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What Makes a Perfect Program?

 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes Post Reply
15 messages over 2 pages: 1 2  Next >>
kalisti
Newbie
United States
Joined 5047 days ago

5 posts - 5 votes
Speaks: English*
Studies: French

 
 Message 1 of 15
05 February 2011 at 1:39pm | IP Logged 
I'm very interested in the pedagogy of software language learning, and find it fascinating how everyone seems to have their own favorites – programs they swear by while swearing off others.

If people could magically create the perfect language learning program – either a chimera of existing programs, or one with features that don't exist - what would it include? A bit of Rosetta Stone, a dab of Assimil, and a healthy dose of Michel Thomas?

Why are some things crucial and other things completely pointless to include?

Very curious, and thank you all in advance for your thoughts! Reading through these forums has already been an incredible education.
1 person has voted this message useful



Cainntear
Pentaglot
Senior Member
Scotland
linguafrankly.blogsp
Joined 6017 days ago

4399 posts - 7687 votes 
Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*, French, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic
Studies: Catalan, Italian, German, Irish, Welsh

 
 Message 3 of 15
05 February 2011 at 10:09pm | IP Logged 
I'd start off with a quick Michel Thomas-style run through verb conjugations (and noun declension if applicable), and covering the basic forms of sentences with conjunctions.

I'd then move on to an Assimil-style section that doesn't try to teach grammar, and instead focuses all its energies on teaching new words and phrases.

But it wouldn't just be a matter of listening to the same thing again and again, because the course would every now and again throw in a bit of listening or reading material that contains nothing new, so that you get the experience of understanding something on first reading.

Additionally, it would have an SRS vocabulary trainer built into a computer game like Typing of the Dead.
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GREGORG4000
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5529 days ago

307 posts - 479 votes 
Speaks: English*, Finnish
Studies: Japanese, Korean, Amharic, French

 
 Message 4 of 15
05 February 2011 at 10:17pm | IP Logged 
Intensive grammar drills and a graduated reader, all with audio.
1 person has voted this message useful



kalisti
Newbie
United States
Joined 5047 days ago

5 posts - 5 votes
Speaks: English*
Studies: French

 
 Message 5 of 15
05 February 2011 at 11:05pm | IP Logged 
Most of these systems seem to rely on having both your native language and the target language presented to you transparently as you're learning. I was always impressed by the immersion-style of RS (even when the execution seemed flawed), but do people generally feel like that isn't as useful as they make it out to be? Being presented with visual slides and being immersed exclusively in the target language?

Thanks for the input, this is helping me get a grasp on what pedagogy people actually find useful!
1 person has voted this message useful



Faraday
Senior Member
United States
Joined 6124 days ago

129 posts - 256 votes 
Speaks: German*

 
 Message 6 of 15
05 February 2011 at 11:35pm | IP Logged 
Perfect for which purpose? Perfect for whom?
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kalisti
Newbie
United States
Joined 5047 days ago

5 posts - 5 votes
Speaks: English*
Studies: French

 
 Message 7 of 15
05 February 2011 at 11:46pm | IP Logged 
Perfect for you. I'm interested in the range of things that different people find most effective. For the entire gamut of language acquisition – from the very beginning to near fluency.

I know what works for me, and what interests me is how that is not necessarily the same as what works for other people. Which makes me wonder what the ideal system for various people would be – certainly there doesn't seem to be a perfect system out there for anyone.
1 person has voted this message useful



leosmith
Senior Member
United States
Joined 6556 days ago

2365 posts - 3804 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Tagalog

 
 Message 8 of 15
06 February 2011 at 4:59am | IP Logged 
An entire language program that uses the Madison
approach.


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