How to Find the Perfect Home Language Course For You
http://www.iguides.org/articles/articles/1234/1/How-to-Find-the-Perfect-Home-Language-Course-For-You/Page1.html
Jonathan Teabing
J. Teabing is a writer for http://www.comparingwebsites.com, a website dedicated to researching products & informing the pubilc about alternatives.
By Jonathan Teabing
Published on 06/4/2008
Learning a new language is quite a common hobby. Most of us find ourselves saying "I wish I knew Italian" "I wish I could understand this French movie without subtitles" or "I wish I understood Spanish well enough to understand what all my Latin friends are saying". Some of us take this aspiration and turn it in to reality. However, since our lives are occupied by various commitments and obligations a very common way to learn a new language is by taking a self teaching course one can attend right from home. This is a very convenient solution as you get to choose when you want to have a lesson. It can be during the morning, the afternoon or even in the middle of the night. You can also take it at your own pace and match it to your own schedule. You basically don't have to worry about anyone but yourself.
The only problem with taking a home course to learn a new language is that since this way a learning has gotten so popular there are now numerous programs, courses, books and softwares being offered on the market. This is why I've decided to help you out and give you a few tips on how to choose the right course for you.
The first thing you need to ask yourself is your reason for learning, this will probably indicate how well you want to know this new language. Do you need to get the basic sentences in order to get by in a short trip in this foreign country or are you moving to this country, in which case you will need to handle more complicated situations as well? Do you want to understand what people are saying or do you want to be able to speak with them as well? Are you in it for for the fun of taking a short course and filling your free time or do you want to master this foreign language and add it to your resume? Each and every one of these goals would have the right course to go along with it.
The next thing you should decide on is your means of learning. There are books, CDs, videos, computer softwares and online programs. Let's start with the more obsolete methods. When it comes to learning a new language from a book, researches have shown that the outcome is not particularly satisfactory. A language is meant to be spoken, which is why it is important to listen to it in order to learn it. This way the student understands the structures better, absorbs the right sounds and pronunciation and forms the right foundations. Books may come very handy though, combined with CDs or videos as, after all, it is important to read in paragraphs in the new language and to practice both grammar and vocabulary. If you only need basic tourist vocabulary and sentences there are pocket books that will be very useful for you, though I would hardly call that learning a new language. As for CDs and videos, while these are slightly better than books since you get to listen to the language, they aren't enough on their own as well and they do require the addition of some written material. If you choose to go for the Book + Audio option, you should make sure you choose a course that uses new techniques and isn't based solely on grammar practice and "listen and repeat"audio lessons. A few years ago this was indeed the common way to learn a new language but language teaching methods have come a long way since. It has been proven that these methods are not very effective and usually don't get the student to the level of knowing and speaking the new language. Furthermore, the students tend to forget what they've learned since the material taught doesn't stay in their long term memory.
With the last decade's internet and computers revolution, self teaching language courses have really come a long way. The future of this industry is probably in computer software and online courses. Courses ran on your computer can offer you interactive learning, a colorful environment and even feedback to make sure you are indeed getting the right foundation. What might these courses offer?
Learning a new language is quite a common hobby and since our lives are occupied by various commitments and obligations a very common way to learn a new language is by taking a self teaching course one can attend right from home. However, since there are quite a lot of home language courses offered on the market, it's getting a bit difficult to find the right one. This review of home language courses will tell you all you need to know about the different courses offered (on books, CDs, computer and internet) and help you understant which one would be best for your needs.
Your options for learning a new language
Learning a new language is quite a common hobby. Most of us find ourselves saying "I wish I knew Italian" "I wish I could understand this French movie without subtitles" or "I wish I understood Spanish well enough to understand what all my Latin friends are saying". Some of us take this aspiration and turn it in to reality. However, since our lives are occupied by various commitments and obligations a very common way to learn a new language is by taking a self teaching course one can attend right from home. This is a very convenient solution as you get to choose when you want to have a lesson. It can be during the morning, the afternoon or even in the middle of the night. You can also take it at your own pace and match it to your own schedule. You basically don't have to worry about anyone but yourself.
The only problem with taking a home course to learn a new language is that since this way a learning has gotten so popular there are now numerous programs, courses, books and softwares being offered on the market. This is why I've decided to help you out and give you a few tips on how to choose the right course for you.
The first thing you need to ask yourself is your reason for learning, this will probably indicate how well you want to know this new language. Do you need to get the basic sentences in order to get by in a short trip in this foreign country or are you moving to this country, in which case you will need to handle more complicated situations as well? Do you want to understand what people are saying or do you want to be able to speak with them as well? Are you in it for for the fun of taking a short course and filling your free time or do you want to master this foreign language and add it to your resume? Each and every one of these goals would have the right course to go along with it.
The next thing you should decide on is your means of learning. There are books, CDs, videos, computer softwares and online programs. Let's start with the more obsolete methods. When it comes to learning a new language from a book, researches have shown that the outcome is not particularly satisfactory. A language is meant to be spoken, which is why it is important to listen to it in order to learn it. This way the student understands the structures better, absorbs the right sounds and pronunciation and forms the right foundations. Books may come very handy though, combined with CDs or videos as, after all, it is important to read in paragraphs in the new language and to practice both grammar and vocabulary. If you only need basic tourist vocabulary and sentences there are pocket books that will be very useful for you, though I would hardly call that learning a new language. As for CDs and videos, while these are slightly better than books since you get to listen to the language, they aren't enough on their own as well and they do require the addition of some written material. If you choose to go for the Book + Audio option, you should make sure you choose a course that uses new techniques and isn't based solely on grammar practice and "listen and repeat"audio lessons. A few years ago this was indeed the common way to learn a new language but language teaching methods have come a long way since. It has been proven that these methods are not very effective and usually don't get the student to the level of knowing and speaking the new language. Furthermore, the students tend to forget what they've learned since the material taught doesn't stay in their long term memory.
With the last decade's internet and computers revolution, self teaching language courses have really come a long way. The future of this industry is probably in computer software and online courses. Courses ran on your computer can offer you interactive learning, a colorful environment and even feedback to make sure you are indeed getting the right foundation. What might these courses offer?
- Audio/Video content - usually spoken by a native in order to teach you the right pronunciation. Audio content is usually available in a CD/MP3 format in order to take it to your car or portable media player.
- Written Material - You will either get it as books if it's a software CD package or as downloadable written files if it's a downloaded course. Written material is usually dictionaries and grammar manuals.
- Interactive Practice - You will often be able to practice your acquired knowledge through games and exercises on the computer rather than exercises in tedious books.
- Speech and Pronunciation Practice - Some courses even have this important tool, which allows you to practice maybe the most important aspect of a language - speaking it. Not only do you get to practice it, but some courses offer feedback and error correcting tools. Comparing your sound and pronunciation to that of a native, they tell you what you need to change and how you need to change it.
- Modular Progress - Some courses offer only a beginner level while others offer 4-5 levels that will eventually have you master the language. Some courses let you choose when you want to move on to the next level, while others do the work for you. They check how well you are doing and decide when you're ready to move on. When you are, they simply upgrade your level or give you more complicated exercises and you don't even have to know about it, just like in a real life course.
- Feedback - These courses check your performance and correct your mistakes. Unlike a book, where you have to go check the answers and compare to find your mistakes, most of these courses have a tool that does that for you. Some of them even have tools that monitor your general progress in the course.
- Human assistance - Some of these courses, mainly the online ones, offer a remote tutor or guide, to whom you can refer questions and requests. This way you are truly not alone in this process. Some courses also offer online forums and boards for the students to communicate, discuss the course and support each other, just like in a real life course.
Online Course or Software Package? It is hard to determine which one would be better for you since it depends on you, on your goals and on your computer. If you don't have broadband internet connection, an online course would obviously not be a good idea for you. If you want to take the course in a short period of time and you know you wouldn't want to repeat in the future, you should probably go with the online version of the course, it will give you what you need and it'll be cheaper. However, if that's not the case than you should consider the fact that an online subscription to a course usually expires after a while whereas an actual software would be there for you for years to come. You don't know when it would become handy.
Prices: It's hard to give a price range on this sort of things since we are comparing different courses, some superficial, others very thorough and each of them containing different tools. Short, basic, beginners courses can cost as little as less than 50$, while the thorough, multi level courses can cost up to 400$. Whatever the case, if you're thinking of purchasing a computer software course, the downloadable version is usually significantly cheaper than the CD package you can have sent home, and it usually contains the exact same things.
In conclusion, it is important to think thoroughly before making a decision and purchasing a course. Yes, they all seem to offer very similar things but if you come prepared and you know what you are looking for, it will be easier for you to find a product that will give you what you need and not leave you disappointed. We all have different goals, and prefer different learning techniques but today there really is a course for everyone. Especially when you can use your computer to learn rather than a book, and learn through games and animations. This way, a home language course is not only a learning device but a truly fun pastime for everyone.
Prices: It's hard to give a price range on this sort of things since we are comparing different courses, some superficial, others very thorough and each of them containing different tools. Short, basic, beginners courses can cost as little as less than 50$, while the thorough, multi level courses can cost up to 400$. Whatever the case, if you're thinking of purchasing a computer software course, the downloadable version is usually significantly cheaper than the CD package you can have sent home, and it usually contains the exact same things.
In conclusion, it is important to think thoroughly before making a decision and purchasing a course. Yes, they all seem to offer very similar things but if you come prepared and you know what you are looking for, it will be easier for you to find a product that will give you what you need and not leave you disappointed. We all have different goals, and prefer different learning techniques but today there really is a course for everyone. Especially when you can use your computer to learn rather than a book, and learn through games and animations. This way, a home language course is not only a learning device but a truly fun pastime for everyone.