|
| Testimonials |
"This way of learning a language made complete sense to me. Working with the SpeakEZ German course, I was able to understand more in 2 weeks than in five years of German in school!"
-- Asbjørn Finsnes
"The way in which this method is presented provided me with language that will suit me in a foreign country instead of a collection of unusable vocabulary words.
Those who have studied languages realize that looking-up individual words cannot convey a language in the correct manner. Becoming fluent means being able to verbalize ideas ; not learning technical rules and identifying the Past Predicate Indicative.
The audio part of this method has been my favorite portion of the learning process. Not only is the pronunciation slow and clear, but it is presented so that I remember the flow of sentences and concepts.
Thank you for the opportunity to work with this amazing program; it has been a blessing for me."
-- Destiny Yarbro, College Student
|
|
Are You Falling Behind?
Using A Journal To Track Your Progress
by Nathalie V. Fairbanks
How do you know if what you do as language homework is doing you any good?
There are two aspects to consider:
1. Is the type of exercise you do as homework getting you closer to your goal?
2. Are these exercises the most effective ones to acquire a specific skill?
Let's talk about the first aspect. Did you define your goal in language learning? Do you want to write essays, or do you want to understand the foreign movies you watch? These are widely differing skills, yet in most language classes, you'll get to do the same exercises as everybody, regardless of what you're aiming at.
Your first job then is to clearly define which skills you want to acquire. From there, it is easier to decide which exercises will be effective in helping you.
The second aspect requires a little more commitment. A great way to track your progress is to keep a language learning journal. Here's how it works:
1. Take one page for every day that you spend time on your language learning.
2. Jot down the date on the top of the page.
3. Divide your page into several sections: listening, speaking, reading, and/or writing -- depending on which skill(s) you're focusing on. Also, keep a space for each day's insights, e.g. a rule about word order that you discovered by yourself, the similarity of a new vocabulary word with one in your native language, your frustration with a conjugation, etc.
4. Under each section, write down which exercise you did and for how long. Be specific in describing the exercise - e.g. "p. 77 ex 2" if it is a written exercise, or "read dialog 4 ten times, focused on pronunciation of vowels", and so on.
You'll find that by tracking how you spend your time, you can easily find where to make adjustments when you feel that things aren't progressing quite the way you'd like them to.
Sometimes it is a matter of putting more time into the exercises you're doing. Consistency is the key here, and spending 30 minutes every day on your language learning will do more for you than spending five hours the day before your next class.
Other times, it is the kind of exercise that you do that is not effective for improving the desired skill. A language learning journal is an invaluable tool to show your teacher when you're asking for advice. Speaking from experience as a teacher, unless I know exactly what you've been doing at home, it is difficult for me to give you any hints on what could help you.
Another advantage of keeping a journal is that it holds you accountable for the effort you put into your learning. Most of us start out our classes being very enthusiastic but find that other things take priority after a few weeks -- this won't happen as easily if you decide to spend a set amount of time on your homework every day and keep a record of what you're doing.
I require my students to keep a journal six days a week -- the correlation between a faithfully kept journal and quick progress is astonishing!
If you'd like to see an example, just send an e-mail to express@SpeakEZLanguages.com and we'll send you a complimentary electronic version of the SpeakEZ Success Journal.
© 2007 Nathalie V. Fairbanks
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE? You may, as long as you include this blurb with it: SpeakEZ Languages publishes "Language Learning Express", a free bi-weekly e-zine for language learners who are eager to discover the secrets of efficient language learning, transition seamlessly into a new culture and have fun on the way. Get your FREE subscription and your FREE e-book now at http://www.SpeakEZLanguages.com.
|
