that will help you to learn Spanish quickly and easily? Read this article.
Spanish learning software is considered as one of the most effective Spanish learning methods. What is the reason for the growing popularity of this technology? It is mainly about teaching Spanish interactively by using advanced multimedia lesson plans.
When we examine the different educational methods used by this technology we can find that it provides the following: correct pronunciation practice, multimedia based lesson plans, and audio lessons.
Let’s quickly summarize the main advantages and benefits:
- Learning Spanish enables you to communicate with over 400 million people worldwide.
- Designed to be easy for both children and adults.
- Good solution for busy people who don’t have time for evening courses.
There are probably many other benefits provided by these computer-based programs, simply because many important countries use Spanish as their main language.
Spanish is considered quit easy to learn and thanks to these tools, learning Spanish becomes easier than ever, offering us an opportunity to learn one of the most spoken languages on the planet.
Spanish learning software solutions are especially effective for those who look for fast language learning methods. In our dynamic world, where almost 400 million people speak Spanish, it is undoubtedly important for us to learn and understand this language, the people who speak it, and their culture.

Learning Spanish Part Eight : Some Really Bad Science!

January 2nd, 2010

So just where did this hideous stereotype about adults learning foreign language originate? It came from some very old science. There used to be a theory on “brain development” from the 1960′s which taught that there was a “crucial period” an individual had before the brain lost its “plasticity,” making learning a second language too difficult. (Lenneberg, 1967) It was a believed if you didn’t get your second language learning done before puberty, your goose was pretty well cooked. Modern studies have shown though some differences between how a child and an adult learns a second language do exist, the older learner has the distinct advantage. The adult learner of Spanish can learn the language faster because of the following: The adult’s maturely developed brain has the superior ability to understand the relationship between semantics and grammar. The adult’s brain is more mature in its ability to absorb vocabulary, grammatical structures, and to make more “higher order” generalizations and associations. The adult learner’s better-developed brain is better at “putting together all the pieces” with a more developed long-term memory. The biggest obstacle for the adult is the emotional factor. Adults have bought into the myth that they just cannot do it. They are also afraid of making fools of themselves. I have often thought this is the reason children seem to learn Spanish faster than adults do-they are not afraid of the embarrassment factor. Children also seem to learn Spanish faster because of the natural method to which they resort. They approach learning a foreign language in the identical manner as they did when they learned their native language. If you have children, you witnessed this event. Was there not a time when you just knew that your “yet-to-speak anything other than goo-goo and ga-ga” child understood far more than he was letting on? We had some friends for whom we often baby-sat. There was a point when I could see that little Scotty was more on the ball than he was letting on. Though he could not yet speak, I could say, “Show me what you want. ” and he could not only comprehend the question but also show me what he wanted. I am sure you had the same experiences with your children. Children have an “intensive” period in language learning where all they do is listen. Whether it is their native tongue or a second language, they do a lot of listening. Before your child began to speak his native tongue, he went through a silent period of listening and taking in everything. He said nothing-just listened. Before developing the high degree of spoken fluency he was destined to develop, he listened to literally thousands of repetitions of his native language from his parents’ mouths. The same thing happens in foreign language learning for the child. The child trying to learn Spanish will go through a period of listening intensely to thousands of repetitions of the target language. He will not speak much-he will just listen. During this “period of silence,” the child does almost no repeating but only listens to the sounds of the language and the meaning of the words. He sees pictures and actions associated with words and sentences. This is how children learn vocabulary and functional grammar. Then one day, after the “period of silence”-poof-he starts talking and he has largely conquered the basics of the new language. It seems fast and easy as we adults observe it but it is only the natural and fluid manner by which we all acquired our first language. You could use the same way-the same identical method-to learn Spanish. Adults often decide (and are led to believe) if they enroll in a conversational class, it will solve the problems of second language acquisition. It won’t and here is why. You will be in a class with other non -native speakers who are trying to do what you are trying to do. Mostly what you will be exposed to are non-natives speaking Spanish poorly. You will be constantly exposed to students making huge pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary mistakes. This will hinder your progress and teach you bad habits. What would work, with regard to a conversational class, is a private one-on-one tutorial experience with a native speaker. But, as they say, which of us could afford that? Conversational classes work when you are the only student and you can interact with a native speaker without other non -native students hindering your progress. Remember the child. He is listening intensely to the native speaker whose is speaking the target language correctly. During that silent period, he is learning correct accent, vocabulary, and natural grammatical structures. The Horse you must seek is the development of a high degree of spoken fluency in the target language in the same way a child learns languages. In a study by Petoskey, 1974; Winitz, 1981; J. Gary and N. Gary, 1981, they postulated that the most effective methodology for the adult learner of a second language is one in which listening (that “period of silence”) is the focus before any speaking is done. ”According to this research, effective adult language training programs are those that use materials that provide an interesting and comprehensible message, delay speaking practice and emphasize the development of listening comprehension. . . “ Listening first, and I mean lots and lots of intensive listening, and speaking second is how you, Mr. Adult Wannebees Bilingual American, learned your English and it is the same method you must use to learn Spanish. It is the Horse-the high degree of spoken fluency-that you must develop first before trying to pull the Cart (formal grammar instruction). This is not only possible but I am going to tell you how I did it. NEXT: Still Looking for that Horse