It’s a curious thing: you probably don’t remember any of your mediocre teachers. People tend to remember the good ones (gratefully) and the horrible ones (in their nightmares). In language learning, teachers not only need to teach you about their subject, but also serve as a model for how to use the knowledge – somebody to communicate with. Choosing your teacher wisely can make or break your study – fortunately, there are ways of knowing what kind of teacher you need, and how to get one. Read on to find them out!
Learning languages seems to be a very popular topic with book writers and advertisers (remember to check out my language school commercial post) – but fortunately, many people have recently taken to producing videos about language. “Fortunately” – because for a visual and impatient learner like me, a good video and a good presentation can often make learning much more interesting. If you’re keen to discover some of the most exciting language videos available on the intertubes, meet me after the jump.
What happens when your country becomes to popular for its own good? What would you do if your language turned out to be a huge crowd puller? Would you try to make the most of it, and get through the hard economic times by playing to your strengths?
Or…would you do what the British Government so triumphantly announced on Wednesday, and start systematically shooting yourself in the foot?
There are thousands of languages being spoken in the world every day. Learning them all would be impossible; in fact, most people find it hard to learn more than one. But the point I want to make today is this: If you’re not learning a language now, you’re shooting yourself in the foot, and quite badly. It’s a strong statement, but I will stand by it – and if you read on, I will explain myself.
This was supposed to be a light-hearted, not-so-serious post just before the next week (expect GREAT things then!). But then I thought: these commercials are more than just pure fun. There’s something more to them. And as I watched each of them in turn, it dawned on me.
These adverts are designed to make you aware of a need. The needs are different, but they play into one thing: motivation. Find out which of these adverts speaks to you, and you’ll discover something important about your motivation. Watch these funny language school ads, and you’ll know what I mean…
“So, where are you guys from?”
We had just finished a delicious paella and were settling the bill with a charming Spanish waiter. The city was British (well – Welsh), the restaurant – Spanish. All around us, people were easing into what promised to be a nice, sunny weekend – many languages, nationalities and styles. It felt right to be asked, and OK to be able to answer the way we did.